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Impressive graphics, sound... but kinda boring in all honesty...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 25 / 29
Date: March 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

You know, it's amazing that in this day and age, you can have a game with spectacular graphics and unbelievable surround sound and the game is just.... blah.

I mean, graphically Lost Planet is pretty nice. Beautiful, actually. There are some boss battles that are pretty astounding in how they are presented. There's one moment at the very beginning where a creature named Green Eye appears and the size of this thing is enough to make your jaw drop. There's also another moment when you're running across an open field getting chased by this monstrous worm thing that is an experience on its own. This is definitely a game that benefits from being played on an HDTV setup with surround sound.

But then the story kicks in and you can't deny that it makes very little sense, not to mention the fact that the hero of the story is really not an interesting character to begin with. The gameplay itself is a bit repetitive and really, the game just amounts to little more than eye and ear candy. Even when you're not on foot and riding around in the mechs, it just doesn't add up to any memorable experience.

The online portion of the game isn't enough to make you want to play it a lot, especially with games like Gears of War and Rainbow Six: Vegas out there. It's kind of stale and just not that interesting.

I'm really down the middle on this game. I'd say that it's worth a rental and then if you like it, get it. I wouldn't call this an outright purchase as it just didn't grab me the way I would've expected it to.

Thawing out the old school

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 26
Date: January 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Capcom, you've done it again! The developer that brought us Resident Evil continues its excellence in the next generation. In an industry that is relying more and more on realism and sequels, Capcom bucks the trend. First they graced the 360 with Dead Rising, the most original horror game in years, and now they've outdone themselves with the delightfully old-school shooter called Lost Planet: Extreme Condition.

The concept of bosses is a gaming convention, and in my opinion, one that should never be forgotten. There's nothing quite like the experience of outwitting and outgunning an overpowered enemy that is your superior. Let's face it, a good boss will usually squash you multiple times as you desperately try to figure out its weaknesses and patterns. The feeling of victory becomes that much sweeter as a result. Unfortunately, the boss has started to lose its popularity in favor of a more cinematic, realistic experience, especially when it comes to shooters. Thankfully, Lost Planet reminds us just how majestic boss fights can be, in jolting, electrifying fashion.

There's nothing overly complicated about LP's plot. Main character Wayne is found frozen in the wastelands of E.D.N. III, a planet that humans are trying to colonize. The local life forms, known as Akrid, take offense to the human invasion, and fight back. Wayne's father is slain early on by a particularly menacing Akrid called Green Eye, and Wayne is off on a mission of revenge, despite his amnesia. That's basically it. The story serves only as a device to set up the gunplay.

Some have called LP a next-gen Contra; a 3D version of a 2D side-scroller. In many ways, that's accurate: your goal is to run from one end of the level to the other, killing everything in your way. Barring your path to the next level is a boss, which you must defeat to advance. Capcom throws a couple of interesting elements into the mix: a grappling hook that can be used to scale snowdrifts, ice walls, and structures, and a constantly shrinking timer linked to Wayne's life that must be refilled by destroying enemies. These are interesting additions, but Lost Planet is unashamed of what it truly is: a run-and-gun shooter in which you must kill them before they kill you.

The highlight of the game, and the reason to buy it, is the gorgeous, menacing bosses. There's no way I'll spoil any of them for you, but rest assured that they are some of the most spectacular, memorable, intense, and downright fun experiences you can have on the 360. They have no mercy, and ask for none. They will come in all shapes and sizes, and all are pattern-based with weak spots, just like the bosses of old. They will give you a sense of wonder at their beauty, and will cause your killer instinct to boil. Your thumbs will ache as you make yourself become a master of the unusual controls, vehicles, armored suits, and weapons in order to defeat them. Forget tactifully ordering a squad of elite commandos, levelling up your party, or trying to stealthily hack computers: these are knock-down, drag-out virtual firefights of the highest order.

Needless to say, Lost Planet wraps these uncomplicated wonders in some of the best graphics seen to date. Capcom is not only a master of design, but also of technology. The explosions and smoke are comparable with Gears of War's. The frozen wastelands have an identity to them that is unmistakable and haunting. No slowdown or camera problems to hinder your viewing pleasure, either. A game set on an ice cube might sound boring, but this is one of the most striking settings that's been produced.

