Keyrock

Downloading on PS4 now... I like that my code had "NARF" as part of it. I am easily amused.

Plus, they have an actually likable protagonist I care about and root for. Also, the cast of characters around the protagonist is much better, the driving is better... Really, everything is better than the first game.

I love that cat sweater, it's amazing. I go back to it from time to time. I gotta go back and finish WD2, I like the game a lot, it's just that MHW has completely taken over all my gaming time right now.

That's not Benny, that's a Palico adventuring party you can send out on their own adventures and they unlock investigations and bring materials back. Those guys are their own team completely independent of my crew, except I can choose what kind of expedition to send them on. Someone need to write a fanfic about this Palico adventuring party. Benny only leads the charge when he chooses to do so, I'm all about charging forward with my obscenely gigantic hammer, though it is useful when Benny distracts the monster so that I can smash it in the butt. I don't tell Benny what to do, Benny acts on his own.

I backed this game forever ago and have waited patiently and guardedly. Unlike some others, the fact that this game takes place in the real world without any fantasy elements is very appealing to me, if for no other reason than it's something we very rarely encounter when it comes to RPGs. Hopefully, this turns out like some other European AA RPGs; janky and lacking a bit in production value, but with depth and character that so many shiny AAA hollow shells lack.

Slowly making my way through MHW. I love how chaotic hunts can get. I was hunting my second Anjanath (to get crafting materials) and I tracked it down and the fight began typically. I was doing fairly well, slowly softening it up, then, from out of nowhere, a Great Jagras, feeling really frisky, shows up. At first I thought this would benefit me, as the 2 giant monsters would fight and I could use the diversion to get in some free shots. While they did scrap, they also both came after me. A Great Jagras, at that point, was no threat to me, on its own. However, it was a really pesky distraction I definitely didn't need while fighting the quite dangerous Anjanath. I just couldn't get the 2 separated so that I could get a 1 on 1 with the Anjanath. Eventually, the Great Jagras ran off in 1 direction and the Anjanath in another. I thought to myself "Great, now's my chance" and followed the Anjanath. Turns out the Anjanath was just taking a different route to where the Great Jagras was to ambush it and I was right back to the same problem as before. A chaotic 3 way battle ensued with me trying to get in pot shots on the Anjanath while trying desperately to avoid both of them. Than a friggin' Rathian swooped down from the sky to complicate things further. The battle spiraled out of control very rapidly and I was mostly just trying to not get trampled. I had to get the Rathian out of there so I led it on a wild goose chase which separated it from the other 2 monsters. Eventually I managed to lose it by going underground. By then I had lost track of the Anjanath and had to search to find its trail again, which I eventually did and was quite relieved to find it had ditched (killed?) the Great Jagas and I could finally face it alone again. In the end, I killed the Anjanath and got my materials, but that was a really crazy half hour or so of chaos.

Thumbs up to the Cavs for managing to get rid of the decaying corpse of Derrick Rose.

**** just got real

I'm trying to not overreact and I know the playoffs are all that matters, but the Cavs look bad and have for a really long time now. Their defense isn't just bad, it's SHOCKINGLY BAD. They need to do something about it or they won't even get to the NBA Finals, never mind have any chance against the Dubs or Rockets.

Sharing a meal with my pal Benny

Capturing monsters seems way more ethical than killing them in MHW. Now, I don't have to slay the creature, I just beat it up really really bad with a giant hammer, then hold it hostage for a while, before releasing it back into the wild. Conscience = Cleared.

I wish I had gotten a better picture of the Barroth when it was closer, but when it was closer, well, I was kind of preoccupied with fighting it and not getting trampled. A cool beer after a successful hunt.

The cynical part of me wonders if the Anthem delay has anything to do with coming up with a nefarious clever scheme system to milk suckers dry give their valued customers a sense of pride and accomplishment while avoiding another PR disaster.

Yeah, MHW has a pretty steep learning curve and the game leaves a lot to be desired as far as tutorials go.

That one is outside near the research HQ, but you can capture creatures and have them as pets and very likely Poogies, since they've been in all the MH games and are sort of a mascot for the series (them and Felynes[Palicos in this game]). You can capture giant monsters too, though you need more than just a net and it's definitely harder than just killing them, but it does net (no pun intended) you much larger rewards.

I've been trying out different weapon types in Monster Hunter World, trying to find my favorite. I started out with the ol' sword & board and it's decent and flexible, but doesn't really excel at anything and the damage is kinda weak. I used a longsword for a while, which is a pretty decent and versatile weapon. I tried the lance for a while, which is exceptional at parrying and really good when fighting a single enemy, since it has the best defensive capabilities of all the weapons and it's fairly easy to keep a single enemy in front of you where your shield protects you. However the weapon is terrible against packs of enemies, since you move at a snail's pace while wielding it, making it very easy to get flanked, and it lacks any sweeping attacks that can hit lots of enemies. I tried the buster sword, which does lots of damage, has a variety of attacks, and allows you to block. It however suffers the same problem as the lance of you moving at a snail's pace while wielding it. I finally settled (for the time being) on the hammer. Surprisingly, the hammer allows you to move around quickly and you can dodge roll with it (you can't parry, though). It does massive damage and it can stun monsters if you hit them on the head (it's also great for breaking body parts). It has both direct straight ahead of you attacks and sweeping spinning attacks that can hit everyone around you, and you can even charge up your powerful spin attack and the super overhead smash while on the run. Of course, there is a drawback (no weapon is perfect), the recovery time after attacks, and especially after charged attacks and combos, is very long, leaving you exposed. Still, it's my favorite so far, and who doesn't want to run around with a ludicrously gigantic hammer?

