Much like Dragon Quest, the Monster Hunter series is one of the biggest names in gaming in Japan and almost unheard of in North America. Most people over here just don’t “get it”, and many of them don’t want to put forth the effort required in order to really understand what the game is all about. After all, even with more accessible entries in the series such as Monster Hunter Tri, there is still a very steep learning curve to overcome.

Originally I wanted to write a review of Monster Hunter Tri in order to spread the word. However, after over 100 hours of playing the game, I still haven’t experienced all it has to offer. I’ve come to realize, it’s not a traditional review that’s going to spark interest. My hopes are that by sharing the reasons that the series is so engaging (many of which are not immediately obvious to the new player), it will help more people realize the joys that can be found from becoming a Monster Hunter.
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"We had a website, but a Lagiacrus ated it."

You might have noticed a smaller number of updates on WingDamage this week. It’s very easy to point a finger at the cause of this. You see, a certain game named Monster Hunter Tri released recently. Perhaps you’ve heard of it in our last podcast or our hands-on impressions.

Turns out, the game is quite addictive. Several of the WingDamage crew have been gathering regularly for the hunt and frankly, we’ve just lost track of time. We don’t have a review up of the game currently, but considering the effect it has had on the staff, I think it’s safe to consider it a recommendation.

Regular updates should resume next week. In the meantime, did you check out our in-depth Final Fantasy XIII review? How about the detailed battle explanation video (in HD!)? Or the article on Fighting Game Boss Fights? What are you waiting for? Get crackin’!

The second quarter of 2010 contains a lot of solid releases. Will we ever have time to catch up on our backlog? More and more, it’s looking like the answer is a big, fat “no”. However, you might find a few games from Q1 that have snuck in thanks to delays. What you’ll see below is a collection of the WingDamage staff’s most anticipated Wii games of Q2 2010.

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Capcom and Nintendo have really been pushing Monster Hunter Tri in preparation for its late April release. The latest plan to spark interest for the series in the states comes in the form of a playable demo. While you do have to leave your house and visit a GameStop in order to pick the disc-based demo up, you won’t need a pre-order (though they might try to tell you it’s required, as they did on my visit).

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"A Real American Worldwide Peace Keeping Organization... Hero."

On a very special twenty-seventh episode of Barrel Roll, we are once again joined by our good pal, Wesley Johnson. He has braved Wizard World Chicago and the new G.I. Joe movie and lived to tell us about them on the show.

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