About the game
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is a third-person shooter developed and published by Capcom for Xbox 360, Windows and PlayStation 3. It came out in Japan in December 2006 and worldwide in January 2007. It was first planned as an Xbox 360 exclusive, then ported to Windows in June 2007 and to PlayStation 3 in February 2008.
You play from over the shoulder and can switch to first person at any time. You travel on foot or in Vital Suits, mechs with heavy weapons such as chain guns and rocket launchers. On foot you have a grappling hook for reaching high places or hijacking a suit. Driving suits and using some weapons costs thermal energy, and the freezing planet drains it all the time, so you refill it by defeating enemies and activating data posts. Each of the 11 levels ends with a boss, either a suit or a giant Akrid.
Online multiplayer is versus only, with four modes: Elimination, Team Elimination, Post Grab and Fugitive. Elimination is a 16-player free-for-all and Team Elimination is a 16-player team match. There is no co-op, which reviewers mentioned.
The story takes place on the ice planet E.D.N. III. Wayne, a soldier who wakes after thirty years frozen in his damaged suit, joins a band of snow pirates and fights the corporation NEVEC and the insect-like Akrid, who produce the thermal energy people need. Capcom based Wayne on the South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun, and the cinematic feel drew on films like Starship Troopers, The Thing and Alien.
The PlayStation 3 version came out in Japan on 21 February 2008, in North America on 26 February, in Australia on 27 February and in Europe on 29 February. Reviews of the PS3 port said its graphics and speed trailed the Xbox 360 version. The PS3 version was a best-seller in Japan and North America.
Critics gave the game mixed to positive reviews. They praised the visuals, the combat and the Akrid designs, and criticized the controls, the voice acting, the story and frame rate drops. It was followed by Lost Planet 2 in 2010 and Lost Planet 3 in 2013.
The text above is adapted from Wikipedia and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What critics said
Metacritic 67 out of 100 (PS3). Metacritic 79 out of 100 (Xbox 360). Metacritic 66 out of 100 (PC). Individual reviews: Eurogamer 7/10, GameSpot 8.1/10, IGN 8.5/10, GameSpy 4/5.
Good to know
- The PS3 version came out in February 2008, before trophies arrived on PS3 with firmware 2.40, and no trophy list exists for it.
- The PS3 port came a year after the Xbox 360 original and reviewers found it rougher in graphics and speed.
- The first demo for the PS3 version was pulled from PSN in February 2008 because of bugs, and a new demo followed.
- Wayne's face was modelled on Lee Byung-hun, scanned with a full body 3D scan.
- Multiplayer is online versus only. There is no co-op and no split screen.
Made by
Director Kenji Oguro, Producer Jun Takeuchi, Writer Tomoyuki Hosokawa, Artist Takahiro Kawano, Composer Akihiko Narita, Composer Shuji Uchiyama.
