Best online experience on the Wii so far, and an awesome, unique, action RPG that is very challenging, but very fun.
Was I disappointed? Not at all. MH3 was definitely different than any other game I've played before, and I think Capcom deserves a lot of credit for putting out demo discs in the US for the game, because it takes time to get used to the pace & controls in this game. Definitely not a casual, easy to play game. As a newbie, it was great to have a demo to play& learn on before my pre-ordered copy arrived, and I could tell even from the demo that this game was going to be great.
I think the reason I like MH3 so much is that it feels like some kind of mix between Shadow Of The Colossus and Final Fantasy. There are huge, epic boss fights, and that's the main thrust of the game, but they're broken up with exploration, side-quests, and resource management. Creating & upgrading new armor & weapons is also key to the game, and it's a big part of what keeps me coming back for more, because they're so many cool weapons & armors to collect, that it's hard not to get caught up in the gear-lust.
Another big plus is that the visuals are beautiful. Easily the best graphics I've seen on the Wii so far (even better than Mario Galaxy).
The offline single player is good, but the online play is great. If you grind it out by yourself offline it can feel pretty lonely, and that makes getting online & taking down a monster with 3 other players seem like a sweet luxury. The cooperative nature of the online play makes it easy & natural to feel a sense of comaraderie & grattitude toward the other people you're questing with, and there are plenty of easy to use built in features (USB keyboard support, signals, etc.) that allow you to communicate with other players.
If you own a Wii, and you're up for a time-consuming, challenging, fun RPG unlike any other you've played, you should at least try the demo for this game.