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The Monthly Gaming Outlook will take a sneak peek at the biggest game releases of the month. This month, each week has a notable game, leading up to an FPS duel on the 22nd of February.

Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 (PSN 2/1, Xbox Live 2/2)

Jrow’s Take: I was really impressed with the first Rearmed game. I wasn’t too familiar with the original, but after seeing how the remake was and what Capcom did to upgrade it, I felt Rearmed really set a standard for “remaking” classic video games. The 3D Bionic Commando game on the other hand failed miserably. It was clunky, the swing mechanic was not fun, and it was an all-around mess and a very popular “flop” title in 2009. So… go back to what you know works, which is 2D gaming at a $15 price tag. I’m a little concerned about this game because of the addition of the jump feature (Commando is well-known for its lack of a jump button) and that an early impression of the game from a guy at IGN who reviewed the first game a 9.5 was really concerned about how bad the version was that he played. There was plenty of time after that article to work on the game, but considering that the original team went through some changes, you’ll have to go in with the mindset that it, at the most, can only be as fun as the first game, not better.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 (8th on PS3, 360 & PC)

Jrow’s Take: My racing gaming interests are limited to Real Racing 2 on the iPhone and Hydro Thunder, but I’ve seen the first TDU game in action via a friend who really liked it. This friend was also a big Forza fan and did admit that this was a fun game to play while he waited for the next Forza game to come out. There’s a few racing sim games that seem to have the market locked down (Forza, GT, etc.) and everybody does upgrades and mods and such, so it’s essentially up to how you feel the game handles.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (15th on PS3 & 360)

Jrow’s Take: I’m just plain horrible at MvC. I can’t beat the final bosses on easy to save my life. But a roster brimming with lots of new blood, an updated graphics engine which looks amazing, and the same ridiculously frenetic action from MvC2 should get people to the stores to purchase MvC 3. I enjoyed Tatsunoko vs. Capcom 2 on the Wii, but I don’t think MvC is really for me.

Bulletstorm (22nd on PS3, 360 & PC)

Jrow’s Take: Gears of War 3 will do for Bulletstorm what Halo 3 did for Crackdown. A new IP from Epic that includes a beta invite to Gears 3 on the 360, Bulletstorm is a damn impressive looking piece of ass-blasting, nut-kicking, gun-toting action from an FPS perspective. Very rare do you see an FPS whose core focus is to score as many points and be as stylish as possible in killing enemies. