The wait is over
Here’s my pick of the new games to have on your radar this month
T HE bleak month of January is finally at an end, and the loved up month of February has arrived – bringing with it a surprising slew of big games.
There’s a promising indie release at the start of the month in Ape-Out, and three big hitters including Crackdown 3 all arrive just after Valentine’s Day.
Lego fans will delight in a new movie tie-in hitting consoles as we slip into March, so there’s plenty of reasons to stay in and keep warm.
Crackdown 3, Release: February 15 XBOX One, PC
NO, it’s not deja vu, I am once again reporting Crackdown 3 is getting a release.
And this time there’s no take backs, as the game which has been languishing in development hell since 2016 will finally be hitting the XBOX this month.
As a super-cop in an open-world city, you fight crime and smash up the environment in the process – delightful, mindless fun.
And you don’t have to share that fun alone, as the game supports online co-op for up to four players.
Even better news, Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to play at no extra cost.
Ape-Out, Release: February 7 Switch, PC
THIS surprisingly violent indie game rampages into the Nintendo Switch next week. As the name suggests, Ape-Out is about an escaped ape, hell bent on crushing everything in its path. This top-down action beat-em-up has a fairly simple premise. Use objects to protect yourself from gunfire, or grab an armed guard and turn him on his colleagues – all while a frenetic jazz-percussion soundtrack blasts unnervingly in the background. The demo, which is sadly unavailable now, was short but sweet, and gave you a real idea of just how fast the action is here. Needless to say, developer Gabe Cuzzillo is hoping gamers will go bananas for it.
Far Cry: New Dawn, Release: February 15 PS4, XBOX One, PC
BILLED as a narrative sequel to Far Cry 5, most of the excitement surrounding this game stems from its post-apocalyptic setting.
Set 17 years after Far Cry 5’s devastating ending, New Dawn shows how nuclear war has reshaped the landscape.
Early footage shows the huge open-world map, said to be roughly a kilometre square, painted with vibrant colours and interesting personalities.
While the Hope County setting may appear to have restricted developers, the addition of Expeditions opens up whole new adventures, with a simple visit to your neighbourhood travel agent.
Metro Exodus, Release: February 15 PS4, XBOX One, PC
THIS third instalment of the Metro series, based on the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky, follows a band of survivors fleeing the shattered ruins of the Moscow Metro.
Their journey will take them across the Russian wilderness, with players able to explore vast, non-linear levels in the sandbox survival experience.
Set two years after the events of Metro: Last Light, Exodus will be the final part of a trilogy which has, so far, been astonishingly enjoyable.
In a shock move, the game will release “solely” on the Epic Games Store when it launches, only becoming available on Steam “after February 14, 2020”.
The Lego Movie 2, Release: February 26 PS4, XBOX One, Switch
I THINK it’s fair to say that The Lego Movie was a big hit with young fans when it hit screens in 2014.
And with the inevitable sequel, comes the inevitable game tie-in.
Based on events from the movie, alien invaders have left Bricksburg in ruins, and it’s up to Emmet, Lucy and a host of heroic characters to go beyond their world and save their friends from the strange inhabitants of the Systar System.
A very short teaser trailer gave fans a glimpse of some of the 100+ new and returning characters they’ll find in this Lego outing, which does actually look to be a lot of fun.