In an interview with 4Gamer.net, Shintaro Kojima, producer of EX Troopers--the new Lost Planet spin-off franchise from Capcom--revealed tons of information about the look, the gameplay, the platforms, and more.

EX Troopers (or Expedition Troopers) was initially chosen as a spin-off of Lost Planet 2, set to expand upon the world, until Kojima chose to take it into a completely unique direction. Dropping the Lost Planet tag to further differentiate the two games, Kojima felt EX Troopers could stand on its own as a unique franchise, and developed it to follow a new story.

Gameplay still follows the squad-based third-person shooter combat of Lost Planet 2, but with a higher focus on action, and making that action enjoyable for players. EX Troopers has both Single Player and cooperative Multiplayer game modes: the Single Player follows the events of Bren, a VS (Vital Suit) mech pilot; the Multiplayer consists of various VR (virtual) missions. These VR missions allow players to customize their own avatars with different skins, including an unlockable Monster Hunter skin.

Both modes will have a degree of difficulty: Single Player will be made difficult enough to challenge players and encourage them to play Multiplayer to level up; Multiplayer will be adjusted for challenging teams and provide unique items and material to collect. For gamers playing VR missions without a friend, there are AI companions that Bren meets throughout the story, many who have their own "sub-stories" to explore and develop.

Kojima was asked why EX Troopers was made for the PS3 and Nintendo 3DS, a question many have asked (including myself), as opposed to making the game available for the PS Vita, PSP, Wii, or Xbox 360 too. Kojima acknowledged that it was a unique "multi-platform dare", but he wanted to reach a wide variety of gamers: he felt like the PS3 crowd would draw in a lot of older players, while the 3DS would draw in a lot of the younger, adolescent crowd. Between the two platforms, he mentions that the PS3 version's only difference is the Multiplayer being online; while the PS3 obviously has higher resolutions, he says that the smaller-yet-capable screen of the 3DS looks so good that there isn't a discernible difference.

While EX Troopers hasn't been announced for the West yet, one can only hope that it makes it way over eventually, especially with Kojima putting a stronger emphasis on story, action, and the VS Mechs. He even compares Bren and the A.I. of Bren's mech to Michael Knight and Kit of the Knight Rider series. Who wouldn't want to play a game with Kit as a mecha A.I.?

For a closer look at the game, check out the gallery below, and stay tuned to DualShockers for more news.