Lost Planet 2 Review

By Kristan Reed Published 5 May, 2010

Rediscovered country.

Version tested: PlayStation 3

Jun Takeuchi wasn't exaggerating when he described this sequel as "almost a totally different game". Unlike the lonely, icy adventure that constituted the original, the hugely ambitious Lost Planet 2 has been re-envisioned as a four-man multiplayer adventure in a variety of climates. You still get to activate data posts and shoot the obvious, glowing orange weak spots of terrifying insectoid behemoths on a regular basis, but that's where the similarities end.

Most of the changes seem grounded and well-intentioned on the face of it. Who wouldn't want a more varied, expansive and technically astonishing follow-up to an already highly promising game? Being able to experience the intensity and chaos alongside up to three friends offline or online should help Lost Planet 2 to be one of 2010's most desirable shooters.

However, unexpectedly, the very things that make the game sound so appealing are also the things that conspire to undermine your enjoyment.

A few weeks ago, Takeuchi opined that "everything has improved" in Lost Planet 2, but that depends how you like to enjoy your videogames. If, for example, you want to play the game's central Campaign mode on your lonesome, you should be prepared to adapt to a run of unusual and often inexplicable design choices.

'Lost Planet 2' Screenshot 1

We really should stop meeting like this.

As if to underline its uncompromising positioning as a multiplayer game, Lost Planet 2 offers no save system at all, no checkpointing during gameplay, and any in-game 'death' simply respawns you at the nearest data point.

Rather than give you a stock of lives, the game starts you off with a limited number of Battle Gauge points (depending on difficulty), and dying reduces that by 500, or 1000 if you happen to be in a Vital Suit mech at the time. Run out of Battle Gauge points and you have to start the entire chapter from the beginning, potentially costing you anything up to 45 minutes of wasted time.

During the first couple of mildly challenging episodes, this doesn't feel much of a problem at all, with only truly incompetent play likely to get you into trouble. But once the game starts to turn up the heat at the end of episode three, having to replay numerous lengthy sections to get back to where you failed is hand-gnawingly irritating.

'Lost Planet 2' Screenshot 2

Hang on, I'm just checking the League One scores.

When you start to really dig into why you failed, you notice some irredeemable AI flaws during solo play. We're more than happy for shooters to be designed from the ground up as co-op experiences, but one of the main things that made games like Gears of War and Left 4 Dead special was the fact your enjoyment didn't hinge entirely on playing them with a group of friends, because your AI partners were intelligent enough to ensure it was extremely good fun either way.

You'd expect the same to hold true of Lost Planet 2, but the buddy AI is often hopelessly out of touch with what's required, and when it winds up costing you up to 45 minutes of playtime you'll be baying for blood. To give the AI its dues, when faced with a basic corridor firefight it almost always holds its own, but when it comes to the crucial moments where teamwork is mandatory, it's routinely hopeless. Fail a further four or five times and you'll really wonder about the logic of such a progression system.

One memorable boss encounter requires all four of you to work together to reach the end of a train, load a giant cannon, rotate it to face the right direction, cool the engines and get one guy to actually fire the thing. And yet with no means of instructing your team to do anything, you're left haplessly multitasking.

That's assuming you can work out what the game wants from you in the first place. With only an obtuse diagram in the top right of the screen offered by way of explanation, you're left stumbling around in an annoying trial-and-error loop until you figure out the correct operational sequence.

These moments of incendiary frustration are hardly one-offs, either. Later in the game your team is instructed to protect a hatch door from being opened, but unless you personally oversee that precise part of the map yourself you will fail every single time. And rather than the AI members of your squad covering your back while you're shooting choppers out of the sky, they let enemies through unchallenged and you're forced to repeat the whole sequence again.

You might imagine that all of these little issues would be solved when playing alongside friends, but there are irritations unique to human co-op play as well. The main issue without doubt is the Battle Gauge system. In single-player, team member deaths never deplete your stock of points, but when played alongside fellow humans they do, and the implications of this logic are ruinous.

On the infamous train level at the end of episode three, getting knocked off the train to your death is notoriously easy, meaning that you'll likely be ill-equipped to handle the lengthy boss encounter, and have to play the entire chapter from scratch five or six times before you're in a strong enough position to take the monster down. Even willing volunteers were left trailing in our wake after that.

Although this is hardly unique to Lost Planet 2 among Capcom games, you also spend a great deal of time at a complete loss as to what's going on. The narrative across six distinct episodes flits from one group of bizarre individuals to another, without any coherent explanation as to whom you're controlling or what their motivations are.

'Lost Planet 2' Screenshot 3

Even the Akrid are unimpressed with Benitez' showing this term.

