Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

Sometimes it’s so unbearably hot in the summer that you start dreaming not just of coolness, but of such a frost that your cheeks turn red and your gaze becomes glassy from the cold. Of course, you can quickly stick your head in the refrigerator or take a walk to the meat section of the supermarket – the air there is so icy that two minutes is enough to freshen up and remember winter.

But there is a more interesting way – to immerse yourself in an icy atmosphere with the help of films, animation or video games. Cliffhanger or The Thing by Carpenter immediately come to mind, and from games – the harsh Lost Planet and the gloomy Anabiosis: The Sleep of Reason. The first one caught me with its cheerful dynamics, hordes of enemies and impressive bosses, the second – with its oppressive, viscous atmosphere and the walls of an abandoned icebreaker trembling from the cold. I gave up on the gloomy viscosity for now and decided to return to Lost Planet.

This game debuted in 2006 as one of the main new releases for the Xbox 360. By the standards of that time, it had everything to stir up interest in the new console: an unusual setting, huge monsters, smooth animation, mechs and, just for a minute, a Korean movie star – Lee Byung-hun as the main character. The developers were not even embarrassed to put his name in the main menu. In Lost Planet, I saw a real “new generation” – something that no one had shown before. And I had not even heard of Crysis from Crytek at that time.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Free Steam Account

When humanity discovered a planet codenamed E.D.N. III, everything looked almost like a fairy tale: the atmospheric conditions were suitable, the ground underfoot was virgin soil for the future. But there was one small problem – hellish cold. Before arranging a housewarming, the planet had to be thoroughly “defrosted”, that is, terraformed.

It would seem to be a matter of technology – but as soon as the preparation process approached the equator, the unexpected happened. Terrible creatures – acrids – began to crawl out of the depths of the icy solidity. Their life is supported by a strange orange substance, something between fuel and blood. To fight them off, people created special combat units and heavy exosuits Vital Suits (VS) – huge armored mechs with weapons that could turn into snowmobiles, jump above their heads and even fly a little.

The main character of the story, Wayne, along with his father, was part of one of these units. During an operation against a giant worm, everything went wrong – the squad was destroyed. Wayne, barely alive, is found by a group of survivalists calling themselves snow pirates. They are led by a certain Yuri. It is he who asks the protagonist not to talk about a strange device – a harmonizer built into his hand. It maintains body heat and, apparently, life in general. Wayne has amnesia, but his soldier’s instincts work flawlessly – he knows how to shoot, operate equipment and survive like no one else. By chance (or by the call of his heart), he joins the snow pirates. Together with them, he fights locusts, makes his way through a blizzard and frost, activates energy beacons and fights bosses. The plot is simple: survive, figure it out, remember. The only differences are what guns you have at hand and what “mech” you are currently racing through the icy hell on.

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The story is uncomplicated. Occasionally, plot twists are woven into it, enemies appear in the spirit of “the villain has appeared – the enemy is designated”, but they come strictly on schedule. Themes of betrayal and confrontation pop up in cutscenes, but do not evoke much response. The main characters do not have time to hook, and the villains are so caricatured that they are perceived more as background. Their monologues sound like empty noise – they are simply there because they must be.

Gameplay of the game Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

Lost Planet is a third-person shooter where the main principle is: “I see the target – shoot, run further.” Everything is simple, without frills.

At the start, you are given a basic machine gun and a couple of grenades. Literally a few minutes later, a shotgun and a rocket launcher will be added to them, and a little later you can find something more interesting – a plasma gun and a sniper rifle, with which destroying enemies becomes almost a relaxing activity. From the equipment at hand, you can carry only two types of weapons and up to 20 grenades. But what is really annoying is that each new level starts with a clean slate. All your guns – goodbye. Again, a machine gun and a handful of grenades. It feels like the hero suffers from amnesia every time he moves to the next zone.

Here is a basic list of weapons that can be used during the game:

• Machine gun – a standard weapon for all occasions
• Shotgun – works well at close range
• Rocket launcher – against large enemies and vehicles
• Plasma gun – an energy weapon with high power
• Sniper rifle – ideal for pinpoint destruction
• Grenades – a universal way to clear the way

The enemies at first — creatures that look more like a cross between a crab and an onion or flying fish skeletons — pose no threat. They are mowed down in droves by any weapon. Their lairs are easy to destroy, especially with grenades. But over time, more interesting creatures begin to emerge: spinning hedgehogs that look like they came from another game, and crab-like monsters in the style of Dead Space (by the way, it hadn’t been released yet in 2006). Artificial intelligence? Well, it’s more for show. The levels are linear, there are a lot of enemies, they are massive, clumsy, and mostly stupid. Some monsters can simply get stuck in animation, and the little ones sometimes just wander around and don’t even react to the player. The human opponents aren’t particularly intelligent either: at best, they run between shelters, at worst, they just stand there. All this evokes a strong association with comedy chaos, as if you got into the video game “Village of Fools”. At the end of each level, as scheduled, a boss awaits you – a huge locust or a man in exo-armor. The first need to hit obvious weak points, the second you just throw lead until you win.

And yet, despite the dumb enemies, it is pleasant to shoot at them. The guns sound impressive, the shooting feels cheerful, and bright orange liquid splashes cheerfully from the bodies of opponents. The main character Wayne deftly climbs to the heights with the help of a rope, from which you can not only hang, but also fire. The locusts climb from all surfaces and constantly interfere, but over time this whole whirlwind begins to tire. It’s like endlessly snapping bubble wrap – fun right up until the moment you start dreaming of silence.

