The hype for one of the year's hottest video games, Mass Effect 3 (out March 6, on PS3, Xbox 360 and PCs, ages 17-up) is reaching new stratospheric heights.

In case you don't know, a playable demo has already hit Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

But next week, a select intrepid few will have the opportunity to play the full game before it hits stores. Publisher Electronic Arts will be launching copies of the game into space using weather balloons that will be released in New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Berlin, London and Paris.

Each game has a GPS tracking device onboard and fans can track their return to the Earth on masseffect.com to find a copy and play it a week or more before the game hits stores. (Might not be a bad idea to follow @MassEffect, either.)

In other Mass Effect news, a new trailer for the game will be shown during AMC's TV series The Walking Dead Sunday at 9 p.m./ 8 p.m. CT.