ONE MAN'S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE
The campaign in lost planet 2 takes place 10 years after the events of lost planet. When you start the campaign, you select an episode. There are a total of six episodes which are divided into chapters. When you beat an episode, you can go back and try to get a better score to unlock more goodies. The campaign starts out easy enough, but will get difficult. I am on the train (this is the portion of the game gamespot criticized) I have to admit it is difficult. I have died 3 times, and keep having to start over. I think I am going to recruit some help online in order to pass this episode. This is a great option the game gives you as you have the option of playing the online cooperative mode where you can have up to 3 other players help you, or you can play via split screen with one friend, or by yourself and select the number of CPU players, if you are opting for the latter option as I did, please keep in mind that some episodes may frustrate you.
The online competitive mode is lots of fun. The game is pre loaded with 10 maps, but it does not stop there as more of these will be released as DLC. The maps vary in size, and all of them take place in different environments ranging from a space station to jungles or even a large battle arena. In my opinion these maps are laid out well, and are lots of fun to play. There are plenty of game modes to choose from ranging from a capture the flag style mode to post grab, team elimination and so on. You can join a faction and play in faction matches where you will gain extra rewards if your faction wins at the end of the week. Create your own match, and customize it to fit your style of play, invite friends, or select to join a quick match where you can choose from a list of games getting ready to start. Your character is fully customizable, and has all sorts of items you can unlock in the campaign portion of the game.
The developers of Lost Planet 2 wanted to create a full gaming experience; they did not rush the production, so this does not feel like a cheap game. For the most part I think Lost Planet 2 succeeded in what it set out to do – which was not to replace Halo, Modern Warfare, or BBC2. They wanted to create a unique gaming experience that does not mimic what we already have. The game has high presentation values. The game looks pretty good, though some items don't look like they belong in a particular environment, and there are some frame rate issues every now and again. The camera also has issues as it will get stuck pointing in the wrong direction sometimes. None of this has been much of an issue for me as it has not happened often enough to become annoying. Character models are good, but I have seen better. The music score and sound effects are excellent, and play feels solid. The AI is poor, at least as far as your allies in the campaign goes, but it does not stop the game from being fun. Multiplayer is a blast, and I just can't get enough of it.
In short, Lost Planet 2 is a fun game. I cannot recommend it if you get frustrated easily, or if you are looking for a Modern Warfare look alike. But if you are looking for a good sci-fi gaming experience Lost Planet 2 might have what you are looking for. I paid the full $60.00 price for this game, and feel like I got my money's worth, but if you played the demo, and did not like it – stay far away as this game looks and feels much like it did in the demo and you may feel like you got ripped off.