Lost Planet: Extreme Condition was, in my opinion, one of the best “next-gen” games last year. Yeah, there were a lot of good games in 2007, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, Uncharted, the list goes on, but I think, for it’s part, Lost Planet was a great gaming experience.

It was one one of the first great games of last year. I don’t just mean last year, as in November or December. I mean last year as in January. That’s right, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition for Xbox 360 was released in January of 2007. Consequently, you can also pick that up for less than $30 bucks. Then again, the PS3 version should be less than most new PS3 titles, at around $40. Plus the PS3 version contains all the downloadable content you’ve had to pay for on the Xbox. So, that’s cool.

It’s over a year later and PS3 owner’s are finally getting the opportunity to take on the vicious Akrid and Snow Pirate armies. If you’re looking for a budget-ish title and like insane amounts of action this is the game. If you like old school difficulty, and don’t mind dying a ton. Also, if you’re a PS3 owner, don’t own a Xbox 360, and haven’t yet played this game, it’s a must have. Pick it up. If only for the single player, which is really the only reason to play Lost Planet. While it may be insanely frustrating at times, overall it’s still really fun. The multiplayer on the other hand, doesn’t even really compare to other games you may have been spoiled with. That said, it’s really not that bad if you have patience. Plus, more games should have grappling hooks. Capcom must like ‘em too, seeing as how their next big franchise, Bionic Commando, employs a similar grappling mechanism.

While it’s been quite some time since the game premiered on the 360, they have added some PS3 specific features to entice newcomers. Here’s the official list of PS3 incentives:

• All 16 previously released multiplayer maps (including the extra downloadable content from Xbox LIVE) included on the disc.

• New unlockable characters for single and multiplayer mode, including Frank West from Dead Rising, Megaman, and others.

While you do get all the downloadable content free in the new PS3 edition, it’s mostly all multiplayer stuff. This game really didn’t ever have a giant following on Xbox Live, so, not that I’m knocking PSN, but it probably won’t have much of a crowd in matchmaking, that’s all I’m saying. The two versions of the game look nearly identical. While there were some early reports that the PS3 version had lower quality textures and other problems, the final doesn’t seem to be suffering from any graphical deficiency. There’s nothing new in the way of single player, unless you include the unlockable characters. It’s still a great, fast paced, difficult, experience. And the explosions are still some of the best in any game. I mean shooting fuel barrels has never been so fun.

So, does Lost Planet hold up over a year later? Yeah, though possibly only due to the lack of games on the Playstation 3 at the moment. Then again, when the original came out it was great, maybe just because it was one of the first in a time when very few games come out, early in the year. So, maybe it’s a good thing Capcom waited another year. Here’s hoping the sequel doesn’t take as long to port.

Boom!