New art and screenies for Monster Hunter Portable 2

February 22 is almost here, and in less than two weeks, Capcom‘s Monster Hunter Portable 2 will finally be unleashed upon the Japanese public. Many have been waiting for this game, though we can’t really tell if they’re actually excited about the game itself or with the Champagne Gold PSP bundle that comes with the game. There are also the little Monster Hunter–themed PSP cleaners, the Monster Hunter UMD cases, and the free scarf.

In any case, we have a new batch of screenshots here, as well as some character monster art. On top of the pretty pictures though, we do also learn a few new things about this title. For example, the Impress page where the screens come from also say that the opening sequence for the game has been completely redone, and that (Engrish, ahoy!) “Visual it is released anew”.

We also learn of several practice modes for the game, the first of which teaches the very basics that you need to know about in order to play. Then there’s the “Private Practice” (translation by Google, as usual) which lets you plan out your moves ahead of time if you want to try catching some big game. Now for some REALLY big game, you’ll be needing a lot of help with that, hence, the “Group Practice” mode was created. And then there’s the Challenge Quest. We’re not quite sure about what this is, though we’re guessing that it may be the equivalent of an optional boss or stage.

Learn about the BG Loading feature and why you will love it! Oh, and a load of screenies, all at the Full Article!

February 22 is almost here, and in less than two weeks, Capcom‘s Monster Hunter Portable 2 will finally be unleashed upon the Japanese public. Many have been waiting for this game, though we can’t really tell if they’re actually excited about the game itself or with the Champagne Gold PSP bundle that comes with the game. There are also the little Monster Hunter–themed PSP cleaners, the Monster Hunter UMD cases, and the free scarf.

In any case, we have a new batch of screenshots here, as well as some character monster art. On top of the pretty pictures though, we do also learn a few new things about this title. For example, the Impress page where the screens come from also say that the opening sequence for the game has been completely redone, and that (Engrish, ahoy!) “Visual it is released anew”.

We also learn of several practice modes for the game, the first of which teaches the very basics that you need to know about in order to play. Then there’s the “Private Practice” (translation by Google, as usual) which lets you plan out your moves ahead of time if you want to try catching some big game. Now for some REALLY big game, you’ll be needing a lot of help with that, hence, the “Group Practice” mode was created. And then there’s the Challenge Quest. We’re not quite sure about what this is, though we’re guessing that it may be the equivalent of an optional boss or stage.

Another new tidbit would be the BG Load (Background Load) function which can be toggled on and off. This basically allows one to shorten the loading times between one area to another as the new area is already being loaded from the UMD, even before you get there. The result is that the transition becomes smooth, and gameplay isn’t hampered by having to wait for the next map to load (this is particularly annoying when you enter an area by mistake, or you realize that you forgot something in the previous area). The only drawback to this multi-tasking option is that it may shorten your PSP’s battery life.

Well, it seems that they’ve got everything covered, and from this point on, we’ll start counting how many Monster Hunter Portable 2 scarves we’ll be seeing in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we’ve got a load of screenshots, so go knock yourselves out.