The most fun I have had with a console game online. The reviewers must have been on crack when playing this.
You take on the role of a monster hunter in this game where your job is, oddly enough, to hunt monsters. You will get bigger and better weapons and armor by using the pieces of the monsters hide and minerals and ore you mine from the games many mining spot, you will use your new stuff to go kill bigger and nastier creatures to get even better stuff. That is the jest of the gameplay for Monster Hunter, but where it differentiates itself from Phantasy Star Online is the actually gameplay. It is fast, the big monster, (which will take a lot of work to bring down), are smart and all behave differently, and knowing these differences is what will kill you or them in the battle. The game has a level system, and the only way to gain levels is to play online. This may seem like a gyp to those that haven't played this game before, but relax, levels are only used for bragging rights and to get the higher online missions. The clothes and weapons are what make the player have high defense and attack. If you are level one and have better stuff on than the level 10 character playing with you, you will be stronger and tougher than him. Since he is level 10 though, that means he has been playing awhile, so if they offer you some advice on how to kill whatever it is your fighting, you might want to take it.
The online mode is indeed where this game shines, and while the offline mode isn't horrible it is really boring without that help there on gathering missions.
To be fair I would have to rate this game based on offline play and online play.
offline - 7/10
online - 9/10
The only huge flaw in this game is the camera angle will kick your ass for about an hour and half, then you figure out how to work with it pretty well.
Oh, no spell casters in this game ladies and gentlemen, you wanna stick far away, you gotta pick-up a crossbow. The crossbows do offer status altering ammo though, as well as healing rounds.