Did you know that Lost Planet 3 secretly has of the best narratives from last gen?

[AgentOtaku]

Nope, you didn't read that title wrong and yes, I played A LOT of shit over the past 8 or so years on 360 and PS3.
Just finished this and while ultimately the actual gameplay is exceedingly merely okay in parts and tedious in others, it's narrative ended up being one the most heartfelt and engaging ones I'd experienced.

...yes, the narrative from Lost Planet game

A

Lost

Planet

Game....

I'll start with the bad:

- Spark Unlimited has some talent in that studio to be sure, but either budget or not enough of said talent to go around, prevents this game from achieving what it quite honestly deserves, given the story wrapped around it. It can get frustrating as there were literally times where I would think to myself how much I wish this just went to a more competent developer. It's fucking mean, but i'm sorry, it's true.
- Sound design is good. The mix though? Varies from okay to fucking terrible. I don't know if it was a capacity issue or what, but a lot of the time, the sound is just super compressed sounding.
- The "Open-world-esque" approach to the game's structure only hurts it on a continual basis. Think RAGE in terms of just a bunch of interconnected tunnels, only you get to traverse them with a PAINFULLY slow mech... and you hit a loading screen every few minutes too boot.
- The mech combat is semi-interesting at best, but a confusing mess at worst. It doesn't make you feel empowered like a VS did in LP1 and 2. Instead, it just makes you feel like a fucking idiot and you end up dreading getting into encounters with it... basically the total opposite of a proper Vital Suit, where it felt like a reward.
- SO MANY DAMN AKRID TO SHOOT. They'll feel like they just keeping spawning forever even though you've clearly got rid of any spawn points. Also, cover based shooting against a certain Akrid will make you wonder if they put them in there merely to justify the cover system.... oh and they suck to fight. Like bad.
- The jank. Everything from getting hung up on geometry to grenades just completely falling through the environment
- The tight camera. Basically when the game pulls it a bit back for certain encounters, you'll feel like you've just been rewarded.
- NPCs serve no purpose outside the main narrative IE: they don't really talk or do much of anything. They're like the Bioshock Infinite muppets.
- Akrid designs here really pale in comparison to the original internal Capcom ones unfortunately.

And now on to the great to absolutely wonderful...

+ The game is written buy two writers: one from Hollywood (Orion Walker) and one who actually wrote Anachronox! (Richard Z. Gaubert). Typically in the past when you heard how a studio brought in "an actual writer" you probably groaned and rightfully so. After all, remember Crytek hiring Richard Morgan to write Crysis 2's story?
Well, the complete opposite of that happens here though. Instead, the writers completely elevate everything more than you could ever imagine from the Lost Planet franchise. The story is mostly basic, but effective. You always know the stakes and they don't really deviate much from 'em. It even avoids the common mistake of game narratives' going to shit during the final stretch. Lost Planet 3's narrative, while mostly simple, is exceptionally executed. No seriously, even the Writers Guild of America recognized the freaking writing
Then's there's the acting from the leads... it's quite honestly, fantastic.
Jim is played to perfection by Bill Watterson and, even though it may sound weird, I always found his character model just endearing to even look at.
The villain, while barely in the game, get's an excellent monologue. In fact, almost everyone does and they're all on fucking point. The standout being a throwaway video log that the scientist Kovatch does to his.... well I won't spoil it but suffice to say that I was blown away.

+ The art is quite fetching a lot of the time. Even though the world is literally mostly elaborate corridors, the corridors themselves are quite striking, especially during some of the more intense storms.
+ Unlike others in the game, Jim's animations are very nice and hefty... though sometimes they seem like they could have used a few more to fill in the gaps.
+ The game controls surprisingly well.... like much better than most OTS 3rd person shooters.
+ Some pretty damn great music at times.

