Post by Gilvan Blight on Apr 12, 2007 12:02:26 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Quickly:[/glow] I don't think I like it, yet I can't seem to stop.
[glow=red,2,300]Summary:[/glow] the latest Monster Rancher game. Very different from all before it. You don't battle in tournaments, you level up your stats through mini games, you have multiple people training monsters, you do a lot of dungeon crawling, and it all has a Circus Theme.
You are a member of a Circus that performs using monsters. You get the obligatory cute new monster to start with but can quickly generate new ones from all your CDs and DVDs. You take your monster and put it through a series of training sessions using a prop. You keep them on the same prop for weeks at a time while their motivation with that prop grows. Once their motivation is high enough you put on a circus show. At the show you run around and initiate mini games, winning these determines how well your monster does. This combined with the monsters motivation and the prop used determine how your monster's stats improve. This is the only way to raise your monsters stats. While you do this with your monster other trainers do the same with their monsters, and you control the schedule (which prop, which trainer with which mob etc). Mobs and trainers end up with a bonding rating that will drop if you swap mobs and trainers.
You continue to do this until you get asked to go on an Adventure. Here you fight a quick single battle match against your Rivals (very Team Rocket like) then go on a dungeon crawl with your team. Here is where the real battles are. The battle system it totally revamped. Now you control three monsters at once. They share a Guts rating. There is only hand to hand and ranged skills now. You battle your three vs 1-3 opponents and when you win you get XP. Instead of developing new moves randomly, you spend this xp to buy new attacks and traits for your monsters.
A few other changes include new monster types, DNA for each monster so you can combine them more then once, a more RPG feel, full 3d graphics removing the text navigation, finding pages of the monster book while on dungeons, an item combining system, building of props for training and shows, and more.
[glow=red,2,300]The Good[/glow]
It's still Monster Rancher. You will find your self easily spending way more time then planned due to wanting to get one more week of training in, or trying the adventure one more time. The monsters look better then ever. They ditched the cell shading but still kept the cartoony 3d look. The new types look really cool. The way you build props to train with is pretty neat, where you buy a base prop (say one that adds INT and ACC), then you buy an engine for it (say a LIF one), then you can add effects (lasers, etc). The engine adds to the skills going up (INT, ACC and LIF) the effects affect the crowd reaction during a show (getting you more money and stat ups).
[glow=red,2,300]The Bad[/glow]
Too many changes. This falls under the why did they fix what wasn't broken for me. I liked the old battle system. The new one is okay once you learn it, but I prefer the old. The fact that there is only two ranges makes thing simpler, but removes a lot of the variety and options for combat. Spending XP to get skills is nice in a min max kind of way, but no where near as much fun as winning them randomly after a great battle in previous incarnations. Also the whole training system is just annoying. You spend months just hitting next week waiting for your motivation to go up, then you have to play very repetitive mini games just to level up. This means your monsters stats only go up like once a month at most. This is a huge change from weekly improvement you used to see in the old game. Also you don't feed your monster, you don't praise or punish them, you can't play with them, you can't give them treats. It's all... impersonal... I guess is the right word. I'm not a big fan of the lack of tournaments. Online it's stated that people got bored of the Train, Train, Rest, Tourney gameplay of the early games and that this is more dynamic. Maybe, but I miss the old system even if repetitive.
[glow=red,2,300]The Ugly[/glow]
The boss fights. At the end of each dungeon adventure is a boss fight. Now boss fights are supposed to be hard, but they should be at least somewhat in league with the dungeon. The way the adventures in Evo are set up it's like having a 5th level D&D party go through a dungeon of Bolds and a couple Orcs, getting to the end totally unhurt, and then expecting them to fight an Ancient Red Dragon. The balance is just off. The dungeon itself offers no challenge really, but then the boss is frustratingly hard.
[glow=red,2,300]Overall:[/glow]
It's still Monster Rancher and just as cool and addictive, but I can't help, while spending week after week in game, wondering whether I should just pop Monster Rancher 4 in and start that up again. Perhaps even blow the dust off MR2. I'm having fun, but not really enjoying the changes, so I doubt I would stick with this one for wrong. It's very different while still being the same. I suggest a rent to see if you like where they have gone, if not pop in a classic MR game and for for the S cup.
