Monster Hunter Now hands-on - "A fine fit for Niantic's Formula"

Pokemon and Monster Hunter have more than a couple of things in common. For a start, they're both being trademark-trolled by Monster Energy for the word Monster, but more importantly, they're both long-running franchises with geolocation-based games created and operated by Niantic. Monster Hunter Now is the latest game to come from the Pokemon Go (and Ingress) developer, and we've spent some serious time with it. When most people think of Monster Hunter, there are a few things that spring to mind: Fighting massive monsters (normally as a group), carving off pieces of the monster to create new weapons and armour, and scavenging components, resources and items in order to increase your odds of survival. It's incredibly clear, from talking to the Chief Product Officer and head of Tokyo Studio at Niantic, Kei Kawai, that these things are at the heart of the game design alongside Niantic's own priorities based around community, real-world exploration and fun play. ... [MORE]