Well I have been avoiding this game for years now due to absolutely loathing the demo, but after quite enjoying the Co-op and Multiplayer demos of the sequel Lost Planet 2 which I plan to get the PC version I decided to give the demo of the original a chance and to my surprise I was able to finish it. Thus I finally broke down and bought it and to my surprise the full game is much more forgiving than the demo.
For those who play the demo the first couple of missions are just extended versions of the demo so they are quite familiar, and at this point the story is sluggish at best. The game (at least on EASY) seems to have a checkpoint system so if the Boss of a mission kills you usually you just whined up at the beginning of the battle. The bosses can be quite intense given your rig bottlenecks due to the massive DX10 features that might sink your resources. I found myself switching DX10 features on and off to give me an advantage during gameplay.
The missions are a mix of fighting the alien menace known as the "Akrid" that form most of the enemies and bosses. Though you will find a small handful of human "mechs" that will be quite challenging as well and the human enemy assortment of "snow pirates" and "NEVEC". By the end of the game the story picks up rapidly to the point of being (IMO) quite interesting (given you can handle "Anime/Japanese" stories).
As a character you will find yourself switching between the "person" and the Vital Suits (aka "Mechs"), and the game utilizes a "Thermal Energy" or "T-ENG" system of restoring health and such. Though let your T-ENG deplete to zero and the cold environment will suck at your life and eventually kill you. Bosses and enemies will take off life which will auto-restore using your Thermal Energy but given certain bosses the VSes will suck on your T-ENG so it's best to see this as "Motivation" to give your enemies the quickest death possible.
Your weapons come in a very generic assortment. Machine Guns, (Sniper) Rifles, Laser (Sniper) Rifles, Shotguns, Rocket Launchers, and a few types of grenades. VSes also have interchangeable weaponry that as a person you can actually use yourself or detach or attach to the VSes (I actually defeated a boss after he destroyed 3 of my mechs so I ended up stealing the VS Grenade Launcher and killing him as a person).
All in All the game is good fun given you can make out the Bosses weakspots without much help from the NPCs, and the Story has its shining moments by the end.
In My Opinion?
9 out of 10
The game is rather cheap now too.
