Lost Planet 3 producer explains switch from third to first-person mech control

Lost Planet 3 producer Andrew Szymanski has shed light on why developer Spark Unlimited decided to change the series Rig mech control from a third to first-person perspective in a new interview.

Speaking with Gamespot, Szymanski explained, "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.

"So what that means is that the amount of space that the player character takes up doesn't change. Even if you're in these giant machines, the camera pulls back in proportion to that, so what you see is similar and what you're playing still very similar.

"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.

"It's also another way to immerse the player like he/she is driving a mech. You could say that Jim's a truck driver, which brings the colonial frontier/pioneers theme to full circle."

Are you happy with the switch? Would you prefer to see your Rig stomping about, battering ten shades of shite out of Akrids? Let us know below.

Lost Planet 3 releases on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on August 27 in North America, and from August 30 across Europe.