Having played monster hunter since Freedom Unite on the PSP I've been through maybe 5 or 6 of them at this point. I had initially taken one look at World and seen it as a 'dumbing down' of the concept, but I'm glad I gave it a chance.

The result was a very pleasant surprise as everything is so much more streamlined. I thought the scout flies would oversimplify tracking, but rather they act as a guide through the vast, beautifully detailed environments letting you soak in the atmosphere without worrying about navigating their dense, complex paths.

The core aspects are there - weapon variety, slow tactical clunky combat, and iconic monsters with complex behaviour. This entry really feels like it's trimmed the experience down to what really matters while maintaining some of the 'work' that the series is famous for.

Only being able to select Palico equipment from your room is annoying, and every NPC needing to spout dialogue before every key menu is tedious, but these little things are more than made up for by the visuals. From the environments, to the armour sets, animations, and cut-scenes everything is beautiful in HD.

The story is nothing to rave about, but MH hasn't ever been about that. The hunts are the stars of the show and they're done justice from low to high rank. I've heard that Rise goes too far in the same direction so maybe it was worth saving world for a special solo play-through.