My Bits and Bytes: Despite hype, Lost Planet loses with tired plot
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Xbox 360)
Ever since I played the demo way back in October, I thought that this game was going to be pretty awesome. I didn't buy it because my bud decided to pick it up before me and after a couple days of playing it, he advised me not to bother, but to wait until he was finished with it. I'm glad I took his warning.
I didn't want to start off sounding too negative, so I'll turn to the positives first. The main thing that stands out right away is the graphics. I have a nice TV and the snowy environments are beautiful and I've heard they look better on a true HD TV. The character models, monsters and cut scenes all look wicked.
The controls, for the most part, are responsive and easy to use. It's easy to target creatures, switch your weapons and throw grenades (not at the same time, though). The only thing that bothered me is not being able to use your grappling hook in mid air. The floating jumps just make you feel like you should have that Spidey-type ability.
The story is your typical video game sci-fi story. There's a plot that doesn't make too much sense (or perhaps I just didn't care), with both betrayal and technology working against people or just ending up in the wrong hands. The main character (whatever his name is) is on a mission to find out why his father died and who's to blame.
I don't want to ruin too much of the basic story, but there's just so much clichéd stuff here that the only reason to keep going through the game is to see what creatures may pop up next or to keep getting the dismal achievement points (that's why I kept playing).
Speaking of the bosses, besides the beautiful environments, this is the reason to keep plowing through the game. I have to warn you to play this game through on the regular difficulty first because the harder difficulty is insane while you try to figure out the bosses and the game throws even more baddies at you. I also would like to slap the person who made the level nine boss. I hate you.
Lost Planet has enough online modes and maps to make the most hardcore player happy. The fact is that I haven't tried the multiplayer yet and I've had the game in my possession for about a month now. The single player campaign didn't grab me enough to want to play this online (or even check it out). I'm sure with my little break from work coming up that I'll need something to do and I'll give it a shot. If I have any fun with it, I'll make sure I report it.
Lost Planet is a rental, plain and simple. The only reason to go back to play this game once you've finished it is to try to kill the insane CPU on the hard difficulty or to locate these little coins that, if you find them all in each level, gives you achievement points. I say it's not worth it. Although the game looks pretty and gave me a few “holy crap!” moments, this one is getting a 6 out of 10.
Ever since I played the demo way back in October, I thought that this game was going to be pretty awesome. I didn't buy it because my bud decided to pick it up before me and after a couple days of playing it, he advised me not to bother, but to wait until he was finished with it. I'm glad I took his warning.
I didn't want to start off sounding too negative, so I'll turn to the positives first. The main thing that stands out right away is the graphics. I have a nice TV and the snowy environments are beautiful and I've heard they look better on a true HD TV. The character models, monsters and cut scenes all look wicked.
The controls, for the most part, are responsive and easy to use. It's easy to target creatures, switch your weapons and throw grenades (not at the same time, though). The only thing that bothered me is not being able to use your grappling hook in mid air. The floating jumps just make you feel like you should have that Spidey-type ability.
The story is your typical video game sci-fi story. There's a plot that doesn't make too much sense (or perhaps I just didn't care), with both betrayal and technology working against people or just ending up in the wrong hands. The main character (whatever his name is) is on a mission to find out why his father died and who's to blame.
I don't want to ruin too much of the basic story, but there's just so much clichéd stuff here that the only reason to keep going through the game is to see what creatures may pop up next or to keep getting the dismal achievement points (that's why I kept playing).
Speaking of the bosses, besides the beautiful environments, this is the reason to keep plowing through the game. I have to warn you to play this game through on the regular difficulty first because the harder difficulty is insane while you try to figure out the bosses and the game throws even more baddies at you. I also would like to slap the person who made the level nine boss. I hate you.
Lost Planet has enough online modes and maps to make the most hardcore player happy. The fact is that I haven't tried the multiplayer yet and I've had the game in my possession for about a month now. The single player campaign didn't grab me enough to want to play this online (or even check it out). I'm sure with my little break from work coming up that I'll need something to do and I'll give it a shot. If I have any fun with it, I'll make sure I report it.
Lost Planet is a rental, plain and simple. The only reason to go back to play this game once you've finished it is to try to kill the insane CPU on the hard difficulty or to locate these little coins that, if you find them all in each level, gives you achievement points. I say it's not worth it. Although the game looks pretty and gave me a few “holy crap!” moments, this one is getting a 6 out of 10.
