Lost Planet 2 (Xbox 360, PS3) Preview
Posted by Trace Aber on 04.13.2010
411's Trace Aber dives into the multiplayer action of the highly anticipated Lost Planet 2!
The original Lost Planet was released in early 2007 and got generally favorable reviews, as well as becoming a best seller. Being a commercial success means that a sequel would eventually be released, and it's a little over three years later and the wait is almost over. Recently I had the chance to sit down and play the multiplayer demo before the full game is released next month.
One of the first things I noticed is how the game feels similar to the original, meaning experienced players should have no trouble picking up where things left off, though this doesn't translate into their being no new features. In fact, quite the opposite is true and there's a whole bevy of new features, including full-on character customization, which can be done between matches. Though there are plenty of preset models available, you're able to manually modify the color of various parts of your character. Your weapon load-out is also fully customizable and weapons can be unlocked through competition online. You can select your weapons from a number of categories such as long range, basic rifles and support items.
The game features an ability system, much akin to perks in the Call of Duty series. That is, you earn more through competitive play and they give you certain advantages or abilities during gameplay. The demo provided two of them, both of which focus on T-ENG, or Thermal Energy Reserve. There's the Life Saver ability that will prevent the HP gauge from going down once your T-ENG is completely diminished and then there's the Conserve T-ENG, which, as you may have guessed, conserves T-ENG. Out of these two the abilities don't seem to be too particularly exciting, but then again perks like that never interested me. I'm more into the "blow more stuff up easier" kind of perks.
Kind of like the guy flying in the air
While those who played the first game will remember snow as far as the eye can see, things are a bit different in Lost Planet 2. What was once a uninhabitable ice planet is now a beautiful jungle filled with vines, moss, vegetation and all of it looks absolutely beautiful. Though it may be hard to with fifteen other people running around trying to kill you, taking a second to look around the place is a real treat…as long as you don't mind a bullet in the back of your head.
Figuring out the controls of the game was a bit of the bummer though, as you aren't really given much of a chance to learn them. There's no control screen to study, and obviously no manual. What you are given is a brief loading screen of the controls, which wouldn't normally be a problem but the loading screens appears for only a second or two – just enough time to realize it's the controls and you should pay attention. The only other time to study the controls is when you're in a match and press start – which normally ends with you dead. It can take a while to adjust to the controls, and even when you do they appear a bit clunky at best. I hope this gets ironed out in the final release because sometimes I don't feel like I'm in control at all – which is never good when you're playing a game that requires fast reflexes. The characters also move a bit slow, making the unresponsive controls even more irritating. Luckily, you're given a grappling hook that helps you move around a lot better, though it's not always the most logical means of transportation. It is, however, one of the cooler ways.
What I found odd is that it's actually harder to control the normal player than it is to control a full-on mech suit. Oh yeah, this game has mech suits. While this is obviously awesome the first few times you see it, after a while you will find that a lot of games become a battle of mechs rather than a battle of man. Hopefully this will become more balanced in the final game because it can really kill the excitement of a game when everyone's rushing for the mech suits. Of course, in elimination mode everyone just gangs up on the mech and bomb it.
Or, in this case, the mech bombs the guy
The demo features two playable modes, Elimination and Post Grab. Elimination is your standard deathmatch affair while Post Grab has you rushing around in teams to take control of data posts, which is accomplished by pressing B repeatedly. Like, a lot. Personally, I found elimination to be more fun simply because of the controls and the damn mechs. In Post Grab mechs can rule the land if they have a good team supporting them, and considering you have to stay in a particular spot for a period of time, they're the obvious option. This probably wouldn't be as big of a problem if the controls were a bit better, but it seems like the game lags in response time. Switching between capturing a data post and firing at an enemy can take what feels like forever and cost you a life. Elimination mode is more well-rounded, however, and proves to be the better of the modes.
While Lost Planet 2 appears to be far from perfect, one thing it does manage to do better than other online shooters is its ability to integrate both vertical and horizontal violence. Thanks to the short-range grappling hook, players can traverse practically any part of the level if they're clever enough and get some pretty fun kills. On the other hand, while you're flinging around and having the best time of your grapple-hooking life, you're also very prone to getting shot at by other players. Like all good things in life, it either ends in a badass moment or your death. Go figure.
Overall, Lost Planet 2 does a few things right while getting more important things wrong. While I love the grappling hook and being able to battle from all corners of an arena, some balancing issues and irritating controls take out some of the fun. If they can figure out these problems while creating innovative combat possibilities we could have a great shooter on our hands – and if not we could have a mediocre shooter in a long line of them. The Lost Planet 2 demo will be available April 21 and 22 on Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Network, respectively. The full game will be released on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 11.
