While my wife and I were out Saturday morning running a few errands, I decided to stop by Game Stop to see if they had any copies of the Monster Hunter 3 demo available yet.
I had printed off the computer a copy of Capcom's blog post saying how you don't have to reserve the game, to get the demo. I had read how certain Game Stop locations were telling customers they had to reserve Monster Hunter 3, in order to get the demo, so I wanted to be prepared.
I casually walked into the store, while looking at the Wii section, I heard an employee tell a customer something about, "...the demo for Monster Hunter 3."
I turned toward the counter and saw the customer reaching for the demo, so I shuffled over hoping to save the customer from reserving the game if I needed to.
I turned toward the counter and saw the customer reaching for the demo, so I shuffled over hoping to save the customer from reserving the game if I needed to.
Well, I picked up a copy of the demo from a box on the counter, when a 2nd employee approached me and said, "You get that when you reserve the game."
I was about to respond, when the first employee with the customer said, "No, they get it for free now."
I just said, "Thanks!" and quickly headed out.
I started playing the demo late Saturday night and again last night(Sunday).
The demo comes with two "monster hunts" on it, and you select which one to play from the main menu of the disc.
The first "monster hunt" is the "Great Jaggi Hunt". I'm not sure how highly ranked the "monsters" go, but the Great Jaggi has a one star level rank.
The second "monster hunt" is the "Qurupeco Hunt" and the Qurupeco has a three star level rank.
When I first started the demo, I wasn't sure what to think.
There's a 20 minute time limit per "hunt" and there isn't a lock-on button.
I didn't like the time limit and I was like, "Why isn't there a lock-on button!"
Well, after playing it for a good while now, the time limit doesn't bother me much, as it keeps you focused on the objective for the demo, hunting monsters.
The lack of a lock-on feature doesn't both me anymore, and I think I see why the game doesn't have a lock-on feature. I think a lock-on button/feature would make the game too easy.
The demo allows you to play as ten(10) monster hunters, they're listed on the demo as shown here:
- Sword & Shield
- Great Sword
- Hammer
- Lance
- Long Sword
- Light Bowgun
- Medium Bowgun
- Heavy Bowgun
- Switch Axe 1
- Switch Axe 2
I've actually played with the Sword & Shield, Great Sword, Hammer, Lance, Long Sword, Medium Bowgun, and Switch Axe 1.
It will take time to learn each hunting class' strengths and weaknesses.
If you get the demo, give yourself plenty of time to get used to the controls and attacks. Make sure to read over the Player's Guide that comes with the demo, so you can learn the different attacks with each hunting class.
I see Monster Hunter 3 as a game that will have a lot of depth, at least this is my initial impressions from the demo.
I defeated the Great Jaggi from the first hunt, but I still have not defeated the Qurupeco from the second hunt.
I've had a lot of fun playing the demo so far and I plan on continuing it until I defeat the Qurupeco.
I've been playing the Monster Hunter 3 demo with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck control setup, even though I do have a Classic Controller.
You can watch some of my attempts at fighting the Qurupeco, and a "monster friend" the Qurupeco calls on for help, in the video here:
Question:
Have you played any of the demo from GameStop? If so, what do you think of the game from what you've played? If you have any questions, let me know and I'll be happy to try and answer them about the demo if I can.
Monster Hunter 3 is scheduled for a North American release on Tuesday, April 20, 2010.
If you're interested in Monster Hunter 3, you can pre-order it on Amazon.com, if you don't like GameStop.
Amazon.com is even offering "Release-Date Delivery" on Monster Hunter 3, meaning the game is supposed to arrive at your house the day of release.
