14 DAY TRIAL // Capcom has announced that Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate will be released in the west sometime during the beginning of 2015, exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system.
The latest installment in the popular Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, places gamers in the role of a hunter that's embarking on a grand adventure, trekking across several new settings, with hundreds of new quests to be cleared on the way.
Players will be able to join their friends in their adventures over the Internet, via the Nintendo Network, for the first time on a handheld device, as well as on local wireless as before. The PSP and 3DS editions of the game allowed online play before, but only through linking to a PS3 or Wii U console.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate introduces an expanded action set that includes much more vertical and lateral movement, as well as fluid climbing mechanics and the ability to ride atop giant monsters.
The game's emphasis on three-dimensional movement makes for a much more rewarding experience than ever before, allowing mid-air attacks and having monsters be much more terrain-aware, being able to use their environment to their advantage while fighting players.
In addition to this, the game has a much bigger focus on adventure and story progression than any previous Monster Hunter game, making for the latest cast of non-playable characters in any title in the series to date.
The game also introduces two brand-new weapon classes, the Insect Rod and Charge Axe, and features a ton of both new and returning monsters, as well as spanning more locations than ever before, making for the most enticing hunting experience in the series yet.
Monster Hunter 4 was one of the fastest-selling Japanese games, having sold a record number of 1.8 million units in its first two days on the market. Since then, the figure rose to over 4 million copies, and the title's forthcoming release in the west will no doubt boost the number by quite a margin.
To celebrate the series' success, Capcom has even organized a temporary Monster Hunter-themed exhibition, called Monster Hunter the Real, held at Universal Studios Japan and featuring a ton of animatronic monsters and weapons and armor from all across the series.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is the enhanced edition of 2013's Monster Hunter 4, due out in Japan this fall, under the title Monster Hunter 4G, and in North America and Europe in early 2015.
