Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is the highest-selling PSP game in Japan, shifting around 1.3 million copies. You’re asking the exact same question as us: is the world coming to an end? Well, maybe. It’s happened a million times in the past, but we still don’t understand how such an average title can achieve such sales.

It just doesn’t deserve it. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 maintains a fierce loyalty to the established formula of the series; gather comrades, choose a quest, hunt and return home for a reward. With any luck, the majority of you would have discovered this very game hidden in another, much better title, known as Final Fantasy XII. Unfortunately, Capcom saw fit to once again turn this outdated franchise into a soggy PSP chore, when it could have brought some much more desirable franchises to the console (Devil May Cry and Resi, anyone?).

Little has changed since the original. After a brutal attack from an ugly monster, your character falls off a cliff but is saved by some local villagers. From there, you hunt for the monster that robbed you of your precious dignity. Sadly, it’s going to take a while, as the entire world is infested with violent monsters, and to reach the one that attacked you originally, you’re going to have to battle them all. Ugh. It makes us unhappy just talking about it.

Let’s march into more opinionated terrain, shall we? Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is agreeable in the graphics department, but there are only a few upgrades over the original’s presentation. A fairly detailed set of characters and settings occupy the world, but Capcom has designed them with an apparent disinterest, creating mountain ranges that look dull, or jungles that you’d happily ignore. Since the setting is more tedious than an AOL trial CD, you’ve got a good reason to avoid the game completely.

The monsters, which could have rescued the game, look defective. There should be a triumphant range of well-designed creatures in Monster Hunter Freedom 2, but they all look rushed and ugly. Aside from the main monster having the body of an obese turtle and the head of a TRex, pink gorillas occupy the jungle and bulls can be found in every environment. Unintentionally, the game makes you hate these foes more than you ordinarily would, simply because their design, combined with their effective ways of murdering you, is a disgusting prospect.

The gameplay isn’t the saving grace, either. There could have been some solid combat here, but the controls are distressing. Using the nub to move while you rack up a slow combo is horrid, because the enemies tend to pound on you from behind while you wait for your combo to finish. There’s no quick reaction gameplay as in Devil May Cry, but a rather cumbersome battle system that limits your skill. Being unable to turn during a combo is mentally upsetting, so you’re going to have to rely on your buddies to watch your back while you fend off foes with a large club.

Which, at last, leads us to a reason to play Monster Hunter Freedom 2. The majority of the quests are too difficult for the average man (aside from collecting herbs, of course), so teaming up with your chums is the way to go. This won’t deceive you into praising the game, but it will ease the pressure of the quests and maybe instigate a few laughs into the equation. Still, the idea of sharing such an experience can be likened to that of a person who marries before death: it makes an uncomfortable experience that little bit more manageable, simply because you have somebody to share the pain with.

Okay, that was a bit melodramatic, but you get the idea. The only way to enjoy Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is to put in the hours, with each battle becoming more rewarding over time, but only just. A game that asks you to gather friends with both the game and a PSP is demanding enough, but a game that bullies around 50 of your hard-earned hours out of you is asking too much. The quests don’t really improve as time goes on, either, with the same objectives surfacing even in the hardest depths of the game.

There is still some fun to be had, with the fishing and cooking mini-games coming to mind, as well as the weapon upgrades. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is just a bit outdated, unfortunately, and the lack of online play isolates the boredom that’ll meander on your PSP. The exploration is still lame, while the unfair combat system is a constant problem, no matter how many hours you put into it.

We’re glad to be done with Monster Hunter Freedom 2, but we accept that some people will find this game rewarding. For the majority of you, however, we suggest you ignore the Japanese example and pick up something more likeable for your PSP. You’ll thank us for it.

Samuel Roberts