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DVD
EXPRESS
|
Lost Planet Company: Capcom Website: Official Site Estimated Street Price: $49.99/£39.99 Review By: Byron Hinson |
Features
One of the most long awaited games on the Xbox 360 since the launch is finally with us, it seems like an age since the first demo was released on the Xbox Live! Marketplace early last year and everyone has been waiting with baited breath to see how the final version turns out. Capcom have been on a roll over the past year or so with excellent releases such as Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube) and more recently on the Xbox 360 with Dead Rising.
In Lost Planet, human snow pirates navigate VS (Vital Suits) through hostile ice-covered environments, fighting against the indigenous Akrid creatures for the precious thermal energy they need to survive. For one such pilot named Wayne, death almost seemed imminent until he was fortunately rescued. However, he can only remember a few fragments of his past including the slaying of his father by the monstrous beings. Yet under the veil of ice, a devious plot has been set into motion by NEVEC. What really happened to Wayne and how will his destiny become intertwined with NEVEC’s plans?
Taking full advantage of the Xbox 360’s unprecedented power, Lost Planet will contain an unrivalled level of detail as advanced light sourcing is used to ensure a realistic presentation. Enormous world maps unfold as players battle the menacing invaders during blistering weather conditions throughout vast snow fields and deserted cities. Fostering a real-time loading system, players can expect a seamless experience that leaves them completely immersed. Multiplayer modes add to the value of Lost Planet by allowing players to partake in intense team battles via the Xbox Live® online game service.
Features:
- Xbox Live enabled – Experience an array of gameplay possibilities with online cooperative battles.
- Vehicle based gameplay – Jump in and out of a variety of heavily armed vehicles not only to help them traverse the treacherous terrain, but eliminate the terrifying enemies that threaten their survival.
- Vast arctic environments - Snowstorms, arctic winds, towering mountains of ice are all stunningly realized, creating a truly immersive and cinematic event of epic proportions.
- A premier team of developers – The creators of the Onimusha and Devil May Cry series have come together to create the expansive world of Lost Planet.
How Does It play
| Review Quotes |
| "Graphically the game is excellent with no slow down at all, even in the big boss battles. This may be because Capcom has once again not enabled V-Sync which means you get a lot of screen splitting (tearing) in the game when moving around. It doesn't distract from the game itself or some of the excellent graphics on show, but I'd prefer a perfect smooth game to one that tears. " |
Lost Planet is pretty basic in premise, it doesn't do anything new, but what it does is do it all well. You play the game as Wayne who I mentioned earlier, he was discovered under snow and has little remembrance of his past. All he can remember is that his father was killed by one of the largest Akrid (the main enemy in the game) called the Green Eye and it becomes his aim to avenge his death. The story carries this through as well as introducing more characters and a ridiculous plot and storyline that isn't really worth listening to in the long run. This played out through loads of cutscenes, which while graphically very good, add nothing to the game and are not even action packed and feel a bit slow paced compared to the gameplay. Thankfully these can be skipped past so you can just get back into the game.
As we have just said, you can ignore the story and get straight into the action. The game serves up loads of alien and human enemies for you to take on and take out. You take control of a mass of different weapons from a machine gun to grenade launchers and energy guns. Controlling your movement is done with the left analog stick and aiming is done with the right. It takes a bit of getting used to, especially as the targeting reticule moves independent of the game camera. Lost Planet also has aim assistance turned on as default which means it moves to the nearest target you are moving over with the targeting reticule, I found this a little annoying especially during the large boss fights as it would target smaller enemies I didn't want to be fighting, the good thing is that it can be turned off.
During the game you have to kill enemies and then pick up something called "Thermal Energy", this can be used to replenish your heath and keep you alive while out in the snow. The Thermal Energy drains away all the time slowly and if it runs out you'll eventually die. Some boss creatures drop larger amounts of energy and the data posts that are strewn throughout levels which are used to map out your route around the level can be activated and you'll get a large amount of energy that way too. While energy draining seems like a good idea, it just doesn't really work in the game as there are so many enemies to kill you never really run out of it. I could see it working in a way that the environment is so cold that it drains your energy quicker when out in the open, but not even that happens.
As you battle your way through each level you will come up against various bosses. These range from massive Akrid to some humans in mechs. The boss fights are the usual Capcom fair, it tends to take a number of goes before you figure out the right steps to take out the enemy. These battles are the main part of the single player game though and also are the best part, they are always entertaining and full of action and some excellent set pieces that really make it feel like you are part of a big action movie.
The game also isn't just set in snow, there are insides of volcanoes that show of some of the excellent artwork in the game there are also many indoor areas. The levels are quite large in themselves, you have a grappling hook (probably from the Devil May Cry team) to get you up higher in the levels as well as many Mechs that are strewn about the levels for you to get into. Overall the single player game can probably be completed in ten hours, longer if you collect all the specials such as targets and kill all the main creatures such as worms and moths to break open more achivements.
Now gets into the Multiplayer parts of Lost Planet, as this seems like the area the most work has been done in. The game supports up to 16 other plays in online battle mode. There are eight different maps and four varied game modes. They are deathmatch, team deathmatch, all against one fugitive and a fun team based game called Post Grab in which you have to activate data points on a map and then defend the points. While it may sound like there are not many maps in the game, each map can have various layouts, this means there are changes to where the locations of weapons, mechs and starting points are. The levels are also quite large which means you are not playing deathmatch in cramped areas where you can just run into people and get killed easily.
Playing online battles lets you earn points to raise your characters levels. This can unlock not only achievements, but also some new skins to use in other online games. One thing I have to praise Capcom for is that the servers are full of every nationality from English to Japanese players which is great to see as well as great to play against especially as there is little lag to speak of and some very fun games to be had online.
Graphically the game is excellent with no slow down at all, even in the big boss battles. This may be because Capcom has once again not enabled V-Sync which means you get a lot of screen splitting (tearing) in the game when moving around. It doesn't distract from the game itself or some of the excellent graphics on show, but I'd prefer a perfect smooth game to one that tears. The game doesn't quite have the wow factor that some of Gears of War had, but overall its pretty close to being as good as that game, so we're probably looking at the 2nd best looking title on the Xbox 360 right now. The music is also excellent and fits in well with the action going on in the game. The speech though isn't that great with some poor voice acting throughout the game.
Final Comments
|
Byron's Gamertag |
| Specs & Package | |
| Overall Score | 89% |
| Version Reviewed | Lost Planet (PAL) |
| Release Date | Out Now |
| In The Box? |
1 Lost Planet DVD-ROM 1 Set Of Instructions |
| The Good Points |
Excellent Graphics Very Good Multiplayer |
| The Bad Points |
Basic Singleplayer gameplay Poor story |
| HD Resolutions |
480p 720p 1080i |
