The virtual city that serves as the hub for Monster Hunter 3's online component may look a bit ramshackle, but if you're a rough, tough hunter with a retractable axe about half again your height, it's like a second home. If you've got a net-connected Wii and a desire to bag huge creatures in the wilderness with faceless friends somewhere in Japan, you'll be hanging out in Loklak a lot. So get used to it.

Broadly speaking, Loklak is divided into five areas:

- The town gate, where you choose a server based on what level of experience you are and what it is you want to do (for example, recruit people for a quest). The gate's also home to Loklak's information desk, helpfully telling you about special shop sales and special limited-time events.

- The main square, where you trade items, buy tools/materials, and combine purchased or found materials together to make new things. There's also an "interior workshop," an outdoor stand that creates furniture for your guest house (more on that below) if you bring the owner the right items.

- The tavern, where you pick up quests and eat food to power up your hunter before hitting the road. The bar's also home to the town colosseum, where tournaments are occasionally held.

- The lodging row, where the guest houses are. The size of your guest house depends entirely on your hunter's rank; the better you get, the more luxurious it becomes. You can also invite friends to your place to hang out if you like.

- The workshop, where you buy and upgrade/modify your weapons.

Japanese gamers will set foot in Loklak for the first time August 1, when Monster Hunter 3 is due to hit stores. American would-be hunters will be let in...sometime afterward. Probably.