Hitman – Square Enix – March 11 (Multiplatform)
The Hitman franchise has long been a favorite of stealth fans everywhere but after a few less than stellar outings a lot of them gave up on Agent 47. Hitman is back again to once again win your favor in the absence of another stealth hero we haven’t seen in a while, Sam Fisher. Taking an odd turn from being a full release to a sort of episodic platform the excitement for this one kind of derailed a bit, but after a very successful beta it seems that fans can’t wait to jump back into Agent 47’s shoes. New content will hit the game monthly, at no charge if you’ve bought the full game, but at a cost if players choose to only purchase the ‘Intro Pack’ to get a small taste of the game. Rest assured that the full game will be money well spent however and IO Interactive really performed in the beta.
EA Sports UFC 2 – Electronic Arts – March 15 (Multiplatform)
Proving that loud mouthed UFC head honcho, Dana White could effectively shut his trap and eat crow came full circle when Electronic Arts published the first UFC game in this franchise. After announcing the fairly well received EA Sports MMA, Dana declared himself ‘at war’ with the publishing giant threatening to ban fighters from ever stepping foot in the Octagon again if they appeared in the game. Fast forward a few years (and a few million dollars I’m sure) and we saw the UFC and EA happily canoodling like star crossed lovers in the dark recesses of a night club private booth. Capitalizing on the success of the first game and also the explosion in popularity of the UFC Women’s Division we see the cover of EA Sports UFC 2 shared by former champ Ronda Rousey and big mouthed bad boy, Conor McGregor. Featuring a massive roster of over 250 fighters (including the debut of MMA superstar CM Punk… hahaha, I’m sorry, I can’t even) this game is sure to improve on what was already done in stellar manner the first time around.
Click on thru to page three for more of The Big 5…