March
March is a big month for Wii U owners, as Nintendo is finally giving them something to play in 2016. On March 4 they’ll be able to revisit The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but in high definition. The remaster of The Wind Waker was fantastic, so expectations are high for what serves to be an appetizer until the next Zelda game releases. A few weeks later on March 18, the Namco-Bandai developed Pokkén Tournament hits Wii U. The fighting game will feature several different Pokémon, and plays similar to Namco’s Tekken series. If that premise doesn’t already sell you on the game, then I don’t know what to tell you.
March will also see the release of Tom Clancy’s The Division. Despite being in development for what seems like forever, Ubisoft’s cover-based third-person shooter will finally see release. The multiplayer game has similar hooks to Bungie’s Destiny, and we’re excited to give it a go on March 8.
Next up is Square Enix’s Hitman on March 11. While the recent shift to an episodic release just months out doesn’t instill any confidence that the game will be good, it’s still worth writing up. The reboot of the popular stealth series stands to be one of March’s most interesting releases, even if it’s for all the wrong reasons.
On March 15, Electronic Arts will release EA Sports UFC 2. This comes out 10 days after cover star Conor McGregor’s quest to become the first UFC fighter to hold belts in two different weight classes concurrently happens at UFC 197. The fighting game is adding a lot of much needed variety to the series, but is building on a very solid base.
Xbox One owners will finally get their first big exclusive on March 24, which is when Killer Instinct’s Season 3 releases. The Iron Galaxy developed fighting game had a fantastic second season, and the Chicago-based developer looks to add even more content to it in 2016. The free-to-play business model has worked out great for Microsoft, and we’re excited to hit some combo breakers later this year.
No matter what your opinion is on virtual reality on gaming, there is no denying that March 28 will be a pivotal day in gaming history. The Oculus Rift will finally see release, and there’s a series of exciting launch titles to come with it. The most intriguing of these is Adam Orth’s Adr1ft. The first-person space exploration game has players exploring the aftermath of a spaceship craft, and it’ll be one of the first titles that players experience in VR.
Other titles include Gunfire Games’ Chronos, a role-playing game from a team that previously worked on Darksiders, Insomniac’s third-person action game Edge of Nowhere, and the flight sim Eve: Valkyrie. That’s four exciting titles for an ambitious new platform, and there will likely be more announced nearer to the Oculus Rift’s release.
That’ll do it for our first quarter gaming preview of 2016. All three months are very interesting, and filled with great titles. With such a strong start, 2016 looks poised to be one of the best gaming years in recent memory. From surprises like Pony Island to the launch of the Oculus Rift, it’s an exciting time to be a gamer.