Developer: Spark Unlimited
Publisher: CAPCOM
Platform: PC, PS3, 360
Lost Planet 3 – Review
Lost Planet 3 takes you back to another of CAPCOM’s famous franchises. This time you will be roaming around on a frozen planet in search of precious minerals to save the earth. Sadly this might be one of those rare times hell indeed gets frozen over…
Story
Lost Planet 3 is a game that revolves around one man’s choices that might have changed the faith of the human race. Be sure to put your walking boots on for a trip down memory lane… in the future.
The protagonist of this story, Jim Peyton provides us with a typical story of a man who leaves his family to do harsh work to provide him and those close to him with everything they need. Of course the bearded Nicolas Cage lookalike seems to be one who should not be underestimated. After crash landing on the planet, named E.D.N. III, you will soon have to fend off the Akrid monsters that are out to get you, until help arrives. Upon your success of survival, you will soon reach the Coronis base with the help of your rescuers nonetheless.
Not long after your arrival your rate of success motivates all those around you and you will become the first one to approach when troubles arise. Be it to vanquish monsters or collect the power source that you were here for in the first place. All of this happens under the motto of ‘peaceful acquisition’, at least if peaceful means using a truckload of weaponry.
During your playthrough you will learn a lot more about Jim and his family, as well as the frozen planet that might hold a decent set of secrets. Jim’s personal story will be presented to you by the use of video messages who just happen to pop up in your rig now and then, be it during a stroll in the icy park or when butchering a horde of Akrids. This is a fun and quite original way to take a break from the typical gameplay this game has to offer. Whilst the story is appealing a lot of the ‘extra’ characters feel a tad too impersonal to truly get attached to.
In the end Lost Planet 3 will offer you a very likeable main character and an attachment to his family that not that many other games will provide you. You’ll learn more about a beautiful yet dark planet and you’ll be a part of exploring a new planet. What’s more to want?
Graphics
Lost Planet 3 offers us a bunch of contradictions when talking about the graphical quality of the game. In one hand get treated to some decent looking cinematics and environments that look beautiful, as far as an inhospitable planet as E.D.N. III can go, that is. In the other hand we get characters that have less facial expressions than your local ventriloquist’s puppet. Whilst this isn’t the biggest graphical flaw this game has, it makes the characters lose a portion of their charisma.
Sadly, during your stay on E.D.N. III, you will more than often run in to invisible walls, see enemies disappear to randomly appear somewhere else, monster motions who just seem more unnatural than anything else and a grappling hook with all the wrong physics in place. All of this will be made up when you actually get to see bosses and the beautiful, yet eerie caves you are able to plow your way through.
Sound
Having a car radio is standard, have a rig radio is simply awesome. Whilst the overall music in Lost Planet 3 is quite good, the finishing touches are brought to you by the radio in your all powerful rig. You will have the choice to pick your favorite songs in a decent pool of different styles. All of this gets combined with decent voice acting which makes this game a pleasant game to lend your ears to.
Gameplay
In essence Lost Planet 3 is a third person shooter, mixed with a few first person aspects. Namely most of the game you’ll be running around as Jim Peyton shooting Akrids, whilst on the other hand you’ll be controlling your giant rig to dig through caves and fight of bigger enemies.
The third person aspect of the game pretty much feels like nearly all third person shooters and there isn’t that much more to say about that. You will be able to carry around your own set of weapons and a few grenades to keep yourself ‘warm’ on the inhospitable E.D.N. III. When roaming around you’ll notice you’ll also have a crosshair when you’re not actually aiming at your opponent. This makes the game feel a tad like a third person shooter going back to its roots, which in the end is a well appreciated gesture.
Controlling your rig happens in the first person fashion and, when it comes to movement, feels quite natural. Sadly this does not count for attacking and defending, especially when trying to use counters. Counters work by pressing the right button at the same time, mainly when attacks are incoming. You’ll need impeccable timing for this and whilst this is no issue, sometimes impeccable timing means you’ll have to respond in less than a second, even on lower difficulties. Not being able to counter in time will cause frustration, as it does in many games, but your rig can hardly take any damage which will cause you to wait for your rig to repair more than once.
When you’re able to pull off successful counters you’ll be able to grab your opponent and use your drill on him for some extra carnage. A fun function for the first few battles but it tends to get tedious and makes up for slower gameplay this shooter should not have.
Upgrading weapons is no problem in Lost Planet 3, be it minor upgrades. You’ll be able to increase the damage for most of your weapons or change ammunition. Again basic features but they create more room for diversity.
Lost Planet 3 is divided in your main missions, that revolve around your story, and submissions that will allow you to score some extra credits or some new items for you to mess around with. That being said the extra missions don’t give you that much benefit but are just fun to do, knowing cash might be welcome at times.
Bossfights are something Lost Planet 3 will provide. You’ll have to fight of a giant monster more than once, be it in your rig or on foot. Whilst these battles look quite epic and for the most part are, they tend to take longer than in other games. This might not be a bother to some, it’s understandable not everyone likes this in a game that should offer a smooth and quick gameplay.
Multiplayer is of course another feature of this game and will probably not disappoint after plowing your way through the main storyline. It will not draw you in, if you’re a fan of the story but will surely give you that extra edge of blasting away some Akrid monsters.
Conclusion
Lost Planet 3 offers a solid third person shooter with a great storyline that might have some clichés attached to it. Sadly sometimes this does not cover up the bugs that are still present and perhaps sometimes a lack of innovation when it comes to the gameplay. Fans of the series and those who simply like the genre will not be disappointed though.
Lost Planet 3 - Review,
No Comments