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GDC 2009: Monster Hunter Freedom Unite Hands-On

By Sophia Tong

Capcom brings to North America the incredibly popular monster-hunting series on the PlayStation Portable.

While everyone else was busy getting ready for the Game Developers Choice Awards, Capcom held a Monster Hunter Freedom Unite event in San Francisco so that we could get hands-on time with one of Japan's hottest-selling games. Staying true to the series but adding new features to make it more single-player friendly, Freedom Unite adds a helpful cat as a sidekick so that you don't have to go on your monster-hunting missions alone. Our hands-on session primarily focused on the multiplayer portion, but after tracking down a giant crab and eventually carving out its parts, it's not hard to see why this game is so popular.

We talk to Capcom about bringing the insanely popular Japanese game to the West.

Like the previous games, Freedom Unite is like a mini massively multiplayer online game on your PlayStation Portable. By mini, we still refer to an endless number of quests and content available for you in single-player mode and even more in multiplayer. For those who really enjoy working together with friends (or have friends with PSPs since you can only play ad hoc), this game has plenty of multiplayer missions that will yield better items so that you can upgrade weapons and armor for your single-player game.

The series may be light on story, but Freedom Unite is connected and takes place after the previous Monster Hunter Freedom 2, so your character will be recognized as the hero that saved the village in the last game. Once again, you'll be given quests, but there are missions that will require you to fetch items, carry eggs back to town, or capture a monster instead of killing it. In our play session, we were after a monster that was lurking in a colder region, so we had to prepare ourselves by grabbing a hot drink before we wandered off. Our character was named Gin and looked like a warrior princess with her furry outfit, head full of feathers, and dual swords. She was quick with her blades, but her range was pathetic, so we really had to get in under the crab to do any sort of damage. Once her blades lost their edge, it was time to pull out the whetstone to sharpen them, and before we knew it, we were back in full swing. Each member of our party had a different weapon type, which balanced our team and made the challenge easier. Since character stats are completely dependent on armor and weapons, the beefed-up gear probably had something to do with it too.

The multiplayer component is really what stands out in the game. It's infinitely more interesting to be searching for dangerous creatures with your friends in tow than to be wandering the groves alone. Rare item drops are more likely when you select a quest, which are designed for four players, in the gathering hall. However, if you do end up playing solo, Freedom Unite has included a well-fed cat that will fight alongside you, so you won't be all alone. We were told that the learning curve is not as difficult this time around because of the feline addition--which we saw dressed in a samurai outfit amd wielding a giant hammer. Another addition is mid-tiered weapons, so you no longer have to pinch and save for that ultra-powerful weapon without anything to use in the meantime. These transition weapons can't be upgraded, though, but their requirements are much lower than the high-tiered stuff.

Victory is yours, especially with the help of the feline sidekick.

Victory is yours, especially with the help of the feline sidekick.

Our time with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite was nothing compared to the 800 hours that the Capcom representative had logged. It truly is an MMO game with a never-ending number of things to keep you occupied. In our quick run through, we liked what we saw. There seemed to be a decent variety in the environments, and each of our character outfits was very elaborate and detailed. The monsters we encountered were menacing and intimidating, which made the carving very satisfying once the major battle was won. There's more to be explored for sure, but that's going to have to wait. Trackers be on the lookout, because the hunt begins sometime this summer.

By Sophia Tong

71 Comments

  • malloski

    Posted Jul 1, 2009 11:16 am GMT

    Awesome! Such a BIG improvement over the previous versions. It's not the same... take for example the FELINE COMRADES, BOSSES, MINIONS, Weapons and Armor .... the list goes on and on

  • lawman80

    Posted Jun 29, 2009 7:46 pm GMT

    This game is exactly the same as MHF2.... what's the difference?? I'm playing it now and it's exactly the same!!! no difference!!!!

  • Silver_Soul_U

    Posted Jun 24, 2009 1:57 pm GMT

    I already have the English version, and it rocks. much, much better than MHF2(previous game).

  • egilskal

    Posted May 28, 2009 4:44 am GMT

    I played the japanese version and it rocks!!can't wait for this one to come out

  • Borneo_Street

    Posted May 22, 2009 10:28 am GMT

    i'm satisfied by this game....

  • 666sinboy81

    Posted May 14, 2009 2:24 pm GMT

    totaly lame no online??? if u have mh2 why on earth by this????

  • emoticedmar

    Posted May 4, 2009 8:30 am GMT

    looking forward to this game after i played MHF2 i already wished there was MHF3 lol and yet this here is cool! I wish there was a time machine lewl lool lol

  • Warnerator

    Posted May 3, 2009 10:41 pm GMT

    wtf? gamespot acting like they like this game...

  • Genesis_123

    Posted May 1, 2009 6:18 pm GMT

    wow, looks like gamespot may actually enjoy this monster hunter...
    quick, go in to the time machine to release date
    zhooooooooooooooooooom...........

  • Shogulix

    Posted Apr 28, 2009 2:58 pm GMT

    Looks Awesome cant wait to buy it. I wonder if u can import save files from previous game like u could on the 2nd one for psp

  • aaaaaa12

    Posted Apr 26, 2009 9:29 pm GMT

    japan has wi-fi mode thats why dis game is famous dere.... man when will we get the wi-fi mode....

  • Bboyjhin

    Posted Apr 25, 2009 5:19 pm GMT

    this game i recomend to people who believe they are up to the challenge of a hard game i spend more than 300 hours on monster hunter 2 snd it was really fun i still dont have all the stuff but i try and with this one i cant wait i will spend more than 3000 hours+ i love this game capcom you made me happy by releasing this game to the hole america continent i cant wait and prepare everyone for the hunt

  • unkipower

    Posted Apr 23, 2009 3:01 am GMT

    hopefully we get to actually see a real online mode

  • Gamer_Wolf

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 4:20 pm GMT

    how will this be any different than monster hunter 2? i see no difference at all. and capcom needs to learn to make monster hunter online instead of ad hoc.

  • shady_825

    Posted Apr 17, 2009 7:43 am GMT

    I'm on board! Can't wait. Now if only we could convince Capcom to can the Wii version of Monster Hunter 3 and instead put it on PS3. I also pray they allow people playing Freedom Unite to connect online through their PS3s like I've heard the Japanese can.

  • Worvess

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 12:14 pm GMT

    glad i preordered mine at gamestop already...the union will be really happy when this comes out

  • RandomBeast

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 2:38 am GMT

    This looks and sounds great. I may just have caught the Monster Hunter bug!

  • armas87

    Posted Apr 12, 2009 8:30 pm GMT

    well for release date in stores i heard it'd be by late june or sumting hopefully they won't back order it cuz that'd be really annoying

  • Gioh

    Posted Apr 8, 2009 8:12 am GMT

    U can play the games online dude. U just have to have a promiscous wifi (u will be vulnerable to wardrivin though) dongle, xlink or ad-hoc party and read the manual.

    Dont invent a review, read fora! at least im glad teh reviewer doesnt bomb it like the did on MH.

    And for any true hunter...the challenge is SOLO everythin!

    They should make the cat dispendable.
    And mid tier weapons...woosies!!!

    Damn, a lot of bad hunters wil be raised!

    Yeah, best game i agree.
    Release now please... i feel a urge to killll monsters.

  • SillySkeleton

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 7:39 pm GMT

    Hopefully this game gets better reviews than the last iterations.
    Reviewers always seems to knock the camera and the lack of lock-on in the games, even though thoses things are both non-issues once you learn how to properly use the controls.