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PS2
Monster Hunter 2 dos
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NCS
Game Synopsis
«©NCSX» Dust
off the rawhide, polish the cutter, and rush out
into the wilds once again to hunt creatures big and
small. Along with creatures who are content to munch
on vegetation, there are others who aggressively chase hunters
who in turn hunt them. The world of
Monster Hunter 2 follows seasonal changes and
hunters experience summer, spring, and winter as
well as daytime and nighttime which brings out
different creatures to hunt. The seasons also
affect the behavior patterns of monsters - for
example, spring is when creatures mate and have
offspring. To account for the seasonal shifts, hunters have
to be versatile and use different tactics to tackle
monsters. A new assemblage of weaponry in Monster
Hunter 2 dos may be
used which affects how the hunter attacks which is
controlled by the R-analog stick to swivel, slash,
and thrust.
There's exploration in the game along with quests with targeted
objectives and sub-targets within the overall
campaign. For example, a quest may require the
capture of a creature rather than its killing and
another quest may be the reduction of the numbers of a
certain species.
The game starts off at a base village when playing in single player
offline mode where players may obtain quests from a
bulletin board of job postings. Establishments in
the village include a bar which is run by a cat, an
outdoor shop of sort where a cat peddles items, and
a weapons shop
which is manned by an old and excitable
grandmotherly type. As more quests are fulfilled and
more hunters visit the village for work, the little
burg expands as new shops open up to handle the
traffic. In addition to the proprietorships, the
player's home is also in the village where items may
be stored and the gamer may return there for peace
and quiet.
NCS Game Notes & Spoilers
» Before the Capcom screen appears, a woodcut
of a beast may be seen.
» The game may be played in Single Player Offline Mode or Network
Mode. Monster Hunter 2 dos utilizes the KDDI mult-matching BB service for
online gaming where players may team up to form
roving gangs of monster killers.
» In the intro to the game, the words "Capcom
Presents" wheels around a glassine surface before
the camera pulls away to reveal a telescope. The
camera then pans around to show that the telescope
is attached to a balloon ship and an old guy with
white beard is peering through the scope. The
balloon ship is not a standard hot-air balloon but a
specialized vehicle with spinning rotor array
directly above the carriage which keeps it aloft.
Next, a bunch of hunters are mongering over the carcass of a beast
when the snow below them rumbles and a white
silver-backed creature with fu-manchu facial hair
rumbles out and attacks. Although it's a leonine
creature, it punches at the ice with its arms and is
capable of stopping weapon attacks with its hands.
The scene changes again and overhead, the old guy in
the spinning balloon sends off a hawk with message
attachment... Scene shift below back to the battle
where a winged creature swoops low and disrupts the
conflict between the hunters and the fu-manchu
creature.
The messenger hawk from earlier flies through the air and lands at
another old guy's place to relay some information
from the first old guy. Scene shift again to a view
of the balloon old dude who is checking things out
while a quartet of hunters run from a winged
dragon-like beasts. As they scramble, the creature
flies overhead and bellows out a harsh scream. Rain
starts pouring down and as they get up, the dragon
is waiting in the distance. The rain stops and the
warriors steel themselves for the coming battle. An
archer pulls back on his bow, looses an arrow at the
dragon while it blows out a billowing stream of
fire. As the twain meet, intro ends and title screen
appears. Afterwards, there's a sight of the dragon
atop a tower flapping its wings while a horde of
winged creatures fly in the background.
» Upon pressing START, the following selections
appear:
NEW GAME / Begin an adventure
CONTINUE / Resume a save game from memory
card
GALLERY / View artwork and cinemas - must be
unlocked before viewable except for the title cinema
OPTIONS / Set sound volume, screen position,
color balance
NETWORK OPTIONS / Enter network settings
CONNECT / Login to game server
» After starting a new game, your sex is chosen
along with your name, clothing, facial type, hair
type and color, as well as your voice. To listen to
the voices, press the TRIANGLE button as you're
scrolling through the available selections. Although
the voice actors who were brought in for voice work
don't say anything intelligible during the selection
process, they do grunt and groan a lot.
