I never did understand why these games are big. I tried a few them and absolutely hated them. Wasn't all that fun. But more importantly, it was just boring. I will admit that the game does look beautiful.
Because the game does not hold your hand. It does not aim for you, you aim for yourself. It will not teach you how to time attacks, and you most certainly cannot just bash your way to victory. There's no level to grind that makes you ridiculously strong. Some complain the controls suck, but few realize you need to master the control instead. You also need to master the combat system. You can't rely on evade stats, you need to get out of the way or eat dirt.
The closest thing I can think of that takes that much determination is learning to play a music instrument. Except of course, you're pushing buttons.
Now that I'm done preaching the game, I am so hyped for MH3G and MH4 that I'm playing the game on the PSP starting from Freedom. So far so good, but my weapon choice seems to be weighing down on me a bit (Bowguns). By the gods, is it hard or what? I can barely take down Yian Kut-Ku with lots of ammo, I shiver at the thought of finally facing a Rathalos or worse. And there are missions where Heavy Bowguns are just impossible to use against wyverns (especially fast ones, and in areas with lots of fast annoying critters).