As for the recent weekly topic, I wouldn't quite say Lost Planet rivals Gears of War in the looks department. The cinematics are surprisingly plain, and while the snowy landscapes and frozen enemies shot into smithereens looks nice, it's quite not as groundbreaking as I would've liked. The map system seems a tad too complex (a little HUD in the corner of the screen would've worked a lot better) and the slight delay after landing from a jump is annoying. Also, in Dead Rising you battled against time and on Lost Planet you battle against freezing. I still wonder why game developers want to rush the players rather than giving them a chance to enjoy the game at their own pace, whatever pace that is. On the whole, and admittedly after just finish one mission of the single player campaign, Lost Planet feels like a very average 70-ish-out-of-hundred game. Nice, sure, but nothing groundbreaking.
As for Gears of War being ruined, it depends. You can still game with your friends anytime, anyplace, anywhere, but it kind of becomes a matter of whether you favor your friends or your gamerscore. I admit the stories of pointless boosting in ranked matches have alienated me from that area, but the game itself on player matches or co-op, in good company, is still loads of fun. Not quite as fun as Rainbow Six: Vegas has turned out to be, but it's still a noteworthy milestone in the game history of the 360.
Gamer Angels ~
Joudan Deshou
