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That's why CVG has put together a handy list of release dates for the games confirmed to be heading to the UK and US during January and February.

A disclaimer - these dates are correct at the time of compiling the list. Naturally, they can change.

We've also highlighted some of the most promising games coming soon to each platform. Any of these little beauties take your fancy, or will your January and February be spent with catching up on your backlog instead?

Xbox 360 game release dates

• Anarchy Reigns (Sega) - 11 Jan (UK), 8 Jan (US)
• DmC Devil May Cry (Capcom) - 15 Jan (UK), 15 Jan (US)
• Serious Sam Double D: XXL (XBLA) (Mommy's Best Games) - 23 Jan (UK), 23 Jan (US)
• The Cave (XBLA) (Double Fine) - 23 Jan (UK), 23 Jan (US)
• Power Rangers Super Samurai (Namco Bandai) - 25 Jan (UK), out now (US)
• Terraria (XBLA) (Re-Logic) - 29 Jan (UK), 29 Jan (US)
• Omerta: City Of Gangsters (Kalypso) - 1 Feb (UK), 12 Feb (US)
• Fist Of The North Star: Ken's Rage 2 (Tecmo Koei) - 1 Feb (UK), 5 Feb (US)
• Hitman: HD Trilogy (Square Enix) - 1 Feb (UK), 29 Jan (US)
• Dead Space 3 (EA) - 8 Feb (UK), 5 Feb (US)
• Aliens: Colonial Marines (Sega) - 12 Feb (UK), 12 Feb (US)
• DARK (Kalypso) - 15 Feb (UK), 26 Mar (US)
• Metal Gear Rising: Revenegance (Konami) - 22 Feb (UK), 19 Feb (US)
• Crysis 3 (EA) - 22 Feb (UK), 19 Feb (US)
• History Legends Of War (PQube) - 22 Feb (UK), out now (US)
• Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds (XBLA) (Division2) - 27 Feb (UK), 27 Feb (US)

TOP PICKS

DmC Devil May Cry

The main talking point may be the controversial new look for Dante (a redesign that has resulted in numerous death threats directed at the development team), but the proof is always in the playing and CVG's review team is suggesting that the game looks set to be an absolute cracker. Keep an eye out for our review next week to see if this bold new makeover was just what the series needed after all.

Dead Space 3

Otherwise known as Dead Space Meets Lost Planet, the third game in the Dead Space series sees Isaac and his new chum Sgt. John Carver land on an ice planet as they attempt to exterminate the Necromorphs once and for all. A new drop-in / drop-out co-op mode promises some interesting dementia-based set-pieces, but crucially, Visceral Games promises the single-player mode won't get all Resi 5 and have an annoying AI team-mate as a result.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

After suffering development hell for a couple of years and ultimately changing hands to a new studio, Metal Gear Rising looks set to finally live up to its promise. In development at Platinum Games, the revised title keeps stealth to a minimum, instead favouring sword-slashing action.

PS3 game release dates

• Anarchy Reigns (Sega) - 11 Jan (UK), 8 Jan (US)
• DmC Devil May Cry (Capcom) - 15 Jan (UK), 15 Jan (US)
• Retro City Rampage (PSN) (Vblank) - 16 Jan (UK), out now (US)
• Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch (Namco Bandai) - 1 Feb (UK), 22 Jan (US)
• Fist Of The North Star: Ken's Rage 2 (Tecmo Koei) - 1 Feb (UK), 5 Feb (US)
• Hitman: HD Trilogy (Square Enix) - 1 Feb (UK), 29 Jan (US)
• Dead Space 3 (EA) - 8 Feb (UK), 5 Feb (US)
• Aliens: Colonial Marines (Sega) - 12 Feb (UK), 12 Feb (US)
• Metal Gear Rising: Revenegance (Konami) - 22 Feb (UK), 19 Feb (US)
• Crysis 3 (EA) - 22 Feb (UK), 19 Feb (US)
• Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires (Tecmo Koei) - 22 Feb (UK), 26 Feb (US)
• LittleBigPlanet 2 Extras Edition (Sony) - 22 Feb (UK)
• History Legends Of War (PQube) - 22 Feb (UK), out now (US)

