The graphics are hot, but the gameplay is frozen

Besides it's pretty graphics and effects, Lost Planet doesn't really offer much in the way of exciting gameplay.


Back at E3 05' a trailer was shown revealing a fast-paced not to mention great looking action game. Unfortunately, the visuals are all Lost Planet has going for it.

You start off with a character named Wayne. Wayne's father was killed by a large tremor like monster known as the "Green eye" (Who ironically has a green eye). The game is set in the future where humans attempt to colonize on another planet known as E.D.N 3. Everything is going according to plan when suddenly large creatures known as the "Akrid" become a threat to humanity. You shortly find out that the Akrid are withholding thermal energy, which appears as a bright orange spot. The humans decide to take advantage of the thermal energy and use it for warmth.The Akrid have a suspicious resemblance to Starship troopers, in that the best comparison would be an ant mixed with a crab. Besides the Akrid, You will also be fighting Snow Pirates, groups of unfriendly human foe, for no apparent reason. I meen, I don't know about you, but if I was on a freezing cold planet with only a small population of humans, not to mention giant bugs, I'd want to kill every human I saw. Later in the game you team up with a computer whiz and just Wayne's luck, my guess would be the most attractive girl on the planet.

Someone over at Capcom has definitely been watching "The Young and the Restless", because every cut-scene seems like a drawn out soap-opera. Honestly, even when guns are blazing, it's not slightly interesting. The dialogue is boring and over-acted.

For the most part you'll play the game on foot from a third person perspective, which is where the problems begin to show their ugly face. Wayne runs way to slow. A small wrong turn will lead into a half-hour long trek. Running however, isn't the only slow thing Wayne does, when an enemy knocks you down, he'll take an eternity getting up which leads you very vulnerable to more attacks. Know those Mortal Kombat players who as soon as they get you down, never let you get back up and continue fighting? think of it as that. Wayne does carry however a batman like grappling hook that allows you to scale just about anything solid in the game.

The levels work by a "Level 1, Level 2, Level 3" manor, seen in games back in...oh, the 80's. The environments themselves are alright, nearly all of them looking like a snowy wasteland. Lost Planet does a good job of conveying the temperature. Some parts have you walking through lava filled caves that is truly a site to behold. At the end of each level you'll be faced with a usually enormous boss that has little relevance to the story and just sort of pops up. The bosses range in difficulty throughout the game, ie: Level 4 boss may be harder than level 8 boss.

The shining point for the game are Mechs called "Vital-suits". I honestly would of proffered if the game was all Vital suits and no on foot. The great thing about the Vital Suits is that you can mix and match the weapons they are carrying. Example, one arm can have a machine gun while the other has a rocket launcher, you can also off the weapons on each arm and use it while on foot. The smart thing is, the button you use to pick up weapons, also happens to be the button used to get out. Realistically, the game hints towards using Vital Suits for every boss battle. Infact, if your VS gets destroyed during a boss battle, you may as well start the fight all over again because you have absolutely no chance of killing it on foot.

The weapons are the usual arsenal. Sniper rifles, Machine guns, rocket launchers, plasma rifle, shotgun, and the usual grenades. You can carry two of these weapons at a time, not that it would make a difference because just about every rifle does the same amount of damage.

Multiplayer supports up to 16 players. You get your standard modes, deathmatch, team-deathmatch, capture the flag. The game tries to convince you that you have some sort of choice as to what skin you want to use, and you do, after leveling up and earning points, you'll be introduced to a new variety of characters. The big catch with Multiplayer is the grappling hooks and VS. The thing is, it's very easy for players to get cheap kills with the hooks. One instance an enemy was slung in mid-air hanging from a wall infront of our spawn point. I couldn't get a shot off because every time me or my team-mates respawned we would be killed.

Another annoying aspect of Lost Planet is the health regeneration system. Wayne has a device on his arm that allows him to sustain extreme conditions (no pun intended). Throughout the game there's a meter in the corner of your screen showing your thermal energy count. This depletes every second or so, forcing you to collect more energy and thus, kill more enemies. This is not only annoying because it's pretty much like a time limit, but that it's completely pointless. You'll rarely even give a glance to the meter because it never really gets at a dangerously low level throughout the game.

The music is half-decently done. Featuring orchestral scores that suit the gameplay relatively well. It's one of those games where the music ramps up whenever combat gets intense. Unfortunately the music is about the only good thing in the audio department.

You'll be fighting alone for just about the entire game. Which is disappointing because often times you'll be faced with an enormous amount of enemies that you have to take down single handedly. While your trying to focus on take down one thing, bullets are hitting you from every which way, losing your concentration. Co-op would have been nice, hell, I'd even take a couple of bots to fight along side.

Lost Planet is a short game as well, giving you only 11 missions that end all to quickly. The multiplayer is less than stellar, so any reason to come back to play this one, is obsolete.

While it is by no meens the best shooter on the 360, it's certainly not the worst either. Small, annoying things just interfere with the gameplay to much to make it a solid, enjoyable action game. With a short single-player campaign, annoying cinematics and a multiplayer that cuts a few corners, Lost Planet gets tiresome after a while. But, at the end of the day, if you like mindless explosions and or shooters, you'll want to check it out.