Multiplayer is passable, but not exciting. To be honest, it didn't seem like it was the focus. If you have any interest in playing an old-school shooter with a new-school coat of paint, Lost Planet belongs in your collection. Its basic nature is incredibly refreshing, and believe it or not, satisfying.

They don't make em like this too often anymore - enjoy it!

Good But Not Great

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: January 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game has amazing graphics and is really a lot of fun to play. So this is not a negative review, plus I have yet to use the Xbox live component, which I have heard is impressive. However, as far as the single player mode is concerned, the game is weak on a few fronts and you might want to rent it before buying
1.) The story is really crappy - lame dialogue - pointless missions - and undeveloped characters. The developers were going for Sci-Fi action, but the storyline comes out as Anime. The characters are completely forgettable and in most cases annoying.
2.) The missions, and there are not too many of them, are simple and Boss-oriented. They all seem to follow the same formula - ascend corridor -> fight boss, climb ridge -> fight boss
3.) The game is not strategic or tactical like Gears of War or COD. This is a "run-and-gun" shooter -- that is there is not much "taking cover" or flanking and a lot of running around and circle strafing bosses.

So while this game is fun, you might want to rent for the 3 reasons above. Plus you could probably play through this game in a couple of nights. If you don't intend to use the multiplayer options (online only - no split screen) you might want to rent or pick it up used.

Good, but not great game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: January 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The bottom line is this: this game is worth renting, but not buying.

Graphics
The graphics are good and live up to the "next gen." hype. Despite being set on an ice planet, the game manages to throw in different enviroments so you're not constantly walking around in white snow and ice.

Gameplay
Overall, this is very solid. The game is played from an over-the-shoulder perspective, similar to Gears of War (albeit from a zoomed out perspective). The weapons and reloading are fairly intuitive; and like most new games, you can only carry two weapons at a time. Now, it wouldn't be a Japanese sci-fi game if it didn't have mechs; and this game has plenty of those. They're integrated fairly well, and there is plenty of varity in mech types. The last mech, however, is a ridiculous flying machine that attacks with lazer swords - great for japanime fans; not so much for everyone else. The singleplayer campaign is pretty linear. You move from point A to point B with little variety; but that doesn't make it dull. The bosses in this game are a great throw-back to games of the 80's when bosses were big, hard to beat, and usually involve some hidden weakness.

Story
This is where the game loses a lot of points. The story is poorly told, and just plain stupid. The cutscenes are generally pretty silly, and you'll enjoy the game more if you skip through them. I won't spoil anything, but I've seen this is a common complaint - the story is worse than something you see on weekday afternoon cartoons.

Online play
Online supports up to 16 players at a time and has 4 game modes: Elimination (every man for himself), Team Elimination, Post grab (control different areas); and Fugitive which is the only unique game, pitting the host against everyone else. The online play is fun, and there are enough achivements to keep people playing for a while. But after a while, it feels repetitive and a little frustrating. It also fails to separate out language zones, so you may be stuck on a team with French and Japanese - try to coordinate anything then!

This game was a fun renter, and the campaign mode is long enough that it should keep you occupied over the weekend. The online play is fun, but after a few hours, the novelty wears off. Avoid the story in this game at all costs.

Could have been awesome ...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 13
Date: January 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Totally awesome at first but once you've seen all the special effects and killed the same things a thousand times you get really board!

Every single level has the exact same construction.
1. start running
2. get guns(always the same guns)
3. shoot alot ... then shoot some more ... blow stuff up
4. run!
5. fight the huge boss at the end.

The AI is unbelievably stupid. You can run right up to "Snow Pirates" and they just stand there ... lame.

The story is so bad that i have to skip all the scenes. Just so stupid. Dont be fooled by the tv commercials that show some huge battle with lots of ppl ... it's just you.

The online game pretty much sucks you never know what you're doing and you cant even see your score unless you have an HDTV ... lame.

You know I couldn't wait for this game. I preordered it and everything. But after only a week I put Rainbow Six Vegas back in my box and forgot all about lost planet.

If you want to play the entire game just download the demo on xbox live and play it 11 times.

Game could have been awesome ...

