DUBAI: With the big holiday releases of blockbuster games behind us. it’s time to turn our attention to what 2016 will bring.
Sony says this year will finally see the release of The Last Guardian, the long-overdue sequel to the PS2-era Shadow of the Colossus. Guardian was first announced in 2009 and was originally planned as a PS3 exclusive, but delays meant it skipped that generation. Let us hope. Announced release date are always subject to slippage.
January, traditionally a quite month, does have a couple of bright spots. Lego Marvel Avengers, pushed back from a holiday release, will hit the shops in a week or two.
And Rise of the Tomb Raider — Gulf News’ Game of the Year for 2015 — will get a PC release on January 29. Until now, it’s only been available on the Xbox. PlayStation users will have to wait until next holiday season. Those with the Xbox version will be able to get their hands on the first major downloadable content (DLC), Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch.
February brings several highly anticipated releases. Street Fighter V, with its new Arab fighter, Rashid, proved a hit at GAMES15. XCOM 2, the successor to 2012’s surprise hit, brings a new storyline — the alien invasion of Earth has been successful, and only a few resistance fighters hold out. Following the success of the fan-made XCOM mod Enemy Within, publishers Firaxis have made XCOM 2 easier to mod. Far Cry needs little introduction, save to note that Primal moves the game back to the stone age, with the protagonist having to deal with mammoths and sabretooths in the quest to survive.
Hitman, due out in March, retains the large maps and multiple assassination options of Hitman: Absolution, but breaks from its linear storyline to a more openworld structure.
Adventurer Nathan Drake’s story comes to an end in March with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, set three years after the events of the last instalment in the series. The release will obviously be a major event for PlayStation.
march also brings us the latest in the acclaimed Dark Souls multiplatorm action RPG and Catalyst, the long-awaited sequel to 2008’s parlour-based action puzzler Mirror’s Edge.
The science fiction exploration/survival game No Man’s Sky is due out in June. It’s been drawing some attention for its scale — there are some 18 quintillion planets to explore (that’s an 18 followed by 18 zeroes).
Also expected in time for the summer holidays are the remake of classic shooter Doom, the steampunk stealth-action sequel Dishonored 2 and Mafia 3.
And moving onto the holiday season, Mass Effect returns with Andromeda, a storyline apparently unrelated to the original series’ protagonist Commander Shepard.
Xbox’s third person shooter Gears of War is also due to make its return. Gears 4, the first game in the franchise not developed by Epic Studios, will continue the story from the original trilogy.
Box: Release schedule highlights
First Quarter
January: Lego Marvel’s Avengers (PC, PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3, 360, 3DS, Vita); Rise of the Tomb Raider (PC)
February: Street Fighter V (PC, PS4), XCOM 2 (PC, OSX, Linux), Firewatch (PS4, PC, OSX, Linux), Far Cry Primal (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
March: Hitman (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Second Quarter
April: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4), Dark Souls III (PC, PS4, Xbox One), Total War: Warhammer (PC, OSX, Linux),
May: Mirror’s Edge Catalyst (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
June: No Man’s Sky (PC, PS4)
Unspecified Q2: Doom (PC, PS4, Xbox One), Dishonored 2 (PC, PS4, Xbox One), Mafia 3 (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Third Quarter
August: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Fourth Quarter
December: Mass Effect: Andromeda (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
Unspecified Q4: Gears of War 4 (Xbox One)
Unspecified 2016
The Last Guardian (PS4), Manifold Garden (PS4, PC), Abzu (PC, PS4), Batman (PC, PS4, OSX, Xbox One), Final Fantasy XV (PS4, Xbox One)
