The only time I have ever wanted an xbox 360 was when Halo: Reach was released. The futuristic weaponry, the vast array of armored vehicles, the large, sprawling multi-level maps, what gamer could say no?
Lost Planet 2 has more than satisfied these desires. From the ever changing environment, to the powerful, robotic, vital suits that you'll find scattered about these maps, this game exceeds the demands of even the most fickle gamers. The game-play is fast paced and action-packed and the story is well developed for a game that didn't really need a cohesive plot to begin with.
I am impressed that after ten hours of play and completing the game on normal I have only just barely scratched the surface of the trophy collection. While the trophy list is very challenging, none of the trophies seem ridiculously out of reach like some other Capcom games I have played. Additionally, the vast majority of the trophies seem to have to do with killing a certain number of things or winning a certain number of a set type of match. I personally prefer trophies like these as opposed to the more obscure types because you'll be able to unlock most of these just by playing instead of having to hunt for them.
The only exceptions that I have come across are regarding the "Prologue 0-B" section and Section 1-2. I beat the entire game and somehow missed this area, and I'm sure most of the rest of you will too. In order to completer Prologue 0-B you'll need to join a multi-player game in Section 1-0 (the regular prologue), but you must be in slot two or four. The reason being, players one and three will be playing Prologue 0-A while you are playing 0-B in a separate area. It's very easy to complete this section, just hard to know how to find it.
Similarly, in Section 1-2 there is a hidden path near the beginning of this area that also requires completion in order to achieve the completed game notification. The easiest way to find it: At the start of the area, just before the first enemy, you'll see a tree off to the right that is a few meters up the side of the ridge. Grapple up to it and find the hidden path in the cave behind it. You should immediately get the good job award once it is found, but proceed down the path for a shortcut to the boss battle at the end of this section.
Another point worth mentioning has to deal with online play, specifically ranked matches. You'll find that these matches are more challenging than matches in the player rooms. Additionally, teams are formulated automatically based on player standings, so this mode seems to allow for the most evenly balanced matches available among the multi-player modes and it also has a trophy or two associated with it. My favorite aspect of ranked matches is that once you are in the game lobby you can press R1 to vote on the match settings. Personally, I think very few people know, or remember, that you can vote on these settings because it seems like whatever I vote for ends up being chosen.
Player matches are fun too, but personally, I find these rather annoying because players can tweak so many aspects of the game. Most of the time these lobbies take a lot longer to fill than ranked matches, but if you are looking to set up a specific type of game, play a specific map, or use certain weapons, this may be the mode for you.
Did you know that there are two vital suits that can be merged together to form a giant weapon? If you've completed a play through you probably saw this happen in 6-2, but you can actually do this yourself with a cooperative partner. There are plenty of videos on youtube that will show you how to do this, but unfortunately the only place that I have found where you can achieve this is on the multiplayer map Desecration with the type 4 layout. I think it may be possible on Neos too, but I haven't found both suits within the same game as of yet.
Another not so well known aspect of this game involves support weapons. These may seem rather useless, and they generally are, unless you have a cooperative team that knows how to make the most of these unique weapons. The V devices and shields can actually create powerful combination attacks if you have a couple of allies carrying gunswords nearby to support charge each weapon. Check out videos on youtube to see how this works, turning seemingly useless tools into the most powerful weapons this game has to offer.
All in all, I think Lost Planet 2 is one of the best games currently on the market. It provides cooperative modes and player vs. player modes that are among the best of any of the games that I have played. Now that the price has come down, this is probably the best value gift for any game addict.