Most nowadays find Lost Planet to maybe be a franchise that is either toxic or just not worth the effort. Ever since the first game though, my love for it is been unwavering (Yup even got artbooks and toys) and it's fucking crazy how much the story of Lost Planet 3 brings so many meaningful bits and pieces to the rest of the series. Sure, shooting the glowing spots and Thermal Energy may have just been something conceived merely to service the gameplay, but the writers here managed to completely turn it around and make it something more.
If you can tough it out thru the mediocre gameplay, I highly suggest you check it out.

 

[sn00zer]

Ive heard this a few times...i need to pick this up eventually

 

[AwesomeSauce]

If this goes on sale during the steam summer sales, I'll buy it. I've heard good things about the narrative, and honestly that's all I need to hear to give it a shot. This game has had my interest for a while, I'm always curious to see how other developers handle established properties good or bad.

 

[Iceblade]

I feel like I haven't really learnt anything about the game's writing from this thread? You said it's good and that it's paced well, but that's not really saying anything.

If you could elaborate that'd be really cool! I'm quite curious about it after seeing the thread title.

 

[disappeared]

Thanks for the write up. I just might give it a shot.

 

[Rei no Otaku]

Agreed with everything you said. A lot of the gameplay can be trying, especially the one section the OP mentions with the cover shooting. Holy shit is that part horrible. But the story more than makes up for it. Something about Jim just makes him one of the most endearing, and human, protagonists put into a video game. He's not really a hero. He's just a guy who wants to provide for his family and do what's right.

I'd love to replay it, but some sections really are balls to play.

 

[AgentOtaku]

I feel like I haven't really learnt anything about the game's writing from this thread? You said it's good and that it's paced well, but that's not really saying anything.

If you could elaborate that'd be really cool! I'm quite curious about it.

Well what would you like to know without spoiling anything?

It's well acted and remains, well, tight throughout the entire thing.
Jim Petton ends up being what they tried to sell Isaac Clark (Dead Space) as. A legitimately everyman that you end up caring about. He never becomes a super soldier or anything.
The lore of the series (if you could call it that up to this point) is thoughtfully explored and explained.... and it doesn't feel stupid or contrived.
The villain isn't even really a villain when you learn his motivations.

It's just super fucking impressive that they pulled it off...

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

Alright, you've piqued my curiosity.

*adds Lost Planet 3 to Steam wishlist*

 

[AgentOtaku]

Agreed with everything you said. A lot of the gameplay can be trying, especially the one section the OP mentions with the cover shooting. Holy shit is that part horrible. But the story more than makes up for it. Something about Jim just makes him one of the most endearing, and human, protagonists put into a video game. He's not really a hero. He's just a guy who wants to provide for his family and do what's right.

I'd love to replay it, but some sections really are balls to play.

Agreed

Machines Games already made BJ from Wolfenstein probably my favorite character this gen.

Jim Petton may just be my favorite character from last gen

 

[Iceblade]

Well what would you like to know without spoiling anything?

It's well acted and remains, well, tight throughout the entire thing.
Jim Petton ends up being what they tried to sell Isaac Clark (Dead Space) as. A legitimately everyman that you end up caring about. He never becomes a super soldier or anything.
The lore of the series (if you could call it that up to this point) is thoughtfully explored and explained.... and it doesn't feel stupid or contrived.
The villain isn't even really a villain when you learn his motivations.

It's just super fucking impressive that they pulled it off...

Cool cool, no that's fine. Appreciate you elaborating man. I'm definitely tempted to grab it now.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

It wouldn't shock me that it did and nobody knows it, the game was basically sent to die. We reached this really weird period last generation where it seemed like people just got fatigue from certain franchises. Halo 4, God of War: Ascension, Gears of War: Judgment, Dead Space 3, etc. They all just seemed to not hit the same heights that you would expect, and Lost Planet is a smaller franchise and 3 just got buried in the same way.

I always thought the Lost Planet franchise had an interesting premise. I'm sorta surprised it never took off as like the new Dino Crisis. Like a crazier even more sci fi companion to the Resident Evil franchise.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

So this post is telling me that I should go pick it up off for my PS3? Only $11.00...

