Monster Hunter Tri Hands On Preview

11 Feb 2010 at 12:55:15 by Richard Walker

Since the dawn of man, humankind has always endeavoured to triumph over nature, whether it's shooting pheasants, running over hedgehogs or drop-kicking badgers square in the face. In Monster Hunter, this stuff is small fry – there are no badgers to punch - only the biggest game matters on your hunt to slay hulking beasts, which is seemingly just for the sheer hell of it, displaying enormous mounted scaly heads over your fireplace for posterity.

Monster Hunter Tri is the third console instalment in the immensely popular series, moving from PS3 - the platform it was originally intended for – exclusively to the Wii. Capcom's Tsujimoto Ryozo is on hand at the Monster Hunter Tri event at London's Science Museum, assuring us that this particular Monster Hunter will be of the highest possible quality.

Adopting the role of rookie hunter, you join the inhospitable world of Monster Hunter Tri for the first time, so you'll need to create a character from scratch, utilising the fully customisable hair, body, face and even voice options for your burgeoning beast-wrangling monkey.

The single-player experience is in-depth, giving you free reign to explore Moga Village, chat with the villagers and buy new armours and upgrades from the local vendors. Meanwhile, your quest involves searching for the source of the village's frequent earthquakes, which we'd wager being the work of monsters – a safe bet, surely. Thankfully you have companion character Cha-Cha – an odd, acorn-headed fellow with interchangeable masks that grant different effects – to help out.

Out on the vast plains beyond Moga Village, where the monsters roam free, there's an intricate ecology where beasts interact with one another, so a pack of Velociraptor-like Jaggi's will attack anyone who encroaches upon their territory and work together to bring down an invading Rathian, even if the odds favour the fifteen-foot tall, fire-breathing behemoth. Determining each monster's behaviour will give you an advantage when you get to the job of hacking up the eclectic bestiary of bizarre and beautiful creatures.

Strangest of all is the Qurupeco – an apparently defenceless ostrich-like monster that can beckon larger monsters to protect it. Luckily there's an array of hefty weapons at your disposal, ranging from gigantic great swords, battle hammers, lances, and speedy short swords to ranged bowguns and the brand new Switch Axe, which can be toggled between sword and axe forms.

Swinging your weapon is quite a laboured affair though, which means you need to carefully plan your attacks. Laying into a monster's hide with reckless abandon is a sure way to get stomped into the ground or savaged into bleeding, fleshy chunks. It doesn't help that movement feels sluggish until you settle into the pace and mechanics of the game.

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