TOP PICKS

Retro City Rampage

It's been plagued by countless delays but the top-down love letter to 8-bit gaming and GTA will finally arrive on the UK PSN store from January 16. Retro City Rampage has more clever references in it than a Wikipedia article on the Human Genome Project, and offers such a faithful reproduction of the "good old days" that you can even choose between 16 filters to simulate your retro system of choice. Bonus mini-games also boast other indie game heroes (including Super Meat Boy and Commander Video from the Bit.Trip games) in their own 8-bit style titles.

Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch

It feels like we've been waiting decades for this epic collaboration between Level-5 and Studio Ghibli to make it to the west since it was released in Japan. Patience will soon be rewarded with a gorgeous RPG that looks set to capture that classic Ghibli magic that made animé fans all want to run out and buy a plush Totoro. With a soundtrack by long-time Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi too this is sure to be a treat for fans of the legendary animation studio.

Hitman: HD Trilogy

The recent success of Hitman: Absolution makes it the perfect time for Square Enix to release this HD compilation of the previous three Hitman games. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money all feature in this package in shiny new HD versions. While this is also out on Xbox 360 it's a little more interesting to PS3 owners because Blood Money was previously released on 360 and PS2, meaning it's the first time Sony customers will get to play it in HD.

Wii U game release dates

• Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (Nintendo) - 11 Jan (UK), out now (US)
• SiNG Party (Nintendo) - 18 Jan (UK), out now (US)
• Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth (Ubisoft) - 24 Jan (UK), out now (US)
• Scribblenauts Unlimited (Nintendo) - 8 Feb (UK), out now (US)
• NBA 2K13 (Take Two) - 11 Feb (UK), out now (US)
• Rayman Legends (Ubisoft) - 28 Feb (UK), 26 Feb (US)

TOP PICKS

Scribblenauts Unlimited

The third game in the Scribblenauts series may have the same basic principle - type any noun with any adjective and see it appear as an object in front of you - but the addition of a new object editor gives the "Unlimited" moniker its credibility. Multiple objects can be combined, resized and rotated, and AI can be assigned, allowing you to make nearly anything or anyone you can think of with a little imagination. We look forward to finally bringing our anxious purple giraffe-faced winged pizza into the world.

NBA 2K13

The latest instalment in 2K Sports' basketball series has been out for a while on other HD systems but the Wii U version, providing the port goes fine, will mark the first truly fantastic sports game on Nintendo's new console.

Packed with everything featured in the other versions - including the incredibly detailed and time-consuming My Player career mode, which we've put hundreds of hours into on other systems - the Wii U version also includes a biometrics feature which lets you lift the GamePad to see a biometric scan of your players and see their energy levels.

Rayman Legends

New Super Mario Bros. U may be unrivalled at the moment when it comes to side-scrolling Wii U platformers, but that's about to change with the arrival of the visually stunning Rayman Legends. With a level of detail that surpasses even that seen in Rayman Origins, this is the closest we've ever come to playing a polished animated cartoon. There's a free demo currently available on the Wii U eShop, so give it a download and see for yourself why we're so pumped for this one.

PC game release dates

• Dungeonland (Paradox Interactive) - 22 Jan (UK), 22 Jan (US)
• DmC Devil May Cry (Capcom) - 25 Jan (UK), 25 Jan (US)
• Ace Combat Assault Horizon Enhanced Edition (Namco Bandai) - 25 Jan (UK), 25 Jan (US)
• Omerta: City Of Gangsters (Kalypso) - 1 Feb (UK), 12 Feb (US)
• Dead Space 3 (EA) - 8 Feb (UK), 5 Feb (US)
• Aliens: Colonial Marines (Sega) - 12 Feb (UK), 12 Feb (US)
• DARK (Kalypso) - 15 Feb (UK), 26 Mar (US)
• Crysis 3 (EA) - 22 Feb (UK), 19 Feb (US)
• History Legends Of War (PQube) - 22 Feb (UK), out now (US)