Luckily, the game is refreshed periodically by armored suits – mechs that you can climb into and give enemies a serious beating. They are equipped with stationary guns: from machine guns to laser weapons. Moreover, the weapons can be detached and used manually, but it is still more effective to sit in an armored colossus. In a mech, you can withstand a missile in the face and not even blink, while Wayne without armor falls from any blow, gets up, gets hit again and falls again. Sometimes it feels like his knees are made of glass. And if enemies are shooting from different sides, you can get stuck in an eternal cycle of “got up – fell – got up – fell”. Add to this explosions, smoke, special effects – and it becomes a difficult task to see what is happening on the screen. You are guided solely by the color of the sight. Here, beauty begins to interfere. By the way, you can only die from the loss of thermal energy or if you are swallowed by a giant worm (hello, Dune), or if you jump into lava yourself. Everything else – be it a fall from a height or a rocket in the forehead – is perceived as a slight discomfort. Sometimes there is so much energy that you feel almost immortal. The only serious threat is the bosses in their mechs – you can only kill them with heavy weapons. They attack powerfully, and surviving in an open fight on foot is almost unrealistic.

Otherwise, the gameplay is simple to the extreme. Run to the point, shoot, meet the boss, repeat. New types of enemies stop appearing already in the middle of the game, and the old ones get boring even earlier. The ending tries to surprise, transferring the player into space for the sake of a short, literally 3-5 minute scene. Perhaps it is intended as a “wow effect”, but in reality it looks strange: why introduce new mechanics at the very end if you will not have time to really use them? Devil May Cry 5 comes to mind, where Nero gets a new form towards the end – but at least there you can launch New Game+ and enjoy it to the fullest. Lost Planet doesn’t count on that.

Graphics and Sound Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

From a visual point of view, the game still looks quite decent. The animations are smooth, the special effects are impressive, the light and shadows are placed competently. The main character moves naturally, the flying locusts gracefully glide through the air, and the huge earthworm proudly shows off its impressive mustache. The atmosphere of cold and snowy wasteland is felt visually – sparkling snow, blizzard, frosty glow. But the developers failed to convey this feeling to the player directly – the frost does not leak behind the screen. But the color palette pleases: blue and orange with their shades contrast pleasantly, although sometimes there is a desire to muffle the brightness and add a little winter dull melancholy.

But where there is light, there is shadow. Despite the capabilities of the engine, the world in the game does not amaze with diversity. The landscapes are monotonous: white hills, identical box-shaped houses, identical industrial buildings, tired caves – everything seems to have been copied from one template. Even if you complete the game in one go, it is difficult to remember how one mission differed from another. Everything merges into a snowy mess, from which you cannot single out any unique locations or memorable moments.

As for the sound, everything is modest, but tasteful. There are few musical themes: an introductory composition before the mission, separate tracks for battles with bosses. But the sound design pleases with its elaboration. The arsenal of effects:

• the creaking crunch of snow underfoot,
• the clear and rich sounds of gunfire,
• the frightening screeches of akrids,
• the massive steps of combat mechs,
• the booming and powerful explosions.

All these elements create a dense and rich audio environment. However, in the heat of battle, the sound chaos becomes almost deafening: a natural cacophony begins around, and it is easy to get lost in it.

When Visuals Are Key: Is Lost Planet Worth Playing Today?

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is essentially a showcase of the technologies of its time. At one time, it served as a kind of tech demo, demonstrating the capabilities of hardware and later — graphics on DirectX 10. The benchmark built into the game copes with this task perfectly: in a few minutes, the whole essence of what is happening unfolds before you.

Personally, I enjoyed the game only at the very beginning and during individual battles with bosses. Everything else resembled a marathon through repeating locations with the same type of gameplay. The further — the more I wanted to just get to the end and cross this checkmark off the list.

The authors did not even try to explain what kind of planet is in front of us, where the acrids came from, how the local energy works and why terraforming is needed. Instead of a clear lore, we were thrown in the face with some vague “Frontier Project” and a meaningless conflict between factions of people.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition System Requirements

How to play Lost Planet: Extreme Condition for free on Steam via VpeSports

Imagine being thrown onto a frozen planet, where every step on the crunchy ice can result in an encounter with a huge monster, and the frost pierces to the bone. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition is not just a game, but a real fight for survival in an alien, hostile world. And the best part is that you can try it all absolutely free.

If you don’t want to spend money, but want a thrill, take a look at the VpeSports website. After a short registration, you will get to a special section where they give out access to free steam account. Among the list of games, you can easily find Lost Planet — the one where you need to not only shoot, but also think, hide, survive and constantly fight with nature itself. On the project page, you will find a download button and step-by-step instructions on how to set everything up. Don’t worry, everything is extremely simple there: click, download, log in — and you are already in an armored suit against the backdrop of an ice apocalypse.

Once you try the game, don’t be lazy and share your impressions. Your feedback is really important – it will help other gamers understand whether it’s worth getting involved in this harsh adventure. All comments are checked, but if yours doesn’t appear right away – no big deal. Just make a couple of easy edits, and everything will be fine. As soon as moderation is passed, the login details for your account will arrive by email.

And to stay up to date with all the news and not wait for instructions on how to launch it from scratch every time – check out our Telegram. Everything is lively there, in a friendly way, you can always ask a question and get help. And if you want a step-by-step guide – there is a detailed article on the website, where everything is chewed up to the smallest detail. Seriously, even a teapot can figure it out there.