Monster Hunter Generations

If you're a Monster Hunter fan, you know the loop: gather, hunt, upgrade, repeat. In fact, you repeat until your war chest is bursting with different options to tackle any boss, from mind-altering owls to fire-breathing dinosaurs to bleed-inducing crabs. Monster Hunter Generations is the latest title in the series, coming on July 15th. Our review should hit sometime before release, but right now let's take a look at some of the cool additions and tweaks to the series that players will find interesting during their initial 10 to 20 hours with the game.

A major feature new to Monster Hunter Generations is the addition of four distinct Hunting Styles. While no new weapons are being added to the franchise in this title (well, unless you count playing as a Palico, which we will get to later), there are many new ways to use the big 14.  If you want to play the game similar to Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate or you're completely new to the series, Guild style is the most balanced and all-around winner. Striker Style is another simple one for players comfortable with the series, allowing you to bring 3 hunter arts into the field. Incidentally, these hunter arts are also new – special abilities that require the player to charge a bar through combat, which can then be unleashed for devastating effects, big heals, or other game-changing boosts. Lastly, we have a few completely crazy styles that are more suited for veteran hunters and those looking for completely new ways to approach combat.

If you're more experienced with game mechanics and you're looking to dunk on dinosaurs – literally – Aerial Style gives you a suite to work with perfect for smashing monsters from above, along with many more opportunities to mount and topple the big beasties. Finally, there is the style for true Monster Hunter pros: Adept Style. Adept Style is the most challenging and precise combat style, generally hinging on perfect timing when it comes to counterattacks, guards, and dodges.

Let's talk about Palicoes (The little cat companions that never stop meowing. Like, never.) You can actually go full cat in Monster Hunter Generations, complete with an unlimited stamina bar and unique cat attacks. But way, way more interesting in my opinion is the fact that the Palico system in Monster Hunter Generations is in-depth and rich, perfect for single-player Monster Hunters that are looking for some serious assistance from feline companions. Palicoes come in a variety of different archetypes: fighters, bombers, gatherers, healers, and more.

These core kitties can then be outfitted and altered to your heart's content, with meaningful gear you forge from the scraps of your own weapon and armorcraft, and a massive list of both active and passive special effects to use in combat. You can even mix and match abilities to create the purr-fect kitten by having your cats teach each other moves, like having your healer teach a fighter a healing skill to round out boomerangs and beatings. You're going to want to get a big stable of Palicoes fairly early on as well, since you can use them for a lot of other things outside of your two combat sidekicks, like sending them out on missions to gather resources or having them trade with neighboring farms. If you're not careful, you may spend more time on your Palicoes than you do on your armor, and that speaks to the strength of the system this time around; they can be made into incredibly useful combat companions instead of simple targets to distract monsters.

Monster Hunter Generations takes players on what is almost a "greatest hits" from the series, featuring classic villages, monsters, and other fare loaded with nostalgia as well as some new surprises. Our full review will be posted sometime before the game's official launch on July 15.