Monster Hunter: Playstation 2

Low and Behold Capcom Entertainment bringing us back the days when Wyverns' ruled over mid-evil land, as simple village folk stay in their huts, cowering in fear and clutching onto their loved ones, so they're not snatched away and digested faster then a twenty-five cent bag of Doritos. Your only chance for survival? Monster Hunters!

Deemed to be the craziest yet bravest form of adventurer to rise to the occasion, you start off as a villager looking to make a change in his or her Mir, without the Russian connection. Taking on missions that nobody else dares risk to better your community, you'll come up against various types of insects, knock-off dinosaurs, boars and many other species that I won't mention, which are all ill-tempered.

The love it or hate it game play with the right analog stick tends to take some time to learn, but once you get going, there's no stopping what obstacles you can overcome. The game is more of a mental challenge then a hack and slash, as the qualities of a hunter are needed to succeed in this game. From baiting a monster to setting up traps, quietly stalking prey and knowing your enemies strengths and weaknesses to the tee, you'll always have the upper hand if executed perfectly.

Armor and weapons design are very advanced and detailed. Seems like those farmers' and blacksmiths' are pretty tired of having their villages raided. Weapons raging from Great swords, Sword and Sheild, Axes, Hammers, Cannons, Crossbows, Lances, you can even use a large Bone to fight off fiends if you wanted to. But here's the catch, in order to get those weapons or upgrade others you have to earn your keep, by getting the materials off the mobs you kill. Berry picking, Mining and Fishing are also a must if you tend to survive in this world, because as the old saying goes "Give a man a fish; he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll never go hungry."

The price-free online play for this game is one of the best around, as hunters can meet in the village, shop at markets, get drunk at taverns, pet pigs in rented housing for luck and even get together for missions. Each mission can have up to four players, but be careful in your selection of hunters as some can have their own agenda. Like playing with friends? Good! They also can easily be located if in the same town as you and you can even set a password for private missions.

Lag is not a problem as I have never experienced any, so you can thank Capcom for that, but in the field of battle the mobs you fight aren't from the server, they're uploaded from your disc. So when you see your partner fighting blank air, don't panic, he or she is fighting what they see from their game. Granted, this only happens with regular mobs, NOT, I repeat, NOT with Wyverns.

Capcoms shot at hybrid gaming, containing adventure and role playing elements, which can be played offline and online, is a great alternative to those who can't afford the monthly fee prices of Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game's. Actually, I'll go further then that. The 2004 sleeper gives you more for your money, as there are NO tedious leveling, waiting hours for groups and specific job boundaries. Monster Hunter for the PS2 gets the hunters edge with four claws out of five.