GameTech: Monster Hunter Rise makes an impressive jump to Nintendo Switch
A scene from Monster Hunter Rise.
Have you been keeping track of Capcom’s most successful game franchise? These days, that isn’t Street Fighter, or even Resident Evil. It’s Monster Hunter, a series that has risen from acquired taste to, well, acquired by millions.
At 16m copies sold, Monster Hunter World was a huge hit, but the next entry in the series has skipped PlayStation and Xbox consoles and instead gone to Nintendo Switch. It’s called Monster Hunter Rise – and as expected, it has risen up the charts like it’s on a wirebug.
What’s a wirebug? It’s one of the elements that makes Rise stand out from other entries in the series. Performing a bit like a grappling hook, it allows players to zip around with more mobility and climb heights at pace. In fact, mobility is probably the biggest quality-of-life update that Rise receives, with the ability to ride your friendly mount sidekick offering much-welcome speed when travelling the world.
And what a world it is – some of gaming’s best jungle. Monster Hunter can aptly be described as a wild zoo on an alternate Earth, where prehistoric life never went away. Exploring these worlds is always a treat, from the giant ‘bosses’ that form the epic hunts, to the wonderful incidental monsters that make you smile, like the ‘sand dolphins’ in a desert biome.
Where Monster Hunter becomes a little questionable, despite these strong points, is in the repetitive gameplay. In essence, Rise is just like the other games in the series – an MMO game that has been tailored for single-player and small parties.
Sure, it has splendid graphics (considering the limitations of the Switch) and a huge amount of replay value, but a universe as rich as Monster Hunter deserves a better reason to play than ‘Track, hunt, collect, try different weapon’. Rise has a fantastic feudal Japanese aesthetic, but that’s not enough on its own.
Despite that, millions of players find real joy in that simple structure. They also take pleasure in the challenge that a Monster Hunter game provides. Although it’s not that difficult to become overpowered after a time, the journey to completing the game ‘100%’ will take you dozens of hours. In that sense, Monster Hunter is a cathartic game, ‘workmanlike’ in its quest structure, but greatly satisfying in its vibrant world and well-oiled mechanics. Absolutely worth tracking down on Switch, or when it hits PC later in the year.
Do you miss playing golf right now? So do we – but not in the way you think. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a good golf game get released, and every few years we get a hankering to relax into one. Well, EA must have heard our collective lockdown pleas. They have just announced a ‘next generation’ PGA Tour game, from the makers of the Madden series.
The game will allow players to tackle the PGA Tour, The Players Championship and the FedEx Playoffs, by building a custom career and facing off against renowned professionals.
Thankfully, the game is likely to be more exciting that that statement from the PGA. Based on previous EA entries in the series, we expect PGA Tour to be on par.
From jungles and fairways - to the streets. Well, for the most part. The battles in Street Fighter sometimes take place in arenas, factories, airstrips, temples, too. Come to think of it, there aren’t that many street fighters in Street Fighter.
Case in point are two additions to the Street Fighter V roster being showcased on April 6. They are Rose, from Street Fighter Alpha, and Oro, from Street Fighter 3. Both characters will be making their debut in full 3D form, an exciting moment for long-time fans.
Rose is an Italian fortune teller and Oro is a 140-year-old hermit who has become immortal. So not exactly street fighters by definition – not that we’d say that to their face.
