Guns and... mechs!

There are plenty of different weapons available but you are limited to carrying two different weapons (and some grenades) - just like in the Halo series. There is plenty of weaponry around, and the level designers have carefully provide a matching weapon for any special encounters - so if there is a pressing need for a rocket launcher, you can be sure one is available nearby. Wayne also carries a grappling hook, used to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Sadly the creative uses of the grappler are limited as you can use it only in specific spots where level designers have intended you to use it.

The merry weather of E.D.N. III (8800GTX, DX10)

Mmm, I like big guns (HD2900XT, DX10)

In addition to fighting on foot, Wayne can pilot a variety of Vital Suits (VS). Vital Suits are essentially small mechs, about three to four meters tall. Some can jump, some can even hover a bit using jets and all carry big guns. As a nice touch if you have to ditch your VS due to damage or impassable terrain, you can detach one of the big VS weapons and lug it around for some extra mayhem. Separate VS weapons can also be found around the landscape, and you can mount them on a VS before piloting one if you wish to add extra firepower or swap the type of weapon attached.

Terrain and cover is hardly used, and combat is mostly about going all in with guns blazing. It's actually pretty hard to get killed as your life bar is constantly replenished from a pool of Thermal Energy (T-ENG). T-ENG can be replenished from red 'blobs' of energy left over from dead enemies, or recharged from activated waypoint beacons. In practice, as long as you don't take too much punishment over a very short period of time and collect all the energy you see, it's fairly difficult to get killed. On the other hand, T-ENG pool is constantly depleted, setting up indirect time limit on progress.

Visual candy

Explosions are visually impressive, but all that motion blur and bloom can sometimes drown out the action. (HD2900XT, DX10)

The general visual style and character design is as good as you can expect from a big-budget Japanese console-based title. The lead character may be a bit of a stereotypical young hotshot, but as a whole the package works fine. Level design and concepts are also remarkably good, and the feeling of being on an icy alien world is conveyed well. Lost Planet pulls all the stops out with the visual effects. Motion blur, massive explosions and pretty smoke effects mixed with alternating weather settings create an unique mix of graphics - occasionally up to the point where all you see on-screen is pretty special effects blotting out everything else.

Animation is generally excellent, with the caveat that there are far too many long pre-sequenced animations that you can't break out of. For example, you can swing with your gun in melee, but if you pressed the button by accident, the swing animation will cause you to stay put until it's completed; same goes for reloading some of the weapons, or recovering from being knocked over. This is also the most obvious reason for the stiff and unresponsive feel of the gameplay.