Before Christmas, the people at Capcom were making a lot of buzz for their new upcoming title Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. Since the single and multi-player demos were available, everyone was absolutely crazy about it. Surprisingly, the game was not launched at the end of 2006, obliging gamers to wait for the new year with their presents unpacked.

The story of the game takes you to the future, where humans thought of colonizing another planet (what the heck, there's plenty out there). Unfortunate for them, the targeted planet called E.D.N. was covered in snow and ice and surprisingly inhabited by big bad aliens.

As emigration to the new world progressed, the colonization appeared to be successful. With the expansion of the colony, humanity encountered a new alien life form named the Akrid. Unable to counter attack, they were forced to retreat from their new land. Within the Akrid bodies, humans discovered a new thermal energy. Suddenly mankind was determined to fight. The humans developed a weapon capable of fighting back the Akrid scourge called the V.S or Vital Suit. The VS has given humanity a change of fighting the Akrids.

Remember my name, you'll be screaming it later

The story puts you in the body of a young man called Wayne. You are found by Yuri, Luca and Rick frozen in the snow with little recall of your memory. The only thing you remember is that your father died in a battle against a very powerful Akrid, called the Green Eye. From here on, your quest for revenge and the Akrid eradication from the planet begins.

The game is built on 11 levels in which the story is somehow lost along the way. The great cinematics, which are a real pleasure to watch and the strong compelling action makes up for the confusing storyline. Either way, the point of the game is obvious: get out there and kill everything that moves. Wayne is controlled from a 3D perspective, learning how to control him being a matter of minutes. You move with the right stick and aim with the left one. Generally, is not hard to get used with the configuration of the buttons, but tasks like roll-over or reloading are not the most convenient selection of buttons.

Each level comes in action like the one that precedes it. Wayne must make his way through swarms of enemies. A full range of aliens from flying, spider-crawling monsters to big bad bosses from the end of the levels will feed the action. These bosses are strong, gigantic and present quite a challenge but, every powerful Akrid has a weakness. And that is the place where the thermal energy from their body is located. Stop wasting your bullets and shoot them where it hurts. In the boss-battle you are usually provided with a V.S that can be customized as you desire. V.S's will give you loads of fun and will surely make you feel like a God against hordes of enemies. A strong arsenal of weapons is available, from the machine gun, shotgun or rocket launcher to plasma gun and energy weapons. If you feel that you need more firepower when playing with Wayne alone, you can take the weapon from a V.S and inflict mass destruction behind enemy lines (live hard, die young).

Ice, ice baby

The concept of the game is based on Thermal Energy or T-ENG. When you kill an Akrid, the thermal energy they have been storing in their bodies will be released. Upon approaching the pools of energy, they will automatically be absorbed in the hip energy pod and will be converted into fuel for the exposure suit. If the thermal energy ever runs down to 0, the life gouge will begin to drop until it reaches 0, resulting in instant death. This energy acts like an armor against the cold atmosphere and you need to keep an eye on it (of course in normal mode difficulty, this won't be a problem but when playing on harder levels of difficulty you really need to collect a lot of T-ENG). Sadly, the game didn't provide an auto-collect option of the thermal energy, so you'll have to collect it yourself.

Almost every single map will take you through the frozen planet. I was simply amazed by the beautiful landscapes and you can't help taking a break from the action to watch the greatness of the details, at which Capcom's were so thoughtful about (ahhh, breath-taking). Like I said, not all the maps are on the surface of the planet. The action moves indoors, in the secret factories and power plants of NEVEC (a secret organization that has an evil plan and of course you will have to clear them out of the way like a good soldier that you are). The indoor and outdoor levels are created in the same manner, filled with aliens and space pirates (a group of people that survived in the wild of the planet, against hard winter and the ferocious Akrid). The environment is rich in destructible cars, oil tanks, rockets, walls, so if you want to feel a taste of Terminator, blow everything up. Wayne is also equipped with a grappling hook, allowing him to explore more of the world you're playing in and discover areas otherwise out of reach.

Come get me

If the single-player may leave you wanting for more, the multi-player will surely satiate your adrenaline hunger. You can join in any of the four game modes:

• Elimination - everyone kills everyone

• Team Elimination - as you kill the opponents you build up Battle Gauge and decreases theirs or when the time runs out the team with the higher Battle Gauge wins

• Post Grab - you need to activate all the Data Posts and hold them under control as long as you can - at the end of the time, the team controlling most Data Posts wins

• Fugitive mode - the host must hide and survive for a specific amount of time, building his Battle Gauge by killing hunters or staying alive for the period of the round, while the other players search and hunt him down, killing the fugitive to drain the Battle Gauge down to zero.

You can also start the map with any weapon you want, so you can get into full action with the rocket launchers and shoot everything that moves or you can play a tactical game of sniping. Because the maps are simply large enough for this type of games, sometimes you'd come to think that there are no opponents on the map, hearing the other team members saying “Where is everybody? Do you see anyone?” The Vital Suits are present in the multi-player maps to give hard times for the other team or just anyone who get in the way, friend or foe. To allure the players, Capcom rewards them with achievements for great results like killing spree (10 kills in a row), 50 head-shots, medals received in every game mode and so on. This way, you will always come back for more, to increase your reputation and get yourself known as a Lost Planet veteran. The good thing about playing Lost Planet online is that Capcom managed to develop a game that runs smoothly, even with 16 players involved in the battle.

Only good words to say about the graphic part. Considering the action takes place on a frozen planet, everything from breath-taking landscapes to walls texture are looking great. Different types of aliens that could scare you with their frightful look and great explosions makes the difference in this action game. I felt like demolition man because i kept destroying everything just to see vehicles or containers blow up. Got to love that smoke effect!

Despite the fact that the graphics are so well polished, the sound area is not as great as it would be expected. Of course, the music theme fits the game and gets you in the mood but it remains in the background of the game, not in our heads. On the other hand, the sound effects are very well realized especially if you play Lost Planet on a 5.1 surround system. The rocket launcher simply blasts the speakers and a battle between 2 V.S.'s is a real pleasure to listen with all the gunfire and explosions.

Gameplay: 90

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition provides tons of action and great cinematics. There's always lots of enemies to shoot, so keep your finger on the trigger and kill everything that moves. While the single-player campaign may seem a little short, it will surely leave a big smile on your face at the end of the day.

Graphics: 93

Graphically, the game is able to create immersible landscapes and designs to the last detail. Great models and scary aliens adds to the game feeling. Sometimes the explosions will fill the whole screen and you will be unable to see the action, none the less, the special effects look blazing.

Sound: 86

The sound area doesn't quite match the graphics, but a good choice of sounds for special effects and the music theme, makes up for the voice acting. If you happen to own a 5.1 surround system, the whole game will sound a lot better.

Multiplayer: 90

If the single-player campaign makes you want more, the multi-player gives everything you need. A lot of game modes where players around the world battle for supremacy. Capcom's achievements keeps you coming for more through the exciting action and a fun gaming experience.

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