 

[luxarific]

I really want to buy this game, but not for more than $15 (they used Gamefly for matchmaking for some reason known only to Capcom). I'm hoping it gets a flash deal discount during the summer sale. If not, I will wait until Xmas.

 

[AgentOtaku]

So this post is telling me that I should go pick it up off for my PS3? Only $11.00...

Absolutely

It's at least 15 hours of SP, which while it can be a slog at times, is still a meaty experience at least.

Also, for franchise fans such as myself, I definitely appreciated seeing the parents of a certain protagonists (^___^)

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I was not one of the 6 people who bought the game, so I had no idea. I may be fairly cynical most of the time, but I do like to see people taking the time to say something nice about a game. You've certainly succeeded in making me consider renting it.

 

[Auto-Reply]

While this is interesting to read, narrative is one of the least important factors for me in a videogame. I have great memories of the first game (or rather the demo) snow, mechs and strange insectoids, great setting. If i ever play one of those games it would still be the first one I guess.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Absolutely

It's at least 15 hours of SP, which while it can be a slog at times, is still a meaty experience at least.

Also, for franchise fans such as myself, I definitely appreciated seeing the parents of a certain protagonists (^___^)

Oh. You mentioned being a franchise fan. My only other LP experience is with like five minutes of messing around on my friend's copy. Do I need to play the others?

You are right though, $11 for 15 hours is actually a pretty darn good deal if the story is as good as you say.

 

[Blizzard]

I really want to buy this game, but not for more than $15 (they used Gamefly for matchmaking for some reason known only to Capcom). I'm hoping it gets a flash deal discount during the summer sale. If not, I will wait until Xmas.

Haha, this was what I was looking for. I apparently only have the first Lost Planet game, but the thing I associate Lost Planet 3 with the most is its bearded protagonist and a cup of coffee.

 

[Rei no Otaku]

Oh. You mentioned being a franchise fan. My only other LP experience is with like five minutes of messing around on my friend's copy. Do I need to play the others?

You are right though, $11 for 15 hours is actually a pretty darn good deal if the story is as good as you say.

You don't need to play the other games. This one is a prequel, and it has little to do with the other games in the series (the mechs don't even look or move the same) other than explaining some of the factions found in the other titles.

You can find the game for $15 or under wicked easily at this point. Well worth it.

 

[Vinterbird]

It's one of the most unappreciated games from last generation. It's really sad a lot of people decided to hate it because it wasn't more like 2.

Its an incredibly interesting game and made me really interested to see where Spark goes next.

 

[Goodacre0081]

they made a lost planet 3?

 

[AgentOtaku]

Oh. You mentioned being a franchise fan. My only other LP experience is with like five minutes of messing around on my friend's copy. Do I need to play the others?

You are right though, $11 for 15 hours is actually a pretty darn good deal if the story is as good as you say.

You're totally fine if you play LP3 first. Definitely pickup LP1 afterwards... just mind the animu story from 2006 though

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

It really does. The gameplay's a little vanilla, but the characters are absolutely fantastic. It definitely captures some of Anachronox's creative spirit. LP3 is a great low-key, sci-fi story. It completely subverts your expectations without it feeling trite. Spark did a great job.

 

[AgentOtaku]

It's one of the most unappreciated games from last generation. It's really sad a lot of people decided to hate it because it wasn't more like 2.

Its an incredibly interesting game and made me really interested to see where Spark goes next.

Honestly between this and Ninja Gaiden Z (and of course all of their winners before even that), i'm thru giving that studio chances. They just.... they aren't a good studio man, sorry

 

[Rei no Otaku]

Honestly between this and Ninja Gaiden Z (and of course all of their winners before even that), i'm thru giving that studio chances. They just.... they aren't a good studio man, sorry

It's a damn shame really. If you took LP3's story and character and had some great gameplay to back it up you'd have had an amazing gem.

