Capcom gave PC owners a nice surprise earlier this month when the publisher announced a PC port of their hit Xbox 360 sci-fi action game Lost Planet. FiringSquad got a chance to chat with the game's product marketing manager Frank Filice to find out more about their plans for the PC port:

FiringSquad: First, when was the decision made to port Lost Planet over to the PC?

Frank Filice: Lost Planet, like Dead Rising and Devil May Cry 4, is running on Capcom's "Framework" engine, which the development team in Japan has created in order to maximize results across 360, PS3 and PC. There was always a possibility of bringing the game to the PC and with the resurgence of the PC market, it became a natural decision during the development process to bring Lost Planet to the PC.

FiringSquad:The game is already one of the best looking Xbox 360 titles out there. How hard is it to bring the graphical features over to the PC?

Frank Filice: The development team in Japan is not only going to meet the level of high definition graphics already established, but they plan on exceeding them on multiple levels. Some of the screenshots you have show the changes in detail that are being worked into the game, not to mention the increase in screen resolution for even greater level of detail.

FiringSquad:What can you tell us about Lost Planet's controls in terms of support for keyboard/mouse as well as gamepads?

Frank Filice: PC gamers have the choice to play the game with mouse and keyboard or with a gamepad. It's really up to the player's preferences and hardware.

FiringSquad:Will there be any adjustments made to the game's UI for the PC port?

Frank Filice: There will be some small tweaks here and there, but the most visible UI changes will come in the multiplayer portions of the game.

FiringSquad:What can you tell us about the online multiplayer features for the PC port of Lost Planet?

Frank Filice: All of the game modes from Lost Planet 360 will be in the PC version: Elimination, Team Elimination, Post Grab (teams attempt to capture and hold a series of T-energy posts) and Fugitive (which pits on "it" player against a group trying to hunt him or her down). At launch, Lost Planet PC will have all of the multiplayer maps that shipped in the standard retail version of Lost Planet on the 360.

FiringSquad:Will there be any additional content (levels, etc) released for the PC version, either out of the box or via downloads?

Frank Filice: We're currently evaluating the possibility of releasing the extra maps that we've put out through Xbox LIVE to PC players after the game's release.

FiringSquad:The PC port of Lost Planet will be one of the first games to support Vista and DirectX10. Can you give us some examples on how the graphics will be improved from DirectX9 to DirectX10?

Frank Filice: The Lost Planet development team is going to be taking the time to add some extra graphical enhancements for players with DX10 hardware. Soon as we learn more, we'll let you know.

FiringSquad:What can you tell us about the content for the PC demo of the game?

Frank Filice: The PC demo will be the same content as was in the single-player demo that we released on Xbox LIVE back in May of last year. There will be two levels from the single player campaign, allowing players to check out a variety of weapons, grenades, enemies, mechanized Vital Suits and areas of the game. The demo will hit about a month before the game is released.

FiringSquad:What is the current status of the game's progress and when will it be released?

Frank Filice: The game is currently coming along well and will be released in June.

FiringSquad:With Lost Planet and the release of the PC version of Resident Evil 4, it seems Capcom is making more and more games for the PC platform. Can we expect to see other PC games from Capcom, including maybe a PC port of Dead Rising?

Frank Filice: We just recently announced that Devil May Cry 4 will now be coming to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more Capcom titles on the PC.

FiringSquad:Finally is there anything else you wish to say about the upcoming Lost Planet PC port?

Frank Filice: There are a lot of exciting events planned for Lost Planet PC, so stayed tuned and be sure to try the demo!

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