Great game, great price!
With all the mixed opinions about Lost Planet, it is hard to take it very seriously, but after playing this game for about four hours I was sold. At first the game seems to move much too quickly, starting you off in a underground complex with your father and a group of men, retreating from a horde of alien creatures known as the Akrid. Pretty soon you find yourself immersed in a cinematic like experience, running from a giant Akrid known as Green-Eye, your squad mates cover your back while you run to meet up with your father who is struggling to fight the beast in his VS ( Lost Planets unique mech-like vehicle) .
The single player campaign from what I have played so far is well structured and overall a very fun experience. There are 11 missions in all, which usually last anywhere between 25-45 minutes, or even longer on a high difficulty. Difficulties include Easy, Normal, Hard, and Extreme. In the campaign you fight both the menacing Akrid and angry Snow Pirates in fast paced, action-packed battles. You use T-ENG (which you collect from fallen enemies and scattered radar posts) to keep warm. If your T-ENG happens to run out, then you unfortunately die…but T-ENG is plentiful, and does not go away too fast, so does not really become the “BIG” problem other popular review’s make it out to be. I think it provides a realistic spin on the game. At the end of every mission there is a boss battle to be fought. Unlike most games where you absolutely despise fighting the boss and feel like throwing your controller into the wall, in Lost Planet Boss battles are very fun and entertaining , as a matter of fact you might look forward to them. VS’s are scattered all around most of the maps, and provide a different approach at the levels. They are easily one of the best parts of the game.
The one major problem in the game that I find rather annoying is simply the enemy Humans (or Snow Pirates) AI …it is absolutely terrible. Most of the time they simply stand there starring at you, squeezing off a few shots for the hell of it. Every once in a while they might decide to randomly dive into a wall to avoid your shot, but end up getting stuck in some random snow drift. But, it still proves fun.
Graphics and Sound are brilliant, even rivaling the Xbox 360’s current number 1 game, Gears of War. Snow and outdoor environments will simply make your jaw drop, while explosions and beautifully detailed shrapnel and debris fly past your characters head or impale your VS’s armor plating. Level design is awesome. I love the different environments, especially the awesome abandoned frozen cities with scattered frozen Akrid bodies everywhere.
Multiplayer is not too shabby either. There are plenty of great designed levels to keep you busy, all of them boasting multiple VS’s and weapons to use against your opponents. Gametypes include Elimination, Team Elimination, Post Grab, and Akrid Hunter. My personal favorite is Post Grab, it adds a lot of tactical aspect to the experience. Lost Planet’s Multiplayer experience might not be the best on the 360, but it is certainly not to be overlooked.
Overall Lost Planet IS a must buy for the 360. If you already have Gears of War or Halo 3, then make sure you get this game to add to your Xbox 360 collection, you won’t regret it.
