Lost Planet 2 Multiplayer Preview - PAGE 1

As Lost Planet 2 nears completion, we have a look at the multiplayer side of the game, which takes up to 16 players into control point struggles in the deep jungle. We’ve also included some footage of the in-game action to give players an idea of the movement and speed. We took on 8 player and 16 player Data Post Battle matches in Turbulent Jungle for our impressions to gauge game congestion as well.

Data Post Battle brought us to the familiar ground of control point battles; players have to take over all the posts in the field if they want to win. If the time runs out, the team with the most secured posts wins.

In a regular game, it's easy enough to fortify the zones. However, in Turbulent Jungle we got a taste of how Capcom was trying to change up the mechanics. Maps are wide open and data posts right at the front doorstep of each team make it difficult to keep them in battle. More, team members camping higher buildings and others running blitz ensure each map stays unpredictable. We found the respawn counter at 10 seconds was an appropriate cool down period before a player let loose on the map again. For gamers used to playing support roles, defensive upgrades only come in a few varieties of Heavy Armor and portable shields at the moment.

The action in the maps presented a fair understanding of how to dominate a Data Post, using heavy armor and machine guns to build a front around the post builds defense. Having shotgun strapped runners behind and hacking the post gets the point under control and provides high damage if an enemy breaches the defensive line. While some gamers may feel attached to machine guns or rifles, we noticed the shotgun has high stopping power unless faced with armored enemies.

Occasionally we tried to drop the melee strike but in 16 player cross fire, the connections often failed. For those weary of jumping into face-to-face battles, there are outpost turrets and cannons ready with the occasional rocket launcher scattered along the landscape which can change the battle with a well placed shot.

From what we were able to gather out of the preview experience, Lost Planet 2 brings some familiar formulas online to the masses but the execution is nothing unseen before. Those familiar with FPS games should be able to slide right into the third person based shooter and grapple their way up high walls and bring the pain to their enemies on the field. We do hope that in the future Capcom might expand the preview opportunity with more levels to build some greater understanding. In any case, the current weapon selection and performance is welcoming to new players.