Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is a Hot Mess

It wasn't until 3 am I finally found solace in sleep. I had just slayed my enemy, Dr. Isenberg and his effeminate mecha in the deep snow. As I look back, I can't help but feel sorry for Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. The demo that my brother and I got on the mail was fantastic. We're looking forward to this hardcore monster hunter experience on a distant ice world. It took me years to get a hold of it and finally beat it. 

If I could sum up the Lost Planet: Extreme Condition itwould be - wasted potential. I know that sounds harsh, but let me explain. It did have a ton of exciting mecha fighing kaiju action. However, that was the whip cream topped on a mediocre layered cake (story, characters, game mechanics). 

SPOILERS AHEAD

I will be up front and divulge some much needed context - I experienced the enhanced Lost Planet: Colonies Edition by Capcom. I am understand this may skew my review/commentary on the game because the graphical presentation is slightly better than the original game, and it has more weapon options - but the story, setting, and control scheme are all the same, which is the main issue I have. When I first booted up the game and watched the first couple of cut scenes I knew something was off. At first I chalked it up to poor writing to the Japanese translation of dialogue to English not quite getting the story off the ground, however as the hours ticked by I knew the script was absolute garbage. 

Our main character is Wayne, a snow pirate living on the hostile world of E.D.N III where the surface is plagued with the forever winter environment and deadly wildlife of the beasts known as the Akrid. The Akrid are able to survive the harsh temperatures because they are brooding with thermal energy that players will constantly be collecting throughout their play-through. 

I like this set up - kind of like Waterworld, but in reverse. Wayne experiences amnesia after jumping in a Mecha and battling the giant Akrid kaiju Green Eye, the monstrosity that supposedly kills his father. This is where the story stops being good. Which is super sad because I was already so invested. Wayne is knocked out cold and because of the thermal energy devise attached to his arm aka the "harmonizer" he's able to hibernate for 30 years in his downed Mecha. 

We then meet the snow scavengers Luka, Rick, and Yuri - the worst characters in the game. They find Wayne and his Mecha and nurse him back to health. Once you meet these "characters" , if you can even call them that, you will understand what I am talking about. 

These characters are mostly just personalities, than fictional people. I don't understand their motivation to work with Wayne other than the plot says they need to work together. You'd think they'd try to play on the amnesia as a core plot point, but it's barely discussed. It gives no bearings to the plot and it doesn't affect his relationships with the characters. Rick is the nerd tech guy who doesn't change. Luka is the pink haired ditz who doesn't do anything other than look pretty. Yuri is a sketchy scientist who looks sketchy from the get go and doesn't contribute anything to the story except when he's off screen. 

The scavengers give Wayne missions to hunt down the numerous Akrid, and establish thermal energy points that will one day terraform the planet. This idea was developed by Yuri Solotov. What's his deal and backstory? I have no idea. He leaves the game after 3 hrs and comes back right at the end to just die at the hands of his former employer - the evil conglomerate, Nevec. 

Dr. Isenberg and Nevec are the main antagonists in the game and they want to terraform E.D.N III at any means necessary including the destruction of all life on the world's surface. Why does Dr. Isenberg want to do this? No clue, he was on screen for like 5 minutes total. He's just evil and somehow knew Wayne's father. He explains that the harmonizer slows down the aging process. What's the point of all of this? Nothing. 

As I said, the game's nonstop action is the drug I need to cure my confusion with the nonsensical plot and character writing. 

I loved the vital suits and mecha combat. Some of the gun birds felt weighty and had an array of weapons that you can actually detach and use on foot. Not all the vital suits are created equal however. I would stick with the light weight scrappy GTT-01 and GTF- 11 mech models when fighting Akrid in open areas. When fighting other mechs and boss battles I would pilot the PTX -140 and GAB-25 m spider like suit. They have a more medium weight with a deadlier arsenal. 

However, the Nevec mechs can feel sluggish and hard to maneuver. Which sucks, because sometimes it's the only vital suit available and you're being swarmed with Akrid. Also avoid attaching energy weapons to your vital suit. The rate at which the laser cannons fire is slow and when you're in boss fight speed means life and death. Make sure to stick with conventional weapons and rockets. Use sparing when using the gatling guns. If the Vital Suit blows up and you're being cornered make sure to use your grappling hook to scale the walls and take a quick breather. 

The creature designs in Lost Planet are my favorite. They are grotesque insectoids dripping with thermal energy. Think of the bug alien Arachnids in Starship Troopers. The boss battles are surprisingly fun and satisfying despite the tank controls of the Vital Suits. Endless shoot outs against these things are bombastic and over the top, as a monster hunter type game should be. Its satisfying to take one of these colossal behemoths down and bathe in their heat blood. 

And now we come to the most frustrating part of this game - the constant depleting thermal energy meter. No matter what level you're playing on your thermal reading goes down because of the freezing temperatures. You have to be constantly killing Akrid or Nevec soldiers in order to absorb their precious thermal energy. If your thermal energy runs out you die. You'd think if you're dungeon crawling inside or on a volcano level, your thermal energy depletion would then slow down. Nope! Its super frustrating because during a boss fight your thermal energy is your lifeline so you're losing life even if you're not being directly fired upon. I heard Lost Planet 2 did away with the thermal energy depletion. I hope it's true. 

Lost Planet Extreme Condition is a 7/10 game. It has a lot going for it from the setting and world. It just needed a better written narrative and had its game mechanics ironed out. I would totally recommend it if you're on the hunt for old Xbox 360 games. Let me know how you like it.