Lost Planet -- The Exclusive Review, Courtesy of M80

Ah, it's just that time again. I've officially waded my way through and have come to spread n' share the knowledge I have gained. ... alright, well, perhaps not quite that noble, but it's all-the-same another review. Of course, I will be using the same rating system as last time on a scale much like this:


... followed by each one of these 1 through 10 rankings in each of the many splendid categories such as these:

Gameplay
Storyline
Graphics
Sound
Value
Multiplayer (if applicable)
Bonus (in case I feel it incorporates something not falling under the above categories)

For my readers I have braved the harsh terrain and battled the ruthless Akrid in Lost Planet: Extreme Condition to bring you this following review, courtesy of my hours of playtime and M80's donation.

Drumroll, please?

Gameplay

Capcom doesn't draw the short straw in this category, especially what you'd expect from them. They're known for incorporating some intriguing boss battles and levels and, much like Resident Evil 4, don't stray from the die-hard equation that has equaled success for them in the past. For anyone who's played (and enjoyed) God of War, much like myself, the complex control system, especially switching between running on foot, to VS's, to the many other things in the game, controlling your character in Lost Planet should be an utter cinch. To quite a few others, it may be a slight struggle at first but, as soon as you actually get into the game, you should be able to master these controls in no time.

You can easily knock this game out in only a few hours if you play as I did ... but it would take considerably longer if you try to hunt down the multiple targets embedded within different locations on the three difficulties throughout every mission of the game. I, obviously on my very first playthrough, didn't accomplish gathering them all yet came quite close. All-in-all, there's plenty of Akrid to shoot at and rarely any downtime in the single-player campaign. Though there are a couple of puzzles (I, stupidly enough, tried to sneak by all the probes Metal Gear-style later on when, really, just a couple of wellplaced shots could take them out and away forever.)

Then there are some bad aspects ... I, for one, had trouble reading the mini-map plus PDA that traveled with Wayne as he explored the planet and I found it saddening that I had to die a couple times in the process of finding exactly where the game wanted me to go next. Of course, then, there's the thought that raced through my head after I found it of 'why didn't you find that earlier yourself?!?'

Though, the gameplay's quite pleasing, a gentle-enough mix to put you in the mood of the game quite quickly, allowing you to shoot almost everything you come across and deactivate the puzzle-solving regions of your brain for quite some time. For some quality gameplay, I give Lost Planet an 9 out of 10 in the gameplay category.

Storyline

From the beginning, Wayne, his father (Gail), and some other [later dubbed-]"snow pirates" are heading through a facility to help in the colonization of this abnormally frozen planet known as E.D.N. III, creating mechanized machines known as "Vital Suits" that help aid in the process of traversing the planet ... and also help when mounted with weapons to fight the opposing insects who don't like your presence on their planet, also known as the Akrid. In short, Wayne's father, Gail, dies and Wayne himself barely escapes.

Fast-forward a bit and he's saved by a band of snow pirates that take him in, unthaw him, and greedily accept him as one of their own, sending him on missions and raids against the Akrid as well as the force attempting to colonize the planet ... a force that's hiding a deadly secret. I won't spoil the many twists for you, though, just because I'm that kind of guy. And then we come to the plot twists. Twists galore. 'Lucky this game has an insane amount of action and maneuverability because, if it hadn't, the hard-to-follow general storyline as well as the weak characters would've dragged it down ... but since the game is extremely awesome in the way it presents itself, Lost Planet doesn't lose any points there.

If you can keep up with the unique storyline and the not-so-fleshed-out characters, then this would come out to be a well-deserving 9 out of 10, yet again.

Graphics

Some people seem to be discrediting this games graphics, but I can't see why. At all. The graphics in this game are wicked and while they meay not rival the ones featured in Gears of War, that's an exception to the rule. I doubt I'll be seeing any games that looks as exceptional as GoW does in quite some time, so why hold it against all of the other games? The way the weather creates such an intense atmosphere to the battle scars down on the VS's throughout the entire game, Lost Planet features some unbelievable graphics. There are some graphic distortion and clipping errors if you look close enough, but not enough to discredit the game very much.

They'll simply leave you in awe, whether it be the outdoor or indoor environments. Period. And, for this, Lost Planet receives its 8 out of 10.