Delivered with a peculiar detachment, this lack of explanation may be a conscious attempt to give the game an enigmatic air, but the result is that it simply feels like a series of unconnected events where the common theme is shooting gigantic insectoid behemoths with obvious glowing orange weak spots. Maybe that was the point.

All the time you're busy mouthing obscenities at Lost Planet 2's deficiencies, the more benevolent critic within you wants to put an arm around Capcom and offer credit for all the things the game does extremely well. The combat feels solid and satisfying, with well-honed control mechanics that gel within seconds, so in terms of the basics you'll have no complaints at all.

Another thing that's never in doubt is the startling visual feast laid on by the team's phenomenal art talent. As the first game to benefit from Capcom's new MT-Framework 2.0 engine, it takes an already grandiose-looking game to phenomenal new standards, with a regular procession of truly outstanding set-pieces of monumental scale.

Likewise, Takeuchi's pre-release claim of "around 40" boss creatures was no idle boast, and even some of the more routine encounters involve screen-filling creatures of your worst nightmares. When it comes to facing-off against one of the 11 main boss creatures, you'll definitely know all about it. From hideous, giant-train-munching sandworms to monstrous tentacled creatures from the deep, you'll truly appreciate the craft that's gone into these deadly obscenities.

But as impressively fearsome as they may be as a spectacle, they're often not that much fun to actually battle against. Most boss sorties descend into a wearisome, drawn-out war of attrition, smashing rockets into their obvious glowing orange weak spots over and over, climbing into VS suits and emptying thousands of Gatling Gun bullets into them until bits eventually fall off. Then those bits regenerate, so you repeat the process as you chip away tiny chunks of their health bar.

As a four-player co-op mission, these epic scale battles can - at times - feel quite exhilarating as you work together to distract the lumbering form towering above you. But the longer you plough through these sections, the more it dawns on you that there's no skill involved - it's simply a case of hanging in there long enough.

Some of you will be singled out by the boss and be completely powerless to avoid their all-consuming attacks, and some of you will be merrily blasting away on the sidelines. You'll win eventually, but it mostly feels like a hollow victory based on how well you conserved your Battle Gauge points prior to the boss fight, rather than your skill in the conclusive battle. This is definitely no Monster Hunter.

To compound matters, the post-round scoring system that determines who performed best feels entirely arbitrary. Sometimes you'll play the lead role, putting yourself in harm's way, take all the risks and end up with a paltry C rank, while your less active support partner gets consistently superior awards simply because they didn't die so much and picked up more loot. Injustice!

Elsewhere, the game's competitive 16-player multiplayer modes remain in familiar territory. As with the original, Elimination, Team Elimination and Post Grab make the cut, with two maps reserved for Elimination and a further five for Post Grab. Two release-day maps are also promised.

'Lost Planet 2' Screenshot 4

Can I interest you in these fine leather jackets?

Although servers remained inactive at the time of review, our extensive hands-on sessions in April revealed these modes to be a huge amount of fun, albeit within a recognisable template, with endless rewards and customisation options likely to make it a facet of the game that will prove even more popular than it did last time around.

The wealth of experience-based rewards and customisation may well prove to be a real draw for players over the long haul. The sheer volume of costumes, emotes and unlockable weapons available to skilled players give the game the kind of long-term appeal Capcom specialises in.

If a skilled video editor were to cut together the best bits of Lost Planet 2, you would end up with the most persuasive montage of gameplay footage in recent times. Bombastic in scale and seductive in its epic ambition, it looks every inch the instant shooter classic. Sadly the hands-on reality tells a different story. Filled with hair-tearing moments of abject frustration that defy logic, mixed with fist-pumping moments of total exhilaration, it's a quite bizarre game of two halves.

Almost equally fun and frustrating whether played in co-op or in single-player mode, it's a game you'll both love and hate in the same breath.

6 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (113) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • tiredoldandy #1 2 years ago

    Aw, a 6. I'm going to go hang myself.

  • MrsPacMan #2 2 years ago

    i bet we'll see you tomorrow andy

  • Ceelion #3 2 years ago

    6 or no 6, I feel the game is a definite rent, and depending on the co-op, maybe a late and hopefully discounted purchase.

  • tiredoldandy #4 2 years ago

    I did a pathetic job of it and now I'm eating biscuits instead.

  • CrunchinJelly #5 2 years ago

    It's about £25 to pre-order it online...

    Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, really.

  • Skire #6 2 years ago

    so after resident evil capcom ruined another franchise? way to go!

  • Retroid #7 2 years ago

    Oh.

    ....

    Hopefully the co-op will make up for some of the shortcomings.

  • beastmaster #8 2 years ago

    /awaits EG servers to explode



  • gjgjg #9 2 years ago

    grr, but the snapshots, they are so pretty... Alan Wake & mod nation first it is then.

