So I just beat Lost Planet 2 along with some friends this weekend via coop all the way. So let’s clear the air on this point upfront- I don’t play coop games alone. I play them with friends with as many players as allowed. So from the point of view of a multiplayer fan I must say I thought the game was pretty good and very beautiful.
special thanks to gamespot for the image
Here are somethings to note however from the point of view of a multiplayer gamer. Since I’m playing with friends, I might not pay close attention to the plot. How can I when my friends are talking in the background during cutscenes? So I’ve actually been playing through some sections again to pay closer attention to the story. But still, even during the first play many bugs and shortcomings surfaced in this regard. You never see any lip movement during cutscenes. They sometimes pan in close into a face during a cutscene and the texture is just too low res for this.
The controls are just not very tight (maybe they weren’t in LP1 either). You cannot grapple unto surfaces in mid air for some baffling reason (would require more advanced physics like Just Cause 2?). You have to stop to switch weapons. The list goes on and on….
In multiplayer competitive online, you cannot play with friends basically. Sure, in Ranked Matches you can invite them but due to the lack of a party system the chances are high they’ll be tossed unto the opposite team. Very annoying.
Now if you try to exit the match early you’ll be slapped with DNF which I am guessing is some sort of negative rating. I’m indifferent towards it at the moment however it appears to contribute to people going afk during matches since they’re unable to leave. Free kills, though I guess.
In Lost Planet 1, a Host could choose the type of weapons and such for the match. But now, it doesn’t seem like you have a Host really. Everyone can vote on their favorite map and weapon layout. This is sort of an improvement but could be very bad if you are stuck with an all-sniper round. Sniping though, like in most shooters, can be problematic. Especially in this game where snipers seem to have clear aim almost right to the spawn spots. Granted, I believe there are strategies to deal with these guys I am sure. But it’s tough when you cant play the MP maps offline and run around to explore the map like you would in Halo 3, etc. This gives people a chance to explore a map, develop strategies, memorize where weapons are, etc. LP2 lacks all this so you have to learn it all on-the-fly with lots of bad guys shooting at ya.
I do love how you can unlock new pieces and such. But yeah, its annoying seeing your credits wasted on Emotes and such in the store due to the random rolls. In addition to this, if you’re not very good in the online competitive modes you’ll notice you get very little XP. Granted, Rainbow Six Vegas felt like a much more balanced game however it seemed much easier to earn great unlocks in the competitive modes.
Still it’s a very fun game for the time being and is worth at least a rent. The coop isn’t quite as refined as Left 4 Dead 1/2 however. Not being able to join an ongoing coop game is a bit of a bummer. Well you can join one, but you have to wait til they hit a checkpoint or something which can be a very long time or they have to wait at the lobby for others to join. The multiplayer features pale in comparison to games like Red Faction Guerrila and many others which include well done party systems for Clan vs Clan, etc.
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