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Lost Planet - Extreme Condition Review
Though it would be hard to judge by past reviews, I really do like simple games. The straightforward nature of Burnout Revenge is, in my mind, one of the best ways you can present a game. It's with a decided note of frustration, then, that I have to report my distaste for Capcom's latest offering - Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. Demos for this title have been downloaded endlessly since last year's E3, and in the format of a one-level demo there's a lot to like. How can you go wrong with the formula of a devastated Earth, giant bugs, and mechs? By fronting the game with an unlikable protagonist and following up with AI that alternates between mindless and cheap, Capcom fails to deliver on the promise of any of those concepts. Read on for my impressions of another simple game that I really wanted to like ... and don't.
The fact that I didn't care even a little bit about what happened to Wayne, the story's protagonist, made it especially hard to enjoy this game. Dead Rising's Frank was at least a likable guy. A soldier-guy with memory loss, Wayne hooks up with a band of opportunists fighting back against the bugs and ice pirates that stand in the way of their search for sellable goods. Wayne, like every other character in the game, suffers from terrible voice acting and a general airheadedness that makes it very hard to take anything he says seriously. When deep dark secrets about the world around them or the evil corporation start to be revealed, your reaction is one of boredom rather than intrigue.
Really, what you want to do, is get back to shooting Akrid. The beautifully designed bugs that inhabit the icey planet's subsurface are, for about half the game, a very satisfying foe to fight. The game offers you several different weapons with which to combat the bugs, and all of them 'feel' right and have a use for specific circumstances. The standard machine gun even feels suitably powerful, and it is in these ground battles against the swarms that Lost Planet feels at its most polished. Despite Wayne's plodding stride, the title manages to give an impression of agility with bumper-button quick turns and a grappling hook that can take you to higher ground and better firing lines. Akrid essentially line up for the slaughter, but they are so vicious (and numerous) in their simplicity that bug hunts make for enjoyably tense and action-packed battles.
The title also concretizes the icy nature of the planet by forcing you to 'deal' with the elements. You are essentially on a timer whenever you are out in the field, as a number representing the heat stored in your body armor steadily decreases over time. Slaying enemies or breaking open stores of a reddish gel replenish this substance, which also acts as an always-on shielding system. Like the energy shields common to many FPS titles nowadays, as long as you have heat energy available your actual health bar is very hard to damage. Another way of replenishing your energy is via the data posts scattered throughout levels. These act as save points, heat replenishers, and radar data points; activating one will net you information about the surrounding area in addition to the other benefits. Neither of these mechanics are unprecedented, but give the game an interesting tone that jacks up the tenseness of battle situations.
If fighting bugs, popping data points, and keeping warm were the whole game I wouldn't have a lot to complain about. The issue is that bug battles are but one portion of the game. The 'primary' villains of the game aren't the bugs at all, but other humans. The ice pirates, corporate soldiers, and mechs from both groups are going to be your primary opponents before too long, and they are much less enjoyable to engage in combat. Human soldiers are downright boring compared with the attractive Akrid, and what is an 'acceptable' level of AI from an insect makes a human look unfit for duty. Waves of cohorts can be slain before the eyes of an ice pirate, but his programming requires him to stand (unblinking and unfiring) as you advance on his position. Also: What does an ice pirate do, exactly? Penguin keel-hauling? Shiver me timbers.
Mech combat suffers from the same problem. While piloting the vehicles feels right, combat against human opponents is unfulfilling. Wading through baddies in a mech is great, again, when they're bugs. Against humans you'll mostly be walking down your cretinous fellow sapients, who are too slow-witted to get out of your way. A consistent worry when mech piloting is that you'll blunder into someone with a rocket launcher just itching to fire from point blank range.
Mech to mech combat can be fun, especially in non-boss fight situations. Particularly appealing was the feel of the mech-sized shotgun, which has a punch and sound effect similar to Batou's 'Big Gun' from "Ghost in the Shell". Boss battles were an entirely different scenario. These long-lived pilots employ cheap tactics to offset the inadequacies of their AI, and it's endlessly frustrating. One fight featured a mech that would attack by leaping onto you with uncanny, pinpoint accuracy. Another has you scrambling into a mech while already under attack at close range. The attacking mech has a laser weapon which knocks about a quarter of your health bar off at every strike; several fights against that target began with the beam hitting me twice before I was given control of my combat suit. Likewise while there is entertainment to be had in mowing down on-foot opponents from your mech, I am the protagonist. Allowing the NPCs to have that kind of fun makes me feel cheated. The enemy mechs can fire heat-seeking rockets into your body at close range, but why do they? How is that in any way fun for the player?
It's not, and that's the bottom line for the entire game. Just beneath the attractive graphics of the title (some of the best snow and explosions I've ever seen), just past the game's satisfying 'feel', the game breaks down into a mishmash of unrealized potential. What is the point of the mechs feeling right, the weapons being suitably weighty, or the bugs being beautiful if none of it is fun? Just as with Dead Rising, original thinking fails to meet up with engaging gameplay; the whole thing is a disappointingly missed opportunity. We talk a lot on the site about the lack of originality in games, but sometimes I understand why game companies keep going back to the till. If you have a proven working formulae, one that engages players and is actually entertaining, how is that a bad game? I'd much rather play a satisfying sequel than face the disappointment Lost Planet offers: originality without entertainment.
