Unit_DTH

I have a duo, have since last year's release. It is definitely a 1st gen device, lots of issues until after the first 2 updates, still has issue at about 4-6 updates (OS updates). Lots of neat features, especially using a surface pen and now this game pass feature (streaming only) is a nice addition, but honestly... really not worth the price in it's current state, worst phone camera in any current market phone that I have ever used. Save your pennies and get something else, like a surface Pro, that you can play xbox games on. Touch controls are still Dog Balls and pretty much make any shooter just trash using them.

You know, it does seem like an unnecessary app, but I have to say the developer saw a need (albeit not a realistic one for the hardware) and tried their best to fill that need. So, I applaud them for putting this out and taking the time to make this app! Well done.

Honestly, I'm not expecting Nintendo to announce anything as big as BotW 2, or even follow up with info about Metroid Prime 4, so I am looking forward to it, but I have plenty of trepidation.

Most likely they will focus on the game builder app and Splatoon 3, and possibly new Smash content... but I will be shocked if we get anything really "Meaty" from E3 2021.

It is actually a beautiful and fun game, hindered entirely by touch screen controls. I am looking forward to playing it with physical controls.

@Skid I've been playing the series since the PSP and I think what Rise really brings to the table is the removal of the wasted space for items like paintballs, and psychoserum to find the monsters (don't even get me started on the annoyances of farm quests and trying to find all of those stupid hidden items without Rise's map system). It streamlines the hunting process, better than any previous entry and with the wirebug it has made all weapons much faster to use, i.e. getting knocked on your butt and being able to wirebug out and redraw your weapon and jump right back in to the fray. There have been gripes I've had over the years with some of the minutia of the series, but they have fixed everything that annoyed me... except a proper lock-on camera for the monsters. Even World fell short in that one, but not nearly as badly as some of the first entries with NO lock on capabilities for the camera at all, not even the current "snap to" function. Just hope to god that you could move the camera fast enough to avoid a bolt of lightning or a deadly lunge from a monster. Glad to hear that this iteration is bringing new hunters into the fold.

Also, world was ok, but failed far too often. Especially if you had been playing MH since the beginning.

@Octorok385 I was noticing that as well. Iceborne actually didn't even break the full 7mil mark. Which means that Rise has the potential to crush World's sales easily.

@Kidfunkadelic83 Same with the hammer.
It leaves you wide open while charging, but with the wirebug you can get positioned for a charge hit much quicker and more precisely.

@Ralizah It took World two years to clear 16.8Mil, that's across Consoles and PC... over two years. This is a timed exclusive on a single console and has already sold 5 million units. I'm hopeful that it will surpass world's numbers within the two year mark. Especially if they continue to add content to the game expanding the experience as they did for World.

Themes, FOLDERS, and the in-depth activity log are the features that I really want to see... soon.

@Realness Do the training missions for each weapon, especially switch axe - if that's gonna be your main. And remember... wirebug, wirebug, wirebug. It will save your life and give you massive damage with the switch axe. Charge Blade is similar, so you might wanna try out the training with both. Good Hunting!

Seriously, this should give you an idea of how popular this franchise is over in Japan and why all of the western fans (myself included) love this game as well. I would love to have this Friday off just to play this game, but alas... I have responsibilities and Children and work :/

While this will most likely get shutdown by Nintendo, I would love to try it out. It looks incredible!

Aaaaand... cue the cease and desist order.

@Auenegheps Mostly people that lack Online capabilities. It gives the game more meat if you play mainly offline.

@SmaggTheSmug The first demo made me feel like that, but after it was updated I went back through all of the training quests and really dove into learning the mechanics. Once I got the hang of them, the game really came alive. Just exploring the locale with the wirebug becomes super fun and intuitive. Once using that mechanic clicks, the game really comes alive. I hope that you give it another chance.

@VoidofLight I think that World was a wonderful entry style MH game and brought in a wealth of new blood to the franchise, which kind of reinvigorated the series for me and this game seems to take that formula one step further. Even the Monster Riding tutorial and the Wirebug tutorial were intuitive and helpful. I imagine that they learned a LOT about what helps people get into the game faster from MH: World. I'm glad Rise doesn't have the stupid Monster finding bugs... Those were the worst and constantly dropped off the trail to show you a footprint or a d***ed blastnut. lol

@BenAV Honstly, I wasn't overly impressed with my first play-through of the demo, but after it got updated... I am completely sold on it. The gameplay, especially in multiplayer is much faster than previous entries and the Wire-bug and terrain travel that it brings into this game is incredible (once you get the hang of it, which is not quickly). While I can understand anyone's trepidation with this new title and it's mechanics, it genuinely feels like the next evolution for the series and helps the way you fight monsters to fully evolve into something that isn't as stale as previous entries, including world.

