Metareview - Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
It's no secret that the Lost Planet marketing campaign is Capcom's most costly Westward-expansion effort to date. Xbox Live demos (that spawned a patch), Times Square ad space, and tonight's launch party have all contributed to a massive wave of hype that will come crashing down tomorrow. Have our senses been sufficiently flooded?The clump of reviews that have trickled out since the game launched in Japan and Europe (Dec. 21 & 31, respectively) has been decidedly mixed. Timing is on Capcom's side however, as these first few months of the New Year are commonly stale, devoid of competition. Our bet's on Lost Planet being a retail hit, but don't count on many remembering the game when it comes time to praise the year's best in December.
- IGN (85/100) - "There is a noticeable amount of depth to the combat ... The only downside to the openness of how you can attack each set of enemies is that you oftentimes don't have to fight them at all ... just run past a great deal of the game ... The handling in Lost Planet takes some getting used to and probably could have been mapped to the controller better ... For some reason, you can't point your gun straight up in the air ... Add in a stumbling story and you have a game that doesn't quite reach the levels of some of the more outstanding titles we've seen in recent months."
- Eurogamer (70/100) - "Unusually for Capcom, Lost Planet strips away many of the layers that characterise the games it is renowned for ... So, what we're served up with is an often spectacular looking third-person shooter with a smidgen of generally-exciting-but-not-especially-taxing survival-combat built-in ... Lost Planet always seems to offer you, the player, the edge in combat ... the game regularly lets you get away with lazily running through entire sections of the game without even bothering to take down your enemies ... There are also a few control grumbles that could have easily been ironed out by, oh, I dunno, adopting the industry standard ... Nevertheless, with a glorious setting, some memorable boss encounters and some staggering visuals to enjoy, Lost Planet has enough going for it to recommend checking out for those of you needing a lift in the dismal January wasteland."
- 1UP (65/100) - "For a while, Lost Planet completely satisfies ... But partway through the game, the momentum wavers, taking some of the game's charm with it ... The battles -- you face off against both humans and giant Akrid -- often look impressive but rarely play out as such ... Taking on a gigantic snow worm -- think Dune's sand worms -- is one of this gen's greatest "Oh s***" moments so far. But the game gets away from these roots far too soon and often, delving into middling mech territory with brain-dead humans broken up by rote boss battles and a forgettable story."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bernardo @ Jan 11th 2007 5:35PM
any more tickets for tonite...i work just around the corner..please
Petrie @ Jan 11th 2007 5:51PM
I suppose I'll continue playing Rainbow 6 and Gears then, I'm not THAT big into shooters and apparently this one just doesn't justify the price tag.
Francois @ Jan 11th 2007 6:01PM
With the industry's current hyping of upcoming titles based on visuals alone and hardcore gamers' heavy tendency to pre-order said hyped titles, I wouldn't be surprised if Lost Planet was already a retail hit.
VampireHunter Z @ Jan 11th 2007 6:01PM
Screw these reviews. The demo speaks for itself.
Ben Friesen @ Jan 11th 2007 6:09PM
Judge not a game based on its demo.
That's in the Bible somewhere.
Mr. Khan @ Jan 11th 2007 6:15PM
Wierd, because this was the first 360 Shooter that actually tickled my fancy
Guess that means i have bad taste in shooters
Hype? @ Jan 11th 2007 6:22PM
The game's 2 demos on the XBL Marketplace 'hyped' this game, NOT the graphics(which are phenomenal BTW). Think of this game like an updated Megaman type action game. Not too deep. Story isn't really important. Its got giant insects and Mechs for chrissakes! I am still looking forward to it. Screw Euro-trash gamer, AND hahahaha, sorry... 1Up
MJ @ Jan 11th 2007 6:28PM
I don't know about you guys, but IGN gives this 85/100 even though the review reads as a lower rating, we're talking 70s here (and IGN being paid-off)
AJ @ Jan 11th 2007 6:36PM
kerplunk...
Felix @ Jan 11th 2007 6:47PM
I've got money on Lost Planet being second or third most played Live game by year end...
Only one map on Demo, and I've played more online Lost Planet than Gears of War. Why? Because its an action twitch shooter. It's that great Arcade action I've been craving, now in HD.
I just want to have fun. No more squad games for me, damn I miss being a one man Army, and I think LP really delivers that feel. True the characters are slow on foot, and in the mechs, but learn the nuances of the game, and you'll learn to love it.
Capcom does it again as far as I'm concerned, now on to RE5, and then Dead Rising 2, and Lost Planet 2. I love Capcom.
serb @ Jan 11th 2007 6:56PM
i cant wait to see the excellent halo 3 reviews
razer @ Jan 11th 2007 6:57PM
Agreed! I love Capcom! Keep on bringing the 360 the love and we will continue paying!! I've played the retail of this game it's fantastic. As described above it's like a Megaman with giant robots and bugs! The visuals are top notch and really only Gears has better. I've never seen mechs used so effectively and fit so well into a game. This game deserves no less than an 8.0 in my opinion. OXM gave it 8.5, IGN 8.5 those don't sound mixed they are spot on. I love the Unreal 3 Engine but after playing a ton of Gears and Raibow Six it is really refreshing to play on a different engine that has fantastic graphics.
razer @ Jan 11th 2007 7:03PM
One more note: I have to question how well these reviews looked at the game when they played it. Under the settings there are 15 different aiming configurations you can choose from. You can even play the "traditional" way with no aiming movement at all and just a stationary sight(ala Gears). Or you can change how much movement and the speed, etc. You can tell Capcom thought people might want to use the more traditional aiming style and included it. 1up and Eurogamer I have to disagree with you on this one.
