Monster Hunter Portable 2nd for the Sony PSP has sold over a million copies in Japan, and Capcom plans to bring it to the U.S. this fall in the form of Monster Hunter Freedom 2. Featuring more depth and most importantly, more creatures to slaughter, gamers will find a lot to love.

In the game, players fight their way through a number of environments while battling all kinds of monsters, both big and small. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 puts a new background-loading system to use, making the transition from area to area move more efficiently.

The original Freedom offers a healthy amount of customization options and quests. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 nearly doubles that, overhauling the amount of content featured in the original game. More items and accessories have become available in the customization menu, with seven hundred different weapons and fourteen hundred armor items to choose from. However, those not up to fighting through the game's two hundred and fifty quests can rest at ease in the game's new Pokke Village, taking their hand at farming and socializing with the locals.

Freedom 2's in-game combat works in a similar fashion to the original game's set-up. Players outfit their soldier with a weapon of choice before they go adventuring. Moves can usually be pulled off by tapping the triangle and circle buttons, initiating vertical, horizontal and diagonal attacks. Furthermore, fights take place any time, day or night, through a series of pre-created maps.

Players can tackle all of these quests on their own, but the real joy comes from multiplayer. Four players can join a party at once, each bringing individual strengths and monster-bashing skills to the table. The recently shown demo supported AdHoc with minimal problems, as four attendees took part in a session without any hiccups. The game will also support a two-player co-op mode called Treasure Hunter, forcing players to work together at collecting desired loot in a limited amount of time. Finally, Monster Hunter Freedom 2 supports Infrastructure play, giving gamers access to additional downloadable content. Capcom didn't go into details, but gamers should expect new quests and monsters. New items for the customization mode wouldn't be a bad way to go either.

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 continues its monster-hunting ways in a few months and fans shouldn't hesitate to buy it. GameDaily will post its monster slaying review as soon as the game drops.

Related Links

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 Game Guide

Capcom