Recent reviews by michinnyeon

I waited 15 years since AC4/ACFA for this game, I refuse to acknowledge ACV/VD. I completed ACVI on PS5 and rebought it for PC... it is worth it.

Also, I beat pre-nerf balteus and cel-240 without zimmers/songbirds, thus I have a burning need for validation, so please validate me.

predatory DLC business model

predatory DLC business model

predatory DLC business model

predatory DLC business model

predatory DLC business model

!!! Do NOT play this game without first setting yourself up with a way to consistently backup your save file in case the Steam Cloud one gets corrupt. I personally use an a one-click batch script that copies my save to a safe location. I pasted my script at the bottom of this review. !!!

This is a review from the perspective of a MHW charge blade fanatic.

Pros:
- Wirebug's Axe Hopper is a fun new move that rewards anticipating monster attacks, feels balanced, and landing hopping SAEDs is a dopamine hit every time
- Wirebug's Morphing Advance is extremely good for a quick reposition and instant SAED
- Spinning axe mode QOL changes are great:
1.) A quick press gets you a quick swing
2.) Holding the button gets you a slower but higher dps spinning swing
3.) Spinning axe swings now charge phials as well

Cons:
- SAED phial explosion hit box feels way smaller than it was in MHW, the bulk of the damage now comes from the axe slam itself (edit 40 more hours later, still a minor problem but I just learned to aim better with either wirebug morphing advance or Axe Hopper SAEDs)
- Since spinning axe mode is now activated with a phial charge + holding Y/triangle, you no longer have spinning axe morphing's guard point and SAED cancel, really messed me up for the first 10 hours of game-play as I had to remove this GP from my muscle memory
- Wirebug's Counter Peak Performance (CPP) is too good, it's basically a 3 second long GP that instant refills phials and can instant SAED

In MHW, I played CB in a style that I learned from Japanese Youtuber "Eri N", wherein I relied on AED stagger/stun juggling and spinning axe mode for downed monster dps. The QOL changes to spinning axe mode are a welcome change that allow me to keep playing the same way as before. However, I do miss the SAED cancel and GP that the old spinning axe morph had.

Axe hopper is my favourite addition to CB as it heavily rewards a well timed evasive manoeuver into a buffed up SAED. Axe hopper alongside morphing advance fills a gap in MHW CB gameplay that lacked a satisfying way to react and punish a monster's animation lock. It is a beautiful thing to dodge and counter with a satisfying SAED in one graceful manoeuver.

Updated impressions after 40 more hours:
- Absolutely loving spinning axe mode with wirebug morphing advance, I'm able to keep spinning axe mode whilst dodging and repositioning instantly. This makes the gameplay more fluid as I can stay spinning axe mode for as long as I want.
- Still running Axe Hopper (as opposed to Counter Peak Performance) as I feel it allows me to land consistently better SAEDs. I feel that once you master guard pointing you have no need for CPP. In reality, when you CPP a lot of the monsters, you're not really in a good position to immediately SAED out of CPP cause their attack animation puts them behind you.

Pros:
- Really good OST
- Wire bugs are balanced well, adds a lot of great offensive and defensive options
- Terrain travel feels great, on-demand mount is also an amazing QOL buff
- Goodbye random decoration bs, you can now craft/farm what you need
- Fast-travel QOL changes feel really good for in town and on map
- Character edit sliders are really good
- Sunbreak's follower questing makes the game more lively if you're a solo player

Cons:
- Maps feel less immersive and expansive as MHW, you lose the feeling of hunting monsters in an unknown and mighty habitat, instead it feels like an arcade boss arena
- Wyvern riding; albeit a fun addition, is a bit clunky and kind of kills the pace of the battle (edit 40 hours later, if you learn how to abuse wyvern riding you can get quick DPS and/or switch monster rides to instantly down the monster you're focusing)
- Hit confirms/impacts/battle feels like it has less weight and umph compared to MHW (spinning axe mode feels like toy pinwheel mode now)
- Solo rampage sucks so so bad, definitely a multiplayer must (edit 40 more hours later, the key is to never get off a turret to dps. I made the mistake of setting up auto and traps and tried to fight hunter to monster).

tldlr
MHR has a plethora of QOL changes that I absolutely love. Despite not feeling as "epic" as MHW, I find this overall Monster Hunter package still an addicting and must-play experience.

