Coming up in Gaming – March
March is generally the time when publishers start to release high profile products again after the relative lulls of January and February. This March is no different, although there are few real blockbuster titles coming this year compared to others.
Big Games
Possibly the standout release in March is Tom Clancy’s The Division, an open world online shooter that is set or rival the likes of Bungie’s Destiny. Developed and published by Ubisoft, it will release on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 8 March and see players battling enemy forces in a devastated Manhattan, with gameplay similar to many other third-person shooters. The highly anticipated title also featured a dynamic weather system that can change the way The Division plays, with large storms hampering visibility and making aiming much more difficult than normal due to the high winds.
The second high profile release of the month is a remastered version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The new Wii U version will release on 4 March around the world, featuring graphical updates from the original along with a number of gameplay modifications. These include a new Hero Mode, which makes the experience more challenging, a better user interface and the addition of amiibo support.
Another Nintendo title is coming in March in the form of Hyrule Warriors Legends for the 3DS. The March 24 release is a port of Hyrule Warriors that was available on the Wii U since 2015, though it features a number of changes and new characters. As well as a new ending and additional stages from various Zelda games, the mobile version also has some gameplay alteration such as quick switching between characters and a new warp system.
Finally, ADR1FT is a first person adventure game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is scheduled for release on 28 March and follows the story of an astronaut who is drifting through space after becoming separated from his wrecked space station. The player must piece together exactly what happened in the accident and rediscover his forgotten memory.
Other Titles
March 01
- Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale – Nintendo 3DS
March 10
- Fire Emblem Fates: Revelations – Nintendo 3Ds
March 15
- Senran Kagura: Estival Versus – PlayStation 4 / PS Vita
March 18
- Pokken Tournament – Wii U
March 22
Stranger of Sword City – Xbox One
March 29
- Nights of Azure – PlayStation 4
- Trillion: God of Destruction – PS Vita
March 31
- Need For Speed – PC
Free Games
As is usual, players on both the Xbox and PlayStation platforms will be able to get access to a number of different games if they are subscribers to the premium services on both families of consoles.
Xbox One users will be able to get their hands on both Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments and Lords of the Fallen. The Sherlock Holmes title is an adventure game that sees players take control of the famous detective as they attempt to solve five different crimes before passing judgement on those responsible for them. Meanwhile, Lords of the Fallen is a RPG that takes inspiration from Dark Souls, featuring very challenging gameplay and unforgiving enemies.
Those with an Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Gold can download the original Borderlands game, which kicked off the franchise with its loot hunting open world gameplay. The other title is Supreme Commander 2, a real-time strategy game developed by Gas Powered Games and publisher Square Enix.
PlayStation Plus subscribers have a range of titles to choose from. After a voting campaign on the PlayStation blog the first game that will be available in March is Broforce, which focuses on intense and fast-paced gameplay as a run ‘n’ gun shooter that can be played with 3 other players through co-op. The second title is a PlayStation 4 exclusive called Galak-Z. It includes a procedurally generated world with the main character attempting to pilot their way through a number of enemy factions.
The other four games include two PlayStation 3 games in the form of The Last Guy and Super Stardust HD, while the PS Vita titles are Flame Over and Reality Fighters. Several of these are crossplay and will be available to download on other consoles.