Ice Pirates on Hoth

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I put Lost Planet: Extreme Condition on my wish list because it looked like Gears of War crossed with Robotech, featuring giant mecha and tiny soldiers battling huge monsters in a frozen environment. That's more or less what I got.

Our hero, Wayne Holden (modeled after Byung-hun Lee and voiced in English by Josh Keaton), loses his father to a giant Akrid known as Green Eye. When the archvillain of the game is chiefly known by the color his eyes, it's an indicator that perhaps the translation isn't perfect. Or to put it another way, we don't call Godzilla "Flaming Mouth."

Anyway, Wayne wakes up on the same frozen planet, rescued by the tasty purple-haired Luka (Christina Puccelli) and her aggravating little brother Rick (Justin Shenkarow). Rick's one of those characters who always wears goggles, as if they're surgically affixed to his face. He's a staple of anime, the energetic techie that tags along with the hot chick to make her more effective, since said hot chick doesn't seem to do a whole lot besides make poor fashion choices.

Yuri (Andrew Kishino), who looks like a villain, complete with narrow gaze and white hair, leads Luka and Rick. With Wayne joining their merry band, they're ready to go out into the frozen world and steal stuff.

They're Ice Pirates...sorry, I mean Snow Pirates. Well, not really - they're actually the Rebels to NEVEC's Empire, battling on Hoth...

Wait, this isn't the Empire Strikes Back?

Which review is this? Lost Planet? Oh yeah, right.

Sorry, sorry, my attention wandered from the convoluted plot. It involves Wayne losing his memory, a bit of time travel, a weird glowy thing attached to his arm that powers the mecha (sorry, VIRTUAL SUITS...can't the anime community agree on a standardized term for these bloody things?), some rivalry between Luka and some other mannish-sound woman, and another bad guy (we know he's bad because he wears glasses) who wants to take...over...THE WORLD! MUAAHAHAHAHA!

This is a mech game masquerading as a third-person shooter. Wayne plods along, even when there's no snow. He stumbles when he jumps. Fortunately, he has a grappling hook that fires from his wrist and never manages to dislocate his arm. I ended up shooting the grappling hook at a lot of stationary objects and dragging Wayne along like a slower, dumber version of Spider-Man.

The other challenge is that Wayne requires heat to live. Fortunately, the Akrid provide it, which really motivates Wayne to kill them however he can. There are also huge vats of energy lying around that are just waiting to be shot up. What doesn't make nearly as much sense is why Wayne has to power up his heat energy when he's indoors. Or in a volcano. Seriously.

The Akrid are beautiful to behold. They are all weird, squiggly bug-types, each unique and varied and most of all HUGE. Lost Planet revels in the size of the landscape, throwing giant worms and massive moths at you as you struggle with poor mini-Wayne to get to a mech. Once you're in a mech, the game becomes much more fun, because you can move faster than a snail's pace and blow things up much more effectively.

The human opponents, also in mechs and on foot, are annoying and suffer from the I MUST SHOUT SOMETHING BEFORE I DIE syndrome. Every time. When you kill a lot of these guys, the slogans and rallying cries get old. The Akrid bosses, who don't speak, make up for it.

In fact, the game is all about the bosses. Each is innovative, challenging, and terrible to behold. However, Lost Planet is a game of attrition; on the longer levels it carries over the energy you collected in the beginning. Since heat energy and damage are tied together, failing to get enough energy or taking too much damage in an earlier part of the game can make a boss battle impossible. I had to restart two levels from scratch until I got it right.

But Lost Planet is addicting. I played it on hard and all of the boss battles were very close. Two of the boss fights ended with Wayne going through two mecha, a handful of grenades and a missile launcher. Now THAT'S a fun game!

A GREAT LOOKING ARCADE GAME

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: January 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Wooow..... you run!..... You shoot...... You get shot..... YOU GET A MEDKIT!..... youre all right to keep running and shooting.
This is like those old arcade games in which you loose "energy" when you get shot and your "energy" goes up when you get a medkit or eat something.

Nothing like the great games where you die from one well placed shot, and you really have to take care of yourself, crouching, hiding, taking cover, and THINKING about what you have to do to survive..... No MEDKITS to save the day, and no lives.
HAIL rainbow six vegas!, Ghost recon AW!, GEARS OF WAR!, and all the real tactical shooters (Americas Army on the PC is another one of those).

