http://sfx-360.com/index.php?idReview=469
Loneliness has been such a prevailing element in so many games to incite that sense of fear and desperation in players. Perhaps the misconception that this idea brings about is that loneliness is reserved for the survival horror genre, but that’s not necessarily the case. In the original Lost Planet the player controlled Wayne, a young snow pirate who, after being attacked by an enormous alien creature known as an Akrid, is frozen solid in a block of ice for 30 years. When he is thawed by another band of snow pirates they realize that Wayne has no memory of his past except for a few jarring memories of his father, his name, and the Akrid that caused the destruction of his last team, the Green Eye. The most notable part about Lost Planet was its overbearing sense of loneliness. Though Wayne made contact with others over the course of the game, the enormous levels took him through massive snow covered terrains filled with enemies and little else to lighten the atmosphere. This made the players sympathize with Wayne; he had witnessed a horribly traumatic experience that wiped out his only family and he didn’t even have the memory to consolidate that fact. It was a lonely road he traveled on. This sense of fear and desperation is made ever the more potent by the fact that everyone that Wayne crossed was an enemy as well as the fact that some of Wayne’s adversaries measured stories high and could, in the most literal since, swallow him whole. But the fight continued.
Lost Planet 2, however, takes this sense of loneliness and casts it windward. You are not alone in this game and to the best wishes of the developers you will never be alone. Everything is based on a sense of co-op and teamwork and for the most part it’s almost impossible to traverse the game on your own without the companionship of either the AI or of other players online. For this reason the entire game is built around a cooperative epicenter. Everything from the campaign to the multiplayer can be played online and it is heavily encouraged that you do so; the AI isn’t always the smartest or most useful bunch and can quickly become a burden when you have to traverse a dangerous area quickly but everyone is too busy staring at a recently painted wall to care. If there is any consolation/incentive to playing with the AI it’s that they are the epitome of cannon fodder and when you need to take care of VSs throughout the game they do a good job of whittling away at its health.
But anyway I’m getting ahead of myself. Lost Planet 2 takes place on the same planet as the first game, EDN III; a hostile world that is both a frozen tundra and a grave for the snow pirates that have begun to call the planet home. However, after the results of the first game EDN III has begun to thaw and reveal different locales ranging from tropical jungles to dessert wastelands (it’s rather amazing how entire forests and jungles have grown in a matter of ten years). In this game you take on the role of various no named snow pirates (though at this point the name has become rather discriminatory, perhaps we should call them “pirates” instead). This is done essentially to take the focus off of the single character and instead instill a group dynamic that will help and encourage players to be more effective in assisting one another. Each of the pirates that the player controls is part of a different unit and for the most part each pirate serves to show off the different locations of the game, whether that be an urban city, a snow covered battlefield, a dessert village, or a jungle paradise. However, despite the constant change of character there is little else going on with the pirates that affects gameplay. All actions are performed exactly the same whether you are a snow pirate, sand pirate, or a jungle pirate.
As a pirate there are a few notable elements of Lost Planet that set it apart from standard third person shooters (TPS). For the most part the perspective of the camera gives a very far view of the character which allows the player to see a substantially greater degree of information at any given time. This is important because generally the player has to be aware of several different enemies as well as his teammates and weapons while at the same time trying to tie his shoes and recite his ABCs backwards.
Some of the major elements that define Lost Planet’s gameplay stem from the game’s powersource known as T-ENG (thermal energy). The entire game is based off of this orangish liquid and ultimately without it there would be no way for the pirates to survive on the planet EDN III (not to mention the fact that there wouldn’t be much of a plot to the game). T-ENG is necessary for the player to restore his life as well as control some of the larger equipment in the game. Whenever enemies are defeated, whenever structures are demolished, or when vehicles are destroyed there is always a little T-ENG left behind. Through destruction (and data-posts hidden throughout levels) the player can collect extensive supplies of T-ENG which serve to support his survival on such a non-hospitable world.
One of the most important elements of the Lost Planet is the games VS (Vital Suit), T-ENG represents the all important fuel source for these mechs. These relatively large machines allow you to fight enemies that would otherwise seem too large or plentiful and give you that necessary “upperhand“ to keep the game from feeling cheap or unfair. In addition to that VSs offer the player a few unique moves that make utilizing them fun and entertaining.
One of the strongest points of Lost Planet 2 is its extensive diversity of weapons. There is an enormous stockpile of weapons that makes gameplay a pretty mixed bag. Generally along the course of the Campaign you’ll probably be experimenting with several forms of armaments, finding the weapon that matches your personality or just provides that explosive umph that you’re looking for. I believe that all weapons from the original have returned in this sequel but at the same time there are so many more. It would take way too long to mention them all but there are new laser weapons, a new pistol, a new battle armor, a shield, and even some new VSs to play with.