Silver R. Wolfe @ Jan 11th 2007 7:04PM
Yup, judge on the demos not the reviews. Oh except the demos weren't too spectacular anyways... Whoops!
Padriac @ Jan 11th 2007 7:07PM
So how many shooters can come out for the Xbox 360 before people stop caring? This one appears to not even be that good. This is why Japan hates the 360. Too. Many. Damn. Shooters. If we're going get 8 shooters and 4 racing games for every 1 Viva Pinata or Dead Rising, things are going to get stale fast. Like right now.
puddlejumper @ Jan 11th 2007 7:15PM
Wow, I'm shocked at how many people were swayed by the demos.
To be accurate, the FIRST demo was awesome and initially sold me on the game. The SECOND demo (the multiplayer one) is fucking atrocious. Talk about bad controls. Aiming is a hassle and I was shocked at how the game went from being my most anitipated to just being blah.
I'll wait to see what people actually think of the multiplayer in the released game. But as of right now I'm taking a pass on Lost Planet. The controls and gameplay don't seem fluid compared to GoW.
Oshi @ Jan 11th 2007 7:51PM
Dude. I don't care how bad it comes out to be. I'm trading in friggin' SONIC THE HEDGEHOG for it. Either way my game collection will benefit.
SuicideNinja @ Jan 11th 2007 8:28PM
"So how many shooters can come out for the Xbox 360 before people stop caring? This one appears to not even be that good. This is why Japan hates the 360. Too. Many. Damn. Shooters."
I read a stereotype. I have been through over a dozen games, and I don't feel overwrought with shooters. 6/17 of those were "shooter" games (none of which feel alike). If you're shallow enough to consider Condemned a "shooter", then it's 7/17. There's a couple racing, couple sports, couple RPG's, a stealth-action, a fighting, and a platformer. That's almost 2/3's that aren't shooters. People always talk about it like %90 of games are shooters.
jonathan @ Jan 11th 2007 9:40PM
Another shooter for 360.. (snore)
Amos @ Jan 12th 2007 12:12AM
Another (third-person action/mech fighting) shooter (completely unlike any other released yet this generation), why should I care?
I probably wouldn't by the game according to the reviews, but I'd at least try it out since word of mouth on the demos here (and everywhere) is extremely positively. Plus, the poster above who mentioned the customizable controls...I didn't see a hint of that in the reviews. Hmmm.
Karttikeya @ Jan 12th 2007 12:13AM
I've never heard of that 1UP editor. Why don't they have people with experience review the game, instead of the hardcore noobs who want great graphics and realistic action?
mietha CAG @ Jan 12th 2007 1:35AM
Honestly, I wasn't impressed at all by the demo. The story looking interesting, with well-produced cut-scenes, but unfortunately, the game itself just wasn't that fun to play. And for the record, I only played the first demo, I didn't bother with the multiplayer one. It's looking like they maybe should have hurried and released before gears. I'm actually not a huge gears fan or anything, but every third-person shooter for the life of the 360 will be compared to it, and from the looks of it, lost planet doesn't even come close to measuring up.
Yuccadude @ Jan 12th 2007 2:48AM
It's got a frigging grappling hook in it! What more do you want? They give you 4-5 different grenades that produce hilarious results sometimes, there's mechs, a sniper rifle that isn't overpowered, and all the weapons seemed really well balanced in the MP demo. Alas, you do have to actually shoot things in order to overcome enemies and advance the storyline...
But the grappling hook is freaking sweet.
KilgoreTrout XL @ Jan 12th 2007 9:06AM
I guess I have roster-update syndrome then, because I'm buying this game no matter what these reviews say.
Jim @ Jan 12th 2007 9:38AM
I'm actually looking forward to this title and who cares about reviews anyways (everybody loved Zelda:TP and I just thought "ZOMG Ocarina 1.5").
matthew @ Jan 12th 2007 10:51AM
This game is Bionic Commando in 3-D, a shooting game with some platforming action, a throwback to late 80s game style from the people who made so many good NES games. Any red-blooded NES player has to be excited at least for the nostalgia factor.
samik @ Jan 13th 2007 7:13AM
I just wonder if Capcom is really treating their first phase of new gen games seriously, to be honest havent played either Lost planet or Dead rising but from reviews, both seem to be quite good but short of great, not what you would expect from the makers of DMC and RE4. Also, any news if this is going to be ported to PC / PS3 / Wii (ok kidding about the last one!)
Timbo @ Jan 14th 2007 4:43AM
I find some of your comments a bit odd. One of you said that you played the demo and weren't that impressed, commenting that the cutscenes were great but you didn't like how it played. There were no cutscenes in the demo, so I'm not sure what you were referring to. Also, people seem to single out shooters as being an overpowering presence, but if you really look at the number of games released (on each system) its no more than a quarter of the games. Why do they get talked about so much? Because they tend to be blockbuster sellers and heavily popular. I mean really, would you rather have a market flooded with racing games? with JRPGs? its a necessary balancing act.
po0 @ Jan 16th 2007 12:46PM
For the plebs who think Japanese gamers wont enjoy this because its a 'shooter' then i suggest you play some multiplayer games as every game i played over the weekend has approx 50% Japanese players and the other 50% made up of Euro/American.
Its worth getting the game just to hear the spazzy Americans going 'Hello!? Do you speak English...HELLO!?'
Shawn O @ Feb 4th 2007 4:39PM
I own the game and find it entertaining. Remember, reviewers aren't some magic people, they're just other nerds like outselves with their own highly jaded opinion.