Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Review
Control issues and a lack of online play hamper what's otherwise an outstanding Monster Hunter game.
The Good
- Excellent large-scale battles
- Huge amount of compelling customization
- Monsters are fantastically realized.
The Bad
- No integrated online play
- Without the Circle Pad Pro, the underwater camera is atrocious
- Controls are awkward.
Gathering mushrooms. Mining ore. Fishing. Slaying giant dragons made of rock. Whether or not this sounds familiar depends heavily on your experience with the Monster Hunter series thus far. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is an enhanced port of 2010's excellent Monster Hunter Tri, refining that game's structure by adding a bunch of new content and a far more robust online component. Thwacking huge beasts with a greatsword or picking them off from afar with a bow has never been so comprehensive and satisfying. However, the 3DS version suffers from some concessions that make it less appealing than its Wii U counterpart.
A wyvern patrols, tossing its head back and forth as it snaps lazily at a nearby herd of grazing aptanoth. You sneak up, weapon sheathed, waiting for the right time to strike. Suddenly, the hulking beast turns. It notices you. Quickly, you draw your blade as the beast charges. You roll, but not quickly enough. A blow catches you, sending you flying to one side as your sidekick, Cha-Cha, screams in alarm. Quick as a flash, you spring to your feet, up and into the fray, taking a swing that connects satisfyingly with the creature's head. It roars, stamps its feet, and charges again.
These encounters, these epic battles of man vs. mythical beast, are the centerpieces of Monster Hunter. Nearly three years on, and the monsters of this imaginary world are no less intimidating and no less menacing when threatened. Sure, you still start off being sent out against herbivores, or to gather mushrooms and resources, but as soon as you get into the fray proper, things really kick off. The game looks fantastic in 3D; the effect gives the battles real depth and a sense of scale, even on the small screen.
The touch screen is used well here too. You have two options: classic, which uses the touch screen as additional buttons, or dynamic, which displays things like the HUD and the map, leaving the top screen free of clutter. The dynamic choice is by far the better of the two, since it adds extra button functionality as well. It's a neat use of the system, and by leaving the top screen solely for the action, it's a really clean, well-laid-out experience.
However, there's a significant drawback to the 3DS version: control. The single analog pad isn't much of a problem at first. You can snap the camera behind you with the left bumper and control it with the D-pad or the touch screen, and the lock-on camera makes fights pretty manageable on land, even if it's not ideal. However, once you get underwater, things take a turn for the frustrating. The underwater sections, which require you to constantly shift the camera to navigate, are almost unplayable using the 3DS without a Circle Pad Pro to give you direct control of the camera.
Large-scale fights aren't so bad, thanks to the aforementioned lock-on camera, but navigating the pools and lakes of Monster Hunter is an utter chore. Given the number of underwater sections, the Circle Pad Pro is basically mandatory if you're looking to play this version. With the add-on, the game controls perfectly, just as well as its Wii U counterpart, but having to purchase a separate item just to make the game properly playable is a real shame.
80 comments
1 Like So sick of people using the controls as an excuse for the fact that they suck at this game, although I agree underwater combat sucks, 9/10 get rid of the fish in MH4! And I want my Kitty warrior back, Shakalakas are meant to be killed. Tigrex is coming back in MH4, you MH3 people have no idea how F&*d you are!
1 Like the controls are not "atrocious"...there not even that bad in water, give MH3U some credit to work with what it had, you just have to get used to it..this is a good companion to the wii u version...if you dont have the wii version just make sure you know what monster hunter is and that you're willing to play alone or hav friends. it's fun!
i actually like the fact they dogged the controls, because honestly, the only people who should be playing this are the ones with experience. nobody wants to hunt with a noob. constantly in the way and constantly upswinging.... but yea, play monster hunter if u want to play a true hard game. and if you dont play monster hunter, i dont care. lol. agreed?
2 Like The controls are just fine for me o-o
Never had any problems so far. It just took a bit to adjust to it. Not even using the Circle Pad Pro.
2 Like @FlameEmperor Exactly I have come up with about 3 ways to control the camera, people are just using it as an excuse because they can't beat Qurupeco
At first it was a bit awkward controlling the camera, especially on underwater battles... After a few hours of play time, you're be surprised that you just adapted to its controls.... MH games are usually criticized by their poor control. Still the game rocks and never heard complaints from my friends here playing a 4 player local connection...
I played the demo, the controls were akward. Another odd thing was all the loading screens. Couldn't run far at all without having it to load.
3 Like people complaining about controls are total noobs period. monster hunter is for hardcore gamers and anyone who rates this as low as the reviewer has no business playing this game
@rajangrondo remember the ratings for the MHF games? They only gave tri good ratings because they made it easier, until you get to the guild at least
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@Grim_Reaper007 @rajangrondo no, really.. after some learning and adjusting your touchscreen buttons (and your thumbs), the control actually feels appropriate.. totally not 'shit' scheme..
@LeBlancChien @Grim_Reaper007 @rajangrondo I kow you can get used to it, I played it a lot on ps2 (which had proper controls) and PSP which was frustrating as hell, even when you get used to it. Personally it felt like i was battling controls just as much as the monsters... well for boss monsters at least.
What I don't understand is why it gets a lower score for not having something in it. Should we give Skyrim a lower score due to lack of multiplayer? Of course not. Why not you ask? because we're gamespot, that's why and we expect everything to be in every game every time, period, except for Skyrim.
