Lost Planet 2 PS3 Review

Lost Planet 2 is a third person shooter and sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. It has some good and low points, which I will give in the following review.

Story: The story starts off 10 years after the first game. The planet E.D.N. III has thawed out and reveals that the planet contains different environments such as lush jungles and arid deserts. It revolves around different factions fighting over Thermal Energy. Also, they are battling for control of the land from the monstrous Akrid, a species of insectoid aliens. The overall plot was quite a bit confusing since you never play as one faction only, as it switches every new episode.

5/10

Gameplay: Lost Planet 2 does shine in the gameplay department. The whole entire game can be played alone offline, with 2 player split screen co-op, or up to 4 player online co-op. As with games that have co-op, playing alone is a lot more difficult then with a couple buddies. The co-op AI is almost brain dead, often running into the line of fire and getting themselves killed. The only good side to this is the fact that they have no negative effect on your mission, which in turn ends up making them great cannon fodder. Also, if there is a specific objective to complete such as activating data posts, they'll do it. So the AI will be undoubtedly useful in some respects, but not others. Another problem I had is how easy it is to die sometimes. Sometimes, you'll be wondering how you got flung back 15 feet and land in a lake or get knocked off a cliff. Its extremely frustrating how often it happens. Otherwise, the core gameplay is quite solid with it's shooting mechanics and great use of the grappling anchor.

7/10

Graphics: As you can see on the cover of the box, Lost Planet 2 has some very big creatures. Its quite magnificent getting your ass handed to you by such large creatures. And the lush jungles are nothing to scoff at. It really feels like an alien world. And lets not forget the outrageous character designs. It feels like the more outlandish the faction, the more joy you get from playing as said faction.

8/10

Sound: As far as sound goes, its pretty average. The monster roaring is great, and the boss fight music is sorta epic, but its just ambient noise everywhere else. There's no jungle noises. I really miss that part of playing in a jungle environment. There's not even any female voices for the Femme Fatales faction. Its comical to hear a man's voice with a woman's body.

6/10

Overall, Lost Planet 2 is an average game at best. It does nothing out of the ordinary, and it just feels like Capcom could've done a lot better on the polish of the game. If you're looking for a co-op experience, the game would be a blast, but alone, its more of chore then a game.

Overall Score: 6/10