I'm really, really curious about how series newcomers and lapsed fans feel about World, as they're the group whose support Capcom absolutely needs to make this the 4 million seller they want it to be.
So far, the only non-fan impressions I could find were on
Game Informer, where the consensus was basically "We'll give it another try, but it still looks like Monster Hunter." They felt that the Anjanath fight went on for too long and the monster didn't change enough when being weakened.
I really want this to do well, but I'm worried that Capcom isn't changing up the core formula enough to capture a new audience that isn't used to 20-50 minute fights with stamina/durability/temperature management that have to be repeated frequently for loot.