 

[Vinterbird]

Honestly between this and Ninja Gaiden Z (and of course all of their winners before even that), i'm thru giving that studio chances. They just.... they aren't a good studio man, sorry

Compared to Legendary The Box it's much better.

And I never felt the gameplay was offensively bad. It was a decent third person shooter. Nothing felt broken, but neither did it feel like Gears of War amazing.

It was fine for what it was.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Compared to Legendary The Box it's much better.

And I never felt the gameplay was offensively bad. It was a decent third person shooter. Nothing felt broken, but neither did it feel like Gears of War amazing.

It was fine for what it was.

The shoot shoot bang stuff is indeed fine by itself. It's the tedious, never ending enemies that take numerous clips to dispatch. How certain encounters feel broken because of the spawn rate of Akrid. The lack of Akrid variety in a nearly 20 hour game. The lack of any low end on the weapons SFX.

I could go on but yeah, the polish just isn't there needless to say...

 

[Tizoc]

^20 Hours? I recall beating the main campaign in half that time if not 12ish hours (need to check my PS3 profile...), then again i was playing on easy...which really should be the difficulty one should go for IMO

Expect it to be $15 or less during the Summer Sale if we're lucky.

I did in fact enjoy Lost Planet 3, thanks mainly to Mark from Classic Game Room who refers to as 'More Aliens than Aliens Colonial Marines' and I have to agree, what the game lacks in gameplay (which I thought was servicable) it makes up with the characters, narritive and voice acting. I like that the game really makes you feel like you're a freelancer on an alien planet with a job, just wish the mechs looked cooler =P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o--y52NTGXY
^CGR's review

 

[kurahador]

Now I'm gonna have to buy it, damn it OP.

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

Gamefront did a great write up on Lost Planet 3.

Lost Planet 3 is 2013′s Best Game You Didn’t Play

I didn’t have to pay for Lost Planet 3. Because he got into the Steam Family Sharing beta, GameFront contributor Phil Owen gave me access to the game for free.

But when it popped up during the Steam Christmas sale, I laid down $12 for a copy of Spark Unlimited’s title, because I wanted to pay at least something for a game I had enjoyed so much.

Lost Planet 3 ended up being one of my favorite games of 2013, though I heard little about it at its launch. GameFront didn’t even get around to reviewing it. Yet, despite being a prequel and an entry into a middling third-person shooter franchise, Lost Planet 3 manages to do some great things that other titles often stumble and fall over in their executions. It plays like a smart blockbuster, one of those classic films you love from childhood that holds up even later in life, like Raiders of the Lost Ark. Lost Planet 3 manages this because even as you’re doing things that don’t really feel all that new or exciting, you care about the people that populate this world.

Spark Unlimited’s game is one of the best-kept secrets of 2013, and every item in its positive column comes down to characters. Where so many games struggle with delivering plot or creating a three-dimensional cast, Lost Planet 3 manages to fill its game with personalities that feel real. The game itself might sometimes fall into the well-trod warrens of third-person shooterdom, but its writing was some of the best of the year.

Primarily, that’s because of Jim Peyton, the protagonist character. Jim isn’t your usual action hero, although by the end of Lost Planet 3, he’s slain more than his fair share of ice planet monsters. He’s a blue-collar worker (sort of), however — he has taken a contract as a fix-it man who drives a big bipedal mech around the frozen world of EDN-III. His rig, as it’s called, isn’t built for combat, however. It’s for heavy machinery repairs. Peyton does get into a few mech battles along the way, but often his missions are about braving the cold in order to keep the rest of the base on EDN-III going.

