14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Spark Interactive says that it is using a first-person perspective for the mech-based section of its upcoming Lost Planet 3 in order to give players a better sense of immersion in the game world.
Andrew Szymanski, a producer working on the game, tells Gamespot in an interview that, “For single-player, a lot of it was to show the size of the rig because it was the largest unit we ever had in the series that’s controllable. Here’s the problem: in Lost Planet 1 and Lost Planet 2, when you go from being on foot to the VS, the camera pulls back.”
The game introduces a new series of mechs for gamers to control and players are expected to mix first-person and third-person perspectives in the new experience.
He adds, “One of the thoughts when doing this part in first-person is that we can change that feeling. You’re actually looking down at the environment to show the scale. An object within Jim’s line of sight will be a crushable speck when on the utility rig, like the spiral-looking akrids.”
Spark Interactive says that it expects players to actually consider Jim Peyton as a sort of truck driver working on the frontier rather than a soldier.
This means that he is likely to use his rig more as a way to trample over obstacles than an actual combat robot.
The new game is a prequel to the entire series and players will have to deal with both Akrid enemies and the extreme conditions in order to uncover the dark secrets of the organization that employs him.
Lost Planet 3 is at the moment set to arrive on the PC, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 on August 27 in North America and on August 30 across Europe.