An example of the impressive props on display

Upon arriving and after a brief wait whilst setups were all checked, we were ushered through to a room with two sets of 16 system-linked consoles - the premise being that these would be demonstrating the deathmatch aspect of the game. A small number of maps from the final version were available, and without the ability to tinker with everything the game offers, some of the key multiplayer features were absent - such as the levelling system and the character customisation facility - but in terms of giving a feeling for how the game itself plays, there was no question that this was how the game is meant to be played.

What game are we here for again?

Whilst a variety of modes were available, the most popular was a team-based deathmatch setup where the successful capture of data posts around the map yielded score bonuses, as well as offering additional respawn points for fallen comrades. With nearly every map offering key strategic locations, be it nearby weapons, static gun turrets, or the all important VS suits - there are clear benefits to doing this when trying to turn a battle in your favour, and it is within these VS suits that Lost Planet 2 really begins to stand out from the crowd. The size, shape and functionality of these varies massively and changes the flow of play dramatically. There were times when I felt overwhelmed as my single soldier pandered against the might of a 20-foot rocket-spewing metal behemoth, and yet the feeling of triumph as an army of Davids successfully brought down one of these Goliaths was enormous - not to mention the almost disturbing satisfaction of having the boot on the other foot - flying, stomping, shooting and generally annihilating all in your path. This sense of large-scale warfare is what Capcom clearly want Lost Planet to be about. Whilst the controls for these suits sometimes confused players, a satisfactory range of control configuration options were present to try and assist with this, and given the scope of abilities with these suits it's hardly a surprise that some familiarity is required - some even offering the ability to merge with other VS suits in true Transformers style.

Players were given instruction cards with a brief on controls

Also on show were the first few sections of the game's campaign mode, leading up to the section shown in the recent Xbox Live demo. The most initially striking aspect of this is the co-operative element - with 4 players in a session, the game opened with two players in a snowy scene, taking down enemy akrids on foot. At the same time, another two raced to the scene aboard helicopters, taking control of gunmen on-board and beating back airborne enemies amidst a snowstorm. As they arrived at the location of the first two, so did a giant akrid; and thus newly united team of four then meets an appropriate match. There is a definite novelty to the way the game handles a two-pronged approach like this, and if these are as liberally sprinkled throughout the rest of the game as they should be, it offers more of an incentive for a player to invest the time in a second play-through. On top of this there is the 'GJ system' - in essence an internal mini-achievement system - which rewards certain player and group actions, ranging from eliminating all enemies in an area to all team members performing the same emote at the same time. Other, later scenes were equally cinematic, and saw our protagonists arriving via helicopters and speedboats to a lush jungle scene, battling through an entirely different type of terrain and culminating in the strategic defence of certain points within a mine under the threat of more and more swarms of enemy soldiers. There is definitely a variety of environments on offer, but in spite of this the game remains remarkably cohesive visually.

A team of four getting to grips with the campaign mode

Jun Takeuchi, the producer of the game, was also on hand to present some of the features and sections of the game we couldn't get our hands on ourselves. With a team of four behind him and a translator at his side he talked us through two sections of the game - the highlight of which being a giant boss battle that really drove home the epic scale of the battles. Sadly one point that didn't really materialise within this was the promise of different methods of tackling bosses, with the team playing seemingly struggling with the difficulty, and focusing more on staying alive and shooting than expanding on how a strategic change might have changed the course of the encounter. Another demonstration of the character customisation screens showed the extent with which players can change their appearance, with different body parts being interchangeable from a range of pre-existing models. Combined with the massive range of emotes available, this opens up the floodgates for all kinds of ridiculous wardrobe clashes in multiplayer - if you want to see Frank West doing golf claps and pelvic thrusts above a bested opponent this could well be the game for you.

Leo Tan, showing how it's (supposedly) done

So, how does the game actually play? Most of those who were familiar with the first game found themselves instantly at home with this, and it's safe to say the community for the first game past and present will find plenty to sink their teeth into. Regardless of opinion on the matter, it is still a slow game though, and despite the inner-nerd-appeasing mech suits and epic battles, this is facing a tough fight to pull people from some of the more popular, faster paced shooters available. The campaign feels promising though, with a variety of new ideas brought in along with the undeniable pull of a four player co-op mode. Between this and the confirmation of a split-screen mode in a later Q&A session, it's obvious multiplayer is very much at the heart of Lost Planet 2, even if not everyone will soldier on with the multiplayer after the campaign is finished. If the much-teased later boss battles are as epic as suggested though, this may still be reason enough to take a look at Lost Planet 2 this May.