by Jessica Ham

February was a very slow month for video games. Almost no games were released, and the ones that were released were disappointing to gamers around the world. Titles from highly regarded developers crashed and burned.

Apex Legends, a free-to-play battle royale game, was released by Respawn Entertainment and EA on February 4 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It was believed to be the new Fortnite, the new battle royal game kids and adults alike would be playing. The developers banked on the popularity of games like Fortnite to make their game a success. Unfortunately, the developers were wrong; the gameplay is fun to many, but the environment is not so fun. There are so many issues within the game that it has also made it easy for players to cheat, which takes the fun and challenge out of the game.

Crackdown 3, an action adventure game, was released by Sumo Digital and Microsoft on February 15 for Xbox One and PC. The Crackdown series has been a huge success, until this newest installment. Critics describe the game as mindless and mediocre, mentioning the awful online multiplayer and droning amounts of collectibles. Hopefully their next installment will have better reception by the critics and fans.

Far Cry New Dawn, the spin-off the popular series Far Cry, was released by Ubisoft on February 15 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. This game is a first-person shooter which takes place seventeen years after the events of Far Cry 5 after the nuclear explosion which destroyed most of the world. The playable character of the game is a new character to the series named Captain who helps survivor groups across the country. I was excited for this game and was gravely disappointed. The story is full of nonsense, and the missions are boring and repetitive. Critics and fans alike say the game is just a rehash of the previous with nothing new, exciting, or innovative.

Anthem, an online multiplayer game, was released by Bioware and EA on February 22 for PS4. Xbox One, and PC. The player dons an exosuit called the Javelin which has three different categories and kind of abilities. A demo was released on January 25 but was not widely received due to the fact that most could not even play the demo because of various bugs and issues. According to critics, while the gameplay is fun, the world and story are weak.

While this has not been a great month for video games, I look forward to what is in store for next month.

Jessica Ham is 26 years old and an ongoing contributor. With a love of all things nerdy, she’s right at home covering entertainment.