The announcement of what games are going to be released in 2016 looks like it is mostly set in stone at this point. There could well be some dipping in and out of a 2016 release, but we shouldn’t expect too many surprises going forward. When you actually look at the games that are going to be released this year, you can see a pretty common theme of games that are set in prehistoric places. It is little wonder then that this matter has set the blogosphere alight with gamers talking about how “this is the year of the dinosaurs” (even though only a few actually have dinosaurs).

This year we have No Mans Sky that, while a SciFi game, will allow you to travel to a wide range of planets with minimal human activity and the occasional dinosaur-like animals.

We have had FarCry Primal released just recently, which was based in the prehistoric world of the other FarCry games.

We have Horizon Zero Dawn, set in a dystopian future in which human society has collapsed and nature has overrun civilisation. The world is full of machine  dinosaurs that you loot for their resources.

Ok so it’s quite a few years away and everything is still up in the air for what the next XBox console is going to have, and what it’s not.

Microsoft want to push the next console further, yet with the current XBox One their plans don’t quite line up with what they want the next console to do; they really have to advance the technology of their XBox gaming platform further than they have before.

There are rumours that the next XBox console will take advantage of Illumiroom, a proof-of-concept projector system from Microsoft Research that augments the area around your TV to reflect what’s being show on your console – a visual version of surround sound, effectively.

Illumiroom was going to initially be launched with the XBox One but was deemed too expensive. Though it’s likely with what they have said about the technology needing to catch up for what they have planned is the actual reason it was not built for the XBox One console.

Microsoft want to avoid the past mistakes of pushing unnecessary technology onto people who don’t want it, which also resulted in a higher price tag; this was also put gamers off from buying the XBox One console.

With the next console they will be taking advantage of the Microsoft’s VR technology and enhancing the gamers experience; they still have a long way to go, so let’s hope they make the advancement before their competitor does. Or they could very well end up in the same position Sega was in with their Sega Saturn and push out incomplete tech to try to corner the market; subsequently failing in the process of course.

Mighty No.9 is a side scrolling action game, that’s bringing back the retro feel and style of 8- and 16-bit era classics; though with a modern take that’s fast paced with awesome backgrounds and level designs, with lots of challenges just waiting to present themselves.

In the game a mysterious computer virus has spread across a mechanised world, wreaking havoc everywhere, resulting in mechanised creatures going beserk; though our hero Beck has not been affected by this.

Beck is the 9th in a line of powerful robots who can reconfigure into new shapes, allowing for all kinds of new skills and abilities; he adapts and configures using weapons and abilities stolen from enemies in the game.

Play as Beck as moves through the different stages of the game, running, jumping, blasting and transforming. Come face to face with each of the other mighty robots of his line, and defeat them.

Release Date: 12th February 2016