There are few option to tweak the game should one be so inclined. So far the only available options of notice is a selection of two weapon spawn schemes for the map and changing how long a game lasts.

When a player joins a game, the type of character they play as is determined by the order they join. There is a bit of variety to the character types; From the usual armored character to unruly individuals with chains in dreadlocks. Possibly my favorite is the snow pirate that’s dressed up like one of those Japanese moth larva that makes its cocoon out of tree bark accompanied by red glowing eyes and feeler antenna. All the types come with preset emotes or taunts (executed by holding start and any of the four shoulder buttons) and the female characters have these humorously anime (read moe) inspired actions like that holding their hands as they dance and strike a pose that could be familiar to anyone who is a practitioner in watching certain shows.

As far as actually playing the game; It’s much like all the other shooter/map based games spawned in the earlier days of online kill simulators but with some differences sprinkled around to keep it fresh. As should be old news to anyone with any remote interest and has been following this title, everyone has a grappling hook known as an anchor. It’s mainly used for navigating the terrain so you can reach highers spots and such. The actual length of the anchor is not much longer than maybe 4~5 game meters so you won’t get such crazy results when compared to something like Just Cause 2’s grapple. Though it is not without some flashy techniques to make use of. There’s this one YouTube video that demonstrates and explains some of the advanced functions (see below). I rather like the idea of just hanging on the ceiling to get the jump on an unexpected passerby. In some places on this map, such as under the large hollowed out building in the center at the bottom floor, some of the ceiling contact physics are a unresponsive so you can’t do the ceiling hanging there but this probably isn’t that much of an issue as it might be a terrible spot to try that. I’ll never know since I can’t try it. Other techniques include being able to grapple on an enemy mecha and start shooting it point blank with can do a good quarter to a half of its life with the standard machine gun. You can also throw a grenade with attached to it but for best results the gum grenade is advised.

Speaking of mecha, the demo only show cases a little wiry number which is not much more than an exo-skeleton type suit and a somewhat comical number that is nothing more than a seat with two legs which can sport two equipped VS weapons. In my time of playing, I have seen the exo-skeleton type spawned with either the gatling gun or the pile driver weapon. The latter of which is a fairly nuanced weapon that has the vital suit take a lunging punch as it seemingly fires a large pike, questionably landing in the melee category but having a ranged possibility.

I say seemingly because I haven’t trained my eyes to look at the end of the gun while it is in that animation since one needs to keep aware of whats going on if you want to stay alive longer.

Other weapons include a VS sized shot gun that needs to be found else where on the map. There are turrets equipped with VS rocket launchers but they are permanently fixed to them so there are no mobile rocket launchers of the large variety.

For the human sized characters there is a fair assortment to play around with. At the main menu of the demo, by pressing the RB button, you are taken to what looks like a load out screen. This lets you see the standard character hold and fire each individual weapon. This allows you to see what the weapon looks like and lets you test fire it to get a feel for its fire rate and other such affects. While playing, explosives are king. Regular grenades look like nothing more than orange spheres once thrown which is a visible indicator that something is about to go boom near by. Like in most games, the function on a time release, so there are a few precious second between the throw and the kaboom. While being the primary big damage weapons, they are also a liability. To both my pleasure and pain, plain grenades can be prematurely ignited by a well placed shot. To many times have I, when getting pelted by a spray of bullets, attempted to throw a grenade to get them away from me only to have my grenade explode in my face and get that “RealPT1 self-destructed” message appear. This irritates me as self destruct sounds like I intended to blow myself up which was not the case, most of the time at least. There are other varieties of grenades such as gum that adhere to the first surface they touch, disks that can be thrown like frisbees to be a nice alternative to a rocket launcher, and also plasma. I have not had much face time with the plasma grenades but I imagine they are more effective on the Vital Suits than the explosive kind.

Outside of grenades, hand weapons include a standard machine gun as the basic weapon or you can opt for the Type II which fire faster and stuns longer but does less damage. Through out the map, a handgun can be picked up which has infinite ammo but is nothing much more than a pea shooter. It could be useful if headshots where a big staple here but given the mobile nature of the game with the anchors and generous jumping gravity, I don’t see myself sticking with it much. A magnum is also an option, a personal favorite of mine (in many games), with a nice punch per bullet ratio. Explosives are king like I said and with a rocket launcher, one can go far. A neat weapon in the same vein is the hand cannon which acts like a smaller rocket launcher but fires a small spike that attaches it self to a target and explodes a short time later. Last but not least are the rifles. I will stand by what I said earlier about the mobile nature and not much emphasis on headshots in this game doesn’t mean it can’t be done and I’m not going to doubt certain players desire to play that way. I have been a victim to them several times in this demo so they have a nice fear factor like in most games. A plasma rifle is also available. I’ve only seen a teammate fire one a few times so I can’t say much on its attributes.

When playing this game, I feel I have been spoiled by both Gears of War and my little bit of time with Team Fortress 2. When first starting, the map has a very wide area and there are many angles at which death can project itself at you before you can even register that your virtual self has just lost his brain functions. In the data post mode, there is a spawn time of eight(8) seconds or so between deaths and you are stuck there with the camera right above the carcass of your avatar. Depending where you died it can be a boring 8 seconds. Where as in GoW you could change the camera to fixed points on the map or share a teammates view and watch them play while you wait your next turn. Also I have a new appreciation for TF2’s death came that zooms in on who killed you and where they are giving you a mental note on their method. Here in Lost Planet, such luxuries are committed, at least in this demo.