18 Greatest Role-Playing Games Of The Decade (So Far)

7. Monster Hunter: Generations

Y'know how Monster Hunter exists on the periphery of western gamer culture, forever being 'that series' you know you should check out, but never do?

Yeah, Generations is the one to plump for. Easily being the most accessible of the lot yet, you're cast in the bone-covered shoes of a titular monster hunter, tasked only with living that life amongst a series of villages. Boss monsters will show up every now and then, but your bigger drive is to simply to see what you can bring down, as every creature has within it a ton of useful items.

Need some better armour for a high-level quest? Go slay a handful of scaly predators and fashion their hides into a new shield and pauldron combo - hell, you can probably then use a larger beasty's jawline for a new sword attachment.

Once Monster Hunter digs its claws in, they go deep, and once you realise how every item, foodstuff, weapon, creature and quest giver exist in a perfectly intertwining web of purpose, there's nothing quite so mechanically proficient available.