What is Cooler Than Being Cool? Monster Hunter World: Ice Borne Review

Sometimes, it takes a while to breakthrough. Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t win his first Oscar until “The Revenant” (it should’ve been “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Don’t @ me). Kofi Kingston was a top star for over a decade before this past WrestleMania where he took home his first world title. And then there’s Monster Hunter. With its first installment dropping in 2004, this franchise was, to put it mildly, a slow-moving train. It was big in Japan, like Bobby Caldwell or corn on pizza, but didn’t cross over. That is, until 2018’s Monster Hunter: World. This title changed everything for Capcom, becoming its greatest success not only in years but, indeed, of all time. As of this writing, the game has shipped 13 million copies and with an expansion imminent, shows no signs of stopping. I am inevitable. (Photo Credit Twitter/@Maxa_poststrophe) On September 6, the monster hunting world will get bigger with the release of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. I got to go hands-on with this game in beta and early release and I’m here with some Day 1 (or earlier) impressions. On the whole, the game sticks with its tried and true formula – one to four players, or hunters, get put on a map with a monster (ranging from a lizard of unusual size to a lizard of REALLY unusual size), and must use their wits and comically oversized weapons to win the day. You also employ traps, bombs, bigger traps, bigger bombs, and an army of anthropomorphic cats. The face of a killing MACHINE. You go places and do the…