Japan is home to many game development teams in the industry, and there is no shortage of iconic franchises from there, including but not limited to Resident Evil and street fighter among other things. In addition to these well-known classics, the Japanese development studios have also actively dabbled in the mid-market with experimental IPs built on a relatively conservative budget. Some of these IPs would grow very large on subsequent submissions, while others would disappear after a lukewarm critical or commercial failure.
Falling into the latter category is a small franchise called Lost Planet, which combined third-person shooter action and Mecha combat against the backdrop of a sci-fi dystopia. Over the course of less than a handful of entries and a portable spin-off, the franchise fell into obscurity. This begs the question – what the hell happened to it? Lost Planet?
Lost Planet was a bit different from Capcom’s other action games, one of which was that the game was exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, unlike most of its other titles that found a home on Sony’s PlayStation 3. The game is set against a futuristic dystopia. , in which planet Earth has become uninhabitable due to factors such as pollution, wars and global warming – and humanity is looking for alien planets to colonize and possibly inhabit. When the expedition team stumbles onto the alien planet, they come face to face with an alien race named Akrid – and you embark on a long and arduous journey to help colonize this hostile planet.
While the story setup isn’t anything to write home about, it still provided a solid foundation for an enjoyable and action-packed gameplay loop. As the protagonist Wayne, you have the ability to wield different types of weapons – from rifles to grenade launchers to miniguns – to defeat a variety of enemy types. Additionally, you can also use a grappling hook to reach higher vantage points or hack into a VS which is essentially a mech to wreak havoc on your opponents. You should also keep an eye on your thermal energy at all times as it will constantly run out in the face of adverse weather conditions and you will need to keep recharging it by using heat generators or killing enemies.
Aside from the fun single player offer, Lost Planet also offered a decent range of multiplayer options – mixing the game’s thermal power management systems with standard game modes like CTF and free for all – resulting in an experience that was as addictive as it was fun.
Lost Planet released in December 2006 in Japan, followed by January 2007 worldwide, and critics and fans unanimously praised the game for its fun gameplay and engaging multiplayer mode, and it holds a respectable rating of 79 on Metacritic. As mentioned earlier, Lost Planet was originally an Xbox 360 exclusive, but the game would soon be ported to PC and PlayStation a few months later in the form of Lost Planet: Colonies Edition in Extreme Conditions which has added a few new bells and whistles to the game’s multiplayer offerings. Lost Planet also enjoyed great commercial reception, with lifetime sales exceeding 2.8 million units for both versions of the game.
After the breakthrough success of the first game, the developer already started making plans for a sequel. New ideas would be added to the mix, such as an elaborate co-op mechanism for the single player campaign that would allow players to work together and share key resources such as Thermal Energy as a team to overcome new threats. Apart from that, the game would also have a different environment from the first game, in addition to a whole host of other things. Lost Planet 2 finally released in 2010, though unlike its predecessor – the game was released on both Xbox 360 and PS3, which was followed by a PC release a few months later.
While Lost Planet 2 had some cool ideas that were an improvement over the original, the game was criticized for some of its bizarre game design choices, especially in regards to the interface and encounters. Overall, Lost Planet 2 was lukewarm and the game is at a score of 68 on Metacritic, which was still respectable, albeit lower than the first game. Commercially, the game sold 1.5 million copies in about a year – which was clearly lower than what the developer had expected.
The developer also produced a handheld spin-off for the franchise in the form of EX Troopers which was released in 2013 for the PS3, which added new elements such as a melee combat system and a jetpack. The game didn’t receive much critical or commercial reception, and at least the latter of these issues can be partly attributed to the game being released only in Japan.
For the third main game in the franchise, development duties shifted to Spark Unlimited. This prequel would differ from its predecessors in that it incorporated some role-playing elements into the mix, such as side quests and crafting equipment. In addition, the game would also add an element of survival horror to its gameplay as the camera protruded very close to the main character’s shoulder and the mission environments felt claustrophobic.
Lost Planet 3 finally released in 2013 for all major platforms, but failed to really impress critics again. The new direction for the series was criticized by players for making for a repetitive gameplay experience that lasts much longer than necessary, and the gameplay mechanics didn’t offer much depth either. Between having the series’ lowest Metacritic score of 61 and the game being developed by a third-party studio not previously involved with the franchise, Lost Planet 3 also flopped commercially. Unsurprisingly, little to no information is available regarding sales figures.
With three commercial failures to weigh against one breakthrough success, the developer naturally put the series on hold indefinitely. Lost planet 3. Rumors of a franchise revival started doing the rounds as the developer reportedly pitched a potential lost planet 4, but management declined because the investment required for the project would be too risky for a niche franchise. Jump to the present day, and it seems highly unlikely that Lost Planet would be brought back to life – which is a shame, because these games could be a lot of fun if they fire on all cylinders.
As for what happened to the series, it’s pretty obvious. Since the release of the first game, the sequels have not fared quite well in their gameplay and story departments – resulting in consistently disappointing critical and commercial reception. As a result, the developer had to end the series as the investment was fruitless. That said, we really hope the franchise returns to the mainstream again, but we can only wish for it now.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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