Genre: Third-Person Shooter
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

Most of Lost Planet takes place in blizzard-like outdoor conditions, so the developers obviously spent a lot of time making realistic weather effects. Along with the rain in Gears of War, the snow in Lost Planet is sheer joy in pixels. Baddies are gargantuan and really instill fear. The art direction is fantastic as well, with excellently designed characters that really exude personality.

The voice acted cut scenes and atmospheric orchestral musical score are never overboard, and compliment the in-game action nicely. Sound effects are also well executed. The metallic footsteps of the in-game mechs really help to convey to the player the massive amount of bulk they are controlling.

The maps play like mediocre amateur community-contributed efforts. Little to no overall direction or coordination is illustrated with this hodgepodge. Pacing is inconsistent, leading to long bouts of boring walking or too-frantic, confusing action. Obnoxious stumbling animations cause the player to be frequently paralyzed, and huge explosions constantly fill the screen with smoke, obstructing the player's view of the action.

Lost Planet's awe inspiring art direction is overshadowed by the awful level design. Even if its release hadn't chronologically followed right in the footsteps of the amazing Gears of War, Lost Planet is such an aimless, poorly designed title that I can scarcely believe Keiji Inafune is responsible for this mess. Some of the maps are at least playable, until you run into one of the bosses, which really illustrate the shortcomings of the game's design.