  • BlinxHDD #10 2 years ago

    I thought the demos were cack, worse than the first game even which was mostly appealing for the snowy climate and competent next-gen graphics early on for the 360.

  • Benno #11 2 years ago

    Not as good as Alan Wake then?

  • X #12 2 years ago

    That I have to say is amazingly disappointing. I wasn't expecting that at all after a solid first game and their boast of improving everything. I would rather they would have just removed the AI members that real players don't fill the boots of and scale down the difficulty accordingly.

    Excuse me while I go and bang my head against a wall at this missed opportunity.

  • Dave52 #13 2 years ago

    "Not as good as Alan Wake then?"

    Or Mod Nation Racers.... LOL...!

  • LR100 #14 2 years ago

    Man, I was hoping for a trio of 7/10's today! I feel so let down!

  • fiery_jackass #15 2 years ago

    seeing as the bit you found a "huge amount of fun" left me completely flat (the competitive mp) this is looking like a no-buy... terribly disappointing. The review expounds on the fears had from the 1st demo, so I'm inclined to go with it.

    and you should try reading the review, chunky_Grizzly, really.

  • vegard #16 2 years ago

    another capcom game (partly) ruined by bad AI. maybe time to rethink things, capcom?

  • itsfuzzy #17 2 years ago

    Was torn on the review score. On one hand pissed as i loved the 1st.
    On the other happy as i have so many great games yet to to play.
    Only started Borderlands last week and i cant put it down.
    Batman next !!

  • Nighthaunter #18 2 years ago

    I love when there's a huge advert on the same page as a game they just gave a shitty score to.

  • willows #19 2 years ago

    Nothing like a solid 7 to whet the appetite!

  • BlinxHDD #20 2 years ago

    The game will only look like the screenshots on PC.. whenever Capcom gets round to releasing that version! Even when they're flooding an environment with swaying grass and bloomy light it still shows through as very flat underneath. And on consoles all that vegetation looks quite messy.

  • cianchristopher #21 2 years ago

    Jun Takeuchi isn't really that good a producer, is he? Certainly pales in comparison to Shinji Mikami (see Resident Evil 4 vs. Resident Evil 5).

    This just seems like a pointless sequel to an already pointless game.

  • jmcflash #22 2 years ago

    So what do the Gears of War guys do in the game? Are they just multiplayer skins?

  • Froggit #23 2 years ago

    So a no go for single player goodness then, really, but we should have expected that what with everything we've heard about the game beforehand. Though I guess it's a shame it seems like such a definite no.

    In terms of cooperative play, it sounds like it might be an idea to see what the community makes of it - it sounds like there's alot of potential for a decent group of four to have an absolute blast if they're in the right mindset.
    With the strong emphasis on difficulty in the review, there are bound to be plenty of people who'll relish the challenge - "Come on lads, let's nail the fucker this time!" etc

    And as for the rather briefly mentioned (due to servers) multiplayer, it sounds like that could be decent if you liked the first.
    Essentially, give the demos a go and see if you like them, rather than instantly dismissing it as a six, if you usually put such faith in reviews, even though that does sound like a pretty bang on score for Kristan personally.

    Which is why it's important to read the text aswell, kids.

    Edited for spaces to due laptop spacebar needing more effort than I can really be arsed with at this time of night.
    Edited by 2 at 06/05/10 @ 01:12

  • GamesConnoisseur #24 2 years ago

    Seem I would have preferred cancelling Lost Planet over Alan Wake if had pre ordered them?! As I would simply find unforgiveable the weak retarded AI and no checkpointing ON top of that!

    I can easily see myself get so riled up over these instances of restarting chapters due to offline AI.

    However I did love LP1, and got good regular mates for online from L4D2 and if all of us can be persuaded to grab a copy for mp co op. That would be the only way to play what is essentially a game designed foe online co op or MP.

    Not online player? Then ask yourself seriously if you think worth it. Am sure second hand copies would be easily gotten.

  • Eraysor #25 2 years ago

    Reading this review basically sounds like Monster Hunter in the future, only this isn't a good game and MH is. The Battle Gauge system is particularly similar.

  • nemesisND1derboy #26 2 years ago

    Wow EG is going tough on the reviews today...Alan Wake and Modnation racers both got 9's on IGN today, will just have to wait for their review of this to compare but i have to say the multiplayer demo was horrendous. Not expecting much from this really

  • BlinxHDD #27 2 years ago

    The controls and bits of basic game design are uniquely archaic in all of Capcom's 'top' console games, Dead Rising excluded. Let's hope the new Western dev hasn't screwed that up too!
    Edited by 1 at 06/05/10 @ 01:22

  • Wildsleven #28 2 years ago

    not suprised...

