We've been exposing ourselves to the elements for the past two weeks in an effort to bring you the most in-depth coverage of Lost Planet possible. After tearing through an uncountable number of Akrid (the insectoid monsters that plague our icy homeland) and gutting more than a few ice pirates, we're back to deliver our preliminary verdict on the extremely early version we played: Lost Planet is legitimate, concentrated awesome.

As you undoubtedly already know from our previous coverage, you play as the mysterious Wayne - a man with a clouded past and a strange energy port attached to his right arm. Of course, that's not all there is to Wayne (he's mysterious, remember?), because his father was killed by a particularly ornery Akrid named Green Eye.

So, you've got your motivation - cliche as it may be - you need to avenge your dear old dad by slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Akrid, leaving a twitching, ichor-drenched path in your wake.

The best thing about Lost Planet is the number of ways you get to decimate both bug and pirate alike. You get a full suite of handheld weapons including a trusty machine gun (which was our weapon of choice due to the rampant availability of ammo), a sturdy shotgun and a satisfyingly boom-inducing rocket launcher. You also get access to a variety of grenades ranging from plain old chuck-and-forget timed 'nades to sticky bombs to plasma.