Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Highly addictive"

When I first started the Monster Hunters series, I started from the beginning, Monster Hunter for the PS2. Unlike a lot of PS2 users, I had no way of getting online to play with others. This was no problem, however, as I had fun just playing in Single Player Mode. When I found out that there would be Monster Hunter for the PSP, I had to get it. It meant I could play the game outside of my home and where ever I wished.

That started back in 2005. Seven years later, and I'm still addicted to the craze that rocks Japan. I started playing Freedom again just recently, and I realized how much of a challenge it is compared to other games. While the camera buttons (D-pad) Are a bit harder to maneuver, They give the player the advantage of the L button to allow for better camera control. This is not what makes the game challenging, but the actual need to be able to fight without being spoon fed with targeting and other easy methods that are given in other games. I like a game that actually provides a challenge personally, it makes the reward worth it.

As for the Online Mode: Yes, there is no actual online mode, but that's because it's for the PSP. It's hard to have a small console be capable of supporting more than four people. Even then, it allows the player to be with their actual friends instead of random people over the internet who would just insult you instead of cooperating. I had more fun playing Monster Hunter Freedom with my brothers than I did with Monster Hunter Tri and strangers. With a PSP, it would be much harder to communicate with other people who are across the country, so I applaude Capcom for realizing this.

Overall, I'm very picky about games, especially shooters. If a game is capable of having me play it and it's other versions for 7 years, then it's a very good game