Paint-em-up city rescue “De Blob 2” on consoles, off-road racer “Gravel”, blood-pumping bank heister “Payday 2” for the Switch, an adaptation of tank-battling high school sports anime “Girls und Panzer”, and the crossover “Bridge Constructor Portal” are among video games releasing this week of Feb. 27, 2018.
De Blob 2 Remastered
For PlayStation 4, Xbox One
From Feb. 27
Paint the town every color you can in this splatter-based story of revolution, restoring enthusiasm to the citizens of an oppressed Chroma City by bouncing it back to vibrancy as a color-transferring Blob. First released on Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011, its predecessor, “De Blob,” was similarly remastered in 2017 and unfortunately somehow failed to capture the genius of its original ancestor.
Gravel
For PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PC
From Feb. 27
The WRC license might have gone elsewhere but that’s not stopping Milestone, until now better known for motorcycling games, from ploughing forward with its own take on off-road racing and offering four modes that cover combative races in wild locations, cross country open environment courses, speed cross tracks and stadium circuits.
Payday 2
For Nintendo Switch
From Feb. 27 in North America (Feb. 23 in Europe)
Legendarily intense four-player heist action, with skill upgrades, weapon unlocks and loadouts, dynamic elements for improved replayability, and the scope to approach each mission from multiple angles. As well as a comparative graphical downgrade, “Payday 2” drops support for online voice communication in the transition to the Switch, so using a local multiplayer connection would be desirable if not essential.
Girls und Panzer: Dream Tank Match
For PlayStation 4
From Feb. 27 (English South East Asian Edition,) since Feb. 22 in Japan
We know that eSports are on the rise, but in this video game tie-in with 2012/13 cartoon and comic book series “Girls und Panzer”, its tank sports are the next big thing, with battlefields’ worth of mobile armor facing off for high school competition and entertainment. Published by Bandai Namco, something of a specialist in anime adaptations, with “Dragon Ball FighterZ” its most recent success.
Bridge Constructor Portal
For PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
From Feb. 28 (XBO, NS,) March 1 (PS4)
The latest iteration in what is now a five-strong bridge constructing series could be the best yet, perhaps in part due to a fan-pleasing crossover with puzzle game “Portal”, in which players design and build transport bridges across a variety of levels with button-pushing, sentry-avoiding, portal-manipulating elements as appropriate. Previously released on mobile and PC. JB
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