148Apps is part of a family. A big family of sites that make sure you're always up to date with all the portable gaming news. Just like a real family, I guess. I don't know, my mum never told me anything about Candy Crush to be fair.
Anyway, every week we look at the best posts from around the network, in order to make sure that you're squeezing every drop of goodness from the Steel Media sites. This week is no different. So have a read, see what you've missed, and come back in seven days for another round up.
Exciting news for wannabe Monster Hunters everywhere -Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is 33% off from now until April 11! Feel the rush as you and your friends try to bag the big one. Build up your hunter's armaments by completing quests and equipping them with new weapons and armor. The game is optimized for iOS and hasMFi Game Controller support to make for a better hunting experience.
Hunt the biggest, baddest creatures of all time inMonster Hunter Freedom Unite, on sale now for $9.99.
Welcome, one and all, to another 148Apps holiday shopping guide! Are you having trouble figuring out what to get for a distant relative, new neighbor, or estranged second cousin? Thankfully there are people like us putting together handy-dandy holiday shopping guides for you! Whether you’re looking for new hardware and accessories, or just something a bit less impersonal than an iTunes gift card, we’ve got you covered.
Today’s guide centers around iOS gamers. These are the folks who love their portable games and spend most of their morning commute matching pieces of candy or fighting immortal titans. If you’d like to make the gamer(s) in your life have an overall more pleasant and convenient gaming experience, or simply get them some really cool stuff to play, check out our list below for some ideas.
State of Decay developers Undead Labs, along with Kabam, have announced Moonrise: a "multiplayer creature-collection RPG" partly inspired by Monster Hunter, Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, and Hearthstone. The game will feature real-time strategic combat, full character and creature customization, and real-time online play.
In Moonrise, an event called the Moonrise corrupts peaceful creatures, known as Solari, into savage creatures known as Lunari, who will attack towns and cites until the effect of the Moonrise fades. Recently, Moonrises had been rare and the corruption period short, but the cycle is beginning to become more intense.
This is where you, the player, come in. You'll play the role of an adventurer on their path to becoming a master Warden: journeying the land and discovering ancient ruins as you chase down Lunari and attempt to cleanse them of the corruption of the Moonrise. Along the way, you'll recruit newly cleansed Solari and challenge fellow Wardens for pride and rewards.
No release period or pricing has been for Moonrise as of yet, but a beta build of the game is set to be playable at PAX Prime later this month, with more details also set to be announced at that time.
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is a surprisingly intricate game - well, surprising if you’re unfamiliar with the series, anyway - and as such there’s no shame in getting a little help. Which is exactly why we’re here! We’ve put together a handy guide for hunters who are just starting out, full of all sorts of useful knowledge that will hopefully keep you all alive out there.
So suit up, grab your gear, and get ready to lay the smack down on to very large critters!
So You Want to be a Hunter?
The first step to getting anywhere in Monster Hunter is figuring out what type of weapon (or weapons) will work for you. There are quite a lot to choose from - 11, in fact - and each one is different. The best way to try them all out is at the Training School.
- In order to access the Training School you’ll need to first speak to the village chief (the elderly woman by the fire). To find her, just head up/North from your home. Once that’s finished you can find the Training School on the opposite side of the Guild Hall.
- Select the Beginner School, read through the basic Hunter Info, then you’ll be able to select Weapon Usage.
- Weapon Usage will allow you to try out every single category of weapon in the game. You’ll be given a temporary set of equipment, and an item box full of handy items at the start. The weapons you use are decent, and the tasks are simple - just enough to give you a sense of how the weapon functions.
- The distinctions between each of the 11 weapon classes are too numerous to go into in a beginner’s guide, but an important thing to remember is that there are two main groups: Melee and Ranged. Both groups utilize completely different types of armor, so make sure to keep that in mind when crafting new gear.
As nice as it was to see such a strong representation of mobile games and devices at E3 this year, it also means more work when trying to figure out which were the most noteworthy. Seriously, there was a lot of great stuff on display and picking just a few to highlight wasn’t easy. With that said, here are our notables from E3 2014 in no particular order.
Phonejoy
I stumbled upon the Phonejoy completely by accident, but I’m very glad I did. It’s nice and compact, well-made, and easily attaches to iOS devices of any size and in any orientation. Unfortunately the version that’s available now isn’t MFi, but one is in the works - and you can be sure that once we find out about a release date we’ll be sharing that info with you. Until then, the current Phonejoy model will still work just fine with other games that still support third party controllers like the iCade.
