Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (360)
The early months typically don’t see many new releases for video games, but through the veils of snow, a game has arrived.
A game … filled with snow.
Capcom’s new title, “Lost Planet: Extreme Condition” brings players 150 years into the colonization of a frozen new planet, and it isn’t going well.
Humans have found a snowy world they’ve named E.D.N. III but, in colonizing it, they discovered a race of inhospitable alien snow-bugs called the Akrid.
The elite got off-world, but the rest of the colonists became snow pirates, using the stored thermal energy of the Akrid to fuel combat machines called Vital Suits.
You play on foot and in the VS combating Akrid and rival snow pirates alike. The battles can go from one Akrid the size of a tank to an all-out war with pirates vs. a field of Akrid of all sizes, so the gameplay is wonderfully varied.
The well-designed maps and creatures give the game amazing visuals. The controls, however, could be a bit better. You can’t look straight up, which can make it difficult to defeat some of the Akrid, which often fly around above you.
Overall, the game is a must-have that puts the winter chill into perspective. At least you don’t have to kill aliens to keep warm.
World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Mac, PC)
This first expansion released by Blizzard for its wildly popular massively multiplayer online game, which is has reached over 8 million players worldwide, has been released to excited crowds from the U.S. to Australia.
“Burning Crusade” brings a third continent to explore in massive the in-game world. In addition, when players are making their characters, there are two new options to chose from: the Draenei and the Blood Elves.
The new races are based in this new continent known as the Outland, each with its own race-specific cities and capital. The new areas bring a number of exciting and interesting new missions to both sides of the World’s two warring factions, the Alliance and the Hoarde.
For seasoned players, the high-level combat areas and new player-versus-player options will make this a must-have. And for the WoW newcomer, the variety of starting options will help bring you into the already long list of monthly subscribers.
