Lost Planet 2 came out last year to less than sub-par reviews. The game had a multitude of problems with some of the design decisions. Most notable was the huge barrier to entry with multiplayer. For these reasons the game took a sit in my backlog and it wasn't until recently that I got to it. I wouldn't recommend this game to most people. It's made for die hard monster hunter fans and people who love poor/weird Japanese game design (I'm a fan :3).
Campaign Co-op and Big Battles
If your looking for a game with great campaign co-op, look no further. It's the main drive of this game and the best part. You can play with up to 3 other people through the entire campaign. It's easy to jump in and out of the online campaign as well. It doesn't matter who leaves or stays the campaign will still continue for you. For example, if you join a game and the host leaves the campaign still continues with no pause. People can continue to join and leave the campaign. This makes for a seamless online campaign experience. It's also worth mentioning that after you beat the campaign once, you can play with custom characters. Custom characters appear in cutscenes too. There's nothing better than seeing Frank West(Dead Rising), Albert Wesker(Resident Evil) or a Helghast(Killzone) in one of the games cutscenes. It's something only die hard Capcom fans could love.
Another great part of the game is the huge battles. Monsters are gigantic and, unlike most games, feel like they are actually in the environment. If your a die hard fan of the Monster Hunter series, you will really dig Lost Planet 2. During these giant boss battles you will have access to vital suits(mechs), giant gatling and laser guns and loads of awesome weapons. The game has a rather complicated system when it comes no knowing what everything does and I do recommend taking an hour to read up on what all the weapons and vital suits do.
You can still easily find an online campaign at any hour to join.
Multiplayer - High Barrier to Entry
This is the most disappointing part of the game. The multiplayer for this game has one of the largest barrier to entry's ever. If you join an online match without playing through the campaign at least once, you will have no idea why you are dieing so many times. Many of the ability's for your character, vital suits and weapons are hidden or not explained very well. Even after you have played the campaign all the way through and read up on what everything does you will still die a lot.
Most of your deaths will probably be from random grenades you don't have access to. This is because the game has a slot machine unlock system. While playing the game you will earn credits for playing the campaign and online matches. The campaign gives you tons of credits, so it's best for you to play the campaign at least 3 times for credits before even considering competitive multiplayer. When you use credits for the slot machine you have a chance to win an emote, Noms de Guerre (war name), ability (perk) or weapon. You wiill need enough credits to unlock a significant amount of your arsenal. This isn't as bad as it seems because the co-op campaign is lots of fun.
Online multiplayer matches are somewhat hard to find at non-peak hours. However, you can usually find a basic online match at any hour.
Who to Recommend
Back when this game came out in May 11, 2010 I would not recommend this game to anyone at the price of $60. At $40 to $30 I would have recommended this game to any fan of the Monster hunter series. Now you can find Lost Planet 2 for around $20. At that price I recommend it in the following way.
1. I can easily recommend this game to die hard fans of the Monster Hunter series. The system of fighting the same monsters and the barrier to entry is very much the same.
2. If your looking for a fun campaign co-op experience and you like Monster Hunter (or your interested in MH) then I can recommend this to you.
3. If your a fan of poor/weird Japanese game design (I'm a fan :3) and are looking for a fun co-op experience (or like Monster Hunter) then I can recommend this to you.
Lexington Video Game Examiner
