1. EA isn’t making a new Burnout game anytime soon, but the original creators have your back with Dangerous Driving
“Spiritual successor” is a term that’s bandied around a lot these days, from Banjo Kazooie’s reptilian twin Yooka-Laylee to the poor man’s Mega Man that was Mighty No. 9. As that latter example proves, not all of these games deliver on the “success” part of “successor”, either, but hopefully Dangerous Driving is one of the healthier examples. Developed by Three Fields Entertainment, this is the studio’s third driving game under the direction of Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry, who themselves co-founded Criterion Software (original creators of the Burnout series) in 1993. And, just like the classic Burnout titles, Dangerous Driving is all about causing as much chaos as possible in a limited amount of time, namely by driving your death defying supercar into an onslaught of hapless traffic. It’s dumb, stupid fun distilled to its purest form, with a destruction derby’s worth of rubber and steel added for seasoning, and it’s out on April 9. Bon appetit.
What: Dangerous Driving
When: April 9
Where: PC, PS4, and Xbox One
2. Fulfill your falconry dreams without the need for a freezer full of dead mice
The life of a falconer is not an easy one. One day you fancy a choc ice, go rooting in the chest freezer in the garage, and have to push your way past all the Tupperware boxes full of adorable, but very dead, mice. Falcon Age, the new PS4 and PSVR game, lets you experience the joy of having a pet bird of prey without this potentially traumatic issue. Hunt, gather, and fight as Ara, accompanied at all time by your feathery friend. More importantly, you can name, pet, feed, teach, and dress your falcon up, so it's maybe better than real life falcon owning? I don't know if you've ever tried to squeeze a tiny tuxedo onto an angry raptor, but neither I nor my facial reconstruction surgeon can recommend it.
What: Falcon Age
When: April 9
Where: PS4, PSVR
3. Hellboy isn't a much a new film, as an entire reboot - and a much, much darker one too
Imagine the fury in the games industry if Valve released a Half Life reboot rather than ever finishing Half-Life 2: Episode 3, let alone Half-Life 3 itself. Well, that's basically what's happening with Hellboy. The latest film comes in place of the threequel to the Guillermo del Toro movies, so this is a true reboot of the entire Hellboy series, and it's doing the origin story all over again. Most of the details are still under wraps, but it looks like we'll be seeing Hellboy's arrival on earth done anew, with Stranger Things' Chief Hopper, aka David Harbour, paying the titular red beastie. Interestingly, it's being helmed by Neil Marshall, the British filmmaker behind Dog Soldiers and The Descent, and even some battle-focused episodes of Game of Thrones, so expect it to be a lot darker, R-Rated and very horror influenced. It is such a shift in tone from Del Toro's more fantasy-influenced (almost) trilogy that this reboot might just do wonders for the Hellboy story, and I for one, am so in.
What: Hellboy
When: April 11 (UK), April 12 (US)
Where: A cinema near you
4. Take your shot at Fortnite fame with the World Cup Online Open
5. Game of Thrones season 8 is here on April 14, but can the ending satisfy us?
April 14 is the beginning of the end. Ok, that might be a bit dramatic, but when Game of Thrones season 8 finally hits our screens it means that almost eight years of TV will almost be over, just like that. We’ve cried over unjust deaths (Oberyn, why didn’t you wear a damned helmet?!), we’ve rejoiced when characters got what they deserved - Walder Frey and Joffrey, to name a few - and we’ve all argued about what’ll happen in the Game of Thrones ending. It’s hard to believe that all that will be over soon, and raises an even bigger question: can the season live up to its intimidating reputation? Fans are bound to have conflicted feelings over who ends up on the Iron Throne - if there’s a Throne left, that is - but even now it’s hard to imagine the saga ending and us finally having the answer to that burning question that’s dogged viewers since the first season. Hopefully that the season doesn’t suffer from the issues of season 7, when too much happened too fast. Instead of swiftly moving from one revelation to the next let’s hope that HBO gives us time to mourn characters, to speculate, to wonder… and then to sob when it’s all over. Zoe Delahunty-Light
What: Game of Thrones season 8
When: April 14
Where: HBO, Now TV
Release Radar picks the best games, movies and shows of the next seven days every Monday at 11am GMT.
