We Have A Smashing Good Time

by GrathiusXR:

©2010 Arthur Kotsopoulos:

I’m not a massive fan of Street Fighter (Mortal Kombat is my preferred fighter) and Lost Planet 1 never really grabbed my attention to experience it as there were plenty of other great games out at the time of its release, so my initial expectations upon walking into the room which THQ had set up last week to profile their upcoming games, Lost Planet 2 , Super Street Fighter IV, MotoGP 2010 (all tested on PS3) and of course Metro 2033 (tested on Xbox360) down at their PR Managers rooms in the Sydney CBD was, to be honest, quite low.

• Lost Planet 2 Trailer.

Personally I was more excited about Metro 2033 but Grant will touch on that as well as Moto GP in our second preview article a little later on.

So after having a lengthy sit down with Metro 2033 I wandered the room looking to see what game I could whet my appetite with next. Joshua from Platforms Podcast had challenged me to see who could be crowned King of Super Street Fighter IV and who would wallow in shame and ridicule, a challenge I could not refuse.

Super Street Fighting for fun

As I said before I am not a Street Fighter man so my level of experience stops at X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom 1/2, Marvel vs Street Fighter and the rest of the mash up fighters. The only experience I had going into the bout was in fighting games in general and their general tactics and crap did these help me.

At first I was a bit concerned but interested in exactly what was different about Street Fighter 4 and Super Street Fighter 4 and I found out there are a few new characters as well as Super Special moves that each character now possesses.

After losing with both Guile and M. Bison I tried my luck with everyone’s favourite Dan, the man in pink, and to my surprise I seemed to win every fight with this character.

Graphically the game is impressive- exactly like Street Fighter 4, and overall the experience is great.

Competing against a human opponent, mouthing off at each other and having an audience watch and be involved in the fun is the way this game is meant to be played. I was quite impressed with how fun games like this can be when played in a social environment.

The watchers get involved and it just raises your adrenaline that much more to want to perform and put on a good show. Forget about the ‘Super Special’ moves if you can pull off a fight that is close in time and health. Then the crowd will be itching with excitement to see who comes out the victor.

If you are a Street Fighter fan, veteran or newbie this game will not disappoint. I cannot comment on how fluid the combat is compared to Street Fighter IV but in Super Street Fighter IV I can safely say that the fluidity of the combat completely compliments the graphics, environments and overall quality of the game.

Whether you’ve never played a fighter game or have played all fighters known to man, the ability to jump in and win a fight regardless of experience is what makes Super Street Fighter IV an easy fun-filled title.

Wiping the floor with my opponents as Dan, I was quite amazed that a few well timed combos and strung attacks (just in case you don’t know- combining different attacks and combo in one fluid flow)  as well as proper blocking when necessary can turn the tide of a battle in your favour.

Playing with a 360 fight pad controller, the controls were easy to learn and come to terms with after a few fights. As many know, the 360 controller’s D-PAD isn’t the best for fighting games and can cause major problems.

But enough of Super Street Fighter 4 I’m sure on its own it’s a game that will be well received and a great title if you’re ever looking to have some friends over and have a few drinks and see who is the Champion!

After some major upsets with the likes of me winning many battles, I figured the best way to finish off the day was with some good old 4 player co-op action via Lost Planet 2.

Getting lost in Lost Planet 2

Lost Planet is a game I  did not play, except for the demo, so once again my initial impressions are from a fresh viewpoint, and from what I did play the verdict is: I just can’t decide.

It’s fun but it just feels as if it is missing something that gives it that edge.

Sure, the game has some spectacular looking graphics, fast movement from running, melee to diving rolls are fluid, weapons are varied and in good quantity and spread across the map, and best of all it has 4 player co-op.

But Lost Planet 2 in my opinion is missing that something that grabs hold, ties me to my couch and forces a need in me to play a game above all the rest until I’ve finished it.

The level we got to play was like an industrial warehouse, so you had your crates, your massive conveyor belts and of course you grinders. What I found interesting was that this level incorporated a height variation which enables you as the player to use different tactics.

You could have 2 members go the floor level taking out enemies whilst you had the other 2 members of your team take the high ground and use heavy weaponry to take out certain targets.

Any game that introduces this level of gameplay in their game I respect as it invokes creative design, and the gamer has to be a bit more precise in exactly what they’re going to do. It’s a pleasure to have some sort of dynamic control on how things will play out and Lost Planet 2 does this well.

After continuing down the fairly linear path (despite the better design) we came to an area with a couple of grinders and conveyor belts and again here is where Lost Planet 2 wants the gamer to use a bit of common sense by having to work out how to make it across.

The use of the grapple hook is called for and after a few easy swings and grabs and you’re on to the next area where you’re greeted by some pretty massive mech units who can pack a punch and take some too.

Unfortunately the co-op session had to be cut short as time ran out.

But it is safe to say that if you’re a fan of Lost Planet then definitely pick up Lost Planet 2. I might be getting greedy with all the quality exciting games out now and with more to come, but it just seemed to lack that “WOW” factor for mine.

However, it’s a solid 3rd Person shooter that offers 4 player co-op which in today’s gaming industry is a major draw card for any gamer sick of going it alone or with only one buddy.

[Ed: Thanks again to the great guys-n-gals at THQ Australia and their PR Managers, This Is Mango in Sydney, loved the Pizza's and beverages (hic) guys . . you always throw a good gig.]

©2010 Arthur Kotsopoulos:

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Blogbanter, Console gaming, Demo impressions, Editorial, GameBanter, New Game Information, New Xbox 360 Games, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Game Previews, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | Capcom, Capcom EU, Capcome UK, Fighting, games, Lost Planet, Lost Planet 1, Lost Planet 2, Metro 2033, MotoGP 2010, Street Fighter, Street Fighter 4, street fighter IV, Street Fighter Series, Super Street Fighter IV, THQ, THQ Australia, Video game, Xbox 360