One thing that feels like a letdown in this game is the fact that the character still has that eerie “walking in snow” feel. It’s a minor gripe that was a basis in the first game primarily because the character spent his entire time trudging through the winter wonderland, but with all of the new terrain you would think that the player would have the ability to walk like a normal person who does not slam their feet into the ground as if angry at the Earth with every step they take. Again its minor, but its there and its pretty noticeable.
On the note of mobility the character this time around has been given the ability to dash. By holding the “B” button (The “O” button on the PS3) the player can “sprint” across the field instead of walking. Though it does alleviate that trudging feeling, it doesn’t really feel like you’re going anywhere any faster than if you just walked normally; the need to hold a button to perform the maneuver just seems to make it a nuisance. In addition to that it seems that people at Capcom have been enjoying a little bit of time playing Gears of War, or at least watching and taking notes. This is evident in the dash maneuver. Whenever the character enters a dash the camera zooms in and begins to shake from side to side as if to simulate the Gears “roadie run”. It’s interesting, but it doesn’t seem nearly as effective as it does in Gears of War. Another important element along the line of mobility, perhaps the most important, is the pirate’s grappling hook. This tool is used to pull the character toward any surface that he points at, assuming that surface is a secure wall of sorts. It’s very similar to Rico Rodriguez’s (Just Cause 2) grappling hook in that it allows you to take large bounds with little to no effort. However, one major caveat to using the grappling hook is that it is very dangerous. I mean this because there is always the chance that you will grapple to a place that you cannot pull yourself up from or that you cannot return from. There is only one grapple hook so wherever you grapple to, you have to make it work which means you either climb or fall. It also has a tendency to get the player snagged on game obstacles. Remember though the grappling hook is small and can latch onto many different objects, it can’t necessarily pull you through other stage items such as rails, barricades, boxes, or even the entrances to doors. I have died many times trying to grapple to a location only to be forced off of the grapple in mid air causing me to plumet to my doom. It’s very frustrating.
In Lost Planet 2 death is treated rather meagerly. The AI characters can die indefinitely with no consequence to the player, but your death is a different story. Whenever you die, either by succumbing to much damage or losing health because of T-ENG depletion your character will be forced to restart either at the beginning of the level or at a previously activated data-post. This is generally done without worry without taking the player out of the action for too long; however, it does come at the price of “battle points” from the players “battle gauge” located beneath the player’s health. This gauge starts off with 3500 points and every time the player dies the gauge deducts 500 points. This gives the player 7 lives so to speak, but at the same time each data-post that is activated awards the player 500 more battle points.
Ultimately Lost Planet 2 boils down to its combat. Though the story in the first game was rather abrasive and hard to follow, the story in this game is practically nonexistent. The game is divided into Episodes which are divided into chapters which are divided into areas. The game only allows the player to save after completing a chapter which generally takes about a half an hour. Where normally there would be story, Lost Planet 2 merely feeds the player with objective after objective that serve to fill in the time from one location to another. It is in no way a bad idea but it feels like this sequel is merely exploiting one of the strong points of the first game, its multiplayer, for its own benefit.
Just like the first game each level is concluded by defeating an enormous Akrid boss. Known at Category G Akrid these bosses are generally several stories long and equally tall. They tend to trace a rather nonsensical pattern but at the same time they seem to be out for the player’s complete and utter destruction. Each of these enemies is about the size and difficulty of the final boss from the first game. My main argument when it comes to fighting these enemies is the fact that they generally take a significant deal of time to defeat. This isn’t always a problem but when you’re fighting the same enemy for a good thirty minutes only to have the enemy perform some unblockable maneuver that completely saps the last of your battle gauge and forces you to restart the battle from scratch; now that grinds my gears.
In the end Lost Planet 2 is an enormous game, not just in length but in depth. It provides the players with many tools to go about the plans and a lot of freedom to choose their paths and make points doing it. However, for all of its freedom Lost Planet 2 suffers from many problems that were present in the first game. The character spends too much time on the ground when knocked down, certain enemies will spam attacks, and generally without a vital suit or some particular weapon you will find yourself at your wits end ready to impale some with your controller. Its best to take the game in moderation, but for the most part despite the change of scenery, the game is exactly the same as it once was. If you hated Lost Planet then the developers didn’t make this game to get you hooked on Lost Planet 2. The only difference in the games is that the second is Lost Planet 1’s multiplayer squared. That doesn’t stop it from being a joyful experience but it definitely limits the joy for people who aren’t connected to an online gaming network. So maybe the best way to put it is that it’s Lost Planet 1.5, that aching sequel that has foregone “quality” for “quantity” and to some degrees it works but in other departments it doesn’t really set itself any higher than the first. A nice try best, but there’s always next time.
