I hope you have a friend. Now that may seem like a strange way to open a games review but to be honest the multiplayer version of this game is the reason why you should buy it.
Also I hope you have a lot of patience.
Why? Well for one thing it takes around 12 mins to load this game on to your PSP – 12 minutes!!!! To an older games player like me that is like going back to the old days of the Spectrum or the Commodore 64 where we used to wait around that time for a game to load onto our machine. But is it worth the wait? In the long run and especially as a multiplayer game I would have to say that is a firm yes but let us not get ahead of ourselves, lets tell you a bit about it first. Essentially Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is an updated improved version of Monster Hunter Freedom 2 that came out last year. It features a whole host of new monsters and a far greater selection of high-level quests. Thankfully for old hands at the game you can transfer your existing character over to this new version. Otherwise please do not think this is going to be a quick game because like most MMO you are going to have to put in a lot of gaming time (something like 24 hours) to get your character up to speed and ready to take on the world. For those of you who haven’t played the game before (and granted it has always been more popular in Japan then in the West) you play the part of a professional monster hunter (as the title suggests) in a gaming universe that is similar to that of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Starting off in the village of Pokke you find yourself living and working side by side with a race of highly intelligent cats that walk on their hind legs. (In previous games you have been able to hire one of these to cook for you etc now you can actually hire them to fight alongside you). Weapons wise there is one of the largest selection available with 11 different classes to choose from. These can be the bog standard sword and shield or a dual-sword or uniquely a gunlance. This is a long metal prod that appears to have an unlimited amount of shells built into it. Very handy and very effective within the game. Gameplay wise it is mission based with each quest and mini-quest having set objectives which get harder and harder as you progress as the beasts get not only bigger but also more frightening and ferocious. As said at the top of the review however, single player may be engrossing and difficult etc but where the game comes into its own is the multiplayer version. If you have a friend with a PSP you really have to get him to purchase a copy of the game as well because then the game becomes almost sublime. It allows up to 4 players to play together and each mission/task becomes a tactical dream as you decide which of you is best at melee tactics or which of you is the strongest heads on fighter etc and you plan to defeat the various beasts together. Sometimes this becomes a lot easier because, for example, if there are four of you playing fighting a four legged beastie then each of you can attack one leg and bring it down with ease. This is quite possibly the game that finally makes the PSP a social gaming machine. While the DS has probably been that for quite a while with numerous DS clubs the length and breadth of the country the PSP has not really had that kind of following. This game could and should change that. Graphically this has to win the prize as one of the best yet featured on the PSP. The landscapes are simply beautiful whilst the monsters are fabulous and the detail that has gone into the individual armour etc is breathtaking. Sound wise there is some excellent sound effects that will raise a smile to your face in places together with a rousing orchestral score. Overall this is without question the game of the year on the PSP. As a single player experience providing you have the patience it is quite simply excellent, however as a multiplayer title it really goes into the outer atmosphere. With incredibly addictive and absorbing gameplay and well over 400 different missions this is not going to be a quick game and you could quite easily be nowhere near finishing this by the time the next one becomes available. One word of warning however, don’t play it at lunchtime at work or on the train to work because it is too easily to get engrossed into it and you will forget to go back or get off the train. The most essential purchase for the PSP in a very very long time. | 
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