Lost Planet is a videogames saga developed and distributed by Capcom, started in 2006 with Lost Planet for Xbox360 with an ultimate edition for PC and PS3 called Extreme Condition.
It’s a third person action-adventure shooter game that mixes the weapons with boardable robots, also known as the “mecha” genre in the asian series.
Characteristically in postapocalyptic environments in sci-fi plots the humankind is forced to use these machines to face big threads.
As mentioned beforehand, that’s the kind of plot linked to this new Capcoms intellectual property.
Humankind is struggling to survive in this new planet E.D.N. III where the atmosphere is able to live in. However, the process to colonize the planet is not going well when they encounter the native dwellers.
Colossal creatures and extreme aggressive nature are swarming the surface. These big monsters contain the unique thermal energy available in the planet that’s makes them precious to survive.
Highlights for Lost Planet Extreme Condition
Gameplay
There is a little restriction when character moves, there is no way to sprint. This is a little problematic when you are fighting on a battlefield crowded by big mobs. Despite the limited walking there is a claw enabling the player to swing over the wall to move faster and reach higher places.
The VS (Vital Suits) are boardable to fight the most important checkpoints in every chapter, the big shots are fighting on mechas.
There are different kind of VS and each one is different to progress in the mission, learning and manage how to use them are key to defeat other VS or the Akrid bosses.
Camera and aiming precision are on point to land a big rocket on the thermal deposits, this is the main purpose fighting these creatures. The VS are equipped with 2 heavy guns for each trigger in the controller, very helpful and easy to manage.
The battlefield will provide a lot of munition, mines and bombs to help the player in the progress, keep in mind that the bosses suffer a big gap between difficulty with each chapter.
Story
The first expedition to colonize the new planet EDNIII is surprisingly well until they find the hostile dwellers, they will try to destroy anything on the surface. Despite the cryogenic temperatures and difficulty to find food, this planet is the best bet to prevent humankind extinction.
The Akrid contain a thermal deposit in their bodies providing them a natural way to survive in the never-ending winter of the planet. This energy is called T-Eng and is the most wanted item for the colonization.
The first expedition failed and had to abandon the planet due to the fierce resistance from the Akrid, leaving behind a lot of colonizers making them to have a grudge against humankind.
The people became Snow Pirates, who would hunt the new explorers to steal resources. The second expedition was a success with the new weaponry that was able to subjugate the dwellers, the VS.
The conquest of EDNIII started by NEVEC with the new weapon which need the T-Eng to work, making the heat source the most valuable item in the world. Aggressive natives, frozen landscapes and snow pirates fighting over the surface.
Wayne is a colonizer seeking revenge against Green Eyes, a big Akrid that killed his father and his team, leaving him frozen for years. His is found by Yuri, Luka and Rick, his new teammates.
Mecha Fights
As mentioned before, the second mode to battle is boarding Vital Suits, with interactive controllers and easy manageable weapons the mecha fights are very enjoyable, the action on third person is always welcome but we all like killing big mobs with big guns.
There are different kind of mechas, the most common one is a bipedal model with removable weapons to replace or recharge the turrets or shotguns, these will have 2 arms and they keep a trigger assigned to each side.
The “jumper” which is able to reach higher places and based on propulsion has the best mobility to fight, sadly its weaponry is not the best.
The “arachnid” model is a terrestrial model able to move quickly and non-removable weaponry, only limited for the poor height reach.
The most common weapons to find are machine guns, laser shooters, rocket launchers and shotguns. This includes third person action as mecha fights.
The ergonomic and simple way to move inside the VS is well developed making it very addictive, the L and R triggers are assigned to each weapon in the mecha fights. Sadly, the VS consume a lot of T-Eng limiting the time to use it.
Graphics
Lost Planet Extreme Condition is an 18 years old game ported to PC with high-definition resolution, in its own time needed a high requirements desktop to run it properly, nowadays with the evolution in hardware we can have this game on the go.
The high-definition textures that were adapted in its computer version have given it a scenic beauty of the frozen wastelands.
The shading and landscapes have that realism desired for backgrounds and facilities, adding the Asian touch in the cast make this game very appealing for any shooters and sci-fi fan.
Sound
Music and the original soundtrack are provided by the compositors Akihiko Narita y Shuji Uchiyama. The sound effects are precisely applied to the machinery movement and weaponry use.
Note: in the Steam Deck experience where you can put on stand by mode your gaming session, to resume later, it can unsync the audio for cutscenes if you have a “resume video” activated as myself.
Performance
The Lost Planet Extreme Condition has been tested on Steam Deck 512GB original model, installed on a microSD compatible with the higher reading speed.
The program runs at 60FPS grom the beginning to the very end of the main campaign without any issues, glitches, overheating or framerate drops.
A truly marvelous experience with a default configuration and 5:30 hours battery life per session.
Conclusions
- It’s a true masterpiece for any shooter lover, a gem enjoyable on the go nowadays.
- Boss battles a big difficulty gap between them and the general progress in their chapter, its recommended to try the lower difficulty for the first timers.
- It has memorable characters and a well-developed story.
