Lost Planet plays out like your standard third person fare, only the controls take a while to get used too as the cross-hair isn’t static like in most shooters. The lead character, Wayne has been fitted with a weird device of sorts that’s fueled by thermal energy 24/7 and as and when he steps outdoors this device uses that energy to keep him warm (this place isn’t exactly Hawaii ya know). This means you have to ensure a steady supply of thermal energy outdoors or his energy bar will continue depleting thanks to the extreme cold and once it fully diminishes, his health bar starts taking a hit. Introducing this kind of a mechanic does create a sense of urgency at all times but on the flip side it also limits exploration, but then again, this game is pretty linear so there isn’t much to worry about. And don’t worry, gathering thermal energy isn’t much of a problem as you can obtain it from killing Akrid and Snow Pirates, breaking random objects like frozen cars or activating outposts (by frantically pressing the B button) that’ll bless you with a certain amount of thermal energy and double up as save points (Lost Planet – 1, Dead Rising – 0).


Single player missions in this game are essentially divided into Akrid and Snow Pirate encounters so one level will have you infiltrating a Pirate camp eliminating every Pirate in site while the other may have you clearing out an Akrid hive (this kind of alternating keeps things from getting monotonous). The Akrid, who by the way are the real stars of the show come in different shapes and sizes; some are small, some are large while some are as big as the colossi from Shadow of the Colossus (only here they’re a lot more detailed) but each and every Akrid no matter how big or small have a weak point highlighted in orange as an indicative of where their thermal energy is hidden. Once you start blasting away at that part it’s a matter of minutes before even the larger ones die and turn to ice and believe me, there’s nothing as satisfying as smashing one of those frozen bodies with the butt of your weapon watching it shatter into a thousand pieces. The Akrid boast of a healthy variety as well so you have everything from flying fish like creatures (really annoying), to giant worms, giant moths, giant bees and lots lots more and even though boss encounters (yup, there’s a lot of them in this game) may not be as cinematic as the ones from Shadow of the Colossus or as innovative as the ones from God of War, it’s still a satisfying experience and definitely beats the brain dead bosses of Crackdown.