I'm still helping my brother complete the campaign on Lost Planet 2. Since he bought the game we're playing on his profile, which is fair. I can't help but feel like I'm missing out somewhat though seeing all the unlock's we've earned on his game, then having to return to mine. Anyway, Lost Planet 2 is a very hardcore game. I am going to say it is more hardcore than the first because it encourages players to think highly of other players who sacrifice their live to the game and poorly of those who don't.

The game really is about learning the secrets of the game. It is one of the few titles where I've had to check back to the instruction manual because there are no helps in game. There are a few hints here and there, but even in the original you had a instruction sheet show up when entering a new VS. Once you've learned things, there are some really neat stuff. Special attacks and a way to combine VS's are a couple of cool ones I've discovered. Once you've learned all the campaign secrets, you're rewarded by easily killing you way through the levels. At that point it feels good, really good, like acing a test you've really studied for. The problem is that all the time leading up to that point felt like studying for a very difficult test. A test that contains information that will never help you out in real life.So the game is starting to grow on me, but the frustrating parts are still frustrating. If Lost Planet 2 were a school teacher, it would smack your hands with a ruler ever time you answered a question wrong. And it would purposely pick on you when it thought you wouldn't know the answer.

One thing that bothers me are the other player reviews. I know most people who check them are people who own the game and enjoy it, but I'm still upset that people voted my review down. There are so many real problems with the game that make it difficult, read impossible, to recommend. What I find amazing are all the people who are dropping 9.5s and 10s. I've probably played the game for over 40 hours now and have almost completed the Extreme mode. Don't tell me that I didn't give it a chance or that I don't understand the controls. The game is designed to be unapproachable and frustrating to new players and that is not a good way to make a game!

Anyway, I unlocked the title "Hardcore to the Max!" while playing today. I though it was pretty fitting for the game so I'm using it now. I know a lot of older games, like original Mega Man games, required this much dedication to enjoy, but I personally hoped gaming had move past that phase. Maybe every developer besides Capcom has. What do you think? Does it make up for the trouble if the game is better once you've learned it secrets? I know a lot of people wont put up with that frustration. From a design standpoint, I'm going to say NO, but from a personal standpoint, I'll say YES. I had a lot of fun playing LP2 today and think the entire $60 purchase was justified.