Lost Planet 2: the future of squad shooting?

De jour trickery like simulated physics and environmental destruction is deployed infrequently but to great success, as in the subsequent chapter. A bloody but manageable long range battle on the streets of a desolate outpost is interrupted by a pair of blind, dog-like titans with highly sensitive ears, who quickly stomp many erstwhile sniper’s nests to rubble, spearing the incautious with jets of sonic energy.

And then there’s the concluding two-part getaway sequence, which is one of the most memorable I’ve ever encountered. Rail-bound once more, the player’s squad is overtaken by a convoy of parallel trains a-crawl with enemies. After a protracted exchange of fire, your means of transport is shot out by a chap with a rocket launcher, leaving you no option but to hijack that of the attackers.

The grapple hook again shows its worth as players circumvent well-protected cars, making fleeting use of fixed turrets and the odd VS Suit, dodging shots from artillery cannons at the front of the train. It’s immensely difficult, with the Battle Gauge running on fumes and data posts strung across the length of the level, but incredibly good free-form fun, rivalling even Uncharted 2′s celebrated Himalayan thrill-ride.

Thomas the Tank Engine's bigger brother.

But that’s not the best bit. The best bit is reaching the hundred-feet-high engine car cum train cannon, and using it to take out the tunnelling sand Akrid you faced at the start of the episode. The enormous weapon is far too complex for one man to operate, with separate systems for orienting the turret, loading, aiming and firing a shell, so the squad must trip the controls in tightly-oiled sequence to prevail – all whilst keeping the mechanisms well-supplied with coolant, swatting at airborne pests and picking off four-legged Men O’ War.

If there’s a downside to all this, it’s that the remaining four chapters have an extremely hard act to follow – as does competitive multiplayer, despite being what most people remember fondly about the first game. A good downside to have, indeed. Mixing Western and Eastern influences, fat glowing boss appendages with breathless roadie runs, Lost Planet 2 could be one of the best reasons to have a well-stocked friends list this year.

It’s out on 11th May in Europe and North America for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.