--- start of script ---
echo set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") > %tmp%\tmp.vbs
echo WScript.Quit (WshShell.Popup( "Backup complete." ,10 ,"MHR_BACKUP", 0)) >> %tmp%\tmp.vbs
cscript /nologo %tmp%\tmp.vbs
if %errorlevel%==1 (
echo Closing
) else (
echo Closing
)
del %tmp%\tmp.vbs

xcopy /s "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\YourSteamUserID\1446780\remote" "C:\YourSaveLocationPathHere" /y
--- end of script ---

You'll need to edit the paths that I have in bold above.

Basically all it does is save your MHR save file folder into a location of your choice. I run this everytime I save and close my game. I also manually keep a periodic backup of my backups somewhere else in case the cloud save is already corrupt before I click the script, it would then overwrite the backup with the broken save.

Pros:
- Story feels
- Great visuals/environments/overall art direction
- Great OST that fits the environments
- JA voices are excellent
- "Monster Hunter" effect where if you find the weapon/build that clicks with you, game becomes reaaally addicting
- Character edit is well made
- Bosses are interesting and fun

Cons:
- Cheese builds are pretty OP (Perma stun/stagger, extreme glass cannon, etc)
- Drain attacks are really lame due to the long animation locks, really kills the pace of the battle
- Trash mob models get repetitive

[Using Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, mapped using no 3rd party applications. More info/help at end of review.]

I have played Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies on the PS2, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, as well as HAWX2 for the PC.

ACE COMBAT 7 is a fun combat flight "sim" that brought me back to my early teen years playing AC4. It plays exactly like you'd expect it to and looks great. I did not enjoy AC Assault Horizon as it felt over-the-top, and the camera angles were nauseating with the scripted fights. HAWX 2 was alright, but didn't feel as polished as AC does. If you're looking to scratch a "classic" Ace Combat itch, this AC delivers on that feeling and promise. I am looking forward to many more hours of this.

Getting AC to work with your Logitech stick
Native support is available for the Logitech stick, however you must manually configure your buttons via the .ini located in your local user's app data.

Open the Input.ini file located in: C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment\ACE COMBAT 7\Config

Under the lines that contain "[Joystick-C215046D-0000-0000-0000-504944564944]
ProductName=Logitech Extreme 3D Pro USB" you will want to manually edit your own setup buttons.

My personal setup is below, but keep in mind that I don't use the top thumb buttons 5/6 as I have smaller hands and they are hard to reach. I find that if I keep my left hand holding the throttle I can easily press 11 and 12 (for radar and switch weapon) with the same hand without moving. Target switching and flares are on the stick where my thumb can easily reach. I like having pause and skip buttons at the top and farthest to reach buttons 7 and 8. Everything else that is un-mapped will not be used within the game.

Flight_Gun=Button2
Flight_Missile=Button1
Flight_Weapon=Button12
Flight_Target=Button3
Flight_Radar=Button11
Flight_Flare=Button4
Flight_View=Button10
Flight_AccelerationDeceleration=
Flight_AutoPilot=Button9
Flight_Pause=Button8
Flight_HatSwitchUp=POV_U1
Flight_HatSwitchDown=POV_D1
Flight_HatSwitchLeft=POV_L1
Flight_HatSwitchRight=POV_R1
Flight_Pitch=Y:R
Flight_Roll=X
Flight_Yaw=Rz
Flight_Throttle=Slider1
Flight_CameraPitch=POV_U1:R
Flight_CameraPitch=POV_D1
Flight_CameraYaw=POV_L1:R
Flight_CameraYaw=POV_R1
UI_B=Button2
UI_A=Button1
UI_X=Button3
UI_Y=Button4
UI_LB=
UI_RB=
UI_LT=
UI_RT=
UI_LeftStickPress=
UI_RightStickPress=
UI_DPadUp=
UI_DPadDown=
UI_DPadLeft=
UI_DPadRight=
UI_LeftStickUp=POV_U1
UI_LeftStickDown=POV_D1
UI_LeftStickLeft=POV_L1
UI_LeftStickRight=POV_R1
UI_RightStickUp=
UI_RightStickDown=
UI_RightStickLeft=
UI_RightStickRight=
UI_Menu=Button7

I tried Monster Hunter in the past, never could get into it. I decided to try again, and man am I disappointed in myself for not loving it earlier.

Do yourself a favor... Give each and every weapon a try, and once one of them just clicks (you'll know), this becomes the game you think about 24/7.