  • Nighthaunter #29 2 years ago

    I love when there's a huge advert on the same page as a game they just gave a shitty score to.

  • andromeda #30 2 years ago

    COYS!!!

  • alcides #31 2 years ago

    6 isn't a shitty score. All entertainment can't be perfect bliss yet seminal at the same time. It's decent but not great, as the article says. You'd be better off reading the review.

    Or better, making your own mind.

  • retr0gamer #32 2 years ago

    Local co-op is a joke. The screen is reduced to the size of a stamp. You can't see shit even on a 50 inch TV.

  • MiniAmin #33 2 years ago

    I bet this game had high expectations too, however because it isn't a console exclusive, I wager we'll see hardly any of the vitriol which ruined the Alan Wake thread. It's trite to say it, but fanboys are, really, and truly, pathetic.

  • sfp_noodle #34 2 years ago

    Hmm I'm surprised at this score. This looked promising. Still, I shall read a few more reviews before making my mind up. What EG thinks is far from the be all and end all.

  • sfp_noodle #35 2 years ago

    Oh dear god! o.O

    Never have I entered a comments section where every single one of the 40+ comments have been marked down for no reason whatsoever. Shocking behaviour from immature gits. You are an embarrasment to gamers.

  • MORZTAN #36 2 years ago

    Really goes to show that graphics alone gets you nowhere

  • Jeff73 #37 2 years ago

    In lost planet 1 you had no way of saving your game mid way through a level just check points for you current session. I am still going to be getting it.

  • abot #38 2 years ago

    As you sure this is a 6/10? Can't you change this to a 7/10 to match every other review of late.

  • anomagnus #39 2 years ago

    Yet again, a Japanese developer fails to develop a good game.

    I'm sure i'll be marked down for this, but Japanese developers fall further and further behind the curve every year.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #40 2 years ago

    No good single player mode = no sale. Its that simple.

  • Gambit1977 #41 2 years ago

    I knew it!
    To be fair, despite loving the first games demo, I thought the game was awful. this didn't look like it was ever going to change my opinion.

    Still, if you really wanted it, I'm sure that the problems outlined in the review can be overlooked :-) none of them sound 'gamebreaking'.

  • Beano #42 2 years ago

    Cancelling preorder :(

  • Darren #43 2 years ago

    I enjoyed the first game when I picked it up for £5 on PC from Steam over a year ago but I admit that the gameplay got very repetitive after a while. For a fiver though it was worth it. I am interested in the sequel (on the PC) but I'll have to see how the reviews pan out first. If it isn't very good then I might wait until it turns up in another Steam weekend offer...

  • Pablo2k5 #44 2 years ago

    Kristan, how dare you give this game a low mark even if it is your 'opinion'.

    Shouldn've given it to Eliie... oh wait....

  • CaptainQuint #45 2 years ago

    Sounds like a great deal of the frustration could be alleviated by a simple checkpoint intergration. I seem to remember that zombie game they made suffered from the same problem???

    Capcom, you fucking idiots.

  • drumbaby #46 2 years ago

    Shame... :0(

  • spiritsnake #47 2 years ago

    ill borrow this from a friend and play

  • UncleLou #48 2 years ago

    Another game ruined by devs concentrating on multiplayer/coop. Meh.

  • UncleLou #49 2 years ago

    It's the version I'm getting and it is out on the 21st. Hopefully it will include controller support...never can be 100% sure with PC games.

    A PC version hasn't even been announced yet. The release date on a few sites like amazon is pure bullshit.

  • TONYgr #50 2 years ago

    I think capcom have a problem with AI companions.Resident evil 5 anyone?

  • Rodchenko #51 2 years ago

    Another game ruined by devs concentrating on multiplayer/coop. Meh.

    That. And the fact that you have to shoot a helicopter out of the sky YET AGAIN.

  • muscleblade #52 2 years ago

    I have the game and played it with a friend last night.
    I love it. Really great coop experience. Some of the bosses (the first boss sucks) looks fantastic but take some time to kill. The checkpoint system is ridiculous for a modern game but this is like a old classic Capcom game dressed in new fantastic clothes. I love Capcom and i love this game.
    Edited by 1 at 06/05/10 @ 09:42

  • Zerobob #53 2 years ago

    Well, I hated the first one, but I honestly thought this would be better. Oh well.

  • TruWari3r #54 2 years ago

    Wow, I ordered it for 26 quid @ zavvi in a mega monday deal but now I'm thinking I might have paid too much

  • muscleblade #55 2 years ago

    "Potentially costing you anything up to 45 minutes of wasted time"

    Personally i think starting over a few times (like always with older games ) learning to be better and finally make it is what makes games fun imo. Playing games shouldnt be the same as watching a movie. Its not a waste of time if its fun. If it isnt fun why bother playing games?

