During Sony’s press conference at E3 they revealed Monster Hunter: World. A brand new installment in Capcom’s popular series coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Hunting Makes Me Feel Good
The new trailer shown at the conference was impressive, showing off what is possible for a Monster Hunter game on the latest hardware from animation to lighting. And of course there was the actual hunting of monsters. Tracking them down, dodging and slashing them up in pitched battles, then making armor and weapons from their body parts to help you fight larger monsters. Capcom has built a fantastic franchise out of the series, selling over 40 million copies worldwide with this formula, and this installment appears to be no different.
But what exactly is new to this game other than the visuals? Well, in an official press release from Capcom we get further details:
“Monster Hunter: World delivers a seamless gameplay experience allowing players to move freely across map areas that comprise the living ecosystems and dynamically transition from day to night. The landscape and its diverse inhabitants play a critical role in each quest as players strategically use the surrounding environment including terrain, vegetation and wildlife to their advantage in battle or become hindered by the hazards they present. Hunters must use their cunning and abilities to track and maneuver their targets throughout the intense, evolving battles.
With flexible online multiplayer options and an accessible quest structure, players can tackle challenges alone or join up to three other hunters online for cooperative play. For the first time in the Monster Hunter series, players from Japan and the west can play together online, providing an expanded base of cooperative hunting companions. With the new online drop-in functionality, solo players can hail for assistance from the worldwide group during quests when their opponents are too daunting to take on single-handedly.”
Considering Monster Hunter as a series has found a home on handhelds, both PSP and Nintendo 3DS, the biggest draws with this new installment is the drop-in feature and the enhanced online features. Cooperating with other players to take down a monster is one of the greatest draws for the series but the online has usually been counter-intuitive or clunky. But with the online infrastructure of Sony and Microsoft, it looks like being able to hunt with friends will be a lot easier and more accessible.
The press release also confirmed that the PlayStation 4 version of the game will have unique content but didn’t give specifics.
Monster Hunter: World will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Early 2018, with a PC release in the works.
