It's safe to say that the Monster Hunter series
has a lot of fans with the complex gameplay
revolving around improving yourself as a hunter
by learning about and finally defeating your
prey. For some, the time involved is simply
a chore and Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting
by Capcom cuts straight to the chase, pitting
you against wyverns from the console series
with no preamble required.
In a way the game feels like an abstract shoot'em-up,
placing you against boss after boss, each
with their own unique strengths, weaknesses
and attacks that must be mastered. Sadly,
any sense of strategy is completely eliminated
by being able to tackle most of the creatures
by simply walking up to and attacking them
directly. Thankfully this only provides basic
progression and those looking to unlock additional
weapons and armor will need to study their
foes to dodge attacks, counter blows and 'break'
precious trophies from the wyvern you're fighting.
The controls are simplistic and while the
game's combat initially resembles that of
Infinity Blade, the emphasis is more on your
mobility and less on specific tactical strikes.
Dragging moves your character around the level
while swipes and taps initiate special and
basic attacks in turn. Double finger swipes
will dodge you out of the way of attacks and
if you have an appropriate weapon equipped,
pressing down with two fingers will block.
Annoyingly the gestures are prone to being
interpreted incorrectly (such as blocking
when you want to dodge, moving when you want
to slash), causing some good runs to go up
in flames for no good reason at all.
Although the solo campaign may not present
too much of a challenge, the co-op campaign
(via Bluetooth) is something else altogether.
Fans familiar with these creatures from their
original incarnations will get to experience
the beasts at full force, making tandem combat
far more exciting.
While the visuals certainly aren't completely
polished, the monsters and the monster hunter
are detailed enough, with weapons and equipment
changing your appearance appropriately. To
get the best scores you'll want to unlock,
craft and experiment with different weapon
types, but there's no major incentives to
dive in that far.
Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting isn't quite
the same as its console and hand-held brethren,
though jumping straight to the 'boss' fights
does make this an easier game to pick up for
newcomers and casual gamers. The fun may not
last for long, but battling epic beasts can
fill up the spare moments in the day.
