Frustrating and Pretty... Pretty Frustrating

I picked this one up as a rental as I was out sick from work for a few days, and I needed something to pass the time as my sinuses cleared and head pounded. I would say this game is worth the $8 rental fee, but I wouldn't pay $60 for it. This is not due to the overall quality of the game, but the length. I am only 8 hours into it and I only have one more level to go. That is pretty short...

Okay, let's hit the particulars...

Story:
What story? The story here is so convoluted and mixed up that it makes Speed Racer look like it was written by a genius. Not to say the premise here is poor, because I think the premise is pretty cool (would make a killer big budget sci-fi flick), but the storytelling is bad, and the voice acting is abysmal. The typical mission starts with you receiving some instruction on where you need to go, and what you need to do. However, the mission always ends with you fighting some boss character, never completing what the initial objective was, and then being cut into a cut-scene that makes little sense. Well, if you are once of those folks that insists on having a good, well told story to go with your good graphics, this is not the game for you.

Anyway, the basis of the story is that humanity has made the move to outer space in an effort to inhabit other planets, using terraforming, etc to make them livable. This particular planet is a giant iceball (that somehow has a HUGE volcano just under the surface). As the humans set about terraforming the planet they were attacked by the Akrid which are the indigenous life form on the planet. These Akrid are mostly giant bug-like creatures, though you will encounter a giant snow worm (ala Dune's sand worms) and some freaky spore producing plant things. The Akrid were so vicious as to cause the humans to flee the planet. The humans that remain are now known as Snow Pirates, and they are fighting the corporation (NEVEC) that has come back to continue to the terraforming. You and your three compatriots are at odds with all three groups (Akrid, Nevec, and snow pirates) for some reason.

Sound:
The sound is superb. The Akrid sound suitably alien, and scary. They shriek and growl as you fight. The weapons sounds are nice, as you can hear the shots moving from front to back and side to side on your surround system. The audio of the enemy humans is good, but their vocalizations are fairly limited, and you will hear them shout the same thing over and over. The VS (Vital Suits.. i.e. Mechs) are really cool, and sound great. Music is used sparingly, and is thus very effective.

Graphics:
These are definitely next-gen graphics! I believe these are the best graphics this side of Gears Of War. The lighting and textures are superb. The environments are large without suffering from a lot of draw-in or pop-up. This game has some of the best fire and smoke effects I have seen. The explosions are truly violent and jarring. A number of the Akrid have some suitably gross effects making them appear slimy and gross. When they are shot a sizable amount of goo sprays out. There is a lot snow in this game and it looks great. They textured and lit it to where it looks very believable, and that is a hard effect to pull off.

One of the most memorable scenes I have played thus far has been out on the frozen tundra at night, fighting multiple BIG Akrid and Nevec VS's. The enemies are backlit by explosions as chunks of environment fly at the screen, while Akrid scream as they charge me. Crazy, chaotic, fun.

Gameplay:
The game is fairly linear which helps with the gameplay mechanics. This is a third person shooter, and the controls are fairly well done for the single player game, but can be frustrating in multiplayer mode.

The controls are tuned for the single player experience where most, if not all, of your enemies are coming at you from the front, and possibly the side. In multiplayer you are getting attacked from all side, and it is hard to react quickly enough if you are being attacked from the rear in the current setup.

The gameplay can be somewhat frustrating in the single player mode as well. If you are in battle and get hit by a rocket, or some other forceful impact it will knock you off of your feet. This is fine, and should be expected. however, what becomes frustrating is that as soon as your character regains his feet, and before you can even take control again, you get hit by another rocket that knock you down again doing further damage. This can go on and on until you are dead. This can be very frustrating as it happens quite often.

One of the "innovations" in this game is the use of Thermal Energy. Since you are running around on frozen tundra you must do something to keep warm. To do this you collect thermal energy from your opponents as they are killed. This builds up the amount of thermal energy you have at your disposal. However this energy is constantly counting down. If you run out, then your life meter begins to count down until you are dead. This becomes frustrating at time when you are locked into a room fighting a boss, and there is little energy to be found. More often than not I am killed by the loss of energy when fighting a boss than by the boss itself. I also don’t understand why you continue to lose this thermal energy when you are indoors, and even running around a volcano. Seems like you would be storing it up as opposed to losing it...

One of the most fun aspects of this game is the VS's. These are mech-like suits that can be used to move more quickly and attack more powerfully. There is a wide range of VS's, each with some different abilities. Some will change into a tank, or a snowmobile, while others just have the ability to fly short distances, etc. There are also a multitude of cool weapons for the VS's (missiles, rockets, Gatling guns, homing lasers, lasers, grenade launchers, etc.)


Overall this is a fun game that can be frustrating, and it is too short to warrant a full price purchase in my opinion.