Lost Planet - levels 1-5

This level introduces you to another gargantuan bug problem - the giant moth. At first, the moth will swoop over the ravine, dropping explosive blobs onto your head. Seeing as there's nothing you can really do about this, just keep moving. Take out whatever hives you need to, grab ammo and when you reach the end, snag the "E" target mark resting in the snow. To the right is a rocket launcher buried in some snow. Grab it, rappel down the hole, blast your five rockets at the numerous hives below and then reclaim your original weapon back up top.

It's tempting to grab the Gatling gun at the bottom of this hole, but you should really save it for later - you'll see why. Just blast all the oil drums you see, use grenades and eventually all these hives will pop. You can ignore them, but they could cause problems later, so it's best to clear the room.

Now, grab the Gatling gun, hit the "O" mark on the path (tucked to the left before the scalable wall) and grab the plasma grenades just before the hallway. If you zoom in while standing inside the hallway, you'll see a pirate standing on top of a crane. Blast him down and you'll attract a VS that's hiding to the left inside the room. Toss the plasma grenades out, rain a torrent of bullets at the VS and it'll go down easy. Turn the gun on remaining pirates and two Akrid will roll on in. Take them down too (shotgun remains handy here), drop the Gatling and pickup all the extra machine guns in the room. The "R" token is located in this room, stuck in between a crate and the southern wall. You'll see another VS in here too - avoid it or pick that Gatling back up and let 'er rip.

The next thing you'll see is a giant insect flying past an open-air walkway. The gust is powerful it shatters nearby boxes and knocks to the ground. Don't worry - it's gone for now, but you've still got to ride a canyon-spanning elevator up this cliff. The path looks set, but an explosive Akrid will destroy part of the track. Zip line onto the walkway before the elevator takes you down. Once up top, shoot the "M" target mark near the edge of the cliff (but before the opening to the east).

Now you're inside a large vertical shaft filled with those same fiery Akrid. Hop in the VS that's ready and waiting, make your way to the top and snag the "T" token hiding on the eastern ledge. It's underneath the platform, so you'll want to stand on the lower, northwestern platform to shoot it (or simply rappel down from above). Continue up and out of this area, activate the data post, hit the "E" token hovering near the edge of the cliff and, after the rocks slide down, climb up and over for a boss battle.

Even though there are several Vital Suits in the area (including the one you arrived in), this giant wasp can still be a pain. Its long range, screen-shattering attacks can keep you dazed and shaky for a good while. However, the strategy is as simple as shoot, shoot, shoot. Most of the incoming projectiles can be shot down with a VS, but just keep moving and everything's rosy. If you're really hurting for more firepower, hop up into this area with one VS, exit it before the wasp shows up, climb back down the rockslide and ride the other VS up top. Now you've got two extra suits armed with missiles, rockets and an energy-sucking laser.

The wasp battle is a great time to reveal a little trick, though - when you're entering a VS, its activation animation renders it invulnerable. It won't matter what kind of attacks are coming at you or how many rockets are blackening the sky. As long as that animation is running, you're impervious to all harm. So, if you're forced to ditch a VS after the wasp wears it out, hotfoot it over to the next, wait until the next wave comes and then enter. The wasp will waste a whole volley on your invincible mech.