I mean sure, it's a downer but it's a lot different than giving a lower scored based on crappy multiplayer than the absence of it entirely, they're essentially downgrading the game for the non existence of multiplayer instead of the content that's actually there. It has more content than most games released in the last decade, yet those games get higher scores? This game has guns too, and blood, so why not give it a 9?
1 Like @Ipsylos There's a difference between penalizing a game for something not being there when it was never the focus in the first place (Multiplayer in skyrim) and penalizing a game where one of the major features of the game is to play with others. Given that there's an entire section of the game dedicated specifically so you can hunt monsters with other players, having no online function - and thus drastically limiting the chance of finding other players - is a completely valid reason to dock points from this game, regardless of how good it is.
@LastRambo341 @Doomerang @Ipsylos Don't worry they will be there in 4, THANK GOODNESS! They have delayed this too long lol
If it had online play and if you could play this game with a Circle Pad Pro, this game would be kingly. Sadly, this is not the case, and the game's rating suffers for it.
MHFU was good on the PSP, I got use to the claw. 2013 now, no multiplayer online, no deal! Wish a Monster Hunter would come out for the PS Vita, and not one with stupid under water fights.
@Kalithro This is the updated Wii version of the which is why it has underwater combat, MH4 on the 3DS won't have underwater and will come with online.
@killa32130 @Kalithro Whole reason I bought a 3DS! Unfortunately I thought we were getting 4 in March, I was crushed when I found out it was effing Tri! Fighting fish is LAME
3 Like That's about it for my faith in Gamespot-
Luigi's Mansion, and now this. I realize that not ell games should be 9.0+,
but these two damn fine games got atrocious reviews, just like most other handheld games, apparently because they don't live up to a PC standard. If you were as willing to put time into this game as you would be with any major title with a big name, you'd realize that controls, AND the camera are easily dealt with after just a few hours of play. Maybe you never got around to changing the on-screen buttons for the camera, but the game is hardly to blame for that. Deep games like this CRAVES some kind of advanced controls (not talking about the camera), to add somewhat depth to the gameplay, and the longevity of the game. If you're not willing to put that time in, well, you're not getting the full experience that you should be reviewing in the first place. I agree on the no online play part, it would be nice to hook it up with some people you can't meet in person at times, but it's mainly just bad because it's expected, and because you can play online on the Wii.
I dont think the controls are bad. dont see whats the fuzz is about?
No different from the rest of the monster hunter games.
Its a hard game to master, but that is their intention.
Its suppose to be hard.
just buy a circle pad pro if you find them hard to handle. and they dont cost any money at all.
@bdixon76 @Satan666HellDie I just bought mine today here in the eu. But they havent been around for more than a week. So keep your eyes open in your store.
Called it after playing the Demo. The controls were horrible. I won't be picking this one up. I might get the Wii-U version whenever I get a Wii-U though.
@LastRambo341 @Minishdriveby Yeah I dunno why people complain about the camera. I've been playing it on the PSP and it's pretty much the same though you have a freakin' lock-on system with this one. Granted it isnt a full on lock-on, even without it what's so hard about hitting the L button to orientate your screen to your char's back or using the directional buttons? The circle pad makes a diff but honestly I still prefer MH without it since i'm so used to it from the PSP titles.
@bdixon76 @chaosarmor @LastRambo341 @Minishdriveby he's talking about mhp3rd, duh.. i guess it's obvious why you can't handle the game without cpp
@chaosarmor @LastRambo341 @Minishdriveby They realeased a PZP version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate? News to me... Have you played the 3DS version?
I guess its obvious why you don't know why people complain then.
Controls w/o circle pad are terrible.
this is my first in the series i have 3ds verison i \found camera hard at first but now ive gotten use to it and surpriseingly i find hitting with the long swords harder then swimming underwater i dont mind that its not that hard but no online play is brutal
@Jd234 Yeah it kinda sucks but they did say that MH4 when it comes out will have online play. They just said taht they didnt have enough time to implement it in this version before launch.
@Jd234 I guessing it's capcom's marketing strategy kicking in. If they made an online play with the 3ds version, no one will buy the wiiU version.
@bojox3m @Jd234 Many people would actually. I prefer MH on the big screen, it brings everything to life better than on the small screen, and monsters feel massive. I can't really play the PSP ones after playing the Wii/Wii U and PS3 ones. They're just so much better IMO.
I doubt I will get that far in this game, just because struggling with the controls is a chore. I wish it wasn't, the game looks right up my alley. And no, I don't have a Wii U. So that's not an option or I wouldn't have this version.
1 Like Real hunters hunt without excuses. It doesn't matter if they couldn't see anything in the swamp because they can smell, hear and feel where exactly is their hunting for.
When i played the demo it sayed no CPP. but it does work then when i hear ppl say you can buy it??
@Wayne_Alfonz The game has online on wii u. Considering the Wii U and 3ds versions you can exchange save files on. The game has local co-op with a wii u and other 3DS consoles. It's a review of the PORTABLE game not a sit at home on the internet one.
i knew there was a reason i waited 3 months on backorder to get my circle pad pro last year
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Huge value in this game. I have 100+ hours of game play and I still am looking forward to doing more.
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