Peyton’s goal is to make money to send home to Earth, where an energy crisis has crippled the economy. Back home, he’s left behind a wife and child, and he keeps up with them only through video messages he and his wife exchange. Those messages are short and yet incredibly poignant — they really do feel like letters sent between two people who love each other. Peyton’s video messages rarely get sappy or sentimental; the heaviest of subjects, like Peyton’s struggles with nearly dying or the growing hardships on EDN-III, for example, are never mentioned. But you can feel those things just below the surface, and it makes those little messages some of the best moments of the game.

The supporting cast around Peyton’s base on EDN-III is great as well. A mix of nationalities is represented through a solid voice-acting cast and a number of accents, and Lost Planet 3’s writing often manages to be humorous even when it’s dramatic — just like a well-written action film. The game never purports to be about big ideas, necessarily, but it always manages to be a study in great characters who come to rely on each other.

And even when cliches slip into the plot, Lost Planet 3 does a great job of both acknowledging them and turning them to an advantage. A late-game conversation between Peyton and a villain reveals just how similar the two men really are. Neither is fully good or fully bad, they both just have their priorities and people who they wish to protect.

If the game were presented differently, Peyton could easily be cast as a villain, but he’s also not a bad guy. He’s something of an ordinary person, finding himself in extraordinary circumstances, trying to make the best decisions for the people who matter to him.

Those little things band together to make Lost Planet 3 remarkable. It’s not a game about a soldier, it’s a game about a handyman. It doesn’t cast players into the role of a superhero, it puts them in the shoes of one somewhat-abnormally adept family man who’s looking to support a wife and kid. It doesn’t fill out its plot with mustache-twirling bad guys, it gives them a fair shake at being real and human.

What I love about Lost Planet 3 is that it does all these things seemingly effortlessly, even though clearly a vast amount of effort was required to accomplish them. Just look at the rest of the vast world of video games: Titles about even marginally ordinary people are a rarity. And yet, this is what makes really great storytelling — characters to whom players can relate, who are deep and interesting, who are more than just a pair of hands holding a shotgun and following orders.

We could use more games like Lost Planet 3. It deserves some recognition for delivering so solid a story and so many great characters, and it should rank among the other standout titles of 2013.

They also posted a really nice interview with the writers.

 

[Silky]

I loved the multiplayer of 1 and 2 so when I saw the changes to 3, I was pissed and was hoping that X-Troopers made it over to NA instead of buying this. So I ignored it.

That being said all of the praise for it is getting me curious about the game.

 

[BTHR Zero X]

I definitely appreciated seeing the parents of a certain protagonists (^___^)

That Protagonist never really had a "Parent", as he was not born of normal means in the first game actually a lot of what was stated in the first and second game was reconned because LP3 Spark ruined it.

 

[abadguy]

they made a lost planet 3?

Nope.

 

[pa22word]

and one who actually wrote Anachronox! (Richard Z. Gaubert)

Might grab this during the steam sale if capcom drops it to $15 or so.

 

[Vinterbird]

Nope.

Could you explain why you are so negative towards the game? Each game in the series has been pretty unique compared to each other so them going on a different direction is not that crazy.

 

[abadguy]

Could you explain why you are so negative towards the game? Each game in the series has been pretty unique compared to each other so them going on a different direction is not that crazy.

I thought that the gameplay in LP 1 and 2 was really good. Felt like a modern take on games like contra but with mechs and zipline traversal. It had pretty fun and challenging bosses as well. I even enjoyed the MP in the first game.

It was far from perfect but.it could have truly been great with some tweeking of the gameplay. Now you have this game calling itself Lost Planet while playing like Gears of Dead Space. If it were a spin off it would'nt have been so bad but its a mainline entry that completely abandoned the gameplay that made me a fan to begin with. LP 2 changed and added some things but it still played like Lost Planet. Imagine if Street Fighter 5 played like Mortal Kombat, or the next Forza/GT games played like Cruisin USA.

 

[Lemmy]

It was fairly decent, yeah. Unpolished as hell and annoying to play when you had to use the mech but I thought it was worthwhile enough.

Certainly enjoyed it more than Lost Planet 2.

