During my time at Comic Con 2012 was invited to take part in a hands-on playtest session of Capcom’s upcoming Lost Planet 3.
At the start of the demo I was impressed with how sharp the graphics were and how much better the character animations were compared to the last two games in the series. After attending a briefing and walking through an arctic base I made my way to the gigantic mech for reconnaissance mission.
Once in the mech I walked through the various hangers which aside from showing off the incredible graphics of the game served as a semi-tutorial as I got to learn how to maneuver the mech and also manipulate things such as the mechanical arm by using it to remove ice from pistons that powered the doors.
Once out in the frozen wasteland I received a video message from the love interest in the game who at first chided me for not taking out the trash and then proceeded to say that she was just kidding and continued with her endearments. It was a striking contrast to have such warm thoughts and sentiments expressed in such a barren and frozen environment.
Upon locating the destination, I was extremely grateful for the deicing that I had been given prior to starting out on my patrol but the frigid conditions proved to be more than a match for my precautions.
Using a rappel line, I exited the cab of my vehicle and made my way to the ground below in an effort to shoot off the ice from the extremities of my mech.
This did not go as planned as I was soon set upon by various hostile creatures. Using a combination of dodge and rolls as well as some weapons fire I was able to find myself in a minigame which required me to rapidly push the X button and upon successfully doing so, a target reticule appeared which I could move to the mouth of the creature. After several attempts, I was able to implant my knife firmly in the creature and move onto my next opponent.
Once the enemies were vanquished, I had no trouble removing the ice for my vehicle and once again repelled to the cabin to resume my patrol.
Once I had located my objective, I had to remove myself from the vehicle and make my way on foot. This required me to ascend and rappel down various icy ledges at which point I made my way to the designated area on my heads-up display.
No sooner had I activated the necessary piece of equipment than a massive snow crab emerged from the ice and attacked me. The crab had various weak points but was incredibly tough and required me to wait until it pinned itself after a lunging attack before I could take action against its exposed limbs.
Suffice it to say that the battle continued and I made my way back to the mech, I was grateful for the presence of the large mining drill apendage as it came in extremely handy.
The graphics in the game are first rate and I have to say that although I’ve been a fan of the series I would have to say it is more of a casual fan than a hard-core one. This third outing seems to incorporate many of the things I was looking for including fast gameplay action, variety, solid graphics and sound, and a very responsive control system with adaptive A.I.
Lost Planet 3 will also feature there is multiplayer modes but the developers were not able to talk about them at the time of my playtest. It is not hyperbole when I say that this truly looks to be the best one yet as this was a gaming experience that I was very easily able to immerse myself in and enjoy.
