I've never done a game review before but Monster Hunter is a game worthy of going out on a limb for and this is really my opinion of the demo and how it holds up to the previous titles of the series.

What is Monster Hunter? Big evil monsters which you appropriately beat the living hell out of with equally big and evil weapons. Show them no pity because they will give none to you, especially as you progress to the third tier of difficultly. One shot, instant death territory XD.

First off, I am lousy with the new weapons, namely the insect glaive and the Charge Shield - the [sword+Shield/Axe] cousin of the [Great Sword/Axe] Switch Axe. I don't think they're broken so much as that I don't have skill to use them right. The combos and pole-vaulting of the insect glaive is awesome but the jump in particular i had trouble getting to trigger off exactly when I need it and i fear such a gimmicky move is likely to get me burned to a crisp in a serious hunt when the game is fully out (some day in Feburary so i've heard),

What most fellow monster hunters will notice is the fluid animation of your hunter, No more staggering after a spiriting leap. No more slow ass climbing up vines and cliffs. The hunter is now able to leap small ledges and hit the ground running at full sprint and can now literally leap up walls when the sprint button is pressed rather than the mere speed boost of previous tiles. This is very important as alot of the newer monsters in this game move very fast and climb/leap with ease. Some zones have 2 or even 3 platforms in them so being able to get above or below your target will be crucial to your attack strategy.

Next up is Armours. *drools*

It appears that wherever in world this Monster Hunter takes place, Hunters seem to be revered and/or seen as knights. This can be seen in alot of the new armour designs. I'd rather the armours look more organic and show traits of the creature they were made of personally (and some still do) but even I must admit they look nice and more importantly, alot of them even have Capes! Ever wanted to roleplay as Guts with a great sword while beating the crap out of Rathalos? Well now you can! Even some of the old armours have been redesigned with caps and a more 'knighty' feel. The demo in question shows the new "Yian Garuga" armour (complete with a naginata made of the same parts XD).

Two other armours shown which still look the same are the dark blue & gold Damacus armour and the mighty Diablos Armour (with the Diablos lance ofc). The new armours shown cannot be named because status is disabled in the demo and i wouldn't want to spoil them anyway. Assuming there are any of you left that haven't read the monster hunter wiki for years and not cried tears of envy at all the extra games and expansions the japs horde to themselves >_<

And lastly, "mounting".

In MHU4 you can jump onto a monsters back and repeatlt stab it with your carving knife. When I first heard of this, it sounded so stupid. I could understand carving (even mining) off big leviathians like Jhren Morhan, Shao Goaren and Lao Shan Lung, but even small boss monsters? really??

However, after seeing the demo in multiplayer, seeing a fellow hunter trying to pony ride a Great Jaggi is absolutely hilarious. Its not just a gimmick for a cheap carve either. Randomly jumping on the monster for shits and giggles is pointless and wastes time as the beast will throw you off, as it will should any teammate attack it. However, should you do it while the beast is stagger or already down, you can stab it and knock it down the same way a headstun would knock it down. There are also specific monsters where you need to jump on it to prevent something happening. No spollers on which monster it is. XD

So that covers my opinions of the demo so far. Its looking great and even with my awful internet the multiplayer was very smooth and simple to set up. Merely tell you friends anywahere in teh world teh 14 digit code to your lobby and the password if there is one and boom, your off slaying beasts!

Can't wait and hope to play with some other people on the forum sometime XD.

Later!

*Quest Failed. Malinter fainted 3 times.*

I never get plate drops XD