TOP PICKS

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Gearbox's xenomorph FPS is being sold as the true sequel to Aliens (even though it's set after the events of the third film). Colonial Marines will have been in development for over four years by the time it's released so if it doesn't turn out to be the ultimate Alien video game we're going to be sorely disappointed. Expect a review next month, and we promises to go easy on the inevitable Aliens quotes. Even though the "short controlled bursts" one is perfect for a game review.

The Cave

The Cave attempts to bring back the majesty and magic of adventure games under the creative vision of Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert. It looks gorgeous, features a unique local four-player co-op element and apparently has been a concept in Gilbert's head for about 25 years. While there isn't a specific release date for The Cave (so far all we know is it's coming to Steam in January) it'd nevertheless be foolish to miss this off the list.

Crysis 3

That boring "but can it run Crysis" meme will soon become outdated even further when Crysis 3 arrives and makes everyone in the world feel like their PC is woefully inadequate all over again. Set 24 years after Crysis 2 and seeing you return to a New York that has been encased in a huge Nanodome and turned into a massive rainforest, Crysis 3 cleverly offers a compromise between the first game's island setting and the sequel's city setting. Will it push the series even further technically though? We'll find out next month.

Nintendo 3DS game release dates

• Tokyo Crash Mobs (eShop) (Nintendo) - 17 Jan (UK), TBC (US)
• Picross e2 (eShop) (Jupiter) - Jan TBC (UK), TBC (US)
• Scribblenauts Unlimited (Nintendo) - 8 Feb (UK), out now (US)
• Wreck-It Ralph (Activision) - 8 Feb (UK), out now (US)
• Super Black Bass 3D (Rising Star) - 15 Feb (UK), TBC (US)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (Ghostlight) - 22 Feb (UK), out now (US)
• Viking Invasion 2 - Tower Defence (Bigben) - 22 Feb (UK), TBC (US)
• Crash City Mayhem (Ghostlight) - 22 Feb (UK), TBC (US)
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - Feb TBC (UK), 12 Feb (US)
• Pet Zombies (505 Games) - Feb TBC (UK), TBC (US)

PlayStation Vita game release dates

• Retro City Rampage (PSN) (Vblank) - 16 Jan (UK), out now (US)
• Persona 4 Golden (NIS America) - 22 Feb (UK), out now (US)
• History Legends Of War (PQube) - 22 Feb (UK), out now (US)

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TOP PICKS

Picross e2

One of the tragedies of gaming is that not everyone has played Picross. A cult favourite among Nintendo puzzle fans, Picross is what Sudoku would be if it was actually entertaining. Using numerical clues you have to fill in squares - if you fill them all in correctly you'll have created a piece of pixel art. The first Picross e game is currently available on the 3DS eShop, so get on that now because it's a perfect introduction to the series. The second game will be out later this month.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked

First released in 2009, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is old news to gamers in Japan and the US. It was never released in the UK however, meaning this 3DS remake may be the first time many RPG fans will get to play it. This tactical RPG is incredibly deep with an engrossing storyline, and its six alternative endings will ensure that there's plenty of replay value. Besides, it's about saving modern-day Tokyo from demons, so if that's not enough to interest you we don't know what is.

Persona 4 Golden

January and February are fairly barren months for Vita owners - something they'll sadly be getting used to by now - but there's at least one release to look forward to in the form of Persona 4 Golden. A remake of the PS2 game released back in 2009, Persona 4 Golden is the story of a high school student who moves to a rural Japanese town and becomes involved in investigating murders. With a solid RPG battle system and some interesting themes (it was praised for being one of the first games to feature a character struggling to come to terms with their sexual orientation), it's a game that's not to be missed.