I’ve only put three hours into this so far, which seems wrong, but it’s the kind of game I play a lot of in short sessions. I’ll pick it up, play a mission that lasts ten or fifteen minutes, then put it down for an hour or two. It’s pretty much perfect for a quick go now and again, but no more than that.

Anyway, Strikeforce. It’s Monster Hunter, only not as complicated. And instead of hunting monsters you’re hammering the square and triangle buttons to kill hundreds and hundreds of enemy people. After a couple of hours play, I can say that I think I enjoy this more than Monster Hunter. Not that it’s a better game – I really don’t think it is – just that it suits me better. Monster Hunter is an awful lot of work, Strikeforce is just (almost) mindless killing. There are fewer things to worry about in your village and quests are much shorter. (Also, so far, they’re much, much easier. I’ve not come close to dying yet.)

I can see this thing getting pretty stinky reviews, but if you like the Dynasty Warriors style of play and just think that Monster Hunter is too much like hard work, then you might find a good fit here. It’s also a better game than Phantasy Star Portable, which uses the same sort of model, simply because there aren’t a million pages of tedious dialogue to sit through.