Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate brought to Wii U a series that had long been more of a cult affair than a mass hit in the West. It's an expanded version of Monster Hunter 3, augmented with additional monsters, weapons, and the highest difficulty tier called G rank. The principle is simple yet incredibly addictive: the player takes a quest, heads out into a hunting area, tracks down a giant monster, brings it down, and crafts better gear from its parts so they can hunt an even bigger monster. Around this loop is built a game spanning hundreds of hours that has no classic character levels. Instead, the player's own skill and the quality of their armor grow.

The combat system is slow, heavy, and remarkably precise. Each weapon, from the greatsword through the hammer to the bow and hunting horn, has its own set of animations, reach, and rhythm, and learning just one properly takes hours. Attacks can't be interrupted, so every swing is a commitment the player has to see through. Monsters have readable behavior, they tire, limp, flee to their lair, and can be caught in traps. The Wii U version additionally offered a noticeably sharper picture than the handheld release, a map and quick item menu on the controller screen, and the ability to play together with owners of the Nintendo 3DS version, a very unusual feature at the time.

Underwater hunting, which the series introduced in this installment, added a third dimension to combat and remains one of the most discussed elements of the whole franchise. The atmosphere is held together by a calm campsite, the loud roars of monsters, and orchestral motifs that kick in the moment the main quarry appears. At the time it was one of the best-reviewed games of the early Wii U era and, for many Western players, their first real encounter with the series. Today it's still an excellent hunting title, it just demands patience and a willingness to learn rules the game itself only explains partially. Whoever gets past that barrier gets one of the most addictive games on the console, because preparing for the next hunt is just as engaging as the hunt itself.