Capcom's Monster Hunter has been on our radar since the game was first revealed at Capcom's pre-E3 event last year. The unique online game casts you in the role of a prospective monster hunter out trying to make a living. We got a brief look at the game in playable form at last year's Tokyo Game Show but have finally been able to get a solid feel for what to expect from it at Capcom's recent press event.

　　The promising game seems like a mix of slick, original ideas along with an evolution of many of the gameplay elements introduced in Sega's Phantasy Star Online. You'll create a character that you can use in either single-player or multiplayer mode, and you can customize it by tweaking a number of features. Aside from being able to personalize your character's name, gender, face, hair style, hair color, and voice, you'll have to decide which faction your character comes from. Monster Hunter will feature several different groups, which all have unique arsenals and fighting techniques. Once you've created your virtual avatar you can choose to hop into an offline or online mode.

　　The game's story appears to be fairly simple and serves as more of a gateway to get you into hunting than anything else. You'll play as a young monster hunter who is looking for some prestige. Your road to notoriety will be a long one, thanks to a deliberate design that ensures you don't plow through the game. You'll have to talk to different characters and look into expeditions that will send you out into the wild world. However, the development of individual characters doesn't hinge only on clearing levels but also on the strength of the weapons and protective gear you'll possess, which will influence action and battle tactics. Weapon shops located in the neighboring towns and villages let you buy, create, or strengthen powerful weapons and armor using items collected during combat and the skin or horns acquired from monsters you've killed. The effectiveness of items will vary depending on the materials used to produce them. Capcom is stating that the variety of armaments used or obtained is almost limitless.

　　The core gameplay online or offline is simply to get stuff by killing things--the tried-and-true method of other action RPGs. As you collect items and check in with the local guild in the town you reside in, new expeditions of varying difficulty will open up. The collection element in the game looks pretty cool--you can collect items and use them to power up your armor or weapon. As you'd expect, such items don't grow on trees and have to be used carefully to ensure maximum gain for all your hard work. However, no matter how solid the single-player game is, the online multiplayer mode is going to be the place to be. Fellow human players help you tackle the nasty creatures in the game, and you'll also be able to trade unwanted items with them.

　　Controlling your character is pretty easy, especially if you've played PSO and have had to deal with centering a camera behind you fairly often during combat. The interesting addition to the mix is using the right analog stick to attack, as opposed to a face button. Directional combinations of left and right or up and down will let you perform combos that can seriously hurt your quarry. You'll have one weapon whose firepower will vary depending on what you choose to use over the course of a hunt. You'll find quite the arsenal to choose from before heading out, but you'll have to be very comfortable with your choice, since you'll be stuck with it for a while. As usual, larger weapons are deadly but slow, while smaller weapons do less damage but afford you greater attack speed. In addition to using traditional weapons such as swords, you'll be able to use guns and set traps that will come in handy for taking down the larger creatures.

　　The online multiplayer game in Monster Hunter is pretty standard but looks to be fun and addictive. You can participate in group sessions with up to three other players. You can either compete to see who can be the first to achieve certain goals or work as a team to take down powerful monsters and accomplish tasks. For example, you can work collectively to create traps for unsuspecting monsters or distract a monster's attention so that a party member can escape from a dragon's nest. In addition, new quests and items will be slated to follow over the course of your time with the game.

　　The graphics in Monster Hunter are looking sharp and are certainly atmospheric. The lush prehistoric setting has allowed for the creation of some expansive and beautiful environments that are chock-full of monsters of all shapes and sizes. You'll encounter everything from mellow herbivores to much more aggressive velociraptor-like creatures. And the poster boys for pain in the adventure appear to be massive wyverns that come in a variety of strains that are all pretty deadly.

　　From what we played so far, Monster Hunter is looking very promising. We noticed a few hitches to the control system that could be smoothed out, such as the camera and use of the right analog stick for attacks, but the game has a good feel to it already. Monster Hunter is currently slated to ship this fall for the PlayStation 2. Look for more on the game in the coming months.