In-depth and intelligible review of Lost Planet 2.
Good Stuff
- Graphics are amazingly detailed.
- Bountiful of unlockable content.
- Boss Fights are great fun especially with others.
- Controls aren't as bad as they say.
Bad Stuff
- Campaign story is terrible.
- Knockbacks can be very aggravating.
- Artificial-Intelligence could use work.
- Difficulty alone can be overwhelming at times.
- Not enough Akrid fighting.
I'm going to move into the review with the negative if you don't mind. It seems that it needs some clarification.
It seems Capcom focused more on the look of their game rather than gameplay. Lost Planet 2 features many upgrades and new features since the first game's release. While the graphics are stunning at most times, animation can be a little weak. Characters and enemies apparently can hit through some solid objects, especially enemy Akrid. The Chryhatis (long-armed or legged, whatever you want to call them), and some VS types can melee attack through pillars and walls which can be annoying, especially when paired with constant knock-backs. As Gamespot's review pointed out they were "constant." I do agree, yet about half of them can be avoided as long as you don't get too close to enemies. Focusing on a positive note, Akrid can be fun to kill especially with other players in a co-op campaign. Although the AI on your team can give some help, they and the enemy AI, don't seem like big threats. Most of time your team will just stand around while getting pummeled by the enemy. With these knock-backs that can get annoying and make you want to throw your controller at the screen, it doesn't help that it means you'll be on your own for the most part unless you do split-screen or go online... (Split-screen by the way is disappointing as it is only 2 players and each of you gets about 1/4 of the screen.)
Anyways... bullets can give slight knock-backs. They don't make you jump back about ten feet or anything but they do kind of stun you, so you pretty much can't do anything except run when getting shot at. The campaign is definitely one of the game's weakest points. The story is still cliche, derivative and can be very repetitive as mission objectives always involve grabbing data posts. The story is very hard to follow as it does something like CoD where you play as different characters during the course of your adventure. It also doesn't help that every episode is pretty much its own story, mostly seperate from the others, so seemingly important parts from the first episode seem to drift and float away altogether and never seem to reappear later.If they had incorporated the Akrid into more of the gameplay, it would have called for a much better story. If you've seen trailers, you must know that the environment changes to a more Jungle setting, something that was very much emphasized; despite, only 1 of the 6 episodes in the Campaign features a lush Jungle area. This was truly disappointing, especially when that leaves most of the other episodes to be in some type of factory or building type of place.
There's still fun to be had however, as fighting giant bosses can be very enjoyable. Multiplayer has stepped up from the first game with the addition of being able to fight these creatures with 3 other players while everyone is gaining something at the end of each chapter. That reminds me... about every 10 minutes or so, the game stops you and gives you a rank with an entire 'Mission Complete' thing and a loading screen. This pretty much ruins the experience of it even being some kind story in the first place... Moving back to good things though, this can be good if you want to compare how you did with your fellow players. The points you earn in Campaign and competitive Multiplayer online, will go towards your total Career level in 1 of 5 different types of characters. Gaining higher levels can give things like character parts to customize your looks.
A "Training" section is included in your Main Menu where you can go through an obstacle course to reach the end within a certain time limit to gain a medal. This then will let you move on to the next course and replay any you have unlocked. I quoted 'Training' because its not training at all. It doesn't tell you the controls unless you happen to find a sign somewhere on the course, which is pretty much linear like Campaign. I'm not sure if you get anything for achieving a Gold Medal or reaching the end of each stage of 5 levels each, due to the difficulty. It seems that when trying intensely, you can only manage to get bronze with a few seconds to spare. All this making it seem like this "Training" mode is entirely pointless.
If you're someone who cares about Achievements then here's a section for you. Only 8 of the total 50 (At release time) are not secret achievements, which leaves you pondering what could possibly be so secret as to have the need to do that. In order to get most of these secret Achievements, it involves hours or even days of playing. If you'd rather I didn't spoil anything, than you can check for yourself here:
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/lost-planet-2/achievements/
Good luck, if you're going for 100% completion. On that note, you have to complete the specific difficulty of Campaign for the achievement. Completing the game on higher difficulties will not get you the lower ones, so yea...
With all that I hope your purchase of Lost Planet 2 is pleasant, or if you still plan on renting it. Either way, it's your decision on whether or not to play, it seems like there's not really anything entirely better coming out for months.