Xbox 360 – Page 133 – StuffWeLike

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (+)

Imagine Resident Evil 4 with more fluid controls, less scares, and just the same amount of intense gameplay and you’ve got Lost Planet.

Capcom’s aim to create games that can be enjoyed by all markets — Japanese, European, and American — has yet again paid off! For a period Capcom was having problems reaching mass audience appeal, but ever since Resident Evil 4 Capcom has created several huge titles. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition can be added to this ever growing AAA game list.

The aspect that will take your breath away is the graphics. Right off the bat they are extremely solid. When explosions after explosions makes you look away from the screen you know that the game has intense graphics. Running at a smooth 30+ frames per second in high definition in expansive worlds is no small task and Lost Planet abuses the power of the Xbox 360.

The story has an anime style feel. Both in the way the cutscenes are presented and that the voice actors are the average anime characters. The macho man voice, the squeaky girl, etc. are all here. If you don’t like anime, which I personally don’t, the cutscenes will be the worst part about the game. What saves them from being a bad experience is the graphics and the story. The story itself is about humans trying to colonize this planet, but of course there are vicious bugs that attack everyone. It’s up to you to destroy as many of these bugs as possible so that humans can terriform the planet into something humans can leave peacefully on. Sure the story isn’t spectacular but it’s at least decent.

The missions consist of killing either bugs, snow pirates, or mechs, with the occasional boss battle. While this may seem like a simple formula that would get old overtime, it’s far from it. There’s plenty of variety in weapon types and enemies. The boss fights are outstanding. They require both strategy and quick reflexives. While overall the mission types are very linear, it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment that comes with completing each one.

The gameplay is from the third person perspective. You play as Wayne whom can navigate mechs. Whether you’re playing as Wayne or as a mech the controls feel solid. With quick 90 degree turn action buttons and easy aiming the action never stops. The twist that separates Lost Planet from other games is that there is a limited amount the the player can survive in the outside world. Because the world is in frozen over in snow, the player has to stay warm by collecting energy from the enemies that he kills. If the countdown of energy runs out the player begins to slowly lose life up until their death. This life meter puts an urgency on every action that the player takes. Thankfully gaining a ton of energy isn’t that difficult.

There is a pretty good multiplayer side to the game as well. It has all the basic modes that gamers expect out of such action games: team, deathmatch, etc. 16 player matches with eight maps definitely adds a good amount of replay value.

And above all else, the music is absolutely fantastic. While it isn’t memorable, during gameplay it certainly intensifies the combat.

I’ve had hard times justifying $60 game purchases, but Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is one of the few games that is worth the money. The downside is that it only has 11 single player missions, but overall the game is an intense thrill ride that will make one want to complete it as fast as possible.

Star Trek Legacy (+)

A space simulation Star Trek game that is the first to feature all 5 Captain voices.

There’s a lot to be said about controversial games. Not all game controversy has to lie in its content, rather with Star Trek Legacy its controversy lies in whether or not it’s a good game. Hyped to be one of the best Star Trek video games of all-time, Star Trek Legacy does stand out from the rest of the game series. With its emphasis on strategic space-combat and a story that spans all 5 generations of Star Trek, this game is not for the weak.

Star Trek Legacy is not an easy game to get into. At first you will question why there are so many button configurations, why the ships are moving so slowly, and why it takes so long to charge your lasers. After you get used to the controls and the speed of both the ship movement and laser recharge, you’ll begin to ask more questions such as why does the difficulty in the game change per level, why can’t your ship move straight up or down, and why some of the voice overs by the famous Star Trek Captains sound just as poorly spoken as the secondary characters. These are a lot of questions that you’ll have to get past before you can begin to enjoy this game.

Star Trek Legacy offers die-hard Trek fans an experience like none other. For the first time ever all 5 captains – Archer, Kirk, Sisco, Picard, and Janeway – are available in one continuous well-thought story line. The game allows you to control each generation’s ships. You can buy new ships with the experience points that you gain by completing each mission. As you progress through time, the ship’s technology improves which ultimately helps with the strategic factor in the game. Each mission forces the player to think about their objective before they set out to complete it. While this may sound like a good idea, it really becomes a trial and error process.

The first couple of missions are rather dull and and the controls take a long time to get used too. As each mission may take over 30 minutes to complete, Star Trek Legacy is a game that you have to invest a good amount of time into before it actually gets good.

The graphics in Star Trek Legacy look very nice. From the particle effects to the ship models everything screams high quality production. It’s amazing to see your damaged ship spewing out flames and missing parts of the hull! Regretfully the frame rate does drop in a couple of missions. The final mission has the worst frame rate speed. At points it is so choppy that the screen repeatedly freezes for split seconds.

Now Star Trek Legacy is not for the average gamer. Either the player has to be a major Star Trek fan and/or into strategic space-combat games in order to enjoy this title. This game will make you frustrated, but the story is engrossing enough to make you want to complete the game.

Project Gotham Racing 3 (+)

Ever raced with a real sense of speed and drifting? Ok it has been done before, but PGR3 is the most enjoyable simulation racing game around the block.

As history has taught us, launch titles can either make or break a system. Thankfully Project Gotham Racing 3 does not do the latter. With its stylistic gameplay and gorgeous graphics Bizarre Creations, the developer, has proven why the Xbox 360 can stand strong.

What makes PGR3 stand out among the crowd is its drifting system. In previous versions players had to work their way up to receive the powerful cars, but thankfully PGR3 starts the player off with a great lineup of cars – we’re talking Class A! Each car presents is own challenges in mastering the way it steers. This actually might be where gamers either like or dislike the game. Choosing the right car to use and learning how to control it takes time.

There is no ‘pimp my ride’ gameplay, which considering the beautiful cars that are pre-packaged in the game – it doesn’t matter! The game does feature both 2 player multiplayer and online play with up to 8 players total. While sometimes the online play lags, it’s overall a great experience. Online play is definitely great for those who do not want to play against AI opponents whom usually tend to be either too easy or too difficult. Of course with the online play there are plenty of trash-talkers and cheaters.

The visuals in the game are breathtaking. With its high-definition graphics, screen blur techniques, and overall high-polygon and well textured models PGR3 is a treat to look at. Racing through cities such as London, New York, and Tokyo is stunning every time.

The music is a mixture of random genres such as classical, punk, rock, etc. Thankfully there is the option of playing music off of the Xbox 360 harddrive.

All in all PGR3 is a fantastic game that greatly improves upon its predecessors. While its single-player can get a little boring, experiencing the game online makes this game a racer that arcade and simulation fans will love!