  • muscleblade #56 2 years ago

    Good review though Kristan and the complaints here is absolutely something many will dislike a lot. This isnt a game for everyone.
    Its also a pure multiplayer game as i see it.

  • speedjack #57 2 years ago

    So much for Capcom sticking with eastern devs to improve quality.

  • JetSetWilly #58 2 years ago

    In this day and age fucked-up save systems should be a capital offence. There is simply no excuse for it whatsoever.

  • Vanmunt #59 2 years ago

    Run out of Battle Gauge points and you have to start the entire chapter from the beginning, potentially costing you anything up to 45 minutes of wasted time.

    Got to admit I didn't care for Lost Planet, now reading this ends any casual interest I had..

  • Buztafen #60 2 years ago

    Still a purchase for me, the co-op demo with friends was great and 11 plus encounters like that will offer up alot of playtime.

  • andywilkie35 #61 2 years ago

    Fuck sake, I was really up for this but the thought of having to play 45 minutes and potentially having the game turn round and say "Nope, you've died with too many cheap deaths, do it all again" doesn't appeal.

    I'll still get it for the fact its dirt cheap as it is (had it on preorder for so long that its £25 so will still go for the co-op) but if its turd then that'll be disappointing.

  • EvilKensDad #62 2 years ago

    Loved the first game, read the first page of the review and went Mega Meh to myself, why oh why cant devs develop a game that has a robust single player campaign as well as multiplayer....i love capcom...but seriously...sort it out! uninformed opinion maybe...but hey!

  • Murbal #63 2 years ago

    As a player of predominantly single player campaigns, this is the very definition of NO SALE. Sounds absolutely horrible. Does make me curious enough to check out the original game though...

  • mukki #64 2 years ago

    oh too bad!

    shame shame shame...
    was looking forward to a good co-op shooter...

  • metalangel #65 2 years ago

    While a co-op experience with three friends is great, inevitably one of these friends will be hopeless and so die a lot and not really contribute much. In LP2 this apparently means you'll never complete the level, which is not going to be fun.

  • headrush #66 2 years ago

    No surprise here...

  • sfp_noodle #67 2 years ago

    I have to say, apart from Street Fighter Capcom have pretty much killed their key franchises. Even with Street Fighter they played it safe and gave it a new visual style but kept the basic formula the same. That is no bad thing of course considering SSFIV turned out brilliant. But you only have to look at Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. Resident Evil was brilliantly reinvented in the shape of Resident Evil 4. Then, 4 years later they make a sequel to it which somehow has inferiour AI, is dumbed down with easily unlockable inifinte ammo for use on ANY difficulty level and has a co-op mode forced in.

    Despite the co-op mode being fun with a friend this game was not Resident Evil. What happened to the videos shown pre 2008? Loads of aggressive enemies, single player, and the ability to dodge attacks? Also, and I am being perfectly sincere here, why is it after the first few chapters white enemies stop appearing completely? Surely a confirmation that Capcom added some extra white enemies in the first few chapters to quiten the crowd screaming racist at them. Not to mention Sheva is African and also has an African skin tone.

    As for Devil May Cry 4, well, any game that makes you play half the game backwards and forces you to fight every single boss FOUR times is completely devoid of ideas. The gameplay was still enjoyable but felt dated and stuck in 2003. Nero was a rubbish lead and even Dante couldn't lighten the mood when you get to control him. A very confusing effort that seemed to be trying to appeal to a new audience for the first half, and then attempting to keep the original crowd happy with some fan service. Even that couldn't save it though. It felt inferiour to the best ever DMC3 and even the original had far more substance.

    It's not just Capcom though, other Japanese devs are in the same boat. Take SquarEnix with their masterbatory effort of a game they called Final Fantasy XIII. Remove the pretty visuals and the game plays itself. No sense of exploration or achievement whatsoever. Japan should stick to creating hardcore/quirky games. They're the ones the Western audiences enjoy. By trying to cater to our tastes, they end up misunderstanding and instead ruining their game.

    The fact that Capcom thinks that we love Frank West from Dead Rising says a lot. He had a believable personality, but c'mon, there was nothing about him that screamed EPIC in the way a charcacter like Solid Snake or Nathan Drake does. Yet they want to try and squeeze him into any game they can? That's called over exposure Capcom, any interest the West have with your character will be dead if he starts appearing in every game you release.

    Japan should stick to what makes it good. I love the Ninja Gaiden Games and Sony's trilogy of Ico/Shadow of the Colussus/The Last Gaurdian. It's a shame more Japanese devs don't follow the same pattern.

  • geeza2020 #68 2 years ago

    sfp noodle +1.

    Some very good points there.

