We have to admit right off the bat that our review of the original Lost Planet wasn’t anywhere near praise for the game, as we were underwhelmed with the story and gameplay. It’s not that we weren’t excited going into the new released co-op demo of Lost Planet 2 on Xbox Live, but we weren’t exactly expecting something fantastic. Luckily for us, and for those who chose to download the demo, we were pleased with what looks to be a noticeable improvement.

Lost Planet 2’s storyline throws you back on E.D.N. III, but of course, being on the same planet puts you into familiar yet more dangerous surroundings. E.D.N. isn’t quite as treacherous as it once was in terms of weather. The ice has retreated just a bit to show off some of its greener pastures. But the Akrid, an indigenous enemy seen in the first game, are back and deadlier than before.

Technically, the demo only really offers two types of Akrids. Some of you may recall the spider-like Akrid that were abundant in the first game, which you’ll square off against here. Oh, but we should probably mention they are inside the gut of a gigantic Akrid. Thankfully, you aren’t as dependent on thermal energy here as you were in the first game. Instead, you should worry more about your battle gauge. The higher it is, the more success you have had. But the gauge will drop the more you are killed. You will respawn, but how many times will depend on your gauge. The gauge is kept for your entire team of 4.

Actually, the demo is decently fun. Lost Planet 2’s gameplay has been significantly improved from what we experienced in the original. Characters don’t lumber around in the same way. They move more fluidly and with a bit more precision. You can also change your aiming levels to better suit your reaction times. What we loved, as opposed to the original game, was that even with the giant Akrid stomping around the somewhat small map, it was much easier to rebound from being knocked down.

The same couldn’t quite be said for suiting back up in the Vital Suit (VS). Being a suit, it is natural for it to lumber around. It moved a bit slow for our liking, but we will hold back total judgment until the final product is released. With a focus on co-op, a major upgrade to the VS is the ability to have two other players hang off and shoot from the sides of the suit. We like what we see here, so ideally the final iteration will handle it even better.

If you don’t want to use the suit very much, Lost Planet 2 lets you pick up VS weapons to use on the ground. Obviously, these are much heavier than your standard weapons, so it will slow you down a bit. You will also be able to use a rifle, shotgun, rocket launcher, machine gun and a variety of grenades to take down the giant Akrid.

You can assemble up to a team of four to take on this task. Or, if you like, you can rock it by yourself. But with such a big push on co-op (and such a big Akrid), you might be well served going in with a few more people. The online mode lets you join a game or host your own. For now you won’t be able to create your own character, but it has been stated that the final version will have such a feature.

The Lost Planet 2 demo was packing some decent sound and graphics. Now it is still a demo, so it wasn’t anything standout. But from what is being offered, this could wind up being a good looking game.

The demo cuts you off right after killing the Akrid or losing your entire battle gauge. But it is available now for Xbox 360 owners, so if you have some time on your hands, give it a shot. Lost Planet 2 will release later this year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

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About This Author: Alex Quevedo

I have been writing about games since 2007. Graduated St. John's University in 2009 with a bachelor's in journalism. I also like me some sports.

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