 

[nbthedude]

Agreed with everything you said. A lot of the gameplay can be trying, especially the one section the OP mentions with the cover shooting. Holy shit is that part horrible. But the story more than makes up for it. Something about Jim just makes him one of the most endearing, and human, protagonists put into a video game. He's not really a hero. He's just a guy who wants to provide for his family and do what's right.

I'd love to replay it, but some sections really are balls to play.

Sounds like a good.candidate to play on easy. Can you coop it?

 

[Tizoc]

Imagine if Street Fighter 5 played like Mortal Kombat, or the next Forza/GT games played like Cruisin USA.

Well it'd still be a fighting game called Street Fighter, though i get what you mean. I oddly couldn't get into LP1, but got it on Steam and will give it another chance.

 

[dark10x]

One unfortunate thing about the story telling from what I've seen is the fact that it is told almost entirely through very poorly compressed video clips.

 

[Tizoc]

One unfortunate thing about the story telling from what I've seen is the fact that it is told almost entirely through very poorly compressed video clips.

Is that on PC too? Killer is Dead is about the same size as LP3 if not a few gigs smaller, and that game's cutscenes (excluding the game's theatre mode) are uncompressed and in-engine, so they run at 60 and even 120 FPS!

 

[Alebelly]

I'm intrigued, it's 50% off right now, if it goes to 75%, I'll buy it. (steam)

 

[Alebelly]

Is that on PC too? Killer is Dead is about the same size as LP3 if not a few gigs smaller, and that game's cutscenes (excluding the game's theatre mode) are uncompressed and in-engine, so they run at 60 and even 120 FPS!

PC has a HiRes video add-on you can download for free

 

[mrpookles]

Well, you've intrigued me, OP. It's a series I'd written off as one I'll have to skip, but now I'm prepared to purchase at the right price.

Come on, flash sale.

 

[UnluckyKate]

this game as mech without weapons.

Mechs... without... weapons.

 

[JB1981]

One unfortunate thing about the story telling from what I've seen is the fact that it is told almost entirely through very poorly compressed video clips.

Well this kills my interest

 

[angular graphics]

Is the narrative as gr0undbr3ak1nggggg!!!11 as people claimed it was in Spec Ops: The Line?

 

[Rei no Otaku]

Sounds like a good.candidate to play on easy. Can you coop it?

No co-op.

 

[Big_Al]

I wrote a huge post before on why I love Lost Planet 3. I disagree with AgentOtaku in that I think the combat is fun as well and I love the mech/RIG. But yeah the storytelling, characters and world are indeed the standout parts.

Lost Planet 3 was easily one of my favourite games from last year.

Yeah, the thing that surprised me out of all of this was how much I loved Lost Planet 3. I'll try and explain why to the best of my ability (I apologise in advance as I'm not a good writer)

Anyway the big thing for Lost Planet 3 is that it takes a much more storytelling approach at its core. The main writer of LP3 being the same guy who wrote the underrated Anachronox was especially surprisingly, a very dialogue heavy RPG with great writing. This straight away makes it very different from any of the others in the series. Lost Planet 1 and 2 are all about the action, they both tell stories but they are action games that want you in the action as soon as possible.

The big thing that jumps out with Lost Planet 3 is how different it is in pace, it's veeeeeeeeery slow to get into its story, as in surprisingly so. It's overall a very low key game and I can completely see why some folk just found it boring. When you first start the game you are new on the planet and have just started your job. You are a guy looking to earn some payola to send back to your wife and kid back home. The game starts off introducing the character Jim, and hence the player, to the world via basically doing Jims job. Planting energy posts, helping out other members of your team etc. You are essentially doing mundane things to start the game off with and dealing with the local Akrids is just another part of the job. Even Bills RIG ties into the story. With LP1 and 2 they are purely a gameplay mechanic, completely disposable and there to used, destroyed and another one grabbed from somewhere else. In LP3 it has a history, Jim built his RIG himself and it's a very clunky, slow machine made especially for contruction/engineering which Jim himself needs for his job. None of the upgrades for it are completely over the top, you don't all of a sudden get a chain gun, and it fits within the world they have built.

None of this would mean shit if it had terrible writing and voice performances but thankfully I thought the game excelled here. One big component of the game is that you get messages/and send messages back home to your wife. This would be soooooo easy to fuck up, like REALLY easy to mess up. But they didn't. I came to really like Jim and I felt the relationship between him and wife was genuinely touching and even realistic to an extent. I came to really like Jim the further the game went on and that drew me in and made me want to play more. I found none of the cast to be incredibly cliche an/or badly done. Their is one guy with a french accent who could have been so badly handled but thankfully wasn't.

Now from a gameplay perspective it's also different from Lost Planet 1 and 2, both inside and outside the RIG. LP1 and 2 as you have said have much more weight to them. They feel different to play. I enjoyed Lost Planet 3s on foot combat and it's fun but it doesn't really standout from any other third person shooter. It's much lighter than 1 and 2's combat and you can't just use your grapple anywhere, I was admittedly disappointed with this and did feel it was a bit of a step back. The number of weapons seemed pretty limited as well - shotgun, pistol, assault rifle, explosives. Nothing out of the ordinary really. The weapons feel good to use and sound great too, especially the shotgun which I used for a lot of the game so it's not a horrible game to play at all. But it's safe to say that it could have done with a bigger variety/arsenal of weapons.

The biggest change with LP3 is the RIG. As I've said you only have one RIG which you upgrade throughout the whole game and you control this from a first person perspective. The combat is from a first person as well and it's very slow and weighty. You have no guns and it's all about hitting Akrids across the head, grabbing their arms with your rig, squashing them etc. A fight with just a couple of them can get intense at times, at least when you're new to them and not sure how to take them on. The RIG is VERY slow and doesn't move fast at all (though you unlock fast travel later on in the game), they basically stay very dedicated to how limited/slow this RIG is. I also love the little touches such as the music in Bills cab. Your wife sends you music tapes which you can play and later on when it unlocks you can even play your own music. Something most people wouldn't even give a shit about but fighting an Akrid with 'We Fight For Love' from Commando blasting in the background is a very unique experience

I also found it to be an incredibly atmospheric game as well, I've read it described as almost Aliens like and I can see that. It's a very hostile planet, it FEELS hostile. The glistening ice, the atmosphere storms when you are walking outside in your rig and the crunching and breaking of ice all really drum this home. The game is set before LP1 and 2 and it feels like it. It's not a friendly place at all to be in.

It's not perfect of course. It has its flaws. It could have done with more weapon variety, the grapple not being able to shoot anywhere was disappointing and sometimes, during a few boss fights, it didn't really feel as polished as it should have. A bit more Akrid variety would have been nice and you can find yourself fighting the same enemies a bit too frequently. Multiplayer on PC also uses Gamespy which blows my mind. Awful, awful decision.

But yeah LP3 is so different I completely understand why fans of LP1 and 2 would especially hate it. I just think that overall it's a very underrated game and despite being from Spark Unlimited they did a great job, had a particular vision for their game and stuck with it. So yeah I guess I did like it a lot

However I firmly blame Capcom for the death of franchise over anyone else.

 

[Tizoc]

PC has a HiRes video add-on you can download for free

Wicked, I'm itching for a replay so hopefully Playfire put up rewards for it in due time =P

this game as mech without weapons.

Mechs... without... weapons.

The mech you control has a drill arm and a flame thrower, even Mark would approve of that.

Is the narrative as gr0undbr3ak1nggggg!!!11 as people claimed it was in Spec Ops: The Line?

Dunno about groundbreaking, but it's good, like...they could've made a TV show out of it and it'd be about the daily trials of the team on the planet and it'd be the most entertaining show ever.