- Title: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
- Developer/Publisher: Capcom
- System: 360
- Genre: 3rd Person Action
- Score: 2/5 - This game has serious flaws, but may contain enough fun to be worth renting for a weekend.
The fact that I didn't care even a little bit about what happened to Wayne, the story's protagonist, made it especially hard to enjoy this game. Dead Rising's Frank was at least a likable guy. A soldier-guy with memory loss, Wayne hooks up with a band of opportunists fighting back against the bugs and ice pirates that stand in the way of their search for sellable goods. Wayne, like every other character in the game, suffers from terrible voice acting and a general airheadedness that makes it very hard to take anything he says seriously. When deep dark secrets about the world around them or the evil corporation start to be revealed, your reaction is one of boredom rather than intrigue.
Really, what you want to do, is get back to shooting Akrid. The beautifully designed bugs that inhabit the icey planet's subsurface are, for about half the game, a very satisfying foe to fight. The game offers you several different weapons with which to combat the bugs, and all of them 'feel' right and have a use for specific circumstances. The standard machine gun even feels suitably powerful, and it is in these ground battles against the swarms that Lost Planet feels at its most polished. Despite Wayne's plodding stride, the title manages to give an impression of agility with bumper-button quick turns and a grappling hook that can take you to higher ground and better firing lines. Akrid essentially line up for the slaughter, but they are so vicious (and numerous) in their simplicity that bug hunts make for enjoyably tense and action-packed battles.
The title also concretizes the icy nature of the planet by forcing you to 'deal' with the elements. You are essentially on a timer whenever you are out in the field, as a number representing the heat stored in your body armor steadily decreases over time. Slaying enemies or breaking open stores of a reddish gel replenish this substance, which also acts as an always-on shielding system. Like the energy shields common to many FPS titles nowadays, as long as you have heat energy available your actual health bar is very hard to damage. Another way of replenishing your energy is via the data posts scattered throughout levels. These act as save points, heat replenishers, and radar data points; activating one will net you information about the surrounding area in addition to the other benefits. Neither of these mechanics are unprecedented, but give the game an interesting tone that jacks up the tenseness of battle situations.
If fighting bugs, popping data points, and keeping warm were the whole game I wouldn't have a lot to complain about. The issue is that bug battles are but one portion of the game. The 'primary' villains of the game aren't the bugs at all, but other humans. The ice pirates, corporate soldiers, and mechs from both groups are going to be your primary opponents before too long, and they are much less enjoyable to engage in combat. Human soldiers are downright boring compared with the attractive Akrid, and what is an 'acceptable' level of AI from an insect makes a human look unfit for duty. Waves of cohorts can be slain before the eyes of an ice pirate, but his programming requires him to stand (unblinking and unfiring) as you advance on his position. Also: What does an ice pirate do, exactly? Penguin keel-hauling? Shiver me timbers.
Mech combat suffers from the same problem. While piloting the vehicles feels right, combat against human opponents is unfulfilling. Wading through baddies in a mech is great, again, when they're bugs. Against humans you'll mostly be walking down your cretinous fellow sapients, who are too slow-witted to get out of your way. A consistent worry when mech piloting is that you'll blunder into someone with a rocket launcher just itching to fire from point blank range.
Mech to mech combat can be fun, especially in non-boss fight situations. Particularly appealing was the feel of the mech-sized shotgun, which has a punch and sound effect similar to Batou's 'Big Gun' from "Ghost in the Shell". Boss battles were an entirely different scenario. These long-lived pilots employ cheap tactics to offset the inadequacies of their AI, and it's endlessly frustrating. One fight featured a mech that would attack by leaping onto you with uncanny, pinpoint accuracy. Another has you scrambling into a mech while already under attack at close range. The attacking mech has a laser weapon which knocks about a quarter of your health bar off at every strike; several fights against that target began with the beam hitting me twice before I was given control of my combat suit. Likewise while there is entertainment to be had in mowing down on-foot opponents from your mech, I am the protagonist. Allowing the NPCs to have that kind of fun makes me feel cheated. The enemy mechs can fire heat-seeking rockets into your body at close range, but why do they? How is that in any way fun for the player?
It's not, and that's the bottom line for the entire game. Just beneath the attractive graphics of the title (some of the best snow and explosions I've ever seen), just past the game's satisfying 'feel', the game breaks down into a mishmash of unrealized potential. What is the point of the mechs feeling right, the weapons being suitably weighty, or the bugs being beautiful if none of it is fun? Just as with Dead Rising, original thinking fails to meet up with engaging gameplay; the whole thing is a disappointingly missed opportunity. We talk a lot on the site about the lack of originality in games, but sometimes I understand why game companies keep going back to the till. If you have a proven working formulae, one that engages players and is actually entertaining, how is that a bad game? I'd much rather play a satisfying sequel than face the disappointment Lost Planet offers: originality without entertainment.
