Many players have already been trudging the” knee-deep in snow” ice planet that Lost Planet takes place in for a year on their Xbox 360s. Now it’s the PS3’s turn to venture in this cold, snow-blasted, alien crawling planet, all at the lowly cost of $39.99. If you are new to Lost Planet then get your VS suits up and running, because you are in for a nice action-packed treat.
Lost Planet completes the trio that Capcom has created as it joins Devil May Cry 4 and Dead Rising as an overall enjoyable game experience for current-gen systems. With a machine gun in hand, and a grappling hook ready to be launched Bionic Commando style, the player is fitted in the boots of protagonist Wayne. Waking up on the ice plains of E.D.N III, Wayne experiences amnesia, only remembering a fierce battle between the colonists and a large Akrid (the alien race) only known as “The Green Eye”. Barely surviving himself, Wayne realizes that his father was killed in the struggle, and vows to get revenge as he traverses the deadly landscapes of an alien planet.
As you travel from one zone to another, expect to be ambushed, tricked, invited and pushed back by not only the Akrid but NEVEC mercenaries under the control of commanding officer Shane Bandero. The enemy A.I. is surprisingly smart in where they hide behind cover, separate in strategic groups and flank you from behind. Luckily with a variety of weapons such as the machine gun, shotgun, rocket launcher and minigun, you have a chance of surviving even the harshest of battles. You also have the ability to change the pace of battle a little bit by taking the “full force offensive” approach when you pilot a VS suit, a mobile mini Gundam-like robotic vehicle which has the ability to equip a variety of attachable weapons to its arsenal. With a wide change of scenery, from large deep underground caves, to vast barren plains, to military depots conveniently placed in and around volcanoes, Capcom did a great job with showing us the different locales in this new sci-fi universe.
The PS3 version of Lost Planet as mentioned before, ships for $39.99 and includes all the extra paid-for downloadable content that the Xbox 360 eventually received as well as the downloadable maps and extra characters the PC version got. New and exclusive only to the PS3 is the addition of Luka, the game’s sexy female character who could be just as good as a protagonist to the game as Wayne.
With all of this extra content Lost Planet on the PS3 seems like a great value, but unfortunately this game does come with its share of flaws. Textures seem less defined, and the frame rate in some instances really slows down when you are fighting more than five enemies on-screen. The Xbox 360 is the superior version of the game, maintaining a smooth consistent frame rate throughout with gorgeous textures. The bog down on the PS3 is a mystery to me, especially when Capcom had a year to fix all of these problems. What is more of a mystery is that they used the same cross-platform engine they did with Devil May Cry 4, and that game doesn’t have any noticeable problems between the two platforms; the controls seem a bit hard to get used to compared to the Xbox 360 version. It feels like there is almost no resistance when moving the reticule from one end of the screen to another, which makes it feel like you’re aiming everywhere like a fool who never handled a gun. But over time you’ll get used to it, and setting the sensitivity to your preference might remedy this completely.
It really comes down to whether or not you can forgive this game’s cons for its pros. With frame rate issues and graphics that don’t come close to the visual splendor of the Xbox 360’s on one side, and all the bonus content plus a fun multiplayer mode on the other, Lost Planet PS3 might just be for you. Basically, if you have an Xbox 360, then pick this up for that; you won’t be disappointed. If the only console you have is the PS3, then take into consideration the points I covered in this review and weigh whether or not you really want to play this game so much when it’s obviously inferior to the original version.
