The Winter Lull is still in effect and the gaming industry is taking a big hit. After some huge releases in the month of January (Mercenaries, Resident Evil 4), February starts off with a whimper. We`ve set aside the cream of the crop for you below so if you`re planning on spending some dough, make sure to toss it towards one of these heavy hitters.

PlayStation 2


Champions: Return to Arms
Anticipation Level: 8

Why are we so excited about Champions: Return to Arms? Simple, the first Champions of Norrath had us giddy for months and this addition should hold us over until the summer. There’s something inherently fun about hacking and slashing your way through dungeons, and the incorporation of free online play just makes the game that much better. Better weapons, two new classes, fantastic new worlds and the ability to export our characters from the first Champions make this a must-own for fans of the franchise.


Death by Degrees
Anticipation Level: 6

Tekken’s Nina Williams branches off from the popular fighting game franchise to do a little work on the side. This action-brawler uses a unique 360 degree fighting system where the actions are all mapped out to the right analog stick. We had some fun with the game at E3 but the controls were rather sluggish and the animations were pretty stiff. Barring a major miracle, this game will only be interesting for hardcore fans of the franchise.


NBA Street Volume 3
Anticipation Level: 8

EA Sports BIG’s marquee street ballin’ franchise took a major hit last year when Midway unleashed NBA Ballers to great critical acclaim. This time the developers have gone back to the drawing board to refine the gameplay, beef up the graphics and add some flashier moves to the franchise. It should be the best entry in the franchise, but will it be better than Ballers? Probably, but then again NBA Ballers 2 is probably right around the corner, so choose wisely.

PC

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords
Anticipation Level: 9

The follow-up to BioWare’s amazing foray into the Star Wars franchise has already garnered accolades on the Xbox, so it’s reasonable to assume that this PC port will hold up the same standard as well. It’s five years after the events of the first KotOR and the Sith Lords have hunted the Jedi to the brink of extinction. Will you preserve the Jedi or rid them from the universe once and for all?
...