The Monster Hunter franchise has been a huge success over the years since its first debut in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, more or a less a year they were even more popular on the handhelds especially on the PSP and 3DS. It was more of the case that the franchise is still very popular over in Japan which have massive launch events and a very strong gathering where players would just meet up and just play some Monster Hunter. Over in both North America and UK/Europe it does have a strong fan base but it’s not as huge as it is in Japan; Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for the 3DS is quite surprising very enjoyable for both newcomers and veterans to the series.
This is only the second game in the series to be released for the Nintendo 3DS, whichever 3DS system you have either the original, XL, 2DS or even the New 3DS the 3D visuals are really impressive to look from its environments to some of the monsters you end up encountering. Like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate you have the option to use the touch-screen for controlling the camera or selecting what items to use either healing yourself or setting down a trap to capture a monster. The camera system can be a little fiddly at times you can use the directional pad for the camera as well but if you have a Circle Pad Pro this can be handy to have you have an original 3DS but if you have a New 3DS this shouldn't bother you that much on terms of camera control.
Like past games you'll be able to create your own character and what skills you would like to have including on what choice of weapon you would want to use; you can have your character wield a long sword, bow-gun, lance, sword and shield, or even use a great sword there are many types to choose from. I wouldn't say that the story for the single player isn't that series like past games you enter a new village you find out that there's a bigger monster out there that is causing havoc and its pretty much up to you on trying to hunt it down but you'll need to fight your way through a ton of monster to reach your goal. The single player campaign can be fun and rewarding if you are having trouble taking down a monster you can have up 2 or 3 felyne cats to aid you, this can be useful to have some support when it comes to handling quests.
But the real fun is when it comes to co-op in general like past games on the handhelds you would have to meet up with your friends who would have a copy of the game on them and working as a team on taking down monsters. This is where the series can be very rewarding and extremely hard to put down; unlike its past games not having online support you would either need a PS3 or even a Wii U to hook up to your handheld if you wanted to play online with other players. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate does have online support and taking on quests and challenges up to 4 players is a lot of fun, I've actually spent a good 3 hours playing online with various players on taking down monsters really did had a lot of fun and found out that if you wanted to level up your Hunting Rank in general best way to do that is to play online. After completing certain quests you'll be able to craft your own weapons and armor by gathering certain materials or defeating certain monsters you can extract stuff from those monsters more materials you have the more rewarding the game is.
Whatever way you plan on playing Monster Hunter either online or meeting up with a few friends you will spend a lot of hours in this game alone, you could easily spend a good 60 hours within a few days there's even more content after that. Capcom have promised to release more quests and DLC for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate at least once a month you'll get more quests if you are a higher Hunting Rank in the game or the chance to a Nintendo or have a fantasy themed armor skin for with yourself or for your feynle cat.
Even if you are new to the Monster Hunter franchise I would recommend this game in general if you want a good experience for both single player campaign and for multiplayer campaign missions. This is also one of the best examples on how good games should be on the Nintendo 3DS you'll be surprised on how much detail and hours you could easily spend on Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate alone. This is easily one of the best Monster Hunter games in the series don't get me wrong past games I've played have all been fun and rewarding but this one itself pretty much nails it.