Review: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (2007, Capcom. Xbox 360)

Capcom bring out the big guns in 2007. On a hostile planet, one bland man stands alone against thousands of alien bugs and fails to be the hero.


You could argue that ever since the advent of cut-scenes computer games have aspired to involve gamers in the same way that movies involve the viewer. Interactivity is the dividing line of course, but the storytelling language of film continues to influence how games tell their own tales. Is it fair to judge a game by standards of film criticism? Perhaps not, but as games and films begin to come together, its fair that we do focus on a games story-line and the quality of characters and writing. Lost Planet is a game with cinematic flair but disappointingly its story doesn't inspire great hope for the future of games. And then there's the gameplay...

Before the bashing begins, let's start with what Capcom has done well. The graphics are beautiful, up there with the best of the next-gen. The frozen planet makes for some interesting terrain and the lighting is the beautiful sheen holding everything together. Ambient glows, diffusion, its all done to perfection, a softened look that is truly striking in HD. It's all done with bombast: smoke and fire, real depth of field, solid collision detection, even when dealing with some wild enemy design. These creatures and machines will loom tall before you, each moving distinctively, each with its own personality. The world and design of its levels are interesting, the old school boss battles are grand set pieces that are never short of challenging. But then there's the plot...ah.

For 150 years human settlers have searched for a means to terraform and colonize the harsh ice planet E.D.N III. Sub-zero conditions make it difficult to stay alive and warm and the native alien race (the Akrid) are hostile and many. The humans fight to conquer the infestation using heavy artillery and huge armored robots (Vital Suits), but progress has ground to a halt, slowed by infighting between the factions competing to be the first to make the terrain habitable. Enter Wayne, a confused young guy caught up in the madness. He seeks to dissolve the mysteries of the 'Frontier Project' and absolve his survivors guilt by hunting the monster that killed his father, the Akrid known as 'Green Eye'. In outline form Lost Planet makes a great idea for a game.

OK, so that last bit about vengeance is a little silly, but this is anime-lite after all and there's no denying the setup sounds intriguing, a chance for epic gunfights on a beautiful, desolate planet. Particularly in the early levels, Lost Planet delivers on the details and design with raw creative skill. That early promise is precisely what becomes frustrating as the story eventually descends into unfocused madness. Honestly, the story outline could be written on a napkin and most probably was. Sadly, Capcom's half-cut vision doesn't really go beyond the napkin stage. The story continues but nobody cares, they just want to shoot shit. Fair enough.

Most reviews would stop talking about the plot here, dismissing it with a scoff and moving on to gameplay talk, but fuck that. The Shed cares about plot, about character and nuance and good writing. In this most cinematic of generations, we should expect more from our games. Why should story not be under scrutiny? You see, the different warring factions that sounded so intriguing are all essentially fighting to achieve the same goal. After 150 years you would have thought they might have reached some peace agreement and combined their efforts. The allegiances of the different characters shift wildly as the writers attempt to double cross the audience, instead out-thinking themselves and leaving a messy spaghetti of plot strands. Terrible pacing, continuity blunders and cut-scenes that rarely reflect the in-game action really take away from any feeling of involvement or connection.

Sitting atop the mountainous disaster of the story is perhaps the least charismatic protagonist games have ever known. Wayne Holden is the reluctant hero (hero is a bit overzealous) awaking from a 30 year coma, fighting amnesia and alien scum on his slow journey towards the truth. Initially we can forgive the poor sap for being such a bore - his father was deaded by a big green beetle, his feet are a little chilly and he can't remember who his friends are. Every cut-scene deeper into the tale, we learn nothing new about the man we control. Perhaps it would have been interesting to explore Wayne's inner turmoil as he slowly realises that he doesn't have a personality? At any moment The Shed was expecting him to just cry and give up the ghost. Instead we see no emotion whatsoever on Wayne's stoned face. What's funny is that the makers found it necessary to show the character copyright on the title screen, like he's the new Mario or something. Crazy.

Wayne would certainly be more bearable if he was fun to control, but therein lies this game's most unforgivable and glaring flaw. Wayne is slow. Wayne is clumsy. Wayne is weak. Wayne is a hate conduit. On foot the character moves like he's running in treacle, which makes sense trudging through a snow drift, but he never gets any lighter on his feet. Protracted movements make jumping or throwing a grenade feel like Herculean tasks. Most enemies you face are a lot faster than you and often much larger, so Wayne's shortcomings are quickly stretched to breaking point. No doubt the designers wanted to replicate the feeling of a heated battle, explosions and smoke disorientating you and ramping up the intensity - but with a severe lack of any decent defensive manoeuvres, Wayne is often left being battered around in a succession of slow falling or standing animations. There are moments where you might as well just put down the controller and grimace like a dickhead in your enforced role as spectator.

Hey, at least the fucked up controls are consistent, easily transforming the many and varied Vital Suits into novelties that quickly wear off. Wow, you can really feel the weight of these 10 tonne machines! My boosters are pathetic and so is my firepower! When a gatling gun can't take down a foot-soldier in less than one shot, something is very wrong. The weapons are great - all manner of big mounted rockets and lasers - but they lack any real kick. Again, movement and aiming are obstacles to any feeling of control. Better tailoring of actions to the controller would have made a massive improvement.

Beyond subtle changes, major additions could really have enhanced the basics of game-play and transformed this into the stellar title it should be. For a start, Wayne needs to be twice as quick. The Shed loves Arnie, but the one-man-against-the world schtick is laughable here since Wayne is so below average in the agility stakes. A choice of playable characters from Wayne's team would have been a nice touch, each with their own different strengths to bring into battle. While we're at it, the device of forcing the player to collect Thermal Energy to survive is clunky at best. Even in the bowels of a volcano you still have to worry about the cold. Heat sensitive this ain't.

Why so angry? Really it comes down to Capcom not making the most of such huge potential. There's a lot to like about Lost Planet. Amazing graphics and sound, superb art design, a fun and unique multiplayer experience (which works chiefly because all opponents are human controlled, leveling the playing field) - it scores well on the most common targets. The long distance irony here is that looks don't mean shit if the fundamentals aren't up to scratch. Lost Planet is a tramp dressed in a tuxedo. He looks striking, but soon you realize that what strikes you is the smell and that underneath the evening wear he hasn't showered. There's a lot to like about Lost Planet, but not a lot to love.
Taste: 7/10