Capcom Puts Monster Hunter Frontier on Han Game
by Sean Mitchuson on November 2, 2008 at 8:08 pm
In Japan, Monster Hunter Frontier is going over pretty well for a semi-MMO. It should more accurately be referred to as Monster Hunter 2nd G with built-in online play, but I’m not here to judge. Famitsu is reporting that Capcom has decided to put their action monster game on Han Game, a company that hosts many of the more popular online games played in Japan.
What I have yet to find out is if they are moving away from Daletto, the company that handles most of the other Capcom-related online offerings such as Street Fighter Online. A visit to their page doesn’t seem to give me the information I’m looking for, or maybe I’m just not seeing it.
This could be a really good move for Capcom. Putting MHF on Han Game will give it a lot more promotion, but at the same time the pay method doesn’t fall in as well with other Han Game offerings. Most of their online properties are free to play, but if you want great items you have to drop cash for them. MHF keeps an older model of paying for 30 days at a time for a ‘Hunter Life Course’.
This may help bring MHF over to the States for those hardcore fans that really want to play but don’t want to get in trouble by trying to hide their IP address just to play. Time will tell.
Source: Famitsu
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4 Comments » |
on November 3, 2008 10:41 am
Monster Hunter Frontier actually quite different from Portable2G… more monsters, different systems and balancing, infinitely more equipment, and most importantly while the Portable games only go up to about Hunter Rank 8, MHF players can go well beyond HR150. That was a very shortsighted judgement on your part.
on November 3, 2008 2:35 pm
It would be shortsighted if Hunter Rank really meant more than the ability to well hunt stronger versions of the same monsters. In 2nd G its Rank 9 by the way.
I play both games and enjoy them but they are very very similar. There is only so much a company can do with a game about killing monsters to collect their body parts for gear.
No something that is different is the wonderful mini game at the bar, that’s not in 2nd G. And the city is different, as if that really matters considering the same type of vendors are around.
on November 3, 2008 3:09 pm
Let me correct my statement above a bit. Hunter Rank also opens up the ability to get stronger armors and weapons, in both games. It just takes less time in 2ndG than it does in Frontier.
on November 4, 2008 12:30 pm
You’re right, although HR doesn’t actually do anything in terms of limiting equipment either. As long as you can get your hands on the materials you can make and wear anything at any time. And yes, thank you P2G does go up to HR9.
Like the minigames you mentioned, there is one major difference between Frontier and the PSP MH games: interaction between hunters outside of mission.
The PSP games are designed with the idea that they players are sitting face to face, and can therefore interact with eachother directly. Frontier on the other hand has to facilitate player interaction. Those minigames you mentioned, as well as contests and hunting events.
Even the post-release support is different… P2G will get new missions now and then, but Frontier gets new weapons and armour, as well as other significant content all the time.
And speaking of equipment, the balancing for armours strength and skills is VERY different from P2G. In MHF you can get amazing skillsets that featuring a huge list of powerful skills are impossible to get in one set in P2G. And now they’re even bringing out these weird ranged weapons that let players choose between the safety of a long weak weapon, or the super attack power of a risky short weapon.
And then comes the question of why you even need these (compared to P2G anyways) super powerful equipment. It’s because while the 100s of HR levels doesn’t affect your character directly, it does indicate the difficulty of the game. If P2G had missions as hard as the later ones in MHF, I’m sure we’d be seeing some of the same crazy armour sets as we do in MHF. But we dont. Thats the different between HR9 and HR100+
Sure in general both games look generally the same, and for a while they even play the same, but endgame P2G is VASTLY different from endgame MHF. Add in all the online community supporting elements, and you can see why I feel it’s so wrong to say MHF is just P2G with built-in online.