Lost Planet Review (X360)

The first big game of 2007 is upon us, and after months of hype and anticipation, we can finally play Lost Planet. Was the wait worth it? I would say yes, but it does depend on what you were expecting. If you liked the demos that were released in 2006, you’ll love the final product. If you weren’t impressed by the demos, you can pass on Lost Planet. It really is as simple as that.

Story

Lost Planet takes place on an icy planet called E.D.N. III that was colonized by settlers from Earth. At first, the colonization went smoothly, but as the humans explored, they discovered giant insect like aliens known as Akrid. In order to survive on the harsh, frozen wastelands of the planet, the humans need thermal energy, something that the Akrid have plenty of stored in their bodies. So, instead of running from the aliens, the humans fight them in order to harvest their energy. The humans are greedy, however, and end up fighting each other for control of the energy in addition to fighting the Akrid.

In the game, you play as a young man named Wayne who is saved by a group of these “snow pirates”. His only memory is that his father was killed by a giant Akrid called “Green Eye”, and he is now out for revenge. It eventually becomes a bit more complicated than a simple revenge quest, but the overall story isn’t really anything to get excited about. I love the back-story and overall theme of the game, but the story of Wayne isn’t all that interesting.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Lost Planet isn’t really anything new or revolutionary, but it is well executed and can be a lot of fun. At its core, it is a third-person-shooter and plays pretty much like every other TPS you have every played, but it sets itself apart in a few key ways. First, you have a grappling hook that you can use to explore every nook and cranny of each level so you can find hidden weapons or secret tokens. The second way it sets itself apart is with the mechs that you can control. There are lots of different types of VS suits, including some that transform, and you can also swap out weapons and do different things with the suits so that no two battles ever have to be the same. The final way Lost Planet differentiates itself from other TPS games is that it is incredibly fast paced and very hectic. Enemies often come at you in waves, just like in shoot-em-up games, and standing up against the waves and fighting your way through is the key to the game. Also, there are some absolutely massive battles that you can take part in that involve dozens of enemies and enemy mechs and all sorts of craziness happening. Lost Planet it at its absolute best when the screen is filled with enemies and everything around you is blowing up. Thankfully, that happens a lot in this game. And then when you throw in the boss battles on top of that mix, where you fight huge enemies that won’t go down until you have thrown everything you have at them, then the game gets really good.

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