PC Games of the Month, February 2014

Wondering which games deserve your hard-earned money in February? The shortest month of the year has plenty to offer for the PC and iOS with noteworthy titles that certainly deserve your attention. Let’s take a look at the hottest titles coming out this month.

Thief, Eidos Montréal

When Thief was officially confirmed for release last year, it became one of the most anticipated games of 2014. Ten years in development, the latest installment of the Thief franchise is fated to inspire a new, younger generation of gamers who didn’t have the opportunity to play the previous games. Though Thief is a completely fresh reboot of the series, it does retain enough similarities to keep old fans interested. The game is still set in the Victorian/steampunk-inspired metropolis called “The City,” but it is now overrun with a plague terrorizing citizens while the rich continue their lavish lifestyle within the safety of their mansions. Players control the master thief, Garrett, and decide how to approach the game’s choice-driven world. Whether Garrett fights the corruption in the upper class, or steals indiscriminately from the rich is totally up to you. If you’re one of those gamers who appreciates next-gen graphics, then Thief will dazzle you with a gorgeous landscape — in a dank, rat-infested city sort of way, of course. The decade-long wait is now finally over!

 

The Wolf Among Us –  Episode 2: Smoke & Mirrors, Telltale Games

The gap between the first and second episodes of The Wolf Among Us was too long, especially considering that Episode 1’s major cliffhanger left gamers wanting more. Without spoiling too much, The Wolf Among Us is a graphic adventure game based on Bill Willingham’s Fables comic book series about various fairy tale characters forced to live in New York City after being banished from their “Homeland.” In this noir-inspired story, the player takes control of The Big Bad Wolf, affectionately and clandestinely nicknamed Bigby, as he tries to solve a series of murders in a part of New York City called Fabletown. The Wolf Among Us is one of the many games compatible with Logitech’s PowerShell Controller + Battery. The PowerShell Controller + Battery offers precision gaming controls that you can’t get on a touch screen, and its compact, slim design is perfect for gamers who want to follow Bigby into the seedy underworld of Fabletown on the go.

 

Banished, Shining Rock Software

Gamers with a preference for indie games – or even those just looking to take on a God complex – should keep an eye out for the release of Banished, the upcoming city building strategy game. To the casual observer, Banished may look a lot like a medieval SimCity clone. But unlike in SimCity, where having enough money basically guarantees that your city will thrive, Banished places more emphasis on the lives of the city’s citizens, as opposed to filling up the treasury coffers. Underneath all those thatched roofs is a complex system where your decisions as a town builder carry on over generations – townspeople grow older, have jobs, raise families, and die, and ecosystems change as your town expands and drains in resources – just like real life! Banished is currently available for download from Steam and Shining Rock Software’s website.

 

Ikaruga, Treasure

Ready to test your brain and your reflexes? Ikaruga, the classic bullet hell shump (shoot-em-up) was released in February for PC. If you’re not too familiar with the concept of bullet hell games, the name is quite literal: enemies will throw so much firepower at you that you’ll have to use your best reflexes to dodge them. On top of that, Ikaruga features a unique polarity shield that allows your ship to selectively deal more damage and absorb shots of the same color. If that sounds like it makes things too easy, well, just give this classic game a try: Only the very best gamers will be able to make it through to the end. Make sure to play this on your F710 Wireless Gamepad though; you’ll need the tight and quick controls this gamepad offers to make it out alive.

Which one of these games are you looking forward to the most? Are there other games out there that you just can’t wait to play? Tell us in the comments!