Monster Hunter Freedom 2 - hands-on

MHF2 will enable fans of the original Monster Hunter Freedom to port over their custom-made characters from the first game, but sadly, they won't make the transition entirely intact. You can't, for example, bring over all the weapons you worked so hard to make, although we're told you'll be able to exchange them for certain items that - later in the game - will enable you to craft badass stuff to replace them.

Before you start prematurely mourning your hyper-powerful greatsword, consider that MHF2 promises more than 50 percent more content than the original. That's not even counting the quests and other content you'll be able to download over a wireless online connection. Publisher Capcom also tell us that MHF2 will feature "background loading" for faster load times, although the transitions between environments were still kind of sluggish - just not as sluggish as in the original.

While the PSP's online features will be used to download stuff, for some reason they apparently won't be used for multiplayer; if you want some friends to tag along and give you a hand with your hunts, you'll still need to gather three of them in the same room for a wireless ad-hoc match. Or just one, if you'd rather tackle the new timed, two-player co-op treasure hunt mode. Multiplayer aside, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is already looking to be another deep, addictive and insanely complicated experience, so we're looking forward to seeing more.

Before you start prematurely mourning your hyper-powerful greatsword, consider that MHF2 promises more than 50 percent more content than the original. That's not even counting the quests and other content you'll be able to download over a wireless online connection. Publisher Capcom also tell us that MHF2 will feature "background loading" for faster load times, although the transitions between environments were still kind of sluggish - just not as sluggish as in the original.

While the PSP's onlinefeatures will be used to download stuff, for some reason they apparently won't be used for multiplayer; if you want some friends to tag along and give you a hand with your hunts, you'll still need to gather three of them in the same room for a wireless ad-hoc match. Or just one, if you'd rather tackle the new timed,two-playerco-optreasure hunt mode. Multiplayer aside, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is already looking to be another deep, addictive and insanely complicated experience, so we're looking forward to seeing more.