Xbox 360 Roundup

Lost Planet Extreme Conditions: Colonies Edition

• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Capcom

In hindsight, it's fairly obvious that Lost Planet benefited from being one of the first titles on the 360. Launching in that early adopter period, when players are eager to get their hands on anything for their new toy, can turn even a rather bland and forgettable third-person shooter into something resembling a blockbuster triple-A title.

At least for the game's platinum budget re-release Capcom has dug deep into its virtual pockets and come up with a rejigged package that offers more features for less money. Whatever the merits of the game in question, in this era of premium priced DLC, it's hard to be too down on that sort of thinking.

So what extras have been added? Most notable are a slew of new game modes, for both single-player and online amusement. Score Attack mode is a lot like The Club, in that you keep shooting monsters and scenery, trying to increase your score multiplier. Multiplayer benefits from the rather fun Akrid Hunter mode, in which randomly selected players spawn as alien monsters and get to stomp about slaughtering puny humans.

There's even a first-person mode, which is pretty awful. Changing the viewpoint of a game designed for third-person play doesn't make it an FPS. You also get a bunch of smaller extra features, such as new multiplayer maps, ten new weapons and additional characters. Alone, none of this material is enough to justify another purchase, but the cumulative effect is quietly impressive - in terms of quantity if nothing else.

Unfortunately, at the heart of all this generosity is a game that hasn't aged particularly well. Lost Planet is a decent enough blaster, and well suited to its new price point, but it's nothing worth dashing out to buy. The pace is achingly slow, and it relies far too heavily on repetitive battles against waves of identical monsters that slow the game down even further. Controls are stiff, and your gun-toting character - with a mysterious past! - is never as agile as you'd like him to be. The new Unlimited Mode beefs up both the firepower and speed, but it's a shame that such gameplay tweaks come in the form of an unlockable bonus rather than as improvements to the core game itself. It's also worth noting that your old save file won't be compatible with this version.

For those who've been curious about this not-bad game, this edition makes for an affordable way to see it at its best and enjoy some extra stuff to boot. For those who already own it, the value is less apparent. There are new Achievements, and lots of new things to tinker with, but not a lot of incentive to plod through the campaign missions again or start over ranking up your multiplayer stats.

7/10