  • kangarootoo #69 2 years ago

    Disappointing.


    This bit stood out.

    "In single-player, team member deaths never deplete your stock of points, but when played alongside fellow humans they do, and the implications of this logic are ruinous."

    Heresy!

    I have a fundamental design rule for cooperative play. The failings of one player should not continually hold back the progress of the game. Only the continual failure of ALL players should result in an impass.

    If you have one skilled player and one n00b, a system like this is going to frustrate everyone. The n00b is dying a lot, but this also means that the experienced player fails to make progress as well. The result? People only play co-op games with gamers on the same skill level as them. For any co-op online game, this is a big fail.

    Halo got this right. An experienced player can still make progress, even if his/her team mates are getting their arses kicked. A competant team will of course make better progress, and perhaps on the hardest difficulty this will be required, but a single player with super hot skills can still make progress through the game, carrying the less able stragglers with him/her. Result, everyone has fun by degrees.

    Just imagine trying to play through any of the Halo games on Legendary is the death of a less able team mate meant returning to a checkpoint. The ENTIRE experience would be ruined.

    Quite how Capcom made so fundamental mistake is utterly beyond me.
    Edited by 2 at 06/05/10 @ 11:21

  • Retro_ #70 2 years ago

    Sounds like this game rewards a decent close knit co-op team. Plus if it's technically excellent, sounds like a good game to me :)
    plus its about £25 so I can't really see a reason not to buy this.

  • kangarootoo #71 2 years ago

    "Sounds like this game rewards a decent close knit co-op team"

    I would suggest that it sounds as if this game can ONLY be enjoyed by a very close knit co-op team. A better designed game could be enjoyed by everyone, including the same close knit co-op team.

  • Cherub007 #72 2 years ago

    I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact that I just don't have 45 minutes to waste repeating stuff as part of some warped learning curve, although my days as a student, then unemployed, gaming runt obviously afforded me such luxuries.
    Personally, I thought some missions in GTA IV were pushing it at around half an hour of re-tread, but at least I could cool off by pushing some people down the stairs for a bit until retrying. I think Splinter Cell Conviction just about got it right overall, and I don't think I ever had to re-do more than 10 minutes worth of stuff, even if I was trying to do it ninja-style.

  • Retro_ #73 2 years ago

    @Kangarootoo ok, good point.

  • muscleblade #74 2 years ago

    @metalangel

    Just play with a friend or two then. You can still use one or two AI parteners or choose to play just the two/three of you without anty AI partners. The many options is incredible really.

    @Cherub007
    Dont worry you respawn a lot before dying so if you die its because you didnt play well (normal difficulty). Me and my friend played thorugh the first chapter (its huge, many levels and two superlong bossfights) without dying completely just respawning 10-15 times.

  • ant72 #75 2 years ago

    Awwww, It's sooooo pretty. Awwww, no save points. My heart won't take it :-/

  • chrisola #76 2 years ago

    I was hoping this would be good but the lack of checkpoints issue would make me go crazy...i guess a DLC patch can fix that so maybe it will be worth buying if that happens.

    Fair enough old school hardcore games have their place, but they only work if the game is fair and it's only your skill that can let you down, but when it's got problems like dodgy AI that you can't give instructions to (but NEED to in order to succesffuly complete tasks) it's just a kick in the teeth and bad design.

  • miiiguel #77 2 years ago

    Just imagine trying to play through any of the Halo games on Legendary is the death of a less able team mate meant returning to a checkpoint. The ENTIRE experience would be ruined.

    That's the Iron Skull.
    Anyway, I uderstand what you're saying, though, it still makes some sense, it should make each gamer protect each other. Some "coop" games are just several ppl playing alone the same game.

  • mizcicz #78 2 years ago

    olala...didn´t expect top scores...but was hoping for something 8ish...anyway. i loved lost planet. the multiplayer was so much fun. played it a lot. lost planet (1) also received mostly mehhh reviews but for me it is a true classic and still is one of the most memorizable games i´ve played - story was flat as a sheet of paper - but the pirate fortress map is stuck in my head as a monument of superfun gaming...i even like the flaws it has. the game has very nice arcade old school roots and really feels like a true videogame should feel like with crazy weapons, gigantic beasts and huge expolsions. that said. i will play lost planet 2. the post grab mode alone will probably make it worth buying for me...there still is a little fear that they really messed it up this time but i think i will enjoy this one as much as i enjoyed the first one.

  • muscleblade #79 2 years ago

    @miiiguel

    Good point.

    Just found the list of secret LP2 achievements. Oh man this is not a game for completionist unless you want to play it for a thousand hours. Hardest (most time consuming) list yet.