Final Fantasy VII G-Bike
Square Enix has apparently been developing an iOS game based entirely around that Golden Saucer mini-game from Final Fantasy VII without bothering to tell anyone about it. For shame, Square Enix. But while Final Fantasy VII G-Bike seemed to pop-up out of nowhere, it’s definitely looking like a badass runner/driver/whatever you want to call it. Would that other 3D runners had this game’s sense of style and production values!
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
I’m a Monster Hunter nerd, sure, but the reason Freedom Unite has made the list is because it genuinely impressed me. It looks like a fantastic port, plays very well, and even manages to add a couple of elements that the original PSP release was missing - namely legitimate online play and a lock-on feature. As someone who’s already sunk hundreds of hours into the original Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, I simply can’t wait to get my hands on this one when it officially comes stateside.
The Gamevice
I’ve yet to get my hands on the final version of the Gamevice, but the “beta” version I was able to play around with last week was definitely cool. It’s uses are sadly limited to only the iPad Mini, but the combination of controller and iOS device make for a great handheld gaming setup. And because the Gamevice is essentially in two separate pieces that attach on either side of the Mini, it should also be pretty easy to tote around. Just in case.
Hitman Sniper
Between Hitman Go [GET LINK] and now Hitman Sniper, Square Enix Montreal is definitely a developer worth keeping an eye on. What could have been something as basic as a first-person shooting gallery with a Hitman theme is actually a very clever (and unorthodox) approach to something sort of like a puzzle game. It isn’t just fun to play around with the various interactive elements in each level, either. The constant competition with other players who are close to your rank on the leaderboards also acts as a great incentive to keep aiming (*rimhot*) for the high score.
Just Dance Now
I don’t dance, and there’s about a 99% chance I’ll never play Just Dance Now when it comes out, but I couldn’t help but be impressed by what I saw at Ubisoft’s booth last week. The game is being developed with accessibility as its main focus, which is something I wish more developers took the time to consider. And not only is it being made to work with older iOS devices, it’s also supposed to take it easy on your bandwidth. So it’ll run on your old clunker and won’t double your phone bill if you end up playing over 3G/4G. Seriously, big thumbs-up to Ubisoft for this one.
I can’t name names, I can’t mention developers, and there’s a good chance I can’t talk about genre. But if I’m obscure enough I don’t see the harm in saying that this thing I played that I can’t go into detail about was actually a whole lot of fun and probably the biggest surprise for me personally at the show. I know that’s not much to go on but it’ll all make sense in time. Suffice it to say, when a developer really cares and knows what they’re doing just about anything can be a hit.
[Please note that the game in-question has nothing to do with Futurama. I just like Futurama and needed an image.]
The announcement that Capcom's Monster Hunter Freedom Unitewas made just over a week ago, but even so I couldn't help but be surprised to find it on display at their E3 booth. Even if it was tucked away in a quiet, forgotten corner.
I jumped in after someone left a quest partway through, just to see how it all works. And I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. It doesn't set the bar for touch controls or anything, but the interface works pretty darn well. Moving is done with a virtual stick on the left side of the screen, swiping the screen moves the camera while tapping resets it behind the character, and a series of virtual buttons and sliders on the right allow you to attack/block/dodge roll with relative ease. It took some getting used to as this control scheme is more in-line with the classic system from the original that relied on attacking with the right analog stick, but overall it worked quite well. making the button for harvesting, climbing, and so on contextual was also a good call.
The verdict is still out until we get the chance to review Monster Hunter Freedom Unite later this summer, but so far it's looking like a very respectable port of one of Japan's most popular series.
It looks like it might be time for hunters to rejoice, as a fully fledged Monster Hunter game has made its way onto the iOS platform. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G for iOS released yesterday in Japan and appears to be a port (unlike 2011's Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting) of the PSP game of the same name, known as Monster Hunter Freedom Unite in Western territories.
Like the PSP version of the game, players can group with up to four other people via Wi-Fi and take on quests that otherwise may be too difficult to take on alone. The game also supports MFi game controllers, with a controller for the game made by HORI currently in development.
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G for iOS is available in Japan now for ¥1600, with an international release date yet to be announced.
