Imagine how frustrating it is to mash on the sprint button while frantically fleeing a huge boar when suddenly, a menu pops up. Long story short, you fail to sprint and the boar tramples you to death. Bottom line: mind your fingers, keep your weapon sheathed when fleeing, and do not have potions on standby in your item bar unless you’ve got a few to spare on wrongly-pressed buttons.

Once you’ve mastered the controls, the game opens up into a fun, free-roving adventure of your own styling. But the real appeal of Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is the multiplayer. Using the PSP’s ad hoc wireless, you can party with up to four of your friends to go out any quest in the game, using the map navigation and well-animated gestures system to communicate.

Alas, thanks to battery issues, you and your friends will have to cut your quests short, or all find power outlets within the ad hoc range - which sort of cuts back on the utility of the gestures (why bother when you can shout at your friend across the room in real life?).