  • peterfll #80 2 years ago

    I gave up on the original about half way through because of a particular difficulty spike. It was with mixed emotions, as there was so much I enjoyed about the experience until that point. Given that I'm assuming if I pick this up for playing in single player, I'm not going to get much beyond the third level?

  • Darren #81 2 years ago

    N@ - Capcom have a superb record for controller support in their recent games, well the Xbox 360 one anyway (is there any other?) as Lost Plant, Resident Evil 5 and Devil May Cry 5 all had it. I very much doubt Lost Planet 2 will break the trend.
    Edited by 1 at 06/05/10 @ 13:29

  • lordofthedunce #82 2 years ago

    @ Kangarootoo

    Just imagine trying to play through any of the Halo games on Legendary is the death of a less able team mate meant returning to a checkpoint. The ENTIRE experience would be ruined.

    wasn't that the case in Halo 2 split screen co-op when played on Legendary? It was utter nails imo.

    While I'm slightly surprised at the score, based on my expectations rather than first-hand knowledge, I'm still keen to give this a go.

    A lot of the people I play co-op games with are of a similar level and this isn't the kind of title I'd play alone anyway.

    I can't put my finger on why but the EG review just hasn't put me off that much.

  • bmanula #83 2 years ago

    to all the people who write 'canceling pre-order', why do you bother to pre-order? if you are undecided on it and want to see a review first then can't you just wait for the review before you order? are you getting extras for pre-ordering? or a discount? worried about supply?

    (this is a legitimate question, not intended as an insult)

  • muscleblade #84 2 years ago

    [link url=http://www. oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=19295
    ]http://www. oxm.co.uk/article.php?id=19295
    [/link]

    Another british opinion. Kristans review was better but this review see the game in a different way (the way i see it).

  • muscleblade #85 2 years ago

    @bmanula

    I think its just a lame way of saying i wont buy the game really.

    You sometimes do get extra stuff for preordering though.

  • jellyhead #86 2 years ago

    Like i said, muscleblade. Only good in co-op means no sale for me.
    Sorry, i know you are very enthusiastic about the game but it's not my cup of tea it seems.

  • dr_faulk #87 2 years ago

    Officially disappointed.

  • kangarootoo #88 2 years ago

    @muscleblade

    That review makes no reference at all to the Battle Gauge. Surely that is quite an oversight, given that it seems to be the biggest problem the game has. They barely mention the AI either. I can understand that these things are less important if you plan on playing with friends, but that is a distinction a gamer should make, not a review.

  • Mandongo #89 2 years ago

    6? ...

    lol

  • Erebu #90 2 years ago

    Sooo... it's actually good, because a 7 is now the same as a 9?

  • GuyNoir #91 2 years ago

    Umm, only a PC player really - and never played the original anyway. But why is this tagged as a "PS3" game in the review select list rather than being a "PS3, PC, Xbox 360 slightly above average - but in EG terms - no better than a bowel movement of Satan" game?

  • FenderMaster #92 2 years ago

    I really enjoyed the co-op demo... working together to fight that huge 6 legged creature, taking out it's legs, walkin down its oesophagus, and blasting it from the inside... alot of fun. My problem was when tram mates quit mid way through, usually if one player leaves, then the others start leaving too, and soon enough, I was fighting it on my own...

    I can still see myself having a blast with this though...

  • metalangel #93 2 years ago

    @muscleblade: "Sorry, you can't join our game, you're too shit at it."

  • Golgo #94 2 years ago

    No mention of the sound? The feeble 'peyoo peyoo peyoo' of weapons had me creased up...

  • Roarrr #95 2 years ago

    @bmanula
    On some sites you get a discount for pre-orders (.e.g. game.co.uk will sometimes list a game low and later raise the price but they honour the original price)

    Also I tend to pre-order games to keep a wish-list sort to speak. In my email order list, the order confirmations act for me as a schedule list of games I am interested in. I can always cancel them anytime.

  • Lionheart #96 2 years ago

    Massive hench skin on home page at the same time promoting it as 6/10. Genius EG :)

  • BlinxHDD #97 2 years ago

    "Because they are trying to mimic western games.

    They need to stick to what made them great in the first place, instead of trying to please gung-ho americans."

    Agreed, but without the shitty and dumb bit.

  • buckfastmonkey #98 2 years ago

    with the sequel they have failed to fix the very thing which i HATED about the original-shitty save system. i will be sending my money on magic beans,yup.

  • welshben23 #99 2 years ago

    Oh well. Hated the demo, not surprised at this score at all.

  • Munkhee #100 2 years ago

    Gutted. Thought the original was fun for an early 360 game, and was looking forward to this as I love me some giant monster action. Sounds far too frustrating though from all the reviews, so pre-order has been cancelled. Will stick with MH Tri instead (which is excellent).