The review is wrong, dataposts aren't savepoints... only a couple of points per mission have loading sequences which is where the "save" points are. The game only saves if you finish the mission or quit. That was my major complaint in the game. It was fun if you ignore the mindless cutscenes and manage to get through the couple of frustrating boss mech battles. DO NOT play this game on HARD... NORMAL was unfair enough at times.
I own and have beaten this game. I thought it was great! There are times where you will get knocked down and get up and then knocked down again without a chance to fight back. I think that's just my fault for sucking at the game. Though the mechs are what this game is all about. You start off with some mediocre mechs, then half way through the game you come upon the coolest mech ever. Your dads mech. It then turns into a more Armored core game than anything. With the gattling guns you can essentially hold down the trigger and rain death upon your enemies! The best part of the game though are the boss fights. They hold a certain nintendo feel in the way the weaknesses are displayed.
Eat sleep die
I played the game a few times, had a little fun, and haven't really gone back to it since. There's nothing that really pulls me back to the game.
Shooting bugs is fun, but the storyline makes no sense and the cut scenes are long and boring (although fortunately skippable). The "heat/health" system is poorly implemented; your heat continues to run when you press select to check your (unhelpful) map.
I also agree that the hero is unlikeable, although I can't believe that anyone would refer to the hero of Dead Rising as more likeable than anyone else. That guy was like a skinny, more annoying Fred Durst.
When's the last time Capcom made a good game, barring the first 1/5th of Resident Evil 4?
For all we know the moon may be as conscious as a poet or a realtor, and extremely weary of its monotonous round. - HLM
I rented the game and (mostly - I didn't replay any of the difficulties or find all the coins) finished it over the 5-day rental period. It was a lot of fun. I wouldn't have regretted buying it, though I'm rather glad I decided to just rent it instead.
The gameplay is a lot of fun. The action is really fast and hectic, more so than Gears of War (though Gears is an overall better game). The AI isn't particularly great, but I don't think I'd want to face off against the huge mobs in Lost Planet if they were any brighter. Besides the fast twitch action against grunts, some strategy is required for larger enemies - there's no way you can face down a mech or giant worm while on foot without the proper weapons or planning. The boss battles are absolutely incredible. Nobody, NOBODY does boss battles better than Capcom. Always difficult and always varied, each boss requires very different tactics to take down. The bosses aren't just puzzle bosses, either. While they invariably require shooting specific parts, both that knowledge AND great twitch skills are required.
The controls are also great. I'm not a fan of the default floating aim, but there are tons of different configuration options. There are enough different options that most people will find one that suits them. I personally set it on Fixed 6 with button layout B, with aiming assist turned off. The on-foot movement can take a bit of getting used to, since Wayne actually runs in the direction of the analog stick as opposed to strafing. This can get a bit odd when running backwards and moving the stick a little to the left or right, which causes Wayne to switch weapon sides. Still, it isn't a bad movement scheme, just different than the usual third-person shooter. In some ways, I prefer it - running in any direction is equally fast, no matter which way the camera is aimed. Mechs are slower and control a little clunkier, but they're supposed to be like that - they're large walking tanks. Each mech has very unique handling, as well. There are enough mechs scattered throughout the levels to provide a wide range of choices in control, weapons, and special abilities. A couple sequences do force you to use specific mechs, however.
The graphics are absolutely stunning. The levels and characters lack the detail found in Gears of War, but Lost Planet's levels are much larger and there are absolute hordes of enemies onscreen. There's some slowdown, but it only happens in rare (and very insane) circumstances. The designs for the Akrid and the mechs are very nice. I'm not a fan of the odd mixture of realism and anime found in the character designs, but they aren't horrible either.
The sound is hit-and-miss. The weapon sounds are nothing special, but they get the job done. The voice acting isn't Resident Evil level garbage, but it isn't very good - much of it is overacted and oddly emphasized. Enemy yells are similarly overacted (and repeat far too much). The Akrid sounds are fairly nice, and the glass shattering sound made when you hit a weak point is particularly satisfying.
The music reminds me a lot of Metal Gear Solid 2. There's a strong main theme and some tension-producing tracks in-game, but a great deal of the game is played music-free. It's okay, but nothing really great. I wouldn't buy the soundtrack, but the music certainly didn't get in the way of anything.
Lost Planet does have some major flaws. The plot starts off fairly strong but quickly wanders off into incomprehensible pointlessness. It feels like half the cutscenes are missing. Character personalities are never truly developed, only inferred.But I don't play games for plot, and Lost Planet has fun enough gameplay to more than make up for it. Unfortunately, that gameplay comes to an end fairly quickly. It only took me 8 hours to finish all 11 missions on the normal difficulty. An attempt at replay value has been made with the inclusion of hidden achievement-related coins scattered throughout each level and difficulty, but I didn't bother looking for them. The levels