I think i COULD be a prequel, but then what about the Incisor look alike. Also, why would they announce OR even start working on a prequel without ME3 completed first.
I think it is just an entirely new game, new story, new hero etc. Maybe the Incisor look alike is just thrown in there to make a reference to the fans of ME, similar to how the DA armor was thrown in ME2 for the DA fans OR how some people in DA make subtle references to ME every now and then.
There was a link earlier in the thread that shows that BioWare Montreal was looking for FPS military genre designers:
http://www.vg247.com...e-fps-and-more/
ME is not an FPS and cannot be considered "military genre" per se.
Also the Aequitas suggestion does fit with the clues we have been given SO FAR, but why would they base an entire game on an 10 minute ME2 side mission where you are stuck on Aequitas? I understand that this is me just purely speculating that you would be stuck there etc. but I doubt the obscure clues we have would be intended to point to a random planet with an N7 side mission, right?