Lost Planet: Extreme Condition might also be the closest thing to an action movie junkie's ultimate fix, thanks to graphics so cinematically eye searing that gamers will revel in the non-stop action and gorgeous special effects.

Players control Wayne Holden, yet another video game hero with missing memories and an arsenal of really big guns. Wayne doles out the damage on a giant snowball planet filled with bugs, snow pirates and "extreme conditions." Hypothermia ravages the planet's surface, which limits visibility and saps body heat. Without the aid of "thermal droppings" (baddies drop weapons along with thermal goo that recharges the heating element in Wayne's environment suit) players die quickly. Thankfully, there plenty of goo inside the plethora of omnipresent exploding barrels -- a staple of virtually every shooter since the dawn of gaming.

We dug into the recently released two level demo and while we came away missing a few toes from frostbite, we're still extremely impressed. The Hive Infiltration level involves battling frigid temperatures and dicing loads of Starship Trooper reject style bugs while searching for an entrance to the alien/bug Akrid hive, then killing off their giant boss. The second level, Stronghold Assault, tasks Wayne with ambushing snow pirates (in this the "Year of the Pirate") at their base in order to breach their defenses. It concludes with a thrilling battle against the pirate leader astride his mechanized vehicle (called Vital Suits).

Oh yes... the weapons. Aside from the fairly standard arsenal (machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers, shot guns, sniper rifles, etc.) players can take over stationary turrets and have plenty of opportunities to use those wonderful Vital Suits, which can jump and fly short distances. Wayne can even utilize discarded mech armaments (like huge chain guns) and go melee with the butt of a weapon when someone invades his personal space.

Lost Planet comes loaded with stunning visuals that immerse the player in what (at times) appears to be a Hollywood blockbuster action flick. Fully destructible environments and realistic character reactions (like getting knocked to the ground and receiving injuries due to collateral damage), super realistic character animations (like kicking snow when bored) and movements (diving for cover), plus amazing sound effects make the game feel like candy for the masses.

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