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Platform: Xbox
360
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Lost Planet
Hands-On Update May 16, 2006
Among other things, E3 offers a chance to feel out the up-coming games, even if hands-on play is measured in minutes rather than hours. Although the creature design impressed me (more on that in a minute) what had me particularly stoked was the sound design.
First the official explanation from Capcom of what's happening:
In *Lost Planet*, human snow pirates navigate VS (Vital Suits) through hostile ice-covered environments, fighting against the indigenous Akrid creatures for the precious thermal energy they need to survive. For one such pilot named Wayne, death almost seemed imminent until he was fortunately rescued. However, he can only remember a few fragments of his past including the slaying of his father by the monstrous beings. Yet under the veil of ice, a devious plan has been set into motion by the Neo Venus Construction Corporation (NEVEC) who plans to sterilize the world of all Akrid and snow pirates alike. What really happened to Wayne? Who is behind NEVEC and why are they plotting this destructive scheme that could potentially annihilate human kind? Encounter valuable allies and dangerous enemies on Wayne ’s search for the truth.
Capcom had the foresight to install headphones at several of their kiosks so you could actually hear the games. Part of the level I played took place outside in a blowing snowstorm which sounded awesome but upon encountering a massive alien creature I was actually startled. (I just hope no one saw me.) Then the beast started screaming and slashing and... Capcom has done a great job with the sound.
Control is easy to pick-up as Lost Planet handles like most third-person action games but they've pulled a page from Resident Evil 4 with an ability to quickly make 90-degree turns with a press of the "bumpers" while on-foot. Though your character is armed with some pretty impressive weaponry (grenades, shotguns, etc.) to combat the alien and corporate threat as you proceed you can jump into exosuits that are augmented further with high-power weaponry -- that's when I started to notice the detail that has gone into small touches like the massive explosions. Amazingly enough the controls while in the suit didn't change from the basic controls. However, when I had two gattling guns equipped pressing both triggers would unleash some real good carnage.
At this point the graphics are great, with hardly any noticeable chop or slowdown, which often marks a demo at E3.
Lost Planet looks to be on the right track. We have to wait until Q1 2007, but it seems that the wait will probably be worth it.
- Omni
As if there wasn’t already a deluge of fight picking intergalactic jerks lurking around the universe itching at a chance to give the human race a hard time, it would seem that Capcom has decided to make a new Xbox 360 game featuring a race of space faring bastards that would like nothing better to do than go pick a fight with us. Luckily, we’ve got giant robots on our side to help even the odds a bit.
At the helm for this project is Keiji Inafune, who’s also the person responsible for the Onimusha and Mega Man series. Also lending a hand are a number of other Capcom heavyweights such as Jun Takeuchi (Resident Evil 5), and key people from some of the earlier Onimusha and Mega Man Battle Network titles. Also, Capcom seems to be taking a note from Onimusha 3, where they included the likeness of French actor Jean Reno for one of the main characters. This time, the company has tapped Korean actor Lee Byung-Hun, who is considered positively dreamy by a number of people in Japan. Using the likeness of |
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famous people has never really done much to move units in North America in the past, but it seems that it’s a pretty helpful bit of marketing on the other side of the Pacific. Hurray for bullet points? At this point, there isn’t a whole lot known about the game outside of it featuring giant robots, squidly aliens, and the PR flak reminding us at every turn that it’s utilizing the “awesome power of the next generation Xbox”. However, judging from what we can see of the game so far, it looks like the game has quite a bit in common with the game Shogo: Mobile Armored Division, which allowed players to operate giant robots, |
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but also hop out of the machines and run around on foot when necessary. The difference here in Lost Planet looks to be that the action is shown from a third person perspective, as opposed to the first person view in Shogo.
With the game dog eared for an early 2006 release in Japan, it looks like Microsoft is hoping this will help to move 360’s in that part of the world with this game, and judging by the sheer number of systems gathering dust on store shelves, they could use all the help they can get. As for a North American release, there’s no confirmation as of yet as to whether or not the game will see the light of day over here. However, given the publisher’s tendency to release most of their games in several regions it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see a US and European release announced somewhere down the line. - Mr. Nash (January 31, 2006) |
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