It's funny, but if you were to ask me what my thoughts were on the original Lost Planet, my mind would honestly draw a complete blank.  It's not that Capcom's attempt to create a new franchise was by any measure a bad game, but the whole experience (for me) was so light on substance that I've nearly forgotten it.  But that's what sequels are for, as even the best intentioned idea can be salvaged by fixing what didn't work and expanding on what did, and in both regards Lost Planet 2 clearly addresses both.  Jun Takeuchi (he of Resident Evil and Onimusha fame) returns to the fray with more arcade-style monster eliminating, and while his team succeeds in crafting a more explosive blockbuster this time around, this franchise still has a ways to go before equaling their past successes.

As with the original game story matters little in Lost Planet 2, as the fate of a group of relatively anonymous soldiers on a frigid snowbound world suddenly terraforming into dense jungle landscapes is just beginning to be experienced with others (i.e. online friends).  Spread across a large six episodes of multiple chapters, the wafer-thin storyline of crusading against monstrous hordes takes a backseat to actually obliterating them.  There are no main characters to speak of, and apart from the requisite number '2' in the title, there's little connection to the original game, outside of shooting, running, and more shooting still.  It's Gears of War meets Starship Troopers, only with an (over) emphasis on the latter's splatter and almost none of the former's sublime way of pulling it off.

Just so we're clear, Lost Planet 2 was made for multiplayer, and the fact the game doesn't even bother with a single-player campaign.  Instead you can choose to enable or disable the three extra player boxes before setting out on your own.  Other players can join the fun at later points, but they'll have to match your progression (in stages) to keep up, otherwise you'll have to join their game instead.  While its understandable that Capcom may not want anyone to miss out on the story, when you consider that's actually one of the weakest parts of the game, things can get pretty tedious (and repetitive) waiting for your buddies to play catch-up.  Also strange is the way the game will countdown your respawning, which feels out-of-place if the goal was to establish a solid and sustained narrative.  Then again...

When going it solo, however, you'll be surrounded by three wholly unsuitable bots that are clearly designed to be replaced by flesh and blood players.  Free to roam, they'll often run into objects and otherwise make complete fools of themselves while you busy yourself with keeping everyone alive.  Later stages that require more complex teamwork (such as manning turrets and replenishing ammo stocks) can be an exercise in frustration and represent textbook bad game design as you'll have to manage keeping tabs on things you simply shouldn't have to.  Getting knocked down puts you out of action for seconds - an eternity in some games - and having to wait through cycled animation to get back in action, while having to replay entire chapters because your dunderheaded AI-controlled teammate got himself killed isn't much fun.  Saving is limited to completed chapters, and few things are as frustrating as having to retread familiar ground when it wasn't your fault.

Apart from simply running and gunning the various insect-like enemies, you'll have to learn their patterns and see what type of strategy is needed to bring them down.  There's plenty of firepower to employ, and the fan-favorite grappling hook (what is it with Capcom and grappling hooks?) makes its pleasant return.  Unfortunately, its use - like so much of the game - is fairly straightforward and, despite some clever moments, never allows its full potential to be truly unleashed.  Giant mecha Vital Suit (VS) such as helicopters, tanks, and even giant spiders help keep things interesting and can easily turn the tide against some of the larger creatures you'll encounter in later levels.  The VS themselves are perhaps the most inspired things in the game, as they truly demonstrate the awe-inspiring sense of scale and detail that went into making these ever-changing locales come alive.  From lush greens to sick-inducing bowels of the most insidiously disgusting things imaginable, few games can boast such a variety of detailed places to battle on and, more often than not, inside.

Indeed the campaign is a tightly controlled piece of predictability, but it going it alone will net you less than half the game's charms, and possibly less than that.  Staying even truer to its arcade-style roots, the game encourages you to replay every chapter to perfection if you want to see and unlock everything.  Running through and killing/collecting everything the game has to offer will net you higher ranks and even more credits to purchase items and weapons, and even emotes (the emotion-miming taunts which are practically essential for that last bit of online bragging).

When everything clicks, the game becomes what the developers were aiming for; a near-transcendent experience of online excitement that's incredible fun.  There's no denying the sheer thrill of launching an all-out assault against creatures several stories tall, and using every item in your capable disposal to bring the beasties down for good.  Capcom is practically the master of this, having already gotten half the world addicted to online console mashing with the Monster Hunter series and, as a sucker for true cooperative gameplay, it's thrilling to think a more competent and ambitious game will take us in the future.

It might seem a bit superfluous to mention the "other" multiplayer modes after describing its cooperative modes, but this is where the game's true replay value will come from.  Without having to stitch together some semblance of 'plot' and 'story', these modes free the game to be as explosive and death-inducing as it wants, and takes great advantage.  With over 10 different maps and all the familiar modes you'd expect (including deathmatch, elimination, capture the flag, etc), all of which are designed to take advantage of your solo game's progress and unlocked achievements.  My time online was relatively lag-free and smooth in almost all circumstances, and there was never a want for other humanoids to blast apart (or be blasted apart by).  More content is coming as DLC (a questionable subject I’m not going into), and it's a decent package only hampered by some missing features last seen in the Lost Planet Colonies update.

In an odd bit of crossover coolness, Xbox 360 users will be able to use Gears of War's grotesquely huge Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago and Frank West from Dead Rising, while PlayStation 3 users will be able to download Helghast skins from the Killzone games and armor from Monster Hunter.  All platforms will be able to enjoy Resident Evil's main villain Albert Wesker, however, showing that evil truly is the universal element.

While some will scoff at the gameplay and balancing, there's no questioning just how good Lost Planet looks and sounds - this is truly the next-generation on full display.  Built on Capcom's own MT-Framework 2.0, Takeuchi's team has really squeezed some of the finest visuals ever seen on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with gigantic creatures animated beautifully on densely forested landscapes and aquatic locations.  To its credit, expanding from the original's snowy white expanses to more geographically diverse battlefields do help give this world new life and vibrancy, and it's always fun to see developers continually push the theoretical limits of these rapidly aging 'next-generation' consoles.

Lost Planet 2 is a game designed and plotted for a very specific audience, and even that group will probably question some of its design choices.  It's focus on presenting a truly punishing, 'hardcore' gameplay experience will no doubt please those who crave such linearity and unrelenting action, although this often comes at the expense of nuanced (and refined) gameplay.  It shouldn't have. as online multiplayer has its charms, but even these are often clouded by clunky controls and even clunkier interactions with other players.  The game simply doesn't feel complete, and given how much of its gameplay is borrowed from more inspired source material (Gears of War, in particular) it's surprising director Takeuchi wasn't able to make it work better.

It's been a long, slow climb to greatness for the Lost Planet franchise, and here's hoping the next chapter is more tightly constructed.