The Lost Planet (XBOX 360)

- I bought this back in January and finally got a chance to play it. Finished in about 10-12 hrs.
- I played on easy because some of the boss fights and there are a lot of them. There is pretty much one at the end of each of the 11 levels. They can be pretty cheap where they keep chaining attacks and repeatedly knock you down where you can't really do anything until you are dead. It's not too terribly frustrating b/c there are plenty of check points. Still I found the game challenging enough even on easy. The end boss wasn't that tough at all. I found one in the middle to be much tougher.
- Graphics are really great: great looking snow, impressive in engine cut scenes, exploding barrels have never looked so good, incredible looking epic bosses.
- There is a story...as in a lot of cut scenes but I found the overall plot kind of dull and bleah. The writing could have been better. Voice acting wasn't too bad. Could have made the characters more engaging and give them a bit of personality.
- 3rd person camera works well most of the time.
- The action is great on foot or especially in a mech errr VS (vital suit). Think starship troopers meets the mechs from Matrix Revolutions. There is a good variety of mechs. Some even transform. The 90 degree quick turn buttons really help while in a mech if I could just remember to use them more often. Anyways, the combat is very solid, and I just love the mech combat (which is mostly what you will do for the later half of the game) with jump jets and quick slides.
- Weapons all feel great especially the mech weapons. The ability to remove them and use them on foot is a great touch. You can also mix and match weapons on the mech while in the field to get just the right mix of weapons you like.
- The whole thermal energy meter ticking down and also used as health regen is a nice new mechanic that fits this game well.
- I only tried multiplayer briefly but seemed fun.
- Props to capcom for making the map packs free for download.

Overall highly recommended especially at the new low price of $30.