14 DAY TRIAL // Andrew Szymanski, a producer who has worked on Lost Planet 3, believes that the recently launched game would have benefited from more familiar elements that would have allowed players to link the experience to that of past titles in the series.
He tells Kotaku that, “The Lost Planet series has always been unique as it almost re-invents itself with each instalment, while still retaining certain core elements of the franchise. One of the lessons that we learned in hindsight is that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel each time.”
Lost Planet 3 is positioned as a prequel that introduces a brand new character and shows how his actions have influenced the future of EDN III and led to events seen in the previous two games.
Developer Spark Unlimited was criticized by some players for the fact that it abandoned the main gameplay ideas that made Lost Planet 2 a popular game for fans.
The producer adds, “there might have been some value in incorporating more traditional Lost Planet franchise elements and more ‘uniquely Capcom’ Japanese-inspired types of gameplay into the title in order to make it feel more like the game was positioned in an unbroken Lost Planet continuity.”
Lost Planet 3 failed to convince critics of its quality and to generate solid sales for publisher Capcom.
The company is also feeling the pressure of its limited 2013 launch line-up and has launched a cost-cutting set of measures.
It’s unclear at the moment whether a Lost Planet 4 will ever be created, but Andrew Szymanski says that the game might include some of the mechanics that the fan community has appreciated over the years in addition to innovative ideas.
Spark Unlimited and Capcom have already announced that they are preparing to deliver a number of DLC packs for the game.