  • carlitoswagon #101 2 years ago

    What a shame. Didnt like the demo much but had high hopes. Ballbags.....

  • spatss #102 2 years ago

    Ruh roh. Wasn't planning on getting this game anyway.

  • 3william56 #103 2 years ago

    Hard to call the AI dumb when the entire point of the game is wandering through a jungle crawling with 200 foot tall horrors then walking up to said 200 foot tall horrors with limited ammo and thinking that shooting them in the face with a machine gun is a good idea. No-one in the future heard of cruise missiles and predator drones?

    Take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

  • dbranchevans #104 2 years ago

    Demo is terrible so wouldn't be getting it for the online multiplayer. Its basically everyone into the overpowered suits, failed to failed to get one? then spend a lot of time dying! Even Uncharted 2's multiplayer was better and I loathed the camera in that, shame as the first one was good fun.

  • Pasco #105 2 years ago

    The amount of cynicism in the comments is amazing. Hello people! Instead of doing the same thing again and again, Capcom tries to do something new here. When doing something new, there is a greater chance of failure. Deal with it like adults (except if you are under 18, then carry on being annoying little brats. I've been there)

    I won't buy Lost Planet 2 but then again I would negative-buy Super Street Fighter IV if such a thing was possible.

  • Waldo #106 2 years ago

    But I thought co-op made every game better?

  • trip919 #107 2 years ago

    Oh dear. This sounds completely botched. Was looking forward to this but unless they sort out the save system through a patch or something, then I think I’ll give it a miss.

  • HolyGingerNinja #108 2 years ago

    Wanted to like this game but didn't like the demo, saving my time and money for Red Dead Redemption.

  • muscleblade #109 2 years ago

    I can see the issue with the train boss battle and the hatch. You need to be more than one player. As a coop game this is easily a 8/10 imo, but as a singleplayer 6/10 is probably the right score. The train boss fight was actually my favourite part of the game because it demanded teamwork more than most games. Working together to kill that fantastic boss felt great and i cant wait to do it again on my second playthrough.
    Edited by 1 at 10/05/10 @ 10:19

  • Dazzyman #110 2 years ago

    Again another review unfinished because the game wasnt released and their was no people online to play it with how the game is susposed to be played. The levels per chapter arent huge and it saves afer every level (ie 1.1 1.2 1.3) so your not going to loose that much time. On normal its not bad at all and you will only die with RL players if you rush in and stupid. You can all also quite easily top up your health backup by activating a powercore in the same area (so all getting 500 in the bank) and you can give each other health to keep going/buy mods.

    The AI is average at best but you should never be using them as the game is designed for human interaction 4 players online and it does that fantastic on the PS3 version Ive used. Clear comms and zero lag. You can also send an invite out even if their not ingame and they can then come in at the next checkpoint of that level (ie 1.1 it goes to menu after 5-6mins then next part of 1.1 and that person can then join kicking out the AI).

    Reminds me alot of Borderlands really in some reviews. Solo its a sterile experience 4player co-op nothing like it which is how its meant to be played. For me it beats the precious Gears of War for co-op.

    Only thing it really needs is a better lobby system for joining (as if you dont send the invites out before you start you cant send them again till the level is complete not part level). That and you must have to have done the sections to join so new players it means everyone must start at 1.0. Slight niggle though if you have a good bunch of m8s cas they will be happy to keep redoing bits over and over (you buy stuff with your points anyway and level up).

    Great set pieces and bosses and many many ways to redo levels so has tons of replayability (hard for example they use different weapons and tactics).

    Def an old school action game and a solid 8/10 from me. Forget the demo as it wasnt up to much either. Full game is cracking :)

  • krudster #111 2 years ago

    Just to point out, I did play two-thirds of the game online with a friend prior to review. It was competitive mulltiplayer that I didn't get to play online, but had already spent 3 hours doing that at the press event in April.

  • SlumpJunk #112 2 years ago

    This game is designed for on-line play. Criticising the offline play is missing the point of the game...

    I don't remember people having the same negative opinion of Phantasy Star Online's poor offline play?

  • mcreddie #113 2 years ago

    Hmmm, unfair review. True the AI is shockingly bad and can get a bit frantic at times, but this is a solid game and that whole shpiel about giant chapters that are 'hand-gnawlingly irritating' is completely ridiculous. All the sections are bitesize poritons that are pretty expansive so you could play a few times and still enjoy it with friends (like L4D). There are loads of weapons, customisation options and great looking enemies that are extremely varied.All of this for £25? A bargain in my eyes. 8/10

    For a game like Alan Wake which is painfully repetitive with the same bloody enemies reappearing in slow-mo constantly to get a higher score is just unjustified. I'm sure this will be changed in retrospect. :)