By Aaron N
The first Lost Planet really took me by surprised. I was not expecting what I played and it was an enjoyable concept. The idea of a sci-fi shooter that combined military with giant monsters and mechs were any sci-fi fans dream. While it wasn't the greatest game ever made, it still was a good all around game that seemed like it could be the potential starting point for a quality franchise. This came true when they released a sequel in 2010. This game boasted bigger monsters and more mechs than in the first game. So then it could only be better right?
Graphics:
The graphics for "Lost Planet 2" were quality but inconsistent. The cut scenes were tremendously done and looked very realistic and smooth. The cut scenes looked and played out like scenes out of a movie and they were the most impressive aspect of this game. The gameplay, which still looked good, lacked the smoothness and clarity that the cut scenes had. In some levels it was too dark to even see yourself, this really turned me off. Also at times there was too much on the screen to see yourself and it just become a mass of colors and flashes from your gun. The inconsistency reminded me of older Gamecube and Xbox games where the cut scenes looked drastically different than gameplay. This is a problem that most games no longer have and to stay up with modern gaming you can not have this problem. I wish that they could have stayed more consistent in this department.
Story:
The events of "Lost Planet 2" take place ten years after the first game. There is now civil war on the planet known as E.D.N III. While this war is going on you have to take on monstrous monsters known as akrids who inhabit the planet. Also the villainous group from the first game, NEVEC, are back to try to destroy the planet for their own gain. The game is broken up into six episodes, each one seemingly disconnected to the prior ones. This confused me very much and took away from gameplay. It would feel like the game would be missing a key cut scene in between. It would be revealed in the end that you were playing as different characters in each episode and they would all connect during the final episode, which was a great "wow" moment, but besides that moment I could not generally connect to any of the characters. Besides some of the oddly acting Spanish sounding characters I did not really care about any of the characters. I wish I could have played as them the whole time. Anyway, the plot that ends up being explained towards the end is that you must stop NEVEC from creating an even bigger monster that will make the planet go into an ice age and kill everybody on the planet. The plot makes sense in the end and when the entire picture is revealed I finally saw what they were trying to do. They wanted you to play as all the different characters in order to get more into the universe. But I feel like they could have done away with most of the confusion for almost the entire game if they explained the events better.
Gameplay:
The controls for "Lost Planet 2" are similar to most third person shooters. The addition of the mechs, known as VS's, give it a different dynamic and make it unique. Although I had some problems with controls on one of the mechs, I largely understood how to control the characters. As I mentioned earlier the game is broken up into six episodes. Each episode is then broken up into three or four chapters, which are then further broken up into areas. They stop gameplay after each area in order to tally up points. This doesn't allow gameplay to be smooth and seamless. It takes you away from the game a little. Also, the game is geared
towards four player co-op. There is a way to play as only one player with three computer players along side of you. But when I did this I ran into one problem in a boss level that was obviously made for multiple players and I found it impossible to beat with only one player so I had to move the difficulty down to easy. I did not like this. I like the idea of a four person online co-op but I feel like they could have done it and still made it possible for someone to beat it single player.
Sound:
Something was off about the sound in this game. Some moments would have no music in the background, then other moments would have epic music that seemed out of place. The music felt displaced and it seemed like it didn't know what it wanted to be. The voice acting was also off. Most of the characters, besides the aforementioned spanish sounding ones, lacked character. The characters all sounded the same and, coupled with the fact that they were all wearing masks, helped in the confusion of not knowing one character from the next. I wish more characters had a presence to them.
Overall:
The key thing that I feel was missing from "Lost Planet 2" was consistency. The game had some moments where everything clicked and I had a fantastic time playing, but it also had some dull moments that seemed to be just missing something. It was still a fun experience that had some memorable moments. But it felt like it just fell short of what it could have been.
Lost Planet 2 gets a 7.5/10
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