Thinking about picking this up as they are selling a duel pack for $15. Never played Monster Hunter and looking for opinions. Thanks.

Love Monster Hunter myself, but first if you're thinking of getting it for the PSP it's Monster Hunter Freedom Unite you'd want, the updated version with more content and features.

Monster Hunter plays sort of like a hack and slash game where you accept missions to hunt monsters in various areas for money, matierials for crafting and to progress to the next set of quests. You usually end up fighting some monsters multiple times to farm the materials required to craft a weapon or a set of armour. There are numerous weapon types and while a few may bear some similarities to other types, the all require certain playstyles to use correctly, which may affect their effectiveness against monsters.

The game can take a bit of getting used to. It's not a simple hack and slashy game and the PSP controls and how the weapons handle can take a bit of getting used to. The actual hunts can be quite difficult, and the internet is your friend when it comes to finding out the best armour and weapons to use

I feel like i've rambled a bit, but I hope that helps

Thanks - The Duel Pack is MH2 Freedom and MH2 Freedom Unite. Rambling is fine and thanks for the info.

I was in a similar position when I bought it, having never played any games in the series before, and I absolutely loved it.

The gameplay is challenging but rewarding. Fighting the various monsters consists of learning their different attacks and how you should dodge them and when your safe to attack. You will probably fail missions where you encounter new enemies the first few times but each time you try you'll get better and when you succeed it's very satisfying. From there you skin the defeated foe for materials to craft new weapons and armor.

There's plenty of different weapon types in the game that each have their own feel and you have the option of melee or ranged.

It doesn't really have a story from what I remember, I played it a few years ago, but I always found myself wanting to overcome the next challange that faced me.

There's plenty more to it as well and for that price I'd definately recommend it.

Glad I could help

Also I forgot to mention, the handheld games only support local play via the system's wireless, but it is possible to play online using the PS3's Ad Hoc Party or XLink Kai, which I am not familiar with. I haven't actually use either of them due to being too lazy to set them up and just stuck to playing singleplayer.

Thanks all for your input - I picked it up and am looking forward to giving it a go.

If you like Monster Hunter, I would also suggest picking up a copy of Gods Eater Burst. It's really fun, the monsters are huge in this game, you have crafting and custom bullets and on and on. The game is set in a post apocalyptic environment.

I tried Monster Hunter before on the PSP and I was sort of meh about it, but Gods Eater Burst is really well done. Try it out.

Thanks for the heads up on this - it looks and sounds fun. However, I will need to wait for a price drop ;-)

Stay away from Lord of Arcana, Square's attempt at a monster hunting game. I am not using the word "attempt" lightly, either. It's overpriced, the monsters are rather cheap like the boss monster that shrinks you down to minuscule size and then roflstomps all over you while you try to move at the speed of molasses. Go with Gods Eater.

Gods Eater offers two styles of fighting: either with a gun or a sword. You can craft both types of weapons. The monsters are huge and even though you'll be fighting them more than twice, the fights are never quite the same.