Lost Planet - E3 Preview by Jason "Rodzilla" Rodzik   Posted on May 12, 2006   Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is a third person shooter for the Xbox 360, and its story is described by the developers as the following: “Set within the merciless frozen tundra of a hostile planet, humans struggle for survival as conflicts arise between man, the surrounding indigenous creatures and the monstrous beings that have invaded. With a gripping single player campaign and numerous multiplayer modes, Lost Planet promises to deliver an intense cinematic gameplay experience when it is released next winter.” Rodzik’s Impressions With the trailer for Lost Planet garnering a lot of positive attention for the game, we couldn’t pass up the chance to play it. I sat down really not knowing anything about the game, as I hadn’t had a chance to read anything on it amidst all of the activities this week. After familiarizing myself with the controls for this third person shooter, I found myself really enjoying throwing grenades, which was unfortunate, as I didn’t have very many. The fire effects for the game were simply spectacular, and each grenade created a huge fireball of what looked to be real fire. The effects of the snow on the level I played were also interesting. First, your character is fighting enemies in an environment with a temperature of -40 degrees, so staying warm is certainly a top priority alongside not getting shot or blown up. In order to stay warm, you have to ensure that your suit has enough power at all times, and fortunately, most of your enemies happen to use the same brand of battery as you do, so the more kills you get, the hotter you get. Oh yea. Much of the environment seemed to be interactive, and I really noticed this when it came to cover. I was partially shielded from attack by a metal frame communications tower and an enemy fired a rocket at me. Fortunately, the rocket impacted the tower and I was unharmed, but the tower blew into pieces and I didn’t have any cover at all anymore, so I had to take quick action to avoid taking heavy damage. The other level that was on display was an indoor level in which you had to fight a variety of interesting creatures that were determined to end your existence. The game looks to offer a fresh single player experience for third person shooter fans. Vince’s Impressions Lost Planet for the XBox 360 is a pretty interesting third person shooter. Though the plot wasn’t clear from my brief play session, I got a great feel for the game style and play. Lost planet features all the standard weapons (assault rifles, shotguns, grenades, etc.) as well as pretty nifty and powerful mech suits. I really enjoyed the grenades in this game; though they took longer than usual to detonate (meaning you’ve really got to throw well ahead of the target), the potent blast consumes half the screen and has no problem taking out alien nests. Lost Planet is set in pretty inhospitable conditions. The playable level featured a snowy outdoor location with sub-zero temperatures. Unless you constantly pick up your fallen enemy’s life force, your character will eventually succumb to the environment. Game play was incredibly smooth. The right joystick moved the crosshair around the screen, and your character naturally followed it along to center it in the screen again. It was also possible to perform quick and handy 90 degree turns by use of the L1 and R1 buttons.