Lost Planet 3
Let me start off with, Giant Mech Suit!More on that later.
Now I've loved this series for a long time, I've played the first two and know the story and game play very well. I even liked using PTX-40A in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. I wasn't happy hearing about a prequel in the series, it's such a played out idea and now there's word of another Lost Planet universe title, E.X. Troopers with a manga style feel, so Capcom must really like the series. Anyway, even though I wasn't happy hearing about the game, playing it and watching it is a different matter. It's like watching and being in a good sci-fi movie. Not a B-Horror movie,your playing something like Aliens, which it greatly borrows from.
The demo I was shown and played had me being Jim, your average Joe trying to make ends meet in the future by going to a planet to get energy. Now here's what I like this time you get a story, a linear story that makes sense. Lost Planet 1 and 2 are very poorly written. Lost Planet 2 was just such a mess, there easily could have been a campaign story that was well thought out, but it was just so random. That's why I'm so happy Sparks Unlimited is making the game, there based here in the states. For some reason the Japanese have a terrible time trying to write good stories into their games.
Game play wise your controls are like the first two games, I feel it might play a bit better. Jim has animations for different scenarios, so if your in a storm Jim will depict being in one or if it's spooky he'll be spooked and look a little scared. Running, jumping and and using one button to dodge attack is back and feels like it responds better. Now you switch from running and gunning and using an anchor chord to be like Batman to being in a mech.
What was scary was how nice it was riding in my big ol' mech. Instead of switching mech and having them break down like in the old games, you keep this one. It's kind of like your trailer/home. A nice adjustment for the series. It's nice to have a mech with a hula girl in it and call it home.
One of the best parts of the game is you don't need T-Energy to survive. So many times did it make game play frustrating to constantly find enough energy to keep yourself alive and your weapons powered. This time around T-Energy can be sold for upgrades once you collect it by killing all kinds of creatures.
I through a bomb into a giant crabs mouth then it exploded. It's like recreating the best scenes from action movies when you fight monsters of all sorts.They come in all different sizes and have to say the AI for them was pretty good. A new type of Akrid( alien bug creatures trying to eat you) hunts in packs. All the creatures I fought are reminiscent of other battles from other games. The new hunter type pack I just wrote of is like a wolf pack in Dragon's Dogma ,which I just played. Of course, non of those wolf looked as creepy, but it seems the designers base all their creatures off old game creatures or seafood and bugs.
Killing them with my giant mech still feels good though.
So, Jim's trying to make money for his family, there's a cute message his sends to his wife that builds a relationship with Jim, you start getting to know who he is. More messages are essentially the loading screens, so instead of seeing loading screens you have messages. So, with story in mind visuals are next with a big beautiful planned, eye-catching shots and placed music for added movie effect. I love how more games are capturing that experience of starring your own film, this is one of them. I could easily see a young Jeff Bridges playing Jim. You have a big base to get to know with other workers trying to make money and a engineers sidekick. You have the start of Nevec's bad intentions.
Now the game switches to a mystery, it seems you've been lied to by Nevec over being the first people on the planet. It looks like the Russians might have been there first. They're never call Russians, but it's kind of hinted. So as Jim your outside of your mech exploring this weird base. It's just a perfect way to change the view of the game, your suddenly in tight spots and fighting smaller harder to shoot enemies.
Whatever my fears were about the game are gone, I want to start playing it right now, so I can pick up an Akrid and drill it to orange sprayed guts with my big ol' giant mech drill arm.
DMC
Devil May Cry has gotten a face-lift from Ninja Theory. It was just announced the game will be out January 15, 2013. Dante is now a punk in this new version of Devil May Cry. The demo starts off with the two world idea, where Dante can travel to another plain while fighting enemies outside of the real world.
He teams up with some new organization and a cute girl in a hoodie whose kind of like his guide.
Once again it's more of a linear story this time around as the British are doing the game at Ninja Theory. So instead of thing not making any sense they make a little more sense as to why demons are trying to destroy you.
Yes, I'll get to game play. You can pummel and obliterate demons, skeletons and demonic cameras of all sorts with combos galore. Switch between dark demon attacks or holy sanctimonious attacks. Slash enemies with your sword or blast them away with your guns. Try juggling between the two. If you learn your attacks well enough you pull of some insane combos well known form the series. Your dark and light side adds strong forceful attacks to light up in the air combos. I'm sure you'll be earning a lot of different attacks to do chain combos.I like the new look of Dante, but the bad guys were a bit generic, if they changed Dante's looks so dramatically to a skinny punk they could have made monsters a bit more interesting. Oh, look a skeleton with a shield, oh a cherub statue. Meh. Give me some interesting enemies to exact pain on.
Dante gets around by jumping and gliding for a bit, which got really annoying towards the end of the demo. Frustration set in as I couldn't escape from an ever changing church. That was another nice sort of horror genre moment done right. Levels can quickly change and compact or expand, leading to some strange sights.
DMC should be a fun new step in the series which suffered last time with its insane "back track through all the levels you just played" story from last time. Can't to see what else is in store for the game.