This game is great for pure action lovers, but if you like tactics, dont even rent it.
(just my humble opinion anyway).

Halo on Ice

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 15
Date: January 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game today(Jan 12th 2007),the day it came out. I quickly checked out the reviews from EGM and went out and bought it. It was an icy-freezing day outside, and was a great chance to play Lost Planet next to a warm and toasty Xbox 360. I popped it in the drive and immedietlly was immersed into LPEC's chilly High Def winterland. The Gameplay is sharp, graphics are the best of any 360 game yet, and you have to be quick and utilze the 90 degree turn features in order to defeat the insect like Akrid. Nice work Capcom and Havok. 5 stars

Great Monsters - No Co-Op Play

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Lost Planet - Extreme Condition is a classic run-and-gun game set on a frozen planet. This isn't a game of stealth or strategy. You see, you shoot, you move on.

There is a plot here - but it's really best to ignore it. You, a young teen guy, are battling either ice monsters or other clans of pirates. Sometimes you fight both simultaneously. Missions in essence tell you - "go here, kill everything".

Part of the fun is that you get to fight both on foot and inside a mech, hopping in and out whenever the whim takes you. This gives you a nice variety of weapons to choose from. Now, I have to comment that for a space-age distant planet colony, these weapons seem pretty modern times. You would think they would have progressed to laser cannons and plasma rifles as their sole weapons by now. I do like the grapple hook, though. It gave a fun, Zelda-like aspect to many of the levels.

To add to the arcadey feel, your health naturally depletes over time and the only way to stay alive is to collect replenishing energy. Silly? Perhaps. But no more silly than most other arcade games and the reasons they give for you to collect objects.

What's really impressive here is the way that large enemies seem "massive". You really get the sense that these are giant, ponderous beasts with weight and heft. The designers did a good job with enemy design and boss battles. From the small, intricate flying beasties to the larger main enemies, each creature is enjoyable to fight. Speaking of Zelda, you even get Goron-like rolling rock monsters.

But, to diverge into the storyline for a brief moment, isn't it a bit troubling that man-kind has decided to land on a super-snowy (i.e. not ideal) planet - and when it found indigenous life there - decided that the appropriate action was therefore to wipe it all out? Surely if we're going to be on a hostile-environment planet anyway, we could find one without current inhabitants ...

I also wish they had in-home multiplayer. Playing online on XBox Live is all fine and good, but with the relatively short built in missions, I'd really like to play co-op with a friend against them, and crank it up to super hard. That would be a ton of fun. I love playing this type of game multiplayer co-op, and for them to not even have that as an option seems a great shame.

So a nice start - but I'd like to see a Lost Planet 2 with a better plotline, better weapons, and co-op play.

Lost Planet is lost on me

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

At the time of its release, Lost Planet was arguably the most hyped game from CAPCOM since Dead Rising blew the minds of many, myself included. While it boasts a load of potential it is ruined by a horribly fiddly control system.

Thrown into a cliched revenge story on a desolate ice-covered planet, we quickly learn the importance of a well thought-out control system. Sadly, this is what makes the game so painful; if it wasn't for the controls this game would have a lot going for it. The main problem is that the right analog stick controls your direction, but if you tap it quickly you spin quickly in that direction. So if you're facing one direction and tap down, you'll turn 180 degrees. What this means though, is if you're trying to aim at something and just want to adjust your site very slightly and you just tap the right stick, you're suddenly facing a completely different direction, which makes for VERY frustrating boss fights. And the control settings aren't modifiable! At least not the problematic ones anyway.

Most of the game involves action on foot or controlling mech warrior style machines called Vital Suits which are actually pretty cool. There are different types of machines to keep things interesting. Your character also possesses a Batman style grappling hook which is pretty cool but overall the gameplay really suffers due to the controls.

The graphics are very nice, with large, explorable environments with finely detailed snow and fog. The enemies vary in their quality but typically the bosses are very detailed. There are some very nice fire and lighting effects as well so overall the graphics are really very good.

But when it really comes down to it, the controls RUIN this game. It's probably even more disappointing because you can see the games potential as well. It's like when you meet a really hot girl and you start getting along with her great and then she says she has a boyfriend.

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