Lost Planet @ E3 2006

Written by Nick Doukas  on May 12, 2006

Hands-On Preview: One Prozac a day, husband's a CPAЕ

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Vast, frozen wasteland Сala The Thing? Check. Badass hero with massive weapons, including huge Exo-Skeletons to instantly even the playing field between you and the space-aged bugs you'll be up against? Check. Gorgeous high-def graphics and incredible digital audio surround sound? Check. Doesn't suck? Check. Ok, let's proceed thenЕ

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition from perennial developer Capcom is looking very nice in playable form this year at E3 (you can also download the demo right now from the Xbox Live Marketplace for free). You'll begin by choosing one of two available missions Ц Explore a bug-ridden snow field and eventually an abandoned industrial garage full of beasties or assault a base guarded by armored snow pirates with heavy weaponry and mechs. So, being the brave sort I chose the garage full of bugs first, mostly because assaulting a fortress full of pirates with massive artillery seems really, really stupid. The character model of the hero looks great, with nice attention paid to all the little details like cloth wrinkles, weapons (you'll switch them over the shoulder, one on your back and one in your hands. The animation here Ц as everywhere in the demo Ц looks excellent) and realistic looking tools that hang from your belt. The character kicks up snow as he trudges through it up to his knees - and at times - his waist and breathes heavily, adding to the atmosphere of blizzard conditions. The feeling of a frozen, formidable world of extreme conditions (hence the subtitle) is captured perfectly using the power of the 360, and everything in the game world looks and moves phenomenally, including intense looking snow fall that's blinding at times.

Moving across the icy tundra, past abandoned settlements, old vehicles and huge oil tanks, then skirting along a thousand foot cliff-face, you suddenly spy a couple of glowing bug holes Ц erupting from the side of an ice-wall they spew forth - scuttling, deadly spider-bots. It's a good time to use the machine gun, which fires with a satisfying bark and does nice damage to your foes. It's of note that all of the weapons in the demo have great feel and nice balance to them. The bugs come at you fast and furious so you need to keep your shots grouped tightly and eviscerate them before they can lunge at you. As you waste them they leave behind glowing energy, which you must gather up in order to keep your meter full. Essentially this is what keeps you from freezing to death under the dire conditions of the planet. Several waves attack, and once you put them down and move further through the canyon a huge insect (think Tanker bug from Starship Troopers sized) erupts from underground. You'll have to fend it off with grenades and gunfire until you finally drive it away. From here you'll come upon an abandoned building Ц an underground garage full of bug holes - and fortunately some explosive barrels as well. This is an amazing battle as dozens of spiders come at you along the floor, walls and ceiling. Hitting a barrel triggers an absolutely massive explosion Ц in fact, the sound and visuals during incendiary blasts are some of the best I've ever seen and heard Ц no kidding, they're really that good. You'll manically switch between the machine gun and shotgun as you're surrounded from every angle, firing down the bay at distant targets and close up gut-blasting with buckshot that makes short and ugly work of bugs in close proximity.

Moving back into the snowy outdoors, you'll come to a warehouse filled with bugs and Ц yes, another tanker type bug (these things are called Akrids in the game Ц vaguely reminiscent of the word Arachnid Ц spider Ц get it? Yea, I figured you wouldЕ). Nail him with the rocket launcher Ц again, the weapons look and feel excellent, and your subwoofer will pound when your missile hits home. Grab the Exo-Suit in the corner and climb in Ц use the massive Vulcan Cannon on the side of the mech to blast him straight out, or shoot down the steel girders suspended overhead and drop them on his head. Once he's down you'll move outside, up the ridge to abandon the mech and then use your grappling rope to climb higher up the snowy peaks on foot. Finally you'll enter a cave at the top of the grade, which turns out to be a massive cavern full of flying predators Ц hundreds of them Ц that are reminiscent of the creatures from Pitch Black. Another tremendous battle rages as you take on the horde and blast them out of the air. Everything looks fantastic in hi-def and the game is sharp, colorful and full of atmosphere. The sound is out of this world, and your surround gear will get a workout with the amazing positional audio this title puts out. Your character can roll, jump, duck and generally responds incredibly well during combat, making it easy to look stylish while the weapon and damage effects bring visceral impact to all the fights. Great stuff all around and Capcom definitely appear to be delivering so far with a next gen title that plays as good as it looks.