TEST of Monster Hunter World (PS4) When "MonHan" enters a new dimension
A few months ago, Mass Effect had failed in its discovery of a new world. His name does not necessarily indicate it, but Monster Hunter World also offers us to discover other horizons and a new continent, but as I was able to see it during my preview of last October in Osaka, unlike EA, Capcom seems to have put all the odds on his side to offer us a great adventure, a totally renewed experience compared to the rest of the series.
The Challenge is important because despite the number of clones it has born, from Toukiden to God Eater, through Freedom Wars, the Monster Hunter saga has never really been able to break through in our latitudes, so much so that many episodes remain exclusively available on the archipelago, like the XX, recently released on Nintendo Switch. A giant marketing plan had been put in place at the time of the release of some episodes, as recently the 4G of the 3DS, including advertising on the SUV Paris Métro, but Western sales have always remained overall disappointing compared to those recorded in the land of the rising sun.
By this time migrating his license historically nomadic on our consoles of last generation, but also by putting a good kick to the buttocks in its mechanics of playability rigid wish, in a concern to optimize the ergonomics, without forget to make a real graphic redesign, Capcom seems determined to seduce the world with Monster Hunter World, and this is perhaps what he means, this title, finally. But a truce of digressions! Let's look at the subject of the day, and ask ourselves the question: Is Monster Hunter World the slaughter we all hoped for?
"The good hunter, he sees something, he shoots"
In Monster Hunter World, you play a commission hunter who begins a journey back to an unknown world. This expedition is the fifth, and four other fleets preceded you years ago. Some are even born in this "new world", which starts anyway to not be so fresh! The reasons for your departure? It is necessary to shed light on a mysterious phenomenon that pushes the ancient dragons, and especially the Zorah Magdaros, a gigantic monster as big as a mountain, to do the same trip at regular intervals
The adventure begins aboard the boat that leads you to your destiny, and opens with a simply demented hero creation tool. There are a lot of customization options available, and if you're a fan of the thing, you should take pleasure in creating a bespoke character, be it a crazy punk, a troubling 2B look-alike, a gorgeous gray gallinette where a good old adventurer in search of adventures. Predefined models are of course available and many items, such as hair and hair, are unisex and can give surprising results as long as you are keen on derision. And with the choice of different lighting, you can really realize the shades that your hero will have throughout the game ... A good half hour later, it will be your turn Palico to get his makeover integral. Will you make a clone of your cat? If, like me, you have two, it will face a cruel dilemma! But again, we will be spoiled for choice and make a little longer the pleasure.
We then discover the first cinematics of the game, which set the tone. With a good French dubbing - but not systematic outside cinematics - a silent hero and anonymous NPCs only defined by their job, we will attend a real show that Monster Hunter had not used to us. Everything is more scripted, and this within the main missions (which will also pose a problem in terms of multiplayer features, but we will discuss below), with phases of investigations in which we must go back the track of a monster following in his footsteps using our famous "navicioles" in the Geralt de Riv mode, or escorting our companions through a dangerous zone. Some quests are even ultra-scripted, like the one where we cross the path of Zorah Magdaros, that is pushed back with guns that must be charged to several, the scene is reminiscent of the flight into train in the desert of Lost Planet 2, where an equally gigantic creature was fired with a cannon of the same caliber as the Shinra in Final Fantasy VII. Level big show, Monster Hunter World brings us the big game and really makes the series in a new dimension.
A hunter who knows how to hunt...
It is not only by its aspect script that Monster Hunter World stands out from his elders: the level design has also undergone profound changes. The levels are five, which might seem little for a regular in the series, but do not forget that this is a reboot of the franchise. The places visited are in any case magnificent, and they offer quite insane panoramas. Between the forest of beginnings and the coral plateau, overflowing with colors, all with a day / night cycle, you will really fill the mirettes. In addition, the levels lose their division in sections separated by a loading time, and become (FINALLY!) Completely open, which can lead to extremely spectacular situations when monsters sharing the same ecosystem are brought to confront each other, you chew the job at the same time.
The world of Monster Hunter is teeming with life and small items to collect, and the monsters provide the show. This transformation of the level design is definitely a success! As for the monsters precisely, as for the number of levels, we can blame them for their low number of about 30 ... But again it's very relative, because we must not forget that we are facing a real new version of the game, not a simple revision as it has been for years. As for new kids, we must admit that their design is super seductive! We have, for example, the Anjanath, a kind of T-Rex crossed with a Dilophosaurus (the kind of flanged dinosaur that got the better of Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park), The Kulu-Ya-Ku, a giant and edgy chicken, or again this cross between a bat, a polar bear and ... a balloon! Other great classics like the Rathian are of course back in this album, to allow hunters worldwide to participate in clashes that have never been so spectacular.
Hunting and fishing
One of the other aspects of Monster Hunter that evolves with World is the great ergonomics that has been conferred on the game. Until now, the gameplay and exploration of the title had changed very little, and was rigid to wish, but here, everything has been reviewed, and if the fifteen weapons present are those we are used to, their handling has been slightly revised, for a result overall much more fluid. Even the lock on an enemy, a mechanic that only appeared recently in the series, takes on its full meaning here and adds a real dynamism to the fighting. Another important appearance: the navicioles, small luminous insects very practical since they indicate you the way to follow, but also the elements of loot which are close to you. Combined with the map, which is updated in real time, you have all the necessary tools to facilitate the collection of parts to improve your equipment. To pick up these objects, everything is easier: whetstones, picks, nets ... all this has no more "durability", and it is even now possible to harvest small objects on the fly , running, while enjoying endless endurance outside the fighting. In short, the ideal for a more pleasant exploration of these large open lands, which also show a significant verticality and sometimes extend over several floors. We then climb walls and obstacles even more simply than in Assassin's Creed, and we even think of Tarzan moving liana in liana with a simple push forward on the stick. All the playability of the title has been reviewed in depth, and what could previously seem to come from another age of video games is now well anchored in 2018, a year that definitely begins very well.
