I went on to research the game and find out a bit more about it, what it was about and as I was poking around looking at game play from the PC version I became very interested in what Lifeless Planet had to offer.
You start the game crashing down onto the planet surface. When you awaken you can see the shuttle that brought you down crash landed into what looks like a sandy area. It soon becomes apparent that you are running low on oxygen and need to find some before passing out.... Luckily there is a bright shiny blinking star in the distance... Its another space shuttle... With an oxygen supply... Weird... I thought these were meant to be the first explorers to this planet... The plot thickens.
You continue on with the story which brings about all kinds of twists and turns and also brings up more questions. Some people may play through this thinking 'What the hell am I playing?' Or as I did through the first few hours 'What do I do now??' The planet is vast and is split into different areas, and the game is designed quite linear as you have to do certain things and go certain places to progress in the story. However, some of the areas are vast and explorable making this more than just a linear story based game. You can move off the beat and track and look for other things, and I would highly recommend doing this as I've found that there are a lot of collectables to be found if you do this... *Cough* Achievement *Cough*
The worlds are vast and have brilliant colours to them however they do lack in detail in parts. Don't take this away from the game as it helps to distinguish its character and charm throughout. There are different ranges that you visit during the game from Sandy Deserts, Rocky Quarries and Woodlands.
From the orignal PC version to the Xbox One version you can see that there has been a graphical upgrade for the game and it is look sharper on the Xbox One than it did with the original version and you can see that from the image posted here!
I have found that there is a lack of emotional bond with my character, all I feel towards him is... well.... nothing... He's just a guy bouncing around a planet looking for his buddies trying to establish civilisation when he stumbles upon a lot of Russian stuff... Its all very confusing for Joon
The music within the game as well is pretty non existent and when music does kick in I've found that its not at a point where it should be kicking in.... IE walking across a desert with nothing around... I can understand that the game is trying to create a sense of atmosphere etc, but it needs to be played out at the right time.
One thing I do love though is the games take on Classic Sci Fi. I've heard people say 'Oh this game looks boring, you're not doing anything' and things like that, but its the bigger picture of the game, keeping up with the story and sticking with it. Yes it may look boring to play, but when you're getting into the game and understand whats going on, the game is brilliant, it comes to life and you can see that element of Classic Sci Fi that maybe the younger generation wont understand.
From the start of the game I didn't think it was boring, it had me straight away... Even before I was playing the game and I was watching Trailers and Game play vids it already had me hooked. Yes there isn't much to do and parts of the planet can look the same, but that's the beauty of exploration. You're there to search and see beyond the end of your nose, to play a genre of game that has been severally lacking in console gaming.
I would love to say that this game keeps you going and wants you to come back more and more, especially after you have collected all the achievements, but there is nothing that would keep you coming back to play it again. Its not as though there is alternative ways to play, it would be the same rather linear way of play time and time again, and after one play through I think that would be enough for anyone. After finishing the game I found it to be rather anticlimactic and predictable. Throughout playing the game you were always going to know what he was going to find the portal and what I presumed to be a way back to earth.
My conclusion is that I really like and enjoy playing this game, and would encourage anyone to give it a go. Its strong story and Sci Fi setting make this an awesome gaming experience. I said at the start of this review that the game gripped me, and pulled me into it, yes, it did that, but it didnt do anything to keep me going, to keep me stuck in, and wanting more. If there is going to be a Lifeless Planet 2, there needs to be some dramastic improvements to the world and story telling. It gets a mediocre 6.5 from Joon.
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