PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC

GAMES

OUT SPRING 2019

Rage 2 is a surprising sequel, to say the least. Not because of what’s new or different here, but mainly because the original Rage kind of came and went… and then seven years passed with no hint that it’d be anything other than a one-off.

But after a brash debut at E3, we’re glad to see id Software give this post-apocalyptic romp another shot. It lands like an amped-up Mad Max, albeit one that packs the kind of wallop we expect from an id shooter.

The chunk we played was brief but lively. As dimwitted, neon-tinged goons paraded around the rubble outside the Eden Space Center, we savoured each encounter as an opportunity to test out the myriad abilities on offer in this open-world single-player adventure. There’s more at hand than just epic shotgun blasts, even if those are present as expected.

The game’s over-the-top nature is represented by your hero’s abilities, which let you speedily dash up to foes, use a kinetic ‘shatter’ move to blast them back, or slam down from above to cause epic damage all around.

Things really step up a gear when your fully-charged meter lets you kick into overdrive. Now the game takes on a surreal strobe-light aesthetic as you mash your way through all opposition at high speed.

What else? Well, Wingstick, aka the murder-boomerang from the first game, has been improved, and we haven’t even had a chance to try the crazy vehicular combat yet. Loaded with personality, this could be an early 2019 highlight.

A FIGHT TO REMEMBER

STREETS OF RAGE 4

Switch

If The Crystal Maze and Take That have managed it, you’ve got to back Streets of Rage to make a triumphant comeback, even if no one saw it coming. Yes, after a full 24 years of hibernation, the legendary beat-’em-up series is reborn with Streets of Rage 4, which will pick up where the Mega Drive games left off.

It’s being developed by Lizardcube, the team behind the gorgeous Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap from last year, and also employs a hand-drawn art style.

Crucially, the game will feel familiar to anyone who spent many a weekend in the ‘90s punching up 2D criminal sprites in side-scrolling city-based stages. Streets of Rage stalwarts Axel and Blaze are back and suitably bandana’d, while the power of modern consoles means brawling looks much better in motion a couple of decades on.

But this is apparently an evolution rather than a straight throwback, the devs promising new mechanics and a fresh story (currently under wraps) to go alongside the game’s reimagined style.

You can play alone or with friends, but Streets of Rage 4 will almost certainly be at its best with a group of mates, a couch, and more bags of crisps than is reasonable. Remember those days?

COMING TO NINTENDO SWITCH

LUIGI’S MANSION 3 due 2019

Nintendo fans were given a bit of a scare when it looked like Luigi had been killed off in a recent Super Smash Bros Ultimate trailer. Thankfully, it was later confirmed that Mario’s skittish twin was fine, for now at least – because for some reason he’s heading into a haunted mansion, again.

ANIMAL CROSSING due 2019

Animal Crossing is a bizarre phenomenon. You do little more than wander about a small town chatting to the eccentric animal residents, collecting fossils and flogging turnips. Let it sink its claws in, though, and it’ll quickly become more compelling than anything in your real life.

U DELUXE out 11 January

Originally launched on the Wii U, New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe has been sprinkled with new features and re-released on the Switch. As well as the original 2D platformer, you get two new characters and the New Super Luigi U add-on.

INCOMING

OCTOBER

● ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY

● SUPER MARIO PARTY

● RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2

NOVEMBER

● HITMAN 2

● FALLOUT 76

● BATTLEFIELD V

DECEMBER

● JUST CAUSE 4