Story
Another Eden
The original Lost Planet introduced PlayStation 3 owners to E.D.N. III. With the Earth ravaged by global warming, the colonisation of E.D.N. III was the main aim of the Neo-Venus Construction (NEVEC) Corporation.
Then, snow pirate Wayne Holden fought to overthrow NEVEC and destroy the Akrid - an insect-like alien species inhabiting E.D.N. III - to help build a new home for the human race. Ten years later and where Lost Planet 2's story begins, terraforming efforts have resulted in great success and E.D.N. III now has more varied terrain, featuring lush jungles and vast deserts.
You control your own customised snow pirate across six episodes of missions. How your story unfolds depends on your actions and those of your teammates as you fight to take control of a changing planet.
Presentation
Coming out of the cold
Whereas the original Lost Planet was set predominantly in the snow, its sequel features more varied environments, including tropical jungle and a run-down city. To aid co-operative play, Campaign mode is broken down into episodes and chapters and you can jump into any of the chapters you have completed, at any time.
While co-operation is central to Lost Planet 2, at the end of every chapter, each player is given a grade from S to C, depending on the size of their contribution. This provides a good incentive to replay chapters and try to beat your previous score. You'll also earn points which increase your character's level and unlock new weapons and parts with which to customise him.
Similarly, there is a Training mode in which you can earn bronze, silver and gold medals by beating increasingly challenging objectives.
Gameplay
All for one and one for all
In Campaign Mode your created snow pirate joins up with three others to fight off a variety of enemies, from rival pirates to giant Akrid, across the planet. Your teammates can either be controlled by the game's Artificial Intelligence or by other players via PlayStation Network, for a more social co-operative experience.
Each chapter has its own unique mission designed to test your co-operative skills, usually involving the capture of Data Posts, which also serve as checkpoints, or taking out an enormous Akrid. Sometimes, you and your teammates will need to stick together to fend off a group of enemies or capture a Data Post; in other chapters you all need to split up in order to capture individual Data Posts at the same time.
Scattered across the map you'll find weapons large and small, from shotguns to enormous mini-guns that you rip from the arms of the robotic Vital Suits. As in the original Lost Planet, you can pilot these mechanised war machines and unleash their powerful arsenal. This time around, there are even more Vital Suits, some of which require two or more players working together to operate.
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