The claim to fame of Extreme Condition was dynamic combat, and that returns here largely unchanged only magnified for every human player you carry with you. “Replace the incompetent AI with human players, and it becomes apparent that co-op is the only way to play, perhaps by design.” Embrace it! It won’t hurt you! You’ll adapt. When your character becomes more than a set of wheels and the terrain more than a plane for him to barrel across, you are being afforded a new way to touch the world that doesn’t depend on your assault rifle. It seems ludicrous that players feel entitled to sprint alongside exploding grenades without missing a step, or cut a path across the quaking earth and not stumble.
Make no mistake: weapon fire is a fine endeavor, and one I fully support-but surely there must be superior designs for interaction. Players are accustomed to navigating an assault rifle on wheels, impervious to environmental concerns, rolling across the terrain and interacting with the world only with the liberal application of bullets. You may approach these startling realities and feel a sudden wave of fear and loathing. You may become infuriated and intone deeply regrettable things about the design of this game, but the message is clear: “Bring your A-game, or go home.” Through rigorous training and brutal failures, you will learn not to fail. You’ll scream at enemies who interrupt your grenade toss with their weapon fire. Later, you will scramble away from enemy fire, cursing the regeneration delay that will inevitably mean your death. Understand that this is not a design oversight it is the developer’s goal that you be trapped in knockdown loop. You will be knocked back, control wrenched from you, and be helpless. Yes, Lost Planet 2 offers no mercy for your mistakes. The jump becomes a tactical maneuver rather than a casual affair you execute it when you are prepared to deal with the fallout. No, you command a human character, in a world where gravity functions in a relatable way, and there is a consequence for attempting to defy it.
You are not the Master Chief, blasting off with some mysterious anti-gravity power. Like its predecessor, the game contains a feature unique in the industry: realistic jumping. This is, of course, a Japanese game: the imperative is to destroy you for your failures. The opposite is true: the controls of Lost Planet 2 are perhaps too precise, maybe punishingly so. You may hear that they are clumsy or awkward. The first thing we’re going to do is talk about the controls, because the controls are what the cool kids talk about when it comes to Lost Planet. That is, precisely how much suffering are you prepared to endure for tremendous action? I am here to offer you some relief: I can tell you that the calculation can be refined to one variable. Whether you’re a fan from Lost Planet: Extreme Condition or a new player drawn in by videos of clashing mechs and monsters, response to Lost Planet 2 probably has left you hesitant to render any sort of purchasing decision.