January brought us to hugely successful titles in Resident Evil 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3. Both games received excellent review scores across the board, and RE 2 sold over 3 million copies in its first week of release. Capcom’s remake is easily an early Game of the Year candidate.
February has a handful of heavy hitters as the video game release schedule begins to kick into high gear. Here is a look at the Top 5 game releases scheduled for February, power-ranked by hype level and potential.
1. Anthem – Third-Person Shooter – PS4, Xbox One, and PC – February 22
Things haven’t gotten off to a great start for BioWare’s ambitious and hyped shooter. The demo was underwhelming by many accounts and I felt the preview lacked the “it” factor. I haven’t buried it, but I’ve lowered my personal expectations. That said, there are still a number of gamers waiting with bated breath for the official release.
Expect it to sell well early, but maintaining its pace will depend on server stability and the amount of early bugs BioWare can squash to deliver a smooth user experience.
2. Metro Exodus – First-Person Shooter – PS4, Xbox One, and PC – February 15
In my opinion, the Metro series is one of the most underrated of all the first-person shooters out there. I’ve always admired the personality and feel of the game. While it’s easy to get lost in the sea of entries within the genre, 4A Games has always carved its own niche for Metro. I also like that there is no online multiplayer component. The game is what it is, and that has me optimistic about a great single-player campaign.
3. Far Cry: New Dawn – First-Person Shooter, PS4, Xbox One, and PC – February 15
Far Cry titles might not always be perfect from a technical standpoint (shooting and camera), but it seems each edition is fun. That was certainly the case with Far Cry 5 that released in March 2018. Less than a year later, the follow-up is on its way with some new wrinkles like character customization and a mode called Expeditions. Not many publications are talking about this one amidst the other February releases, but it might turn out to be a sleeper.
4. Jump Force – Fighting Game – PS4, Xbox One, and PC – February 12
The follow-up to the much-maligned J Stars Vs. doesn’t exactly have a lot to live up to if you’re connecting with its predecessor. However, Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball Fighterz might be the title fans compare Jump Force to even more. Jump Force is a mash-up that features a number of characters from anime series including Dragon Ball Z. Visually, it looks impressive, but if the gameplay isn’t as tight as DBF, fans will send the hate.
5. Crackdown 3 – Action/Adventure – Xbox One and PC – February 15
There was a time when this might have been No. 1 or 2 on this list, but a lack of promotion and some so-so gameplay videos hasn’t done Crackdown 3′s momentum any favors. It might turn out to be a fun open-world adventure with goo-gobs of entertaining destruction, but it’s not as anticipated as it was a year ago.
