Lost Planet // Xbox 360
Fountains of Wayne

// The skinny: Humans have been trying to colonize a Hoth-like ice planet for years. But most of them have been forced out by the hostile indigenous Akrid whose bodies possess a rich energy source. On a mission with your father you've been buried in snow and have lost your memory. Re-awakened, you continue the fight and try to discover what plans the conglomerate NEVEC has for this world.

// Review: This was one of the first games I was excited to play for the 360. It has a pretty cool concept. Because it's cold as balls, your energy suit is constantly being drained to keep you alive. So basically you got to keep killing and blowing sh*t up for their thermal energy to keep going. The demo was awesome and the game looks gorgeous. After finally getting my hands on it, I have to give it an enthusiastic, "meh."

/ There is a lot to like about this game. You can't help but to notice how good it looks. Great character models, mechs, aliens, environments and the best explosions I've seen. And you really get a sense of how massive this place is and how huge the alien mosters are. I also had a lot of fun riding around in different mechs and being able to re-equip the armament.

/ On the downside, my biggest problems were the controls. You can't customize them beyond the 3 pre-sets. You can't look or shoot higher than about 60 degrees above you. The grappling hook was a good idea but clunky and limited in use. The boss battles were uneven. Some left a small margin for error while others I literally stood in front of them a pulled the trigger as fast as I could. And yes it's a planet of snow but it's not fun trudging around like you're in pudding.

/ You have to go through narrow mountain passes, factories and underground caves to get from point A to B, but your moving HQ vehicle the size of an apartment complex was always inexplicably waiting for you on the other side. Which leads to my point about inconsistencies to the convoluted and under-developed story. Oh and your suit that warms you also depletes when you're slugging around pools of lava in volcanoes.

/ For someone who single handedly tames the entire planet I thought he would have a generic badass name like Cole, Reno or Vin Diesel. His name is Wayne. An amnesiac named Wayne. Bravo. And his forced love interest manages to show off an impressive amount of cleavage with swooping necklines even though it's like 100 degrees below zero. All of these criticisms are small but collectively they really tarnish the experince.

// Wrap up: If you just look at the box cover you'll buy this game. Looks great with a great idea. But with a disappointing presentation, bad controls, and paint by numbers anime storyline, it feels like a high quality generic 3rd person shooter.

Entertainment rating: 3