[glow=red,2,300]Summary:[/glow] the latest Monster Rancher game. Very different from all before it. You don't battle in tournaments, you level up your stats through mini games, you have multiple people training monsters, you do a lot of dungeon crawling, and it all has a Circus Theme.
You are a member of a Circus that performs using monsters. You get the obligatory cute new monster to start with but can quickly generate new ones from all your CDs and DVDs. You take your monster and put it through a series of training sessions using a prop. You keep them on the same prop for weeks at a time while their motivation with that prop grows. Once their motivation is high enough you put on a circus show. At the show you run around and initiate mini games, winning these determines how well your monster does. This combined with the monsters motivation and the prop used determine how your monster's stats improve. This is the only way to raise your monsters stats. While you do this with your monster other trainers do the same with their monsters, and you control the schedule (which prop, which trainer with which mob etc). Mobs and trainers end up with a bonding rating that will drop if you swap mobs and trainers.
You continue to do this until you get asked to go on an Adventure. Here you fight a quick single battle match against your Rivals (very Team Rocket like) then go on a dungeon crawl with your team. Here is where the real battles are. The battle system it totally revamped. Now you control three monsters at once. They share a Guts rating. There is only hand to hand and ranged skills now. You battle your three vs 1-3 opponents and when you win you get XP. Instead of developing new moves randomly, you spend this xp to buy new attacks and traits for your monsters.
A few other changes include new monster types, DNA for each monster so you can combine them more then once, a more RPG feel, full 3d graphics removing the text navigation, finding pages of the monster book while on dungeons, an item combining system, building of props for training and shows, and more.
[glow=red,2,300]The Good[/glow]
It's still Monster Rancher. You will find your self easily spending way more time then planned due to wanting to get one more week of training in, or trying the adventure one more time. The monsters look better then ever. They ditched the cell shading but still kept the cartoony 3d look. The new types look really cool. The way you build props to train with is pretty neat, where you buy a base prop (say one that adds INT and ACC), then you buy an engine for it (say a LIF one), then you can add effects (lasers, etc). The engine adds to the skills going up (INT, ACC and LIF) the effects affect the crowd reaction during a show (getting you more money and stat ups).
[glow=red,2,300]The Bad[/glow]
Too many changes. This falls under the why did they fix what wasn't broken for me. I liked the old battle system. The new one is okay once you learn it, but I prefer the old. The fact that there is only two ranges makes thing simpler, but removes a lot of the variety and options for combat. Spending XP to get skills is nice in a min max kind of way, but no where near as much fun as winning them randomly after a great battle in previous incarnations. Also the whole training system is just annoying. You spend months just hitting next week waiting for your motivation to go up, then you have to play very repetitive mini games just to level up. This means your monsters stats only go up like once a month at most. This is a huge change from weekly improvement you used to see in the old game. Also you don't feed your monster, you don't praise or punish them, you can't play with them, you can't give them treats. It's all... impersonal... I guess is the right word. I'm not a big fan of the lack of tournaments. Online it's stated that people got bored of the Train, Train, Rest, Tourney gameplay of the early games and that this is more dynamic. Maybe, but I miss the old system even if repetitive.
[glow=red,2,300]The Ugly[/glow]
The boss fights. At the end of each dungeon adventure is a boss fight. Now boss fights are supposed to be hard, but they should be at least somewhat in league with the dungeon. The way the adventures in Evo are set up it's like having a 5th level D&D party go through a dungeon of Bolds and a couple Orcs, getting to the end totally unhurt, and then expecting them to fight an Ancient Red Dragon. The balance is just off. The dungeon itself offers no challenge really, but then the boss is frustratingly hard.
[glow=red,2,300]Overall:[/glow]
It's still Monster Rancher and just as cool and addictive, but I can't help, while spending week after week in game, wondering whether I should just pop Monster Rancher 4 in and start that up again. Perhaps even blow the dust off MR2. I'm having fun, but not really enjoying the changes, so I doubt I would stick with this one for wrong. It's very different while still being the same. I suggest a rent to see if you like where they have gone, if not pop in a classic MR game and for for the S cup.