Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

"Ever played a game called freedom fighters?"

I played the demo version of this game and was sadly disappointed. Then I rented the game and it was more of the same garbage.

My review consists of the following 5 criteria:

Story: 3/10- Nothing original here. You play the part of a young soldier who mysteriously lost his father to the alien/ monsters ruling the planet called the Akrid. Yawn... So you must avenge your father and set out on a quest where you encounter the Akrid and pirates....hmmm, that sounds mysteriously like the story line from freedom fighters except they replace the russians with aliens/bugs, and have a lot more boss battles.

Graphics: 7/10- Snowy landscape was impressive. Objects had decent bump mapping and lighting, however I wish that actual in-game graphics were half as good as the cutscenes. Character models were extremely average looking, with the exception of some bosses.

Gameplay: 6/10-
This game is entirely 3rd person viewpoint which is fine, but the execution of this was mediocre at best. The only real good gameplay is during the boss battles and when using the Vital Suits which turned out to be crappy versions of mech warriors. The design of the vital suits made me want to congratulate the creators of this game for catching up to the 1990's. The grappling hook was a nice addition but it was not a mind blowing concept. Also you are practically invincible because the thermal energy that sustains your life is way too abundant.

Controls: 3/10-
The controls and 3rd person perspective are a complete rip off of a game that came out almost 3 years ago called Freedom Fighters. You run way too slow, which becomes apparent when you have to run over long distances. There is no sprint button, so you run/walk at the same speed the entire game. They made the controls way too simple and it makes it feel like a gamecube game.

Multiplayer: 2/10- The multiplayer has a lot of options and different scenarios you can can put together, but other 3rd person perspective games such as Star Wars Battlefront II are much more polished and immersive than Lost Planet could ever hope to be.

Conclusion: 4/10- This game is not horribly bad, but is extremely unoriginal for being a "next-gen" game. If this game had been released 3-4 years ago for the first Xbox it might have been heralded as a great game. It was already released for the Gamecube 3 years ago except it was called Freedom Fighters. The concepts it uses and control scheme are just simply outdated and boring to the point where it weighs down on the entire experience.

Rent or buy: Definitely rent. And keep in mind that this game will cost 20 bucks by the end of the year.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/07