The Lost Planet 3 Trailer: A Dissection

When I laid eyes on the trailer for the new Lost Planet game, I began imagining what I could expect when the final product debuts.

So let's examine this trailer further:

1. Our Hero

Who is this guy? for one thing, he isn't Wayne, the hero of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. His name is Jim, and he has a lot more personality thanhis predecessor, and definitely more personality than the sequel, which did not focus on a single character. Speaking of personality-

2. The Sidekick

Backing up Jim is some guy (probably younger) named Gale who is keeping him informed on the weather and such, which is actually useful in a frozen wasteland filled with horrible creatures. Gale may wear out his welcome, because it sounds like he's going to say dude A LOT.

3. Unchartified?

Given the lines Jim says and his dialogue with Gale, the attitude is most definitely a similar mix of lax and kick-ass that you usually get from adventurers like Nathan Drake. It looks like someone wised up and said "We need a personality injection for this game, really bad."

4. Bigger Vital Suits?

So Jim's rocking a much bigger VS than I have seen in a Lost Planet game. It's a lot less cozy, but it definitely looks like it gets the job done, and is a smarter solution to the giant bug problems you run into in this world. Capcom refers to it as a Utility Rig. Are there other mechs to use, or will this be the main form of transport?

5. Move/Kinect support?

So how are we going to operate this big VS, if we get to use it? In these days of motion-based gaming, why wouldn't Capcom build in Kinect/Move support? In the trailer, you see Jim smashing into a crab-like akrid with his VS's drill fingers. You're telling me that's not motion controller fodder?

6. Is this a prequel?
OK, so I'm just going to go wild with a theory: this takes place before the previous Lost Planet games. Why do I say that? First, we have Gale, who feels like he would be at home in our times. OK, so that's not necessarily solid proof. Then we have an Easter egg of sorts: a hula girl ornament on the dash of Jim's Utility Rig. Do they have these in the distant future, still? Eh, maybe. It could be just a cute bit of imagery the trailer's creators put in for a giggle. OR, this takes place in the not too distant future.