@VoidofLight Mostly true, but you do get to experience, via this game's updated demo, what the gameplay will be like during the hunt... which is actually the main point of the game. Hunt, kill, harvest, repeat. The customizability that this review talks about seems like it would be something that would be hard to showcase in a demo and give the player enough of the gameplay to actually entice them. With the full game it isn't a "one or the other" type of setup, but with a demo it is. The developers choose what will give potential players, new and old, the best taste of the title. I doubt that just building and trying on armor and weapons would be that enticing to any potential new players, or even veterans of the series. Honestly, the Charge Blade setup in the demo is the worst setup I have ever tried in the entire MH series, but that doesn't mean that a newcomer wouldn't enjoy it.

@BenAV Sooo... you did notice that there is a very in-depth demo available for this game, right? One that allows you to experience many of the things listed in this review. Did you try it out? I would recommend that, instead of blindly pre-ordering it without testing it out.

The headline for this article is criminally unreadable!!

@Shadowthrone Which is interesting since Fortnite and a multitude of other games, when played in handheld mode, have their own integrated VC.

Or, just hear me out cough Nintendo cough... Make voice chat an integrated part of your system like on every other G*****N console, PC, Iphone, Ipad, Tablet, etc. device out there you FECKING MOOKS!!!

Was there really any doubt that this game wouldn't live up to whatever trepidatious "hype" people had for it??? This game that looks like Carnival games decided to try and put a story in it's nonsensical game world, has held no interest to me, but as I always say... If you enjoy this type of game, I hope that you have fun with it!

Here's some future insight, Don't let EA playtest your games if you want to keep your content "original" or just plain keep your content YOUR content. But both characters are generic af, kinda reminds me of one of the characters from Borderlands. Maybe there is a lawsuit there? Either way, the similarities are striking, I mean they both look like d-bags that have a 10-cent smile that has a little shimmer effect on it when they win a round.

I loved the last doom on Switch and have really been waiting for this one to come out... looks like I know what I'm gonna be hooked on for the next month or so.

Laughing hysterically Wait, Wait... No gatherings of more than 10 people, but they are gonna have a parade?!?!?! What a joke!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Anybody else notice the Gore Freaking Magala??????!!!!!!????
Can't wait to be disappointed by this one, even if the monsters just make it eye candy... I'm in.

@nessisonett Agreed! There are enough resources online that give clear direction on what good game making/coding practices should be followed that excuses are hard to come by... at least good ones. Yes, 1 person can make a great, fun, game but it is really hard to do without any input from outside sources, i.e. playtesters (that aren't gonna tell you what you wanna hear), artists that will truly critique your work (this part can get painful), and sound engineers that will listen to your Sh*te soundtrack and tell you how to fix it. So, the one man team comes down to one person listening to what many others have to say and then making something based on good direction. It's never as simple as, "I have a great video game idea!" those are a dime a dozen and ideas are cheap, implementation and creation are hard!

Aaaaand... it's another big time pass for me. Just looks like all the other low-res pixelart roguelikes that seem to be flooding the Switch right now.

@RetroOutcast apparently ppl don't remember any of the 2d retro titles, i. e. Super Mario bros., Rush'n Attack, Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, etc.

Please, don't misunderstand. I love retro games and even retro inspired games ( I guess technically I am retro) but we are just being inundated with these bland looking games. I'm pretty sure that there is a genre outside of metroidvania/roguelike/sidescroller... aren't there?

@RetroOutcast I agree with you, too many clone looking games these days that looked like they were made in the first iteration of MS Paint. I understand time and money constraints, but it just seems like a flood of the same style.

@Yanina Agreed. Sorry I'm done with the super pixelated run-of-the-mill games, it is being way overdone. I have plenty of them, now let's try making games with some higher pixel counts and pretty scenery even. I know that sounds hateful, but it is just overkill at this point.

@FargusPelagius I agree with you about the minigames, they were far funnier and more interesting in 1 vs. 2.

