I realize this quick-look at the upcoming Capcom action game is probably 2 months late at this point, but better late then never, I always say! Lost Planet 2 is clearly the follow-up to the early 2007 sleeper hit, which took place on a distant planet that humanity was looking to colonize, yet had to compete against tons of space pirates and the native life forms, not to mention the incredibly harsh environment. The core gameplay was almost a blending of old-school mechanics with cutting-edge graphics and newer 3rd person shooting action, mostly set in frozen environments, but with volcanoes, abandoned facilities, and caves thrown in for variety. While it did fairly well, it never caught on well enough with the mainstream to warrant a sequel in my opinion which is why it's so shocking to find out that not only is Capcom working on a sequel, but they're throwing in more of the gigantic boss fights, 4 player co-op, and even more varied locales thanks to the aftermath of the original game.
The new demo for Lost Planet 2 highlights the 4 player co-op while showcasing one of the gigantic new bosses in a familiar frozen environment for fans of the original. With all the co-op functionality included in most games at this point, it would be fairly easy to assume that this is just another quick cash-in, but it's well worth sticking around to find out just how crazy and useful having 3 other teammates there with you are. The boss still has the same gigantic glowing orange weak spot that was in the first game, but it's worth pointing out that he completely towers over you and the other players. As everyone quickly scrambles around, searching for their weapon of choice, activating spawn points, or just trying to find a good spot to begin the beat down, you'll sooner or later learn that the size of the boss isn't one of those things that just intended to intimidate you. With a well timed approach while the enemy is crouching down, you can actually manage to get ingested inside of the creature and fight off tons of enemies as you work your way through its digestive system until you eventually come across the heart of the beast and have a few moments to attack it through its ribcage until you're inevitably forced out the butt of the thing, then can rejoin your teammates outside or attempt to start the cycle all over again.
While this was probably one of the coolest boss fights I've played in a while, it's worth noting that if you have a team of people that aren't very good at the game or don't want to help out, you'll probably die off really quickly, making this the ideal game to play with people that you actually game with on a regular basis that you know you can depend on to save yourself a lot of frustration. After the end of the boss fight, you've got a few seconds to run around and gather up points and ammo before it shows you with a ranking screen and exits back out to the main menu. If they can keep increasing the creativity of the boss fights throughout the game and the co-op includes...you know...levels and is NOT just a boss rush, along with bringing back the addictive competitive multiplayer from the original, this is totally a day one purchase for me. On the other hand, if you're not a fan of trying to find gigantic glowing weak spots, or you're looking for a more narrative driven game, it might be best to try out this demo first or wait for a review after the full game comes out, since the first one definitely wasn't for everyone and the demo feels the same way.
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