One of the best action titles for the wii, Tri almost never gets old.
In America, not so much. I've yet to meet someone who even bought one of the original Monster Hunter games, and every review I've seen slammed the games as complete technological and gameplay failures barely worth a cent. But then sweet, sweet salvation came in the form of Monster hunter Tri.
One of Tri's great success is it's graphics. This has been said, many times, many ways, but it can't be said enough. Scaly monsters look the part, and it isn't hard to imagine one of these creatures in reality. The monsters don't just give a roar and attack either. They act as they would in nature, surveying their prey, sizing it up, and trying to scare it off. If you run, they go back to what they were doing and leave well enough alone. Fight, and you can end up dead in seconds flat, or stand victorious over your enemy's corpse.
Another great selling point for Tri is the sheer control you have. How everything behaves and works out is up to you. Bash a Uraggan's armored head, it wil attempt to crush you beneath it's chin. Attack it's weak underbelly however, and it will slap you with it's tail. You're constantly having to adapt to the situation, changing tactics at the drop of a hat, striking when a monster's fatigued, dodging when it's enraged, it's a constant balancing act that's relatively easy to manage after you get the hang of it. Memorizing attack patterns, recognizing weaknesses, finding weak spots it's all necessary in order to finish the hunt alive. But it's not always hunting. Sometimes you'll be charged with carrying an egg through blockades of monsters, or gather certain beetles in rare locales.
One of the few-and-far-between downsides of this game is mission designs. Sure, there are always more monsters to hunt, but locations quickly become rather boring, despite Tri great graphics, but this is easily overlooked when your eyes are on everything that's trying to kill you in the area.
All in all, Tri is definetly worth the cost and then some. Secret areas and new missions and armors to obtain keep you on the move and on the hunt, pushing you ever further. Scrutinizing every minute detail of the weapons for sale gives you all the more edge, and online companions make the hunt all the greater.