So I recently got some time with the demo of Lost Planet on Xbox Live. Capcom announced the sequel to the hit from 2006, Lost Planet early this year for the Xbox 360. The announcement was also included with a trailer showing off the new jungle locations and new environments which have reshaped EDN III 10 years after Lost Planet 1. One of the most important features announced was the 4 player simultaneous online co-op in Lost Planet 2 and Capcom promised it would be the highlight of the game. Now the time has finally arrived to decide whether Lost Planet 2 can stand tall up against the fall line-up since Capcom has released an online demo with 4 player co-op on Xbox Live. Let me elaborate.
The demo begins with an intro screen and you get two options right away to start the campaign. You can either go with online co-op or you can go solo with 3 NPC AI. To start things off, all I will say is that the AI co-op was surprisingly slow and incapable of making significant damage against the weak spots of the Salamander Akrid(6 legs)you fight in the demo. The AI allis were running below the creature getting stomped and eaten while your character is in charge of most of the damage dealing. . . again. Now on the online co-op , everything runs very differently and is more fast paced. The lobby is set up PvP style in which you choose your match based on how many players fill up a party. After finding a match(you can create on too), the team of 4 was ready to start.
The demo gets hectic immediately as the Salamander Akrid starts rearing its massive body towards you and your allies. If any of you have ever played Lost Planet, you would know that all Akrid have red spots on their body which are the layers holding body heat to survive in the extreme cold. The Akrid beast in the demo was no different as pockets of heat were on his back, legs and within his stomach. You work together with your team by picking up grenades, weapons like the Plasma Rifles and the VS suits to bring down its legs one by one. After dealing massive damage to the Giant Enemy Akrid with the combined efforts of your team, the demo ends in a spectacular conclusion.
The graphics immediately caught my attention as they were some of the best graphics I have ever seen on Xbox 360, PS3 or PC. The Akrid was detailed so precisely and the water particles from the lake gleamed so brightly and made my jaw drop. MT Framework 2. 0 is truly a monster engine and I'm hopeful that Capcom will use it for many of their games from now on. The sounds were superb as well with the roar of the Akrid beast chilling your bones as it rapidly approaches you trampling recklessly.
One very interesting detail I noticed in Lost Planet 2 is that the 4 player co-op is very similar to the co-op found in Monster Hunter including the scarcity of ammo, learning the weak points and using certain players as decoys to distract the beasts. It works surprisingly well with Lost Planet 2 and I think Capcom is sneakily adding that gameplay style to warm up the Lost Planet fans to Monster Hunter. Perhaps. We'll see what happens closer to release as the fall approaches and Lost Planet stands its own ground against the other fall hits. Overall Lost Planet 2 is going to be great if the demo is just a small indication of what is to come.
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