Luben360
Episode 2
A review of
While Lost Planet Extreme Condition promised great story, ground breaking gameplay and stealer graphics, the hype train may have started to build a little to much on this little Lost planet... But then again, the game was a huge hit over in Japan only a few months before the US release. So, now that the game has been tweaked, translated and perfected for Americans is it still the same good old hit it was over seas? Well, you will find out in the full review of Lost Planet - Extreme Condition on the Xbox 360. Here is Mr.Luben's second episode of "Luben360"
The plasma Cannon working at its best!
With games like Final Fantasy 7 and Metroid Prime 3 that have jaw dropping story lines that keep you guessing till the end, there are some pretty hard expectations for what a game should be like story wise. For me personally, i believe that a great game should not depend on a story to keep it running but the Gameplay. But for Lost Planet, even i am disgusted! You play as Wayne Holden who is suffering from merory lose after an attack from the Akrid. The Akrid are alien like creatures that inhabit the planet that the humans are trying to colonize on. There after in the story line has wtf written all over it! I, along with many other cridicts, believe this is because of a horrible translation that makes no scene what so ever! Yes, its that bad. But there are multiple save points (aka hacking a data post and also optional) that are well spreed out and nicely placed... Other then that, Cut scenes seem to be well directed and smooth but the mouths often times don't match up and they sometime will have almost no expressions when the voice over is very very dramatic. But in the game, there come points when there is a radio conversation. These are very nice and sound great but in the heat of battle all you hear is explosions. And my TV is sadly to small to read the tinny subtitles while fighting... Overall, the story will let many fans down and asking them selfs what they just witnessed. And the real sad thing about it is that it gets worses as it goes on..."Wtf..."
As you can see the game has some of the best graphics the 360 has to offer these days!
Now, while we are no the topic of expectations, we should also bring in those people who will never touch a wii game because of the crappy graphics it has. I am not one of them but if you are, you should know that this game is one of the best looking on the Xbox 360. Monsters are detailed and giant. Snow is beautiful. Landscapes and buildings are simply magnificent. And don't even get me started on how great the smoke and explosions are! Overall, a simply wonderful achievement on how great a 360 game can get! Extra praise from me for the amazing smoke!!
Ahhh... Mech battles... How i do love you
Now, with a horrible story, there had better be something awesome to this game. With all the hype it had, it had better get something sweet! Well, welcome to gameplay my friends! Gameplay is simple. Move around with the left stick and aim your gun with the right. Other things such as getting in mechs and changing guns is simple and feels good. Overall a tight FPS controlled game. Simple as that... Otherwise, the game is very very very linear... Go from point A to B then to C to kill abunch of bad guys. Every once in a while there will be a cut scene or a giant monster pop out of no where but, i still found this game very fun! But you might ask yourself, "Why was it fun if it is so linear?" Well i will tell you! Capcom really turned things up a bit with Mechs, different weapons, TH. Mechs are the robots with guns mounted on them, or in game called Vital Suits, are great for beating up hoards of baddys and bosses. Surprisingly, the mechs are varied with different skills, guns and controls that it isn't as painful as some mech games. In fact, the mechs are very well controlled and pure fun! The weapons are varied from shotgun, to plasma launcher. All are very well balanced and work with different types of enemies that its a challenge to choose witch 2 guns you take with you. Now, TH (Thermal Energy) witch keeps you alive on this very cold planet. If you get hit bye a bullet or akrid, then your TH will go down faster then normal to boost your health bar back up. The more TH you get, the more points. The more Th you get, the more likely it is that you won't die during boss battles and such. I loved the addition and twist of TH because i would love to go out in the levels and try to find every last drop of Th i could for the highest scores. (yes i do do that sometimes...) Other then that stuff, i did have issues with the grapple hook. The hook can't get you out of a sticky situation if needed. For instance, if you are being shot at, you can't grapple to a ledge higher then you because you will get shot and the grapple with cancel itself out. But overall, great controls with spot on aiming and fun gameplay even if it is Linear.
As the mech fires off his deadly missiles, he cans sit back and watch the beautiful fire works go!
The music in the game is sparse but good. Most of the time the only thing you will hear is ether your gun or some Akrid snarls. The only time there really was music is when there are big boss battles, but scenes and the title screen. The lack of music in the overall game hurts the score. The sound effects of the Akrid, guns, and everything else is spot on though!
Online players getting in their VS for battle!!
Online for this game has up to 16 players online in a single game. Players can compete through four game types; Fugitive, Elimination, Team Elimination, and Post Grab. Killing enemies, destroying VS, and hacking data posts will add to the players score while getting killed and committing suicide will take away points. The point total at the end of the game will be added to the player's overall score across all of their games. This score will be used to determine the player's level. The highest level is 99. Players can unlock new character models and patterns. The weapon variety in Lost Planet becomes obvious when playing in multiplayer matches; the game features 5 varieties of grenade, 15 distinct weapons (7 of which are dual-function in that they can be carried by infantry or attached to a mech), and 6 mechs ranging from transforming tanks to jump-jet walkers. Weapon placements are randomized for each match, as are a player's grenades upon spawning. Overall just as fun as most online games on live. The unlockables and rankings are nice too...
Story ~ 5.5
- "Wtf..." Voice acting is not bad but it dosn't match with the faces of the people or the lips many times. But who cares about that when the story doesn't even piece itself together! There were to many loose ends and pieces that didn't need to be there in their first place... Again, wtf...
Controls ~ 8.7
- Very tight aiming and mech controls. The mechs were just an overall fun experience with the not confusing controls unlike most mech games
Graphics ~ 9.8
- Great environments, charters, explosions and smoke! The smoke is some of the best i have ever seen and overall some of the best graphics on the 360!
GamePlay ~ 8.8
- Even though it is linear, it is alot of fun with mechs, different guns and the huge challenge of TH! Although it did get repetitive sometimes...
Sound ~ 8
- Most of the time all you will hear is guns and Akrid... I wish they would have played more music during the other parts of the game and not just boss fights...
Online ~ 9.5
- Unlockables and rankings are fun for an already fun gameplay on live
Overall - 8.7
>.> Because I haven't commented yet. 
