Genre: Third-Person Shooter
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcoms
Release Date: May 29, 2008

Lost Planet was a shooter with some unique ideas. Sure, there are countless titles that let you take down swarms of enemy bugs with machine guns, but Lost Planet added some unique twists to that — some good, some bad. A more precise aiming system, a health bar that slowly drained in the cold, and of course, giant robots all blended together to make Lost Planet into something special, if not perfect. I could go on and on, but it would be easier for you to read our original review and decide for yourself.

Lost Planet: Colonies isn't a sequel or a new game, but a Director's Cut edition of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and everything that goes with that. There have been no major changes to the overall gameplay. If you played Lost Planet and didn't enjoy it or simply don't feel like ever replaying it again, Lost Planet: Colonies isn't going to appeal to you. Everything from the controls to the graphics to the plotline is functionally untouched. Colonies is a game for those that either loved Lost Planet or those unfortunate few who've never gotten a chance to take a Vital Suit up against an Akrid. Capcom is really going all out to ensure that Lost Planet: Colonies is a worthwhile re-release in every regard.

The first major addition is a series of new single-player game modes. The first of these hearkens back to the old school arcade action that originally made Capcom famous. Called "Score Attack," this mode isn't too different from the primary game, with the big change in the addition of a score and combo meter. Once you kill an enemy or destroy part of the environment, a combo begins. The more enemies you destroy or environmental objects you blow up, the higher your combo grows, although you have to do it within a certain time limit, or the combo is broken. The challenge here isn't just completing the stages, but doing so far enough and efficiently enough that you receive the highest possible score. New gamers who just want to complete the story might not see the appeal to this, but for those of us who wasted half of our allowances trying to get the top score in Pac-Man at the local arcade, it's quite likely to be the most addictive of modes.

The second new single-player addition is called "Trial Battle," which distills the Lost Planet experience to its bare essentials: the nonstop and incredibly intense boss fights. After choosing a difficulty level, players fight boss after boss in a sort of survival battle. T-ENG, health and ammunition are retained between levels, so winning the battle isn't just a case of blowing up the enemy, but doing so as fast and with as little damage as possible. Furthermore, there are benefits to defeating bosses as fast as possible. Depending on how efficiently you take down a certain enemy, the next enemy you face might change. Defeat one boss quickly enough, and your next opponent will change. The Trial Battle is laid out on a map, with your next step determined by your skill, not your actions. Doing well on the Trial Battle allows you to post your score online, which is a good way to show off your unparalleled Lost Planet mastery. Finally, "Off-Limit" mode is basically a cheat mode. You gain super-powered weapons and abilities that let you tear through everything in your path without hesitation. It's fun, but not as addictive as the other game types.

Beyond the new gameplay modes, Lost Planet's gameplay has been tweaked in a number of ways. A series of new weapons are available to make killing Akrids quicker and more enjoyable than ever. The flamethrower is a weapon that was both conspicuously absent from the original Lost Planet and is incredibly fun, allowing you to turn the nearby area into a blazing pit of death from which no enemy can escape. Other weapons, such as the heavy-power hand cannon, are not quite as shiny, but devastatingly effective if you learn how to use them. Players can now also choose to play Lost Planet in a first-person view, instead of the previous third-person style. Admittedly, this view makes it impossible to see the protagonist's gun or anything he equips, so it visually resembles a light gun game rather than a first-person shooter, but the thought is nice, and it's good to not have your view blocked by Gale's body.

The real selling point of Lost Planet: Colonies is in the new online gameplay modes. The first change is that the title will support Xbox 360/PC cross-platform multiplayer, so gamers will be able to take things online against their computer-using cohorts in a fight to the finish. Unfortunately, this does come with one downside: Colonies does not play well with the original Lost Planet. Sorry, Capcom faithfuls, but Colonies is for new players only, and not even save data from Lost Planet works. However, the benefits of being able to take your game online against PC gamers is a welcome benefit that should heavily increase Lost Planet: Colonies' replay value — assuming, of course, there isn't too big a gap in the controls.

Besides the cross-platform connectivity, however, Colonies also offers a number of new and innovative online game types to keep even the most die-hard of Lost Planet veterans busy. By and far, the most appealing mode is going to be the Akrid Hunter level, which pits all of the players against one — but that one player is a giant behemoth of a monster, instead of a puny human. The goal of Akrid Hunter is for the puny humans to use every weapon at their disposable to defeat the Akrid, while the Akrid tries to crush, melt or eat them before they can. Think of it as a boss battle where someone is actually controlling the boss. There are a number of different playable Akrid types, so don't assume that you'll be facing the same bug over and over again. If there's one online mode that is going to keep gamers busy, it's this one.

Beyond the Akrid Hunter mode, Colonies brings another batch of new online game types. Egg Battle is basically Capture The Flag: One player grabs an Akrid Egg and tries to not to mowed down by the opposition while his own team protects him. Whoever captures the most eggs wins. The rest of the modes are similarly pallet swaps of popular FPS modes: Post Grab is exactly the same as any Capture the Base modes, and VS Eliminator is a Protect the VIP mode — although, admittedly, it's more fun to play as the VIP when he's a giant robot instead of a puny guy in a suit. However, between the new multiplayer modes and a series of six new online maps, Lost Planet: Colonies online gameplay is sure to keep you busy for quite a while.

Honestly, Lost Planet: Colonies isn't going to sell you on Lost Planet if you're either already sick of the game or never enjoyed it in the first place. The changes are mostly superficial and minor. However, if you're an unflappable fan of mecha-based combat, a die-hard Lost Planet supporter, or simply someone who passed up the original as too expensive, Lost Planet: Colonies is most certainly worth shot. The budget price of $29.99 for the complete original game and the expanded content is a difficult deal to turn down, especially for a quality title like Lost Planet. If you fall into the above categories, make sure to check out Lost Planet: Colonies when it hits this May.