Monster Hunter 2 may "Shoot itself in the foot", but the wound isn't fatal
In freedom, you start in a snow covered town called Pokke. It isn't your hometown, but in avoiding Tigrex- a wyvern you'll have to take out some day- you injured yourself and the villagers were nice enough to give you a place to stay... And name you as their next hunter.
It still has all the problems of the first (the camera), but Capcom has added a school of sorts in which novices can learn the hunting basics rather than just shove you into the game with a few practice quests.
The academy also allows you to practice using all the weapons in the first Monster Hunter Freedom and a few new ones, i.e Hunting horn and Gunlance(my favorite weapon) Each weapon has it's own advantage and disadvantage such as the ability to guard or awesome attack power. Either way, It's easy to choose one to master.
There are some new gadgets to hunt/gather with as well as a slew of new monsters to kill and, once again, I am amazed by the armor and weapon selection. Graphics are good too!
Worth checking out whether or not you liked MHF.