Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

MH:World is a game by Capcom, it has nothing to do with world of warcraft and it's not an open world game. There, let's start with setting your expectations. It's a game where you - hunt monsters.

The game is divided in large zones, and hunts are done either solo or in small teams with up to 4 players. In fact, the missions play much like Warframe. An average mission in MH:W will take anywhere between 5-50 minutes, so it's not a "quick rush" like Warframe. Other similarities with warframe include a wide array of weapons, but that's really kind of where the comparison ends.

Your first hunt

You're dropped onto an island where various prehistoric and demonic beasts roam. Look for footprints and gain knowledge about their whereabouts. You'll quickly realize the character depth of most NPCs is about as shallow as their names. This is intentional, the main heroes of the story are the monsters and the combat that surrounds them.

The monsters are big. Some as tall as, well - the size of a prehistoric monster basically. You start the game off with a stack of basic weapons to choose from, and if you've also gotten the Iceborne expansion then some decent armor.

Combat is fast paced, fluid, random and unforgiving. These are wild monsters after all. As a beginner you probably want to go straight for the BIG SWORD - don't. The big sword is slow, and will leave you vulnerable to attack. There are literally hundreds of guides and tutorials out there and you're highly encourages to view them. You can bash buttons and do fairly well "up to a point", but combos and special moves linked to each weapon type will make you shine.

Graphics

Graphically the game is very solid, and there's a free high res texture pack available from the developer which will put your system to the test. Be prepared to be impressed with fur, monster habits and their interactions with the rest of the world - even the snow as you walk through it.

Take a moment every so and then to just look around. Jump into some water or be mellow in a hot spring. Until you get charged by an angry monster and need to either fight or run for your life. Yes, getting chopped up in two hits is a very real danger for a monster hunter.

Aside the free HD-texture pack there's also a variety of extra hairstyles, house decor items and vouchers you can grab as "free dlc". Which instantly puts you to an awareness that there's also paid-dlc available for this game. Luckily these are generally no more than 1$ a piece, and completely optional. (no pay to win here)

The combat

I can't finish this review without touching on the combat in specific. As I mentioned earlier - you can bash buttons and do fairly well, but... You should decide pretty early on if you want to play this game with a controller (recommended) or mouse and keyboard. Being the stubborn pc gamer that I am, I had to go with the mouse and keyboard. Most guides will show you Triangle and circle, L2, R2 etc in terms of how to play - which is because this game is primarily a console game that was later ported to PC.

Some basic examples of weapon combos:
OOO = 3x Left mouse button (LMB) performs a basic slash, cross slash and circle slash with the sword and shield.
VVV = 3x Right mouse button (RMB) performs a cross slash diagonal slash and shield bash.
But,. you can chain combos!
VVVOOO = a good 6 hits in a row, nice n fast.
And then there's Guard, OOO + VVV, O+V for a spin attack, and various interactions with the environment.
You can even Guard + Back + V to perform a charge attack which may be followed by either V or O to perform a special move,. and well. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

There are 14 different weapon types, and each has their own set of moves to learn and master. Each weapon has a WIDE array of weapon elements and may be crafted from the parts of monsters you hunt/kill/capture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtThCk6qu3Y

Both Monster Hunter: World and Monster hunter World: Iceborne are available in the Humble store, fanatical, steam and various other places.

The game receives various updates and free content updates throughout the year and should keep you occupied for a good while. It's an action packed multiplayer game with fast paced combat and very detailed graphics.

Release date: 9 Aug, 2018

Minimum system specs: Windows 7+, Intel core i5 4460 or greater, 8 GB ram, Nividia geforce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R7 260x or greater with 2 GB video ram, DirectX 11 and up, Broadband internet and at least 48 GB disk space.