Lost Planet

Capcom’s chaotic pest-killing shooter, Lost Planet, skipped release dates throughout 2006 and finally wound up on store shelves this January. Many gamers got an early glimpse at the game through the Xbox Live Marketplace single- and multi-player demos, but yearned for the madness of 11 action-packed missions and several Xbox Live multiplayer modes. Was the wait worth it?

Lost Planet’s tale is one of a struggle for colonization of E.D.N. III, a hostile and frigid snowy wasteland. I magine a place where the harsh wind could scrape your skin off and the ground is stories-thick in snow. Humans, for whatever reason, began life on E.D.N. III until a vicious alien life form known as the Akrid attacked them. Fleeing E.D.N. III, humans discovered that the Akrid possess a valuable thermal energy. This motivated them to fight back (what people would do for another energy source, eh?). A group known as the Snow Pirates assembled, and using powerful Vital Suits (VSs) that utilize the thermal energy, they set out to fight the Akrid and gather thermal energy. Wandering throughout E.D.N. III, a small band of Snow Pirates discovered a man frozen solid in ice. The man remembers nothing about his past except his name (Wayne) and the fact that a huge Akrid called “Green Eye” killed his father. Wayne decides to help the Pirates, and players begin Lost Planet’s journey through frozen hell.

Capcom action games almost always have a survival mechanic combined with their intense battles, and Lost Planet is no exception. Wayne is equipped with a bracer that requires him to constantly find and use blobs of thermal energy just to stay alive. This means that while you are running through the bleak, windy snow fields of E.D.N. III, you will almost have to resist the Akrid and other enemy threats surrounding you. The Akrid in particular make themselves difficult to avoid and are quite varied in their design and attack patterns. You’ll fend off pesky flying Akrid, aggressive and enormous spider-like Akrid, and in the third level, you’ll have to avoid being eaten in one massive bite by a massive worm Akrid. You’ll often fight against other humans in VSs, and VS/VS fights are usually a lot of fun. Since Wayne can customize his VS with whatever weapons he finds scattered across the wasteland, battles can be pretty unique each time they are entered. Wayne needs to be properly equipped on his own and while he rests in the handy VSs.

Lost Planet utilizes other nifty mechanics to separate it from the pack. On its own, it is a game that controls slowly like Gears of War but doesn’t chump change its players with lesser amounts of action. In fact, Lost Planet can be quite intense at times. To help players quickly shoot enemies as they swarm around, Capcom implemented quick-turn buttons to the bumpers. When you press a bumper, you’ll instantly turn 90 degrees and look to the left or the right. This helps clear massive infestations of smaller Akrid, particularly with a shotgun. There is also an “anchor” that Wayne can use with the X button to evacuate sticky situations and elevate himself to new levels. It acts as a short-range grappling hook, and even early on players will find some obstacles that require the use of the anchor.

Lost Planet shouldn’t blow anyone away with its humble offering of weapons, but each weapon is pretty useful in itself. The standard machine gun will prove useful in almost any situation, unless Wayne finds himself stuck against multiple enemy VSs. In situations like that he’ll want the close-range shotgun, the powerful rocket launcher, or the energy-based energy gun and plasma gun. The latter two weapons actually disable VSs and are incredibly useful when Wayne finds himself staring at a field full of mechs. Possibly one of my new favorite weapons is the Disc Grenade, which Wayne can throw like a frisbee at an enemy or VS. The grenade attaches itself and detonates a second later, resulting in a massive and destructive (not to mention smoky and fiery) explosion.

With that I simply can’t ignore the graphics anymore. Lost Planet is a top-tier Xbox 360 game by all means. The environments are so massive and detailed that players in some situations will just want to stop and look around. Akrid designs are deadly and ferocious, and there are multiple occasions throughout the storyline where players might be halted by a surprising Akrid swarm just because the sheer size or massive numbers of Akrid are so fearsome. Lost Planet never skips a beat and runs healthily without missing frames, and I mentioned before that the explosions are smoky and fiery–Lost Planet has some cool effects like those, as well. The score is quite impressive and does its job to hook the player and provide an even better sense of atmosphere–I couldn’t help but feel like I was traversing Hoth in some situations! Of course, Akrid screams and roars are terrifying and would blow surround-sound players out of their chairs. Playing Lost Planet loudly is a lot of fun. Warn your neighbors.

Fortunately the fun doesn’t end after the 11 missions are over. Each mission is pretty long, so beating the game and earning the eleven mission achievements will take a decent amount of time. Completists will try to seek out each level’s multiple “target marks” and kill the awe-inspiring Akrid worm and moth that terrorize certain levels in the game. Xbox Live multiplayer provides decent entertainment, although I noticed that multiplayer was a little slow and sometimes when I was shot I wouldn’t have any idea where my shooter was at. Still, anyone looking for all 1,000 Gamerscore Points needs to hop online and duke it out for a few different achievements, like getting 50 headshots or earning a ranked level of 50. Earning all of the achievements will probably take some gamers more than 20 or 30 hours, which is quite an impressive chunk of time for an action game these days.

Lost Planet isn’t without its faults. Sometimes Wayne is too difficult to control, and when he is flopping around as a result of nearby explosions, he is fair game for more damage–control is taken away for a few seconds until on-screen animations finish and Wayne recuperates. This is incredibly annoying in examples like the beginning of mission 7, where Wayne is surrounded by enemies and VSs and is completely outmatched for a matter of time until he avoids enough gunfire and finds a VS for himself. Checkpoints seem to be spread out unevenly, and there are certain “cut-off” points in each level where players will not be able to explore previous areas in the level. This makes finding target marks and stockpiling thermal energy even harder. By the way, stockpiling thermal energy is great, but there should not have been a limit placed on how much Wayne could store. Also, I really hoped that the amount of thermal energy Wayne stored would matter when considering how fast his health regenerates. Wayne, while packing 9,999 units of thermal energy, will recharge at the same pace as he will when he’s running low with 500 units. This is something I criticized and wished would have been addressed before the game’s release.

Still, this is a game that I overlooked for too long. I highly advise other Xbox 360 gamers not to make the same mistake–Lost Planet doesn’t impress on the caliber of Gears of War or Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and it probably won’t dominate upcoming action games or take any game of the year awards, but it is up there with the likes of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Dead Rising, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, and other great Xbox 360 action games. Check it out for its single player first and foremost, and then dabble online. Stay warm.