Call of Duty: Finest Hour, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty and Legendary, we can not say that the CV of the Spark Unlimited studio is the most convincing. However, the American firm managed to hit the jackpot with Capcom, which entrusted it with the development of Lost Planet 3. The deal? Put back in the saddle a once prestigious license and which was somewhat lost along the way by betting everything on multiplayer with Lost Planet 2. To do this, nothing could be simpler: all you have to do is tell a great story. And the latter is that of Jim Peyton, a remarkable family man who decided to go into exile on the planet EDN-III to earn his living, leaving his wife and child at home, on Earth, very warm. Hired by the company NEVEC which holds the monopoly to make this planet of ice habitable, our bearded hero will quickly understand that corruption can also rage outside the earth's borders. And even if the job is well paid, the desire to bring justice is stronger than anything, even if it means putting his life in danger. The starting pitch of Lost Planet 3 may not look like much, but the script – rather well put together – and the successful staging allow us to completely immerse ourselves in this frozen adventure. Add to that a capital sympathy for our Jim Peyton and you will understand why Lost Planet 3 is an interesting title on many levels.
Lost in transition
The atmosphere of the game is certainly one of the strong points of the game and to find the planet EDN-III in its initial form, that is to say smeared with white and surrounded by ice, reminds us of how much it is hostile to humans. Since the story of Lost Planet 3 takes place several decades before the events of the first episode, the Akrids, these giant insects which are often the size of a 10-story building, still inhabit the planet and it will be necessary to fight. with them so as not to finish the four irons in the air. As always, the player will have at his disposal a multitude of different weapons to overcome these critters and unlike the first two opuses, this time it will be necessary to buy them at the Gale armory. This is also the other great novelty of Lost Planet 3 which now offers an RPG side, supposed to deepen the gameplay. The structure of the game is also built on this principle, inspired by titles such as Mass Effect where the missions - main as annexes - are launched from a central hub where Jim can go about his business without an Akrid him. falls on the nose. If on paper, this central level is rather interesting, very quickly, we fall into a certain weariness since we are systematically asked to do the same actions. Between Gale's armory (located in the basement) to boost his skills or buy the latest assault rifle, Dr. Kendrick Kovac's laboratory (hidden on the first floor) which offers several side missions and reminders to Captain Braddock's order in the control room, we spend most of our time wandering through endless corridors, interspersed with long and painful loading times.
It must be admitted that for an action game, Lost Planet 3 starts on tiptoe, and this is perhaps one of the major flaws of the game.
The days at the base follow one another and look alike, especially since the few NPCs present vary their occupations very little, but the outdoor missions are hardly exciting either. At least, as far as the first 5 hours of the game are concerned. It must be admitted that for an action game, Lost Planet 3 starts on tiptoe, and this is perhaps one of the major flaws Game. Between the communications devices to be repaired, the black boxes lost in the depths of a cave and the Akrids in the form of cocoons of Aliens on legs to be bumped, life on EDN-III is not very exciting. Other Akrids, more imposing this time, tumble quite early in the adventure, but very quickly, we see that to complete them, there is only one possible pattern, often punctuated by QTEs that are not very interesting. To do this, Lost Planet 3 does not forget to integrate the mechs, just to be consistent with the DNA of the game, but the Utility Rig that Jim pilots is far from the technologically advanced robots that we have been able to test in the first parts. Here, it is above all about construction mechas which do not have the faculties to blast through the streum in two-two but which can nevertheless face the greatest threats. It's also because it's not built for combat that the Rig moves heavy and isn't very maneuverable.
Mr NICE GUY
Fortunately, walking around on this robot is still pleasant. Not only is it easy to sweep away the basic Akrids with the flip of a mechanical arm, but also to listen to good country music sent by Jim's wife. We will also be able to witness a few romantic exchanges through videos, which often hide a loading page. Smart. Otherwise, like Jim's Life Gauge, the Rig regenerates as you move away from danger. Don't worry though, it will never explode on the way in case its life level is at zero but will kick you out of its cockpit. You will have to survive a few minutes before you can get back on board your robot and this time make sure to protect yourself well and activate the QTEs at the right time. Too bad that the execution scheme is always the same and that you really have to wait three-quarters of the game to be able to take advantage of heavy weapons to be grafted onto the arm of your mech. In absolute terms, Lost Planet 3 is full of good ideas on paper and Spark Unlimited, even draped in good intentions, was unable to transform the trial by offering generic gameplay that only takes up the codes of the genre without never come up with anything new. Because the most disabling for the solo mode of Lost Planet 3 is its serious lack of rhythm. There are certainly some nice missions but the systematic return to the base breaks this dynamic. This slow progress thus lengthens the lifespan, and it will take between 12 and 15 hours to come to the end of Jim Peyton's adventure and understand the purpose of his story told to his granddaughter. Of course, it's the single player that was put forward for Lost Planet 3, but the game did not fail to offer a multiplayer mode, also very classic or even generic. Solo or team deathmatch, extraction to make the games more spicy and clashes between Humans and Akrids for originality: Spark Unlimited does the job without ever transcending it. Too bad indeed...
