GC 2006: Hands-On Lost Planet Multiplayer - IGN (original) (raw)

We try out some icy arena combat.

Lost Planet has been on at the front of everyone's mind when they think of upcoming 360 titles, thanks in large part to a playable demo that has been available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. One major question has remained: What about the multiplayer game? Have no fear. The multiplayer modes are present, playable, and, best of all, fun. We traveled down to Capcom yesterday for some competitive Lost Planet action and left looking forward to the Q1 2007 release more than ever.
We were able to play several different multiplayer game modes. Each game type was arena style combat with both free-for-all and team based options. Like the single player game, the level we played in took place on a frozen landscape. The constantly draining thermal energy was present, but it wasn't an issue to worry about. Also similar to the way you play the solo campaign was the use of the piton gun grappling hook. This tool is completely necessary in the multiplayer games if you want to quickly move around in the many-tiered arena, locate sniping locations, and find some hidden weapons.

The biggest addition to the gameplay mechanic for multiplayer modes was the capturable posts that are present in all game modes. These posts were scattered around the combat arena and had to be captured before we could put them to use. Once we had one, it gave us access to radar which provided the locations of all friends and enemies as well as the positions of other posts. Without a post to give us some intel, we found ourselves in the dark and slipping towards last place.

During our session, we played each of the four available game modes. These were Elimination, Team Elimination, Post Grab, and Fox Hunt. Elimination and Team Elimination were your standard deathmatch style games with slight changes made to the scoring system. Points were awarded for each kill and lost for each time we were killed by someone else. Points were also given for converting posts providing an additional incentive to get control of them.

Post Grab was a mode similar to king of the hill style games but with its own twist. The posts that exist in each map became the target for each team with the goal of taking control of every one of them. If you do, you win. If not, the team controlling the most posts when time runs out wins. The processes of taking a post was similar in length to lowering and raising a flag in Battlefield 2, but you'll have to tap on the B button to move the process along. The more team members that were pressing the B button to convert the post, the faster the post was taken. Taking control of every post was a huge task, especially since each team spawned fairly close to at least one of the posts. The ten minute game we played ended up in a draw with each team controlling two posts. It easily could have gone either way as three posts were being stolen in the final few seconds. It was hectic and fun without a moment to rest for fear of losing one of those valuable posts.

The last game mode we played was Fox Hunt. In it, one player was designated as the fox. Each other player was on one team against the fox and got to wear camouflage colored duds. The fox began the game with some points and received more for staying alive and moving. Just hiding in one place didn't net the fox anything. Finding and killing the fox gave that player a point boost while the fox lost some. However, if the fox found and killed someone, they got points themselves. If the fox got to 1000 points, then he or she won and the game was over. Otherwise, the game ended when the fox was killed enough times so that their point total dropped to zero. The game mode had potential, but needed some balancing tweaks. The fox received several hundred points for a kill, making it possible for the fox to win simply by surviving for about 20 seconds and then killing one hunter. Likewise, a quick hunter kill would basically end the game. If the point rewards and punishments are fixed, Fox Hunt could be a new twist on the odd-man-out style of gaming. It remains to be seen how the final game mode will play.

The weapons were one of the big highlights of the multiplayer modes of Lost Planet. The standard starting weapon was a machine gun, though the options for beginning equipment and weapon locations could be adjusted and randomized. The weapons included were the same as the single player demo levels we've played, but the real prizes were the Vital Suits and their armaments. These mechanical suits weren't very mobile, keeping them from being the ultimate, unstoppable weaponry. What they did have were some big guns. Powerful chain guns, plasma guns, and an awesome Panzer Dragoon-esque lock on laser that can blast out multiple shots at once all became part of the arsenal when someone hopped into one of the mechs. You could also take down and destroy these Vital Suits and then pick up the weapons that drop off of them, allowing you to have all of the mobility of moving by foot with the firepower of the bigger suits.

The guns were fun, but everyone agreed the coolest weapons to use were the grenades. There were several different varieties at our disposal. The common sticky grenades were there along with ones for stunning the opposition. Then there were the exotic explosives such as the disc grenade and a tricky decoy grenade. The decoy grenades created a fake copy of whoever tossed it that moved slowly across the map and detonated when shot or when someone got too close. The added bonus was that it created a blip on everyone else's radar to aid in their confusion. The disc grenade was our favorite. Throwing it made it sail like a frisbee, bouncing off of walls until it hit something to make it stop. If that happened to be an enemy, too bad for them. We could also shoot these grenades out of the air regardless of who threw it adding another level of potential fun.

Lost Planet looked like it'll be a blast to play on Xbox Live. The weapons were all fun to use, the controls were solid, and the graphical quality from the single player affair held up when more people joined the party. Capcom is aiming for sixteen players to be able to either split into teams or play every man for himself, ensuring that the party won't be a small one. A few balancing issues were there in the scoring system that hopefully will be cleaned up by the time the game is released. If they are, Lost Planet could be yet another reason to take your 360 online.

Be sure to swing by the media pages below for updated screens, art, and a new trailer to see just how pretty this game looks.

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