In the radius of news, we have not seen everything yet. The city of Astera, which serves as a central hub, is simply gigantic and bursting with life. It even has shortcuts to move faster within it. In addition to the quest table, with its main missions and free, you will find something to shop, but also a counter that provides access to a system of contracts, queries and deliveries, to mark your adventures more numerous non loots negligible. And it will even be possible to leave freely in exploration, without accepting quest beforehand. We can also send a team of Palicos on a safari and bring rewards, cultivate consumables and advance the research level of the base to win new gadgets for defense, or eat in the canteen to earn bonuses. endurance and life.
But the place where we will probably spend most of his time is in the forge! It will be possible to acquire new armor by using the carcass of monsters that have just been dismembered, but also to improve them in exchange for orbs obtained by performing quests. Your weapons can also benefit from improvements based on games looted in combat, all represented in a tree progression or it is possible to go back to make another change, which can predict the result in advance. The icing on the cake: for all those items you need to craft, whether from exploration or combat, you'll be able to create a wish list that constantly shows where you are in your quest for creating the ultimate piece of armor ... The activities at Astera are numerous and we return with pleasure between each mission. And with all the free quests available in addition to the main missions, you will have plenty to keep dozens of hours. To see the end of the game, it will take much longer with a post game where you will farm even more intensively against monsters even more formidable than usual. In its components of RPG and typical Monster Hunter, World type very strong and is very good and very complete. And for those who are afraid that the game is "casual", rest assured: the fighting is still difficult!
Monster Hunter World
In Astera, you will not only find NPCs: it is indeed there that you will find other hunters, on the fourth and last floor, to access arena contracts, where you will face a team watch. two, with a predefined stuff. And if clan features or distress flares to call other players for help will be handy to explore this new world team, or can only regret the fact that it is unfortunately not possible to make the campaign scripted in full cooperation ... Each player will first have to do the scripted part of a mission in his corner, then return to the camp and start the end of the quest together. If you had planned to return the game from start to finish with a friend, expect some logistical worries!
Also, if you are going to help a fellow junior to yours to complete a story mode quest, you must first wait until he has seen that scripted sequence to be able to accommodate another player in his game. All this is perhaps only a detail, but it is clear that it is a little task in the table. In fact, it is even the only serious criticism that can be made to the game. Part of it is designed to be played alone, and Capcom is at all costs to this precept.
Another logistical point: if two players of different levels play together, it will necessarily be in missions at the level of the one who is the least advanced ... Features well-honed online, but who suffer greatly from these complications in scripted missions , which become a bit, sort of and not 100%, a really solo part of Monster Hunter World.
I only have to mention the technical part of the title. I had the chance to do a lot of my test on PS4 Pro, and if it's the machine you have at home, then you will have to make a choice to boost one of the following three components: increase the resolution (to enjoy even more your TV 4K OLED HDR brand new), increase the graphics (to benefit from small details worked on the levels of shadows or textures), or finally focus framerate to all the rest. I have mostly played in framerate mode, and if the set is stable enough to never slow down, it is clearly not 60 fps, but rather close to the 30, with peaks of fluidity at times . This alternation is quite disconcerting, even if one often takes to appreciate the peaks in question, which make us relativize on the real beauty of the title. On PS4 normal, necessarily, one is a notch below all these elements, but rest assured: the whole remains perfectly playable, without any problem. We have not had the opportunity to test the Xbox One (X) version, but we'll be back soon. When the PC, if it should offer optimized performance and small onions for who will have a bike of competition, but it will unfortunately wait for the release a little longer, since it has been offset by a few months compared to consoles.
Monster Hunter World is the true reboot of one of Capcom's flagship series. While keeping the basics and the essence of the series, namely team fights, difficult and technical, against gigantic monsters, allowing to make new equipment from rewards looted on the corpses of our enemies, the developers Osaka send a sweep of a single all the rigidity of the old episodes to enter a new era, with much more ergonomic and topical mechanics. In Monster Hunter World, the entire exploration part is easier and more enjoyable, in environments that are now open, splendid, and in which the different monsters can even fight between, forgetting your presence for a moment, which really gives life to this universe! But rest assured, the fact that the game is more ergonomic does not mean not to say that it will be easier during the fighting, far from it. Although we could blame a content "light" in comparison with the latest releases on Nintendo 3DS, do not forget that we are facing a complete revision of the formula, and not facing a simple "update" like all these last years. In this vein, the graphics have also undergone a major facelift and are now sublime, all carried by a superb artistic direction. Whatever the console on which you will play, you will take full mirettes! If you are a fan of action games and / or RPGs, we can only advise you to try this Monster Hunter World, which is definitely a serious candidate for the best game of the year 2018, while the latter does not just start.
by Jonathan Bushle
+ON AIME
- A real overhaul of gameplay mechanics, more ergonomic.
- The fighting and the resulting loot have never been so exciting.
- The levels are open and teeming with life.
- The many possibilities of creating heroes.
- The game is very beautiful technically speaking, and the artistic direction is licked.
- (Very) many hours of play in anticipation, solo or with his friends!
-DO NOT LIKE
- All main missions are not playable in 100% cooperation.
- Fewer areas and monsters than in previous 3DS episodes.
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