» There's one facial type and hair type combination
that makes the hero look like Russell Crowe in the
Gladiator movie... if he were Asian. Check it for
yourself: FACE Type 10 (27) and HAIR Type 01 (04).
» After creating the character, you'll be prompted
to save your hero to memory card. After saving and
starting the game, the newly formed hero clowns a
bit with odd and jerky movements.
» As the game opens up, a serene town appears which
shows evidence of hard work everywhere as workers
hammer wooden beams, drivers truck supplies, and men
pack fruit into crates. The people relay the message
of your arrival and their calls travel from work
site to work site until the viewer reaches an old
grandma who is carrying a knot of wood. She directs
the player's attention to a trio - one of the men
walks forward and extends his hand to shake yours.
You're eventually given a letter to deliver to
someone in the village.
» Movement is slow and measured but to speed things
up, hit the R2 trigger and your hero will jaunt
quickly. The camera views the action from an
overhead view to give a good scope of your immediate
surroundings - the camera is so accommodating that
one never feels the need to swivel the perspective
or even reach for the R-analog (not that it works in
this portion of the game) to pan the camera around.
The letter that you're carrying must be delivered to
the cat creature that's located in the little hut
with the drab-green awning on top. It's the one
that's opposite the old lady's hut (master weapon
craftswoman) who gesticulates wildly as she stands
there. If you walk to the back of her shop and run
up the ramp, she'll rush to greet you. If you stand
around, you can watch her work the metal as it comes
out of the furnace. She'll hammer it, inspect it,
and lay her left hand on it as it is tempered and
glowing red/white hot. If you run to the front of
her shop, you can watch as she rushes from the back
and to the front to greet you again.
» You'll receive a Hunter's License from the guy
near the gong and you'll receive another letter to
deliver. After you've purchased what you need from
the cat vendor, run to the left of the screen across
the bridge to reach the beach. Once you're on the
beach, you'll witness a massive waterfall in the
background which pounds into the ocean as white
spray and mist waft through the air. The sound of
gulls echoing in the background may be heard
commingled with the low thudding crash of the
waterfall and the sharper crash of the waves
breaking the shore. On the beach, you'll get to
explore a marooned ship, a few opened treasure
chests and sparse vegetation. If you attempt to
explore further to the right of the screen, a
massive black boulder blocks your way. Maneuver the
R-analog to attack with various strikes but your
weapon only clangs against the boulder while sparks
glance off the rock. Leave that alone for now. To
get some rest, run up to the marooned ship and
approach the back of it with the light purplish
fabric on the wood. Press the O button and hero will
leap backwards into bed and sleep to recover health.
» To escape the tedium, run along the left side of
the screen. A short cinematic sequence will play
which shows a bunch of peace loving dinosaurs
grazing on the flora. If you walk up to them,
they'll act like you're a friend. However, once you
strike a blow and draw splotches of blood, it'll
roar and attack with its spiky tail. It only takes
about 3 blows to kill one of the creatures and it'll
roar out a death cry before floundering to its side
and dying. At this point, you may opt to kill the
other two creatures if you so desire in order to
practice your killing stroke but take too much time
and they'll vamoose since they just witnessed your
blood thirst.
» Once a creature's carcass is prone, walk over it
and press the "O" button to carve out two nice
mutton chops which will lay on the ground when
you're done while the carcass disappears. You'll
have to eat the mutton chops or your stomach will
start growling something fierce as your vitality
slowly drops from lack of food. When stomach is
growling, hero will also clutch his belly in pain as
it makes rumbling noises.
CONTROLS
L-Analog / Movement
R-Analog / Attack
D-Pad / Camera movement
TRIANGLE / Summon virtual keyboard (Japanese
and English / Press L1 to switch between character
sets and symbols)
X BUTTON / While still = CROUCH; While
running = ROLLING DODGE
L1 TRIGGER / Center camera
R1 BUTTON / Guard
R2 BUTTON / Sheath weapon, Run faster
» In the Now Loading screen, a black dragon drifts
over a town in woodcut-style artwork while the
balloon from the intro wafts in the background.
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This document is ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of
National Console Support, Inc.
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