Sound

I personally felt deeply enthralled by the soundtrack Lost Planet uses ... it ranged from very dramatic, to very movie action-esque and never disappointed at all ... though I did have some beef with the voiceovers. I think they could've hired some better actors for some of the characters. I couldn't believe Rick's or Yuri's voices at first and really, really disappointed me. But, hey; what can you do, right? They served their purpose and, though they might not be up to par with my standards, don't bog down the gameplay quite so much either and, for that, Lost Planet earns its 9 out of 10.

Value

I see some insane replay value in Lost Planet, mainly because of the targets you can snipe through each of the 11 missions. The length of the game was rather short but you can't really blame that on Capcom; it appears that's becoming a trend throughout the entire video game genre. During my first time through the game, I didn't even BEGIN to see them until I really began looking for them ... and that's when the side-line fun began.

Each of the targets form words, and, since I never completed an entire word, I never got a reward, but it looks like it's supposed to be pretty damn entertaining. This, as well as the multiplayer, appears to grant some serious replay value for months and months to the owner.

Value-wise, I grant Lost Planet it's extremely worthy 10 out of 10.

Multiplayer

I've tested out the multiplayer and have, in fact, been pretty proud of it. It was much better than I expected it to be, with a numerous amount of options and fun to be had. XBOX Live (though, really, when does it ever?) doesn't pair you up with people nearby ... which means that you can actually end up playing against other Lost Planet fans in South America or Japan. While I see where this could affect team communication, there wasn't really much to communicate about at the time and never really hindered the gameplay. There isn't much that stands out, but nothing that hinders it.

Another thing that some people seem to gripe about in Lost Planet's multiplayer mode is its lag. For those people, I suggest getting a better connection because I never (or rarely ever) had dots of lag anywhere, nowhere near what I've heard other people complain about periodically over the Internet and such.

They, obviously, are just using it as a cover-up for their lack of multiplayer skill.

For Lost Planet's multiplayer, I give it an 8 out of 10.

Bonus

Correct me if anybody sees something wrong with this, but I see a serious relation between this and Resident Evil 4, character-wise and cinematic-wise. The way it carried itself made me feel this was Resident Evil 4 in the future ... in space. That connection never really slowed me down, so it didn't really bother me.

But then I noticed something else about the cutscenes (especially about the faceoff Wayne has with [insert 2nd-to-last boss's name here] where they're speaking before they hop into their VS's) were extremely reminescent of Metal Gear Solid. Because of that, I think I played differently than if I hadn't seen the connection.

These aren't bad things, however, for I am a personal fan of the Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid series. I actually though these nice little cameos actually helped enhance the game severely and, because of that, I'll be granting Lost Planet an 8 out of 10 in the bonus department.

Overall, Lost Planet has scored an average of 8.7, an extremely unique game definitely worth your time and money, especially if you're a fan of such a genre.

And that's that! Another review stored in my records. I had an extremely fun time and, of course, it wouldn't be a review without the usual thanks to Nico from M80 Teams fame. Without him, I wouldn't've had such a great game to review.

Three cheers!

I'd definitely recommend this game to any fan of action or sci-fi, just because this game is so hardcore that a fan of such can't miss out on it. I guarantee you'll have a good time, if not better, than I did when I first played it. Enjoy.

Yet again, wish me luck -- I'm off to finish off those other Achievements and get my head into some multiplayer! This is Reaper, signing off!!

--Reaper

Lost Planet -- First Impressions

Yes, the copy I am to review of Lost Planet has arrived in the mail today. And, yet again, this has arrived from none other than my best friend in the world right now, Nico of M80 fame. Unfortunate to say, I haven't been able to test out the game and it is, in fact, still in its original plastic coating.

But don't let that affect your view of my diagnosis.

I am, of course, an avid WoW fan if you haven't caught on and, since Burning Crusade has just released, I've-- ... well, let me cut it short; I finally hit level 61. That was my weekend goal. Whihc means I have two complete days to dive into Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions and see how much goodness Capcom could pack onto their XBOX 360 disc and, of course, tell all of you about it as well.

I have played the single-player demo and, I must say, am quite amazed. I am knowledgable about Capcom's earlier works as well as their newer (Resident Evil 4, per se), but this game seemed ... seemed different. It had that hook-value that just drew you in and, once you completed both branches of the SP demo's campaign mode made you cry out in agony that it was over so soon.

Will this be the Resident Evil 4 killer? Will it potentially rival my Gears of War review?

You'll have to wait and find all this out and more ... within the coming 48 hours. Let the clock begin.

--Reaper