Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
One of the Xbox 360 and PC’s lower key successes last year was Capcom’s science fiction shooter, Lost Planet. The game endeared itself to many players with a combination of giant alien bosses, screen-filling swarms of enemy bugs, detailed and unusual snow-blanketed environments and, of course, the hulking robot exoskeletons the lead character frequently slipped into.
Since its release the game’s enjoyed significant ongoing support from the publisher with a number of add-on packs and bonuses. Capcom is now putting the finishing touches to a PlayStation 3 version of the game which, in addition new unlockable characters, is also set to include all the extra 360 and PC downloadable content right from the off.
Lost Planet is a fairly straightforward third-person shooter. Set on the ice planet E.D.N III - a world we humans are trying to colonise having departed Earth – the game mostly involves shooting and blowing up the encroaching Akrid, an insectoid alien race who are none too happy about our relocation plans.
The Akrid contain within their bodies a thermal energy source that humans are also seeking to harvest to use as heat during their stay. Indeed, as you travel through the game you’ll need to collect the orange ‘heat’ that fallen enemies drop in order to keep your health bar from being depleted by the cold.
Not all humans on E.D.N III are on the same side, though, with a maverick faction known as the ‘snow pirates’ roaming around in their mecha-like Vital Suits, harvesting Akrid and causing trouble of their own. You’re cast as one of these snow pirates, a chap by the name of Wayne Holden. Wayne has lost all his memory bar the knowledge that a giant Akrid named Green Eye killed his father. The plot revolves around your revenge quest and delivers a surprisingly compelling narrative package to those who’re willing to listen.
For out and out action fans all of this story can be ignored. You run through huge snow desert environments (seamlessly loaded on-the-fly), collecting ever-bigger machine guns, shotguns and rocket launchers with which to take down the alien horde, and this solid core is enjoyable. The aforementioned Vital Suits play an increasingly important role as the game progresses with later iterations able to transform into, for example, a snowmobile with a mounted chain gun. Each level is finished off with a huge boss encounter. In particular these climactic moments stand out in the single player campaign: impressive, large-scale battles that thrill, even if your enemy’s weak points are a little too clearly signposted.
Character movement is controlled with the left analogue stick while aiming is with the right. Control will feel a little sluggish at first for gamers used to Gears of War and its ilk and, likewise, you might feel wrong-footed by the moving reticule (unlike in most shooters it doesn’t stay fixed in the centre of the screen). But it doesn’t take long to slip into Lost Planet’s more considered rhythm.
The game packs a hefty multiplayer punch too with sixteen different maps to play across numerous different game modes. The PS3 version supports up to 16 players over PSN too and, as the multiplayer modes have proved enduring on the 360 and PC, this portion of the game promises to keep PS3 owners busy for months after the game’s release later this year.
Other than the promise of some new unlockable characters for the single player campaign, Lost Planet on the PS3 is shaping up to be a smart and well-featured port of the 360 original. That said owners of the original won’t find much here to warrant another purchase. However newcomers won’t be disappointed by what is undeniably a deep and generous package.
