Winter blues? Console yourself with some great new games

IN WHAT’S proving to be the fastest year ever, we have already reached the merry month of November.

While most of us have our thinking caps on for Christmas gift ideas, let’s not lose sight of the great titles out this month.

There’s a new Fallout adventure, Agent 47 is back in Hitman 2, and Bendy and the Ink Machine lands on consoles. And if all that wasn’t enough, this month also brings Black Friday (November 23), when you might really be able to bag a pre-Christmas bargain. Hitman 2

XBOX ONE, PS4, PC Release:

November 9 THIS is the direct sequel to 2016’s Hitman, but unlike its predecessor this isn’t an episodic game.

On a mission to hunt the mysterious Shadow Client and disassemble his militia, Agent 47 is also on a collision course to discovering the truth about his past.

It has six missions set in six distinct sandbox locations, including an assassination at a race course in Miami, and the forests of Cuba, hunting cartel members.

Sitting alongside the main game is Sniper Assassin, a multiplayer co-op, which sees players tasked with offing targets against the clock using a sniper rifle.

Elusive Target missions are also back, with Sean Bean starring as the first of the game. Moonlighter PS4, Switch Release: November 9 WITH all the big releases this month, don’t overlook this little gem.

Moonlighter is an action RPG with rogue-lite elements following Will, an adventurous shopkeeper who dreams of becoming a hero.

Manage your shop during the day, and at night, strike out to explore dungeons and confront hordes of enemies, which drop loot upon defeat.

You can then spend your hardearned wins on upgrading your store, and the town in which you live – maybe even hire a part-time worker for the shop, to give you more time to go off on adventures. Fallout 76

XBOX ONE, PS4, PC Release: November 14 BETHESDA ventures into the world of online multiplayers with the latest instalment of Fallout.

Fallout 76 is the prequel to the series, set in an alternate version of the game’s history, 25 years after a nuclear war devastated Earth.

The hero resides in Shelter 76, a bunker built in West Virginia to house America’s best and brightest minds.

Explore on your own, or partner three other players to venture out to recolonise the Wasteland.

Boasting an open world that’s four times bigger than Fallout 4, the game’s S.P.E.C.I.A.L Progression System has also been revised, designed to make players stop and think about the perks they are choosing, rather than passively levelling up.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the radio, and just like its predecessors Fallout 76 uses its soundtrack to bolster the ambience – making it absolute required listening while you play. Battlefield V

XBOX ONE, PS4, PC Release: November 20 BATTLEFIELD returns to its roots in this new instalment, with w hat it claims is a ‘never-before-seen portrayal of World War 2’.

The announcement trailer saw some fans complaining about a perceived lack of historical accuracy, and the fact there was a focus on female soldiers.

Those who get over themselves and give the game a try will find a fairly fragmented release.

There are four dates from which you can play, EA Access subscribers get a 10-hour trial from November 9. PC gamers with EA Origin Access Premier get the whole game 11 days early, and if you order the Deluxe Edition you can play from November 15. Everyone else can play from November 20.

But that’s not all. It will be December before the single player campaign, War Stories, is released, and if you want to play Battle Royale, you’ll have to wait until March.

While I’m sure die-hard fans will be there on day one, I might be tempted to leave this for a while. Bendy and the Ink Machine XBOX ONE, PS4, PC, Switch

Release:

November 20 BEHIND the quirky animation of this cute-looking game, is a survival horror that will forever ruin your childhood love of cartoons.

Set in 1960, it tells the tale of Henry, a retired animator who chances upon a nightmare of cartoon characters seemingly created by the infamous Ink Machine.

Originally drip fed to players as episodes, this release brings the whole game together for the first time.

Puzzle solving, environment exploring and combat are all key to survival in the nightmarish world where cartoons have come to life, and want to take yours.

Graphically this is a thing of beauty, the world an odd amalgam of the cartoon world, and the studio in which Henry used to work.

Tying it all together is a cracking soundtrack, jangly piano pieces bringing to life the olde worlde feel of the cartoons.

There are already rumours of a crossover with last year’s big run-and-gun hit Cuphead as, thematically, the two are not dissimilar.

Fallout now features a multi-player option