As you read this, NASA's Curiosity rover is exploring the planet of Mars, a 350,000,000 mile journey that took over 8 months to make (if only we had Mass Relays). All to examine the landscape, photograph everything in sight, collect soil samples, and fire frickin' laser beams.

We're a long way from having a colony of human beings living on the Red Planet, but that hasn't stopped game studio Spiders from building an action RPG set in just such a time and place. Coming this spring to Xbox Live Arcade, the PlayStation Network, and PC, Mars War Logs puts players in the dusty shoes of Roy Temperance to journey across the dangerous landscape of Mars. Set 200 years after a catastrophe shook the planet and its colonists to their core, Mars is now home to a cavalcade of humans, religious fanatics, mutants, bandits, a variety of dangerous beasts, and even corporations fighting over the planet's most precious resource: water. But it's not all gloom and doom – at least there's the searing solar radiation that can strip off your skin!

Oh, crap.

Luckily, our plucky renegade hero Roy is quite able to defend himself and gain dozens of skills and perks based on multiple skill trees. Specialize in straight-up combat, stealth, or wielding deadly Technomancer powers. While you'll no doubt find your share of handy weapons around to do battle with, why settle for the boring straight-off-the-shelf version? A complete crafting system allows you to not only modify equipment to suit your needs, but create your own as well.

Not everything is about combat, though. With a wide variety of folks to interact with and quests to undertake, Mars War Logs is rife with dialogue choices and decisions to make. Decisions that could very well shape the future of Mars. Play your cards right, and you'll be able to recruit others to your cause, such as Innocence, a young prisoner of war that helps Roy escape the Abundance work camp.

The journey will lead you to several locales, including Roy's former home. Overrun with the mysterious Technomants and under control of the oppressive water company Aurora, the area now known as Shadowlair is a hostile land – not exactly "home sweet home" anymore.

Featuring plenty of quests, tactical real-time combat, rich skill and craft systems, and a fresh environmental backdrop for an RPG, Mars War Logs could be the best blow-the-heck-out-of-Martian-mutants-and-don't-let-your-face-melt-off action RPG of the season.