Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Review

When I think winter I think snowmen, cocoa, and hot fires. The only relation to Lost Planet would be the hot fire of rocket-launching mech destruction. You are Wayne (yes, best video game name ever) and reside on an arctic world man is trying to colonize. The problem is that it is too cold for humans to survive and oh, yeah, there are huge bug monsters called Akrid that inhabit said world already.

A combination of 3rd person shooting and mech piloting, Lost Planet is all about whoopin ass. Gameplay is nothing too groundbreaking. You have a grappling hook that is pretty cool and controlling the mechs are where the most fun will be had. While the world settings could have been bland because most everything is covered in ice, the graphics really make it feel like an inhabitable wasteland without boring us to death with endless snow. Indoor Akrid caves contain some great visuals as well. Lost Planet boasts quality special effects and the smoke particles from rockets rushing past your head and explosions are very impressive. There are lengthily cut-scenes between levels that are great to look at but the story is so sketch you might just want to skip them.


The animations are very well done also, but when a rocket or enemy knocks you down, Wayne goes into his “falling down” animation. It looks good but the problem is this; when multiple mech/enemies are barraging rockets and lasers at you, as soon as his animation is completed you get instantly pummeled by the next volley and cycled into the infamous “falling down” animation again. This can get really annoying when shit is hitting the fan. Oh and why can't I aim up or down past about 75 degrees?? That is another pain for Wayne. I don't know if the developers did that on purpose to make the game that much harder or what. Bad choice none-the-less.

The game is fairly easy, you are constantly losing energy while in the cold and must continually recharge it by killing enemies or you will die. This is a nice little twist to make sure players are consistently wreaking havoc. The best part of Lost Planet is the boss battles. Boss’s are usually many times larger than your mechs, are super challenging, and will have you pressing retry multiple times until you find their weaknesses.


Multiplayer has a variety of gameplay styles and supports up to 16 players in matches at once. This can create some intense battles between snow pirates. Multiplayer still feels much like the campaign mode though and I enjoyed the single player experience a bit more. I had some high hopes for Lost Planet and while it won’t blow your mind, it is a great winter title that will get you through the often slow post-Christmas slump in games. A recommended play through.