Oh my goodness, look at the Poogie! And it's wearing a sweater with buttons!

Monster Hunter World has some of the most believable ecosystems I've ever seen in a game. From the ambient sounds to the little critters that scurry away as you move through the brush to the animals all acting in a believable way and having different tendencies. You can sit back and just let the world go on by itself and packs of animals will move to a water source to drink then elsewhere to graze, predators will hunt and weaker animals will scurry away or fight back when cornered. The animal AI is so impressively well done in this game.

Sometimes, when you're out in the field, you stumble across a dangerous monster: Sometimes you make new friends: Also, I got Benny a new outfit: Oh my goodness, he looks so adorable!

Outside of some cutscenes where there is full voiceover, most of the time NPCs will just speak one line and the rest will just be text for you to read. So, I was on an expedition, which let you go out into the field with no time limits and no failure states and you can just explore to your hearts content and complete the main objective whenever and also pick up optional objectives along the way. The point of the expedition was to set up a research camp, so I had to find a good location first. Once I found one it turned out that a Kulu-Ya-Ku (a Dodo-esque giant bird monster that can pick things up to use as a shield and to toss at you) frequented the area. My objective became to eliminate the Kulu-Ya-Ku to secure the site. The battle with the Kulu-Ya-Ku was a lengthy one with many chase/tracking portions as the prey ran away frequently when hurt. along the way I stumbled into an Anjanth (a T-Rex looking highly aggressive monster). The Anjanath attacked the Kulu-Ya-Ku, which seemed every bit as frightened and unprepared for the encounter as I was. Wisely, the Kulu-Ya-Ku turned tail and ran away, then the Anjanath turned its attention to me. I was SUPER not ready to fight an Anjanath, and after taking tremendous damage and barely surviving, I also ran away and after the Kulu-Ya-Ku. Luckily, the Anjanath being quite large, couldn't follow me into certain tighter areas and I managed to lose it then track down and finish the Kulu-Ya-Ku. That was really exciting. I thought I was done for when the Anjanath attacked me and my heart was beating out of my chest. I'll track it down later and kill it, but I need to prepare myself first. Edit: LC, please post a picture of your Palico pal. I am giddy with anticipation.

That's one of the games on my radar. I'm not sure how much I'll actually enjoy it, though, because apparently the story is weak and the main point is essentially hunting monsters (duh). PS. I hate the quote function on this forum. Maybe it's just me, but I have a devil of a time erasing my own original post when I simply want to quote the person who quoted me. The story is throwaway, it always is in MH games. The story is just an excuse for you to hunt monsters. Long battles are the name of the game in MH games. Not every battle will be long draw out affairs, you do get some quests to kill packs of weaker monsters, but a good chunk of the game is hunting down giant strong monsters and these battles tend to be quite time consuming. It's not all fighting, though. First you have to track the creature down. Once you find it you begin the fight and likely get your ass handed to you and either die or run away with your tail between your legs. Then you regroup, prepare yourself better, figure out the creature's tendencies and tells, then try again. Monsters will often run after they are wounded and you have to chase them down and corner them in another area, so these battles often have multiple "stages" with chases and tracking between the stages. I find this type of battle very exciting and gratifying, but it's definitely not for everybody. But yeah, a large chunk of the game is essentially multi-stage, lengthy boss battles. I've only got initial impressions so far as I've only done a few hunts, but I'm loving MHW so far. All the reviews I read and watched before making the purchase said this was the best MH game ever made and so far it's living up to that. I'm really glad the hunting areas aren't divided into sections with loading screens between them any more, instead they're one large, seamless area. It's not really open world, as the areas are labyrinths that have paths to follow rather than allowing you to go in any direction . There are a lot of quality of life upgrades too, like not having to stop to gather, you can just run by many nodes and press the button and you will gather without having to stop. Some things you still have to stop at and play an animation to gather, like bone piles, cutting up killed monsters, and mining nodes, but plants and such can be picked up without having to stop. Also, the game will auto-combine items you pick up that create better items (e.g. potion + honey = mega potion). They've definitely made the game more accessible than before but they didn't sacrifice the depth of the crafting system and the core loop of hunt monsters, carve them up for parts, use parts to make stronger gear, use stronger gear to kill bigger monsters is still there and just as fun as it has ever been.

No self respecting hunter goes on a hunt on an empty stomach. Also, I got some fresh new threads:

The leap in graphic from previous MH titles to MHW is staggering. The last home console MH title was MH3 on the Wii (not exactly a graphical powerhouse) which was later rereleased on the Wii U with the most barebones of graphical upgrades (basically just upscaled). MH4 came out on the 3DS (also not exactly a graphical powerhouse). In comparison, MHW looks 2, maybe even 3, generations ahead.

Far more important than the Super Bowl, the XFL is coming back.