Video Games Releases: March 2013

The month of March has ended up being the biggest month for gaming in recent memory. We saw a ton of major games releasing, and while some weren’t so good, there were others that more than made up for it. It’s good that March got so many games, since the next couple of months are going to be pretty dry in terms of game releases. So we’ll have something to entertain us till the major releases in August. Here are the major games that came out last month:

SimCity
Platform: PC

Despite the trainwreck of a launch, SimCity is still an interesting game

The month kicked off with the release of what was originally going to be a resurrection of the city-builder genre. All was not well, however, as the game was plagued with a with less-than-desirable launch and constant disconnects because of the always-online requirement. If you can manage to actually connect to EA’s servers, however, there’s an interesting (if not exactly good) game waiting for you, especially if you have friends to play with.

Tomb Raider
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

Described (mostly by me) as the Batman Begins for Tomb Raider

The year 2013 is shaping up to be the year of the reboots. After February’s excellent reboot of the Devil May Cry franchise with DmC Devil May Cry, this month we saw a reboot of the much-loved Tomb Raider series. The game takes you through the origin of Lara Croft. She’s stranded on a mystical island, and besides the savage bandits, some weird stuff’s going on. You have to explore the island and uncover its mysteries while you attempt to get out of there. The game brings old-school Tomb Raider gameplay with healthy servings of Uncharted-like set pieces and a pinch of Far Cry 3’s ideas.

God of War: Ascension
Platform: PlayStation 3

God of War: Ascension brings an interesting multiplayer component

If you’re one of the few people who asked for more after destroying the Greek pantheon, this game is for you. After having no God left alive for Kratos to kill, the game goes back in time to tell the story of some of the events before the first God of War. Ascension doesn’t prove to be a very good game, but it does try some new things, such as the Tarantino-esque non-linear storytelling and a novel multiplayer component.

StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
Platform: PC

If you thought the era of expansion packs for games is long gone, think again. Blizzard proves itself to be one of the few remaining companies that still make expansion packs for its games, and StarCraft II is no exception. Heart of the Swarm continues the story from where Wings of Liberty left off. Instead of the Terrans, you play the Zerg and Kerrigan this time. The game has a persistent level-up system for Kerrigan, much like Warcraft 3, and is notable for introducing a new game mechanic almost every other level in the campaign. What’s truly noteworthy here, however, is the multiplayer. If you’re looking for a deep and challenging multiplayer strategy game with an eSports scene, look no further.

Gears of War: Judgment
Platform: Xbox 360

Gears of War: Ascension details the events from Emergence Day

The latest game in the Gears of War series is developed by People Can Fly studios. It brings some new game mechanics and has you play different characters throughout the campaign. While not exactly comparable to the fun Gears of War III, Judgment does shake up the formula a bit by retooling the weapons inventory and controls to bring it more in line with current-gen modern military shooters. The game still has the series trademark chest-high walls, though, so fans of older games will probably end up liking it in any case.

BioShock Infinite
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

BioShock Infinite is a beautiful game that has a lot to say

To finish the month off, we have Irrational’s latest offering – BioShock Infinite. The game forgoes the Rapture setting of the previous BioShock games and instead goes for a "city in the clouds" setting with Columbia. The year is 1912 and racism along with religious zealousness is high. You are sent to Columbia by two odd and mysterious people to bring them the girl locked in a tower so that you can clear your debt with them. The game is fun, fast and has a lot more to say about philosophy, racism, exceptionalism and blind nationalism than its predecessors had to say about their subject matter, objectivism.