It was almost exactly one year ago that we heard anything from the ice-ridden third-person action-adventure Lost Planet 3 . Last year's Gamescom trailer was surprisingly crisp, but those giant squealy bug things burrowed back into the snow and have lain dormant till now. A Steam pre-order campaign went up awhile ago without much fanfare, but now Lost Planet 3 is finally on the cusp of release, with North Americans gaining access to the series' newest addition on August 27. Hey, that's tomorrow!

LP3 takes place on the basically uninhabitable planet E.D.N. III, where utility rig pilot Jim Peyton's deployed on a lucrative contract. Such turbulent weather conditions never precede anything cheery happening, of course, so Jim's quickly thrown into a whirlwind of terrible things—mainly a swarm of bug-like monsters known as the Akrid. How convenient that his rig tools just so happen to be able to take out bugs of all sizes!

The PC version will release on Steam simultaneously alongside its console counterparts; those in Australia and Europe will be able to play along on their respective release dates of August 29 and 30. I'm especially keen to see how the multiplayer component works alongside the narrative-heavy campaign. No matter how cool those playable Snow Pirates are, I think all those rough-'n'-tumble icestorms will reaffirm my life decision to play video games from the heated comfort of my bedroom.