@MisterMan I use the "lock-on" camera in every version, but it is more of a "focus" camera on every one before MHW, I use the right control stick too much for it to be of real use anyway.

@FargusPelagius the driving wasn't totally boring but it did get tedious sometimes and didn't add a whole lot to the game since the main overworld wasn't very densely populated, this was my original opionion when playing this on the Wii and it still stands.

Both of the NMH games are super fun, the one specifically for the Switch is ok, but didn't grab the fun of the original 2. Since they brought both of these I would love to see Platinum redo(HD) MADWORLD... that was a hilarious and gorey game!

@N8tiveT3ch It will probably be a little more polished, but honestly I still play MHGU on the switch more than I play World, so graphics are great and all, but gameplay still holds the crown with these titles.

@Dm9982 I feel your pain! I've never had much luck with anything other than a hardline with remote play for my ps4. Good luck on finding the time. Gonna have to find a break between Dragon tales and spongebob to get the job done.

@JaxonH I didn't see the owl bit which Iis a good enough addition and if the maps are like World, which it appears they are, then it will most likely be helpful. Honestly, I just can't wait to play this game!

@Dm9982 Remote play with Vita will never work that well, lol... I spent a LOT of time trying to get my whole setup configured and it is just not ideal for streaming playing unless you are playing PvZ or something akin to that. Using PS Remote play via a Laptop and a PS4 controller works pretty well though and I feel your pain with the TV being real estate owned solely by my kids... lol. Good luck!

@JaxonH I would like to see the use of Paintballs for tracking still and get rid of most of the bug systems from World... those really tainted the experience for me. It makes the hunt that much more tense if you can lose track of the monster and have to search again for the darn thing, allowing it time to regain it's composure and strength, which then elongates the battle. I dunno maybe I'm just a whiner, but if it worked why change it? I understand world was meant to bring new players into the fray, but the option to use classic style hunting (not regarding the map sections) and easy (noob bugs and the like) then it would have a been a better all around experience. Beautiful game, just some bad execution. I haven't tried Iceborne, I have it just haven't dived in... I will give it a try on your reccomendation.

@NGNYS Did you play MH:World? This game is looking almost identical to the setup they had in World.

@asdf0987 From the looks of it, with the use of the wirebug system it will allow any weapon to be used akin to the insect glaive... which is a very mobile weapon that allows multiple different types of attack, defense, and aerial.

@SwitchForce interestingly enough many ppl do just what you stated about cars, it's called leasing and it is the same type of thing.

@SwitchForce Thanks for sharing the video! A good explanation video. This is something I learned while developing a few years back. It is a despicable practice and it is leaking over into the "physical" versions of games as well, due in no small part to the need for a day one patch or perpetual updates... this is how they enforce their EULA with physical titles.

@Slowdive I agree with you about saying "No" to complete corporate ownership, but you must note that a LOT of modern games require you to sign (or agree to) some type of EULA and in most of those it notes that the company itself has the right to take back "their game"(in essence)... this is even present on many disc/cart based titles cough All EA titles today cough

So the real issue is how do we, as the consumers, get viable ownership of a title that we purchase - or believe that we have purchased? As it currently stands we are all just putting quarters in an arcade cabinet that resides in our homes, we get to play the game, but just like in an arcade it still doesn't truly belong to you.

Kinda disappointing and brings in a large amount of politics and consumer rights issues, but nobody seems to be listening or thinking of it in that manner. As long as the corporate beast is fed and we pay our dues, we can play as long as we like.

@sanderev True they are more open to it, especially after seeing the success of VG series turned TV Series, i.e. Castlevania and The Witcher. But from all the articles surrounding the Super Mario Movie, it seems that they are still a bit trepidatious since they are having Miyamoto personally oversee the upcoming title. Seems like they still aren't totally convinced, which is a shame, because we need a Metroid movie/Series.

Here's to hoping they release their iron grip and allow some creative freedom with their beloved IPs.

@sanderev They were supposedly in talks, Netflix + Nintendo, to do a Zelda series earlier this year... but that kinda vanished, or Nintendo did the old "just the tip" and then ran away with their IP snuggled tightly to their chest, leaving netflix to wonder what the hell just happened. Honestly, Nintendo green-lighting that Mario brothers movie abomination years ago has really made them gun-shy about letting anyone use their IPs outside of video games, save "Wreck It Ralph's" use of Bowser.

@SigourneyBeaver Hah, well said!