Lost Planet is a fun sc-fi action game.
Taking place in a game year known as TC -80. Lost Planet takes place on E.D.N III, a planet that is undergoing a colonization effort by NEVEC. This colonization is brought into action due to Earth's environment and overall well being is too hostile for life there anymore.
Upon arriving on the planet to begin colonization. NEVEC soon discovered an alien race known as the AKRID. NEVEC found out the AKRID harvest thermal energy, which is essential to surviving on E.D.N. III. Overwhelmed they left the planet, only for their army to return with military mechs known as V.S. With the new tech Colonist and the military of E.D.N.III pursue the efforts of human existence while battling the AKRID and overall mystery of the planets foundation.
LP follows Wayne, who early on is attacked by an AKRID enemy known as The Green Eye. Despite their best efforts The Green Eye destroys their colonist base and pushes through the defenses. In the effort to stop the monster, Wayne is badly wounded and his father is killed. Wayne struggling with his wounds makes it outside the Colonist dome only to pass out in the snow. Wayne is discovered frozen by Snow Pirates and is brought to their facility. When Wayne wakes up he has no recollection of his past and everything is fuzzy. Wayne bands with these Snow Pirates to take down AKRID hives one by one. Eventually unraveling his past, discovering the mystery of the Planet and a NEVEC conspiracy.
Story is told through cut scenes. Overall I found it interesting in the beginning, later on it unraveled into something pretty crazy. Reminded me of a Metal Gear a little bit. Kind of cliché but overall pretty decent.
Graphics:
LP came out in 2007. However, this doesn't stop it from still looking great 5 years later. Snow particles are wonderful as is the explosions. The AKRID are all designed well. With each looking unique and menacing. The V.S. mechs look awesome..However character models look kind of subpar in my opinion. Though they are different they just looked odd for some reason to me. I however loved the look of the game. It reminded me of Starship Troopers and Alien.
Game play:
Lost Planet on its surface is third person shooter. It follows a mission based structure with open, yet linear environments. The main enemy in the game is the AKRID along with NEVEC, snow pirates, and others alike. Every enemy drops thermal energy. This is essential to stay alive in this game and powers the V.S. It may sound like a hassle but it's not. Theres always an abundance of thermal energy around, it can be gained by destroying enemies or objects around the world.
The AKRID are challenging enemies in this game. They all have weak points on them that glow orange. Shooting these weak points is key to bringing down these insect like beasts. I found this very fun as each different kind of AKRID offers a challenge. They all are designed well and look menacing when you see them come alive right before you. Nothing is more thrilling than walking to your objective only to have a 30 foot worm AKRID jump out of the snow trying to eat you alive. It's this type of adrenaline rush that brings out the best in LP.
Helping out in the enemy encounters are the V.S. suits. Ranging from your normal machine gun V.S., to a spider driller. They are spread throughout the levels and add a unique dynamic to game play. It's a blessing to have these around as some of the AKRID are tough as nails and doing the job without them is rough. As mentioned these mechs run on Thermal Energy which causes your T-eng meter to drop faster. Another handy tool is your grappling hook. This is used to transcend the levels. Working like Batman's grappling hook you can hook shot to almost anything and sling your way up on it. It's helpful when falling over edges as you'll instantly hook onto the ledge and pull yourself up.
I really enjoyed the game play, it was fun thrilling and exciting, every level played out like a sci-fi action movie. With mechs, the AKRID and overall destruction everywhere. The boss fights were a nice touch and they were all unique. I wish more games were like this. Another plus is each level felt different. There weren't two levels that were alike. A downside for me is the regular on foot enemies. They are push over's and it seemed as if the AKRID did not recognize them and only went after me (the player). Overall, loved the game play. It was challenging, and destructive with very little faults.
Sound:
Sound design is fantastic. The soundtrack is well done with orchestral music hitting at right moments. A sound of the AKRID blowing to bits, or the epicness of explosions is awesome. The mech sounds are surprisingly well done as well. Reminds me of gundam or transformers in that respect. Voice acting was subpar..and the lines were cheesy. However, everything else is spot on.
Replay Value:
LP took me about 7 hours to beat on normal difficulty. There are other difficulties but overall the sp isn't too long. The game offers multiplayer. I have not had a chance to play it. However, it has a good following with at least a couple matches going at any given time. No trophies. Little incentive to play again unless you just want to destroy more akrid
Overall LP is a game I really enjoyed. It offers fun and unique levels. The AKRID is an exciting enemy and the story while cheesy keeps the action moving. I say if you're looking for something unique and fun, give it a go. It came out in 2007 and it's probably pretty cheap now..As is the sequel. LP3 is also in development.