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Capcom have a large amount of noteworthy titles under their belt so it’s fair to say they know what they are doing when it comes to games. However it’s probably fair to say that this might not be true in the case of the Xbox franchise as most of their well known titles can be found on Nintendo or Sony consoles. Lost Planet then, should hopefully excite Xbox 360 owners who are both fans of Capcom games and those who want a change from the Western games which have dominated the Xbox/Xbox 360 market. Lost Planet can be classed as an arcade third person action game with little realism. From what I’ve seen and played the storyline looks like it is well presented and in-depth. Players join the human struggle for survival on an unknown planet, which has been invaded by ruthless aliens but is also inhabited by snow pirates, both of which will be your enemy in the single player campaign. Oh, it’s also damn cold!
To fight the enemies in Lost Planet you have an array of weapons to find and use, such as a machine gun, shotgun, sniper rifle, rocket launcher etc. Although this arsenal of weapons is what you would expect from an action game, there will also be some extra firepower on hand to help you dispose of your enemies. This ‘helping hand’ will come in various forms of heavily armed machines or Vital Suits (VS) as they are called and resemble mechs as seen in games like Mechassault. You are able to carry a maximum of 2 weapons at a time, which forces you to choose wisely on a good combination, this has been done before in other games of course, but it seems to work so no doubt Capcom have made a wise decision here, perhaps the fact that Lost Planet also has online multiplayer affected this choice for its inclusion? This idea of carrying two weapons seems to have been carried over to the VS’s, you will use the right and left trigger buttons respectively fire the weapons your VS is armed with, perhaps you will go with the ‘spray and pray’ philosophy and choose dual mini-guns, or maybe even a shotgun in one robotic hand and a mini-gun in the other robotic arm?
A lot of people praise and trust Capcom because they deliver an original game play experience which feels solid and is fun/ addictive to play. Lost Planet will hopefully deliver on this front by allowing users to switch between foot and VS’s depending on the situation. The player is also armed with a grappling hook of some sort which allows you to go to places that would usually be inaccessible. The demo which is available doesn’t seem to make use of this feature much, however no doubt it will be implemented well and make the player use it in the final game, there may even be secret areas or perhaps a more open-ended approach which would allow players to get to good vantage points, the latter might be ideal for multiplayer modes. As briefly mentioned previously, the planet is cold. Freezing temperatures exist so to survive, you need some sort of energy to keep you going and unfortunately, Lucozade is not available. You can collect Thermal Energy from enemies you kill and also though the numerous amounts of nodes dotted throughout the level. The energy is stored in a special device you carry, which help keeps you warm, however run out of thermal energy and you die from the freezing cold, I guess partly where the Extreme condition comes in with the games title. This mechanic combined with limited ammo means that players will have to use a little brain power when battling enemies and the elements.
Lost Planet’s levels seem quite large, but fairly linear, although bigger levels are expected than the ones playable on the demo. From the demo however the levels seem to be easy to navigate and are quite varied so hopefully you won’t get lost or see the same layout of barrels constantly. There is also a fair amount of interactivity in the level design, from the thermal energy nodes dotted around the levels and also examples of blowing up barrels to disperse a group of enemies or to blow your way out of a building. Even with the grappling hook, there still seems to be a limited amount of freedom, whether this is true for all levels remains to be seen.
If you have seen either of the two official trailers, then I’m sure you will agree that at parts there are large amounts of enemies on screen at once. From the demo, it appears that the Snow Pirates will attack in small numbers and they seem to be organised into squads or groups, sometimes accompanied by VS’s. Some of the alien species will attack in swarms and one of the most common types will spawn from nests, which you will have to destroy to prevent any more from spawning. These enemies don’t pose too much of a threat; however this might be a downfall of the game. I guess every game needs some weak enemies and Lost Planet is no exception especially as weak enemies are required to get that desperately needed Thermal energy. One of my main worries is that it becomes a little repetitive although during the full game you might actually be pleased to see them during heated moments. Players simply will have to not expect swarms of mindless, slow moving enemies because, the demo gives a taster of some real mean aliens and this is clearly shown in the trailer. Most recent Capcom games do have some form of end of level or big boss fights and it definitely looks like that may well be the case here.
The saying ‘next-generation graphics’ is being used an awful lot these days but its hard to tell what exactly next generation is. Lost Planet definitely doesn’t fail in terms of graphics, and considering the size of the levels and the amount of enemies it certainly impresses. The demo managed to keep a steady frame rate and it ran very smoothly. The character detail is excellent, one example is the fur on the main characters coat, this can be seen better using the zoom function on certain guns, but can also be seen during cut scenes. Players will also surely notice the cool explosions as well as the detail on enemies.
It was surprising, but certainly a nice surprise when the Lost Planet demo was put on marketplace in May, considering the game is due to be released this Fall/Autumn. Lost Planet uses the 360’s power to produce excellent visuals, smooth game play and swarms of enemies on-screen. Lost planet is definitely one to keep your eye on and I guess people will be expecting a lot from Capcom and hopefully they will deliver. It will be Capcom’s first proper venture on the Xbox 360 and it certainly looks like a good way to start. It’s also worth noting that not many details have been announced concerning the multiplayer modes, but the game will be compatible with Xbox live and offer various game modes, most likely the usual Deathmatch, capture the flag, but don’t be surprised if Capcom try something different. I’m not sure what they will give us in terms of multiplayer, but one thing is for sure, this game would definitely suit a co-operative mode!
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