Monster Hunter: World Beta Access and Hype!

Free Beta Access Starts December 9

Hold onto your hats, Monster Hunter: World is coming soon!

If you have a PS4, a Playstation Plus Subscribtion, and online access, it's a no-brainer to pre-download the FREE Monster Hunter: World Beta access (you must be online). Unfortunately, the time frame is very limited. I'm hoping that if this is successful (i.e. tons of users), they may even extend the time frame, but don't get your hopes up, we must prepare to be ready and play during the strict time limit which is as follows:

Saturday, December 9: 5 PM UTC (Noon EST) through
Tuesday, December 12: 4:59 PM UTC (11:59 AM EST)

Use this time converter for your zone.

They will present 3 quests, varying from easy, middle and difficult, and if you beat the quests and purchase the product down the road, you get rewards.

From watching all the video clips and information provided by the developer, Capcom itself, as well as prominent Monster Hunter gurus such as Arekkz Gaming and Gaijin Hunter, Monster Hunter: World will be the best of the series. I'm going to pull together the new, improved quality of life features as to why this game will not only be the best Monster Hunter yet, but even a Game of the Year contender.

Graphics and Draw Distance
I'm definitely not obsessed with Graphics, all I'm asking is for clean graphics without jaggies, and today's technology can achieve that, as seen in Gravity Rush 2, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest and I can list so many more games. I'm certainly not saying that better graphics = better game, but if you improve the graphics so drastically within the same series, I think it does improve the game.

Monster Hunter has finally entered 1080p definition, improved from the ridiculously bad 240p (!???!) of the most recent 3DS version of Monster Hunter XX (March 18, 2017). 240p in 2017 is not what I'd call standard graphics on modern day consoles, especially when some gamers are now looking down upon 1080p due to 4K.

Playing the 3DS western version of Monster Hunter XX (Generations), the graphics were so bad that my friend, who was thinking of buying it so he can coop, took one look, got eyestrain and headache, and my hopes of ever playing this series with him was forever dashed, as I thought this will always remain on the 3DS, given the success in Japan. He actually felt bad and said he just couldn't get it because it hurt his eyes and he started getting a headache. 

I think by improving the graphics to the point where it doesn't cause eye strain and headaches pushes Monster Hunter: World ahead of past series.

You only need to look at Arekkz video of the Palico (Cat) armor and weapon set. Look at the

Palico Armor Set from Arekkz Gaming

detail of each armor and weapon set.  A picture is worth a thousand words, so I recommend clicking on the YouTube link for more armor sets! The cat goggles and backpacks are such that I would rush out to get all the materials to make those sets, looking forward to the hunts. I must admit that after awhile, if you need a particular part for your armor, it does get a bit old grinding the same Rathalos (I still have NOT gotten the Rathalos Ruby), but the incentive will be there to obtain parts for those cute goggles!

The other huge problem is the draw distance. I don't have the best vision, but from far away, I thought this blue blotch was the herb I need for the Insect Glaive (I ended up maining the trusty Switch Axe), and upon approach it was the blue Velociraptor. I don't need to explain in detail why this isn't a good feature in gaming. World will have improved draw distance.

Level Design
Monster Hunter has the trademark map with areas that are segmented, so you go from zone to zone, which halts the action as you wait for the map to load. When I saw the gameplay of Horizon Zero: Dawn, I knew I had to get the game, because it was exactly how I wanted Monster Hunter to be. Fighting monsters without having to go to multiple load screens!  I was so excited seeing that 2016 E3 trailer of Aloy, taking down a Thunderjaw, using all the techniques that you use in the Monster Hunter series but without loading. Can you imagine, as you finally dislodge his rocket launcher, he runs away, and you have to chase after him (which is okay, b/c that's very similar to hunting), but then you have to go to load screen and wait a few seconds before you can blast the launcher. Guerrilla Games, the developer of HZ:D, also stated many times that they were influenced by Monster Hunter. Indeed, if you wear all pieces of the Playstation exclusive Aloy armor, your character (regardless of gender) will look like Aloy, and your Palico, a robot machine!

I cannot go into the level design of Monster Hunter: World but it appears that the developers have made a very cohesive world, with carefully thought out ecosystem. From my understanding, they build the world around one central figure, like an enormous tree, so the location has consistent foliage. Unfortunately, I have no clue about ecology, but they have studied various biomes and traveled to different parts of the world such as Australia to create a coherent ecosystem.  

Quality of Life Issues and Features
This is such a long list, such that I need to cut and paste for these new and improved features:

From VG24/7:

Multiplayer
• Offline play is available for solo players. No offline, local multiplayer.
• Multiplayer supports up to four hunters at a time.
• You can drop a flare at any time in the field to summon drop-in, drop-out multiplayer help.
• Multiplayer groups can also form up traditionally before setting out for the field.
• Emotes and in-game chat will be available.

Hunting
• Combat is more fluid with transition affects and escalating combos, such as the bow’s shoot-dash-shoot-dash-special fire arrow combo.
• Scout flies will help you find your target, but only after you uncover clues.
• Monsters can detect players through sight and smell.
• Stealth is a good tactic, but it’s optional.
• The monsters in each zone are arranged in a hierarchical ecosystem.
• Monsters can be lured into fighting or scaring each other.
• Monsters will not always be interested in players until provoked or lured.
• Lock-on is available in combat.
• Damage numbers indicate the effectiveness of attacks – but there are no health bars.
• Status changes will show up as visual effects on your character’s body.
• Mounting progress and success is indicated on the mini-map.
• Mounting attacks sometimes involve primary weapons.
• Mount interrupts can be recovered with a grappling hook.
• You can swim, but there’s no underwater combat.
• Hit boxes are more complex and expose complicated weak points.
• You can continue exploring the field after a successful hunt.

Environments
• There’s a hub town you’ll load in and out of between quests.
• The field is “open world” – that is, zones are seamless. You won’t see loadings screens during quests.
• You can fast travel between base camps in the field, but not during combat.
• Each field contains multiple numbered zones and is about 2.5 times the size of any seen before.
• Environments include interactive objects such as shock frogs, rock fall traps and poison plants.
• You can view the whole map in a menu in addition to a mini-map.
• Monsters can damage environments, opening new paths.

Inventory and equipment
• All 14 weapons from Monster Hunter 4 are present. Tonfas will not return.
• Grappling hook allows access to difficult terrain.
• Grapple also serves as launcher for rocks, bombs and other missiles.
• Weapon sharpness gauge shows decreasing effectiveness.
• You can change gear while in the field at any base camp.
• Capes called mantles have gameplay effects like stealth, lure or poise.
• A quick-use menu allows for rapid item use in the field.
• Traditional scrolling inventory menus are also present.
• You can move while using items like potions, but not sprint.

Miscellaneous
• Palicoes and Palico Armour return
• The E3 2017 demo included a tutorial with fully voiced NPCs and small cutscenes.
• Hunter Arts and Styles, and Prowler Mode will not feature.
• Fictional in-game language can be switched to English or Japanese.
• Global multiplayer servers – no regional gating.
• Gathering is contextual and sometimes instant.

10 More Additional Features from VG24/7:

1. Bounties and investigations: Every quest can now be done either solo or with friends, and will scale depending on how many players are in there. Where once there was filler quests, there are now bounties – instead of needing to go and kill 20 small monsters, for instance, you can just meet that condition while out in the world doing more exciting things. You can carry six bounties at a time. Investigations are optional hunting quests that hand out additional items, which are also new for World. This means that there should be less time spent grinding away at uninteresting objectives. 
2. A clear key quest line: You’re now given a much clearer idea of which quests are essential and what you need to do to progress, thanks to the ‘assigned quest’ list, in Monster Hunter World. It’s now easier to figure out what you need to do next to progress the plot forward. 
3. Daily bonuses: Each day when you log in you can get a bonus item and voucher just for opening the game. Solid! These probably won’t be huge rewards, but they’re a nice incentive to jump in daily
4.  Research levels: The scout flies you bring with you to track monsters level up as you examine things in the world. Eventually they’ll level up to a point where they can simply tell you where a monster in on the map without you needing to look for clues. You’ll also learn more about monsters each time you hunt them, eventually learning their weak points. 
5. House and pets: You will gain access to different houses as you progress this time. You can also get house pets – catch a spider in your net, for instance, and it will be your buddy in the new home you potentially just bought. Cool.
6. The Training Room: There’s now a room…for training. It’s actually very good – plenty of targets to hit, vines to climb, walls to run up, and lots of different tools for testing different scenarios. Arekkz says it’s very helpful and that they’ve ‘thought of everything’. It’s a great place to learn how to use weapons. 
7.  Squads: Basically Monster Hunter now has guilds/clans, which give you access to member-only online sessions and squad icons. 
8. Arm wrestling is back! In the lobby you can start arm wrestling other players at one of the barrels. A lovely little way to pass the time.
9. Weapon and gear previews: You can now try on a whole set of armour before buying, and get an idea of how it will look before you buy. You don’t have to buy a full set of armour only to find that it looks ugly together now.
10. The Wish List: When you mark that you need something for crafty with your Smithy, the game will start tracking it and let you know when you collect the objects you need. Very handy, and saves you from needing to obsessively check yourself. It sounds like the game is generally better at tracking your progress in its many forms now.

Conclusion: This is the perfect opportunity to see if you'll enjoy this GOTY contender! Requirements are PS4, PS+ subscription and online access. Are you excited about playing Monster Hunter: World?