Very grinding but there is a decent amount of quests and monsters.   Depends on if you are trying to get the full sets but usually you end up doing the same quests for awhile till you rank up enough to unlock the next difficulty level quests (need / get rank during online play, single player I believe you just have to complete all the quests once to move on to the next difficulty level).  Each quest can be random kind of too.  Like other monsters showing up besides the one you have to kill.  Online co op is fun and a blast (unless you have a terrible teammate that keeps dying since after the third death the quest is over since it combines all the deaths of the people in the party (up to 4 in a party) so if someone dies two times and you die once then the quest is over))).

I'm not sure how the co-op plays as I haven't done that properly yet. I got into a group and I was in a differnt city from where I am in the single player game. Then people kept asking me if I was coming and I couldn't figure out where I should go. Once I found them, I couldn't figure out how to join them in a quest so I just gave up. I'll try to play later with a friend to see if we can figure it out. Didn't feel like having random people wait for me to learn how to join the same quest.

I never tried MH3 but I did enjoy Freedom Unite. I just wish Capcom would stop being the worst company on the planet and port some of the recent titles over. Monster Hunter 4 looks fantastic if I could actually play it. Well I could just import i-OH WAIT!

tri is one of the best games I've ever played as far as how pretty it looks, how it draws you into the environment and how much replay value you get for the game.  I believe I have over 400 hours into the game and still have lots and lots to do.  I've used the classic controller pro that came w/ the bundle, but when I got the demo of the game, I used the wii-mote.  The ccpro is far superior imo.

The solo campaign is great and the online gameplay is very well done and works smoothly.  It's fantastic that the items you get in either solo or online go with you when you play the other.  MHTri is  truly a gem.

Monster Hunter Tri is one of the best games I have ever played. I have poured hundreds of hours into it and I'm still not bored with it, this has happened with very few games I played. I also prefer the Wiimote + Nunchuk combo.

To join a quest someone has initiated (who are still in town waiting for people to join up) you have to go to the bulletin board on the left side of the counter from the girl you get the quests from.  If there is no password protection then you should be able to join (as long as you meet the level requirements for that quest).  Then you go up to the top left and it will give you an option to state that you are ready for the quest then once everyone is ready the group leader starts the quest. 

I too, like many in this thread, believe MH3 to be one of the best games of this gen. However, it takes several hours for the game to 'click' for me, so I advise anyone starting the game to put at least a dozen hours into it (and play online) before passing their final judgement. When I first played it, I thought it was good, but very flawed in some areas and saw it in many ways as a ok action game, with hints of RPG and loot games. Now, 200 hours later, I love it and recommend it fully, especially as I've often seen copies for about £15 (about $23)

I pumped over 200 hours in, got to the point where i had the Alatreon lance and was all "screw it, i have a good enough weapon now."

It is indeed a great game, though you have missed its online heyday

If your interested on playing online, I willing to help u on raise your HR.

Name: KLASH, I have over 1500+ hours. Let me know.

I hope to say the same when MG3G gets translated.