Apparently, we should “Kill the Big” in LP2…
Last week, I attended an event for Lost Planet 2 which showed off multiplayer and co-operative modes. I was a bit sceptical since I wasn’t a huge fan of the original, but how does the sequel look?
Well, it seems that a lot of things have improved both in terms of visuals and gameplay. Multiplayer is great fun, although the maps we played on weren’t 100% complete (apparently). There is a great focus on not just shooting your way at everything that moves, but there are also points to capture as well as Mechs, ships and subs to drive and launch weapons at your foes.
The controls will be familiar to those who played the first game; but will take some getting used to in some areas, like using the LB and RB buttons to turn 90 degrees. Some might even question what is new in Lost Planet 2. Well, the controls do feel more refined…although not being able to use your grapple hook in mid-air is just ridiculous, especially with Capcom’s history with Bionic Commando. Weapons will also be a trip down memory lane for most, but there are some great new additions that pack a serious punch.
There is a good level of customisation for your characters and there are skins for Frank West, Albert Wesker plus Marcus and Dom. I did see an option for levelling up your character, but it was disabled for our time with the game and since most of the achievements seemed to be secrets; I imagine they will be things like reaching a certain rank online and getting so many kills. On one map, we got jetpacks and had to use them to boost over to certain areas. There was a bit of confusion at first and each time you activate the blast, you lose some altitude. A lot of us ended up dying just by falling into the depths of space. I can imagine that causing some problems should that setup remain the same at launch.
As a whole, the multiplayer is looking solid and addictive…despite a few issues with the grappling hook and jetpack. I imagine they will be resolved by the time the game ships, well…I hope so anyway.
Later, Capcom showed a new level of co-op with 4 of their staff who took a huge risk by putting the difficulty upto…normal and died as a result. They had to change the difficulty to overcome the level, which consisted of a gigantic Akrid who took a LONG time to die. They died a lot, even on Easy…and mostly had to await others to respawn or they would have failed again. If it is that hard for pros, then I imagine it being extremely difficult for anyone else. But, I did see a good level of co-operation between the players and felt the same way when I finally got my hands on the co-op. Lost Planet 2 definitely feels better with 4 people as opposed to going it solo.
After that, things got a bit fuzzy as I went to the bar and had numerous drinks and miraculously made it back home in one piece. It’s a miracle I can even remember anything about the game, tee-hee. Lost Planet 2 is looking sweet and I can’t wait to get my hands on the final code…