We’ve seen some shocking PC ports of console games in years past…and with Capcom’s recent Resident Evil 4 port being widely regarded as one of the sloppiest efforts at bridging the gap yet, you could be forgiven for steering clear of Lost Planet so far. On the other hand, our newly hired PC reviewer Justin has just spent some quality time with the game, and is glad to report that this time around, it’s not just a shadow of its former console-compatible self – indeed, it’s a little closer to the game it should have been the first time around, thanks to a honed control scheme. Read on for our full Lost Planet PC review.

Lost Planet made a decent splash earlier this year, offering plenty of arcade-style action from a third-person perspective. Little has changed since the Xbox 360 version which our brother site Gizmag reviewed earlier in the year - you’re still battling Akrids and snow pirates with an assortment of guns, thrown weapons and your trusty grappling hook. The significant changes come in the way of mouse/keyboard controls and DirectX10 support.

We’ll start with the bad news, and that is you’re still stuck with a storyline that simply fails to captivate your interest, despite becoming more complex throughout its progression. While the lengthy cutscenes are pleasing to the eye, skipping them may save you from cringing at the dialogue and get you straight to the game’s forte – the action.

Your character, Wayne, still trudges through the thick snow at a sluggish pace, but this is quickly acclimatized to. Not so forgivable are the animations that occur when he is knocked off balance, which can interrupt gameplay.

The simplicity of mouse and keyboard controls make aiming a breeze compared to the console version. From your third person perspective, you can freely move Wayne around with the mouse while the targeting reticle stays fixed in the center of the screen. First person view is also an option. This improvement in controls may prove a double-edged sword, as it markedly lowers the overall difficulty of the game.

As with the original, harvesting T-Eng from enemy corpses provides some focus to the hectic action, allowing your health to be replenished and providing power to Vital Suits – the hulking robots that are conveniently placed throughout the game. However, this reviewer cannot seem to accept that this concept was not used to its full potential. The average gamer can cruise through missions pretty comfortably without having to think about draining energy. If hell-bent on completing a mission, you can even run past enemies until you get to its boss. A more sparing distribution of T-Eng throughout levels could have created some frantic moments in the game.

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This entry was posted by Tim Hanlon on Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at 4:46 am and is filed under Reviews, PC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.