The Lost Planet 2 Demo was released on LIVE yesterday. It lets you fight one boss from the campaign with up to 3 friends. I played through it several times with my brother online yesterday, I can tell you that the game is no cakewalk. Despite having nearly beat the original on insane, I'm still stuck on the last boss, we initially had a lot of trouble taking this demo boss down. After a couple "mission failed"s we finally got the hang of things and won, then we tried a few more times to get a better grade. Overall it was pretty fun, but there were some frustrations.
One problem that I know people will have with this game are the controls. Every button on the controller is used, including start , back, and the d-pad. The four face buttons, A, B, X, and Y each have multiple functions. Its a big improvement over the first game though where everything was on B, but its still a lot to learn. Also, some controls are different once you get into a VS. As confusing as they are at first, it works well once you learn it.
What has been confirmed is that I would get A LOT of play out of the full game when its released. I've played through the campaign on the first game 5 or 6 times and I put a lot of time in the multiplayer. This game takes the best of both and shoves them together to make a more cohesive and enjoyable whole. The campaign plays somewhat similar to a multiplayer match. You get points and awards for what you're doing and there are respawns which are limited by your score on the battle gauge. Its smart and has a very high replay value. Of course, the demo is only a preview of the campaign. I can't wait to try the competitive modes out online, I'm sure they've improved as well.
The only problem I have with this game is that all of the co-op modes are online. That isn't a problem per say, but what it does mean is that my brother and I will each have to buy our own copy if we want to play together. Even though we would each only be paying $60, we're normally able to split the costs of new games. So, I'm pretty sure it will be $120 we collectively drop on this game the day its released. That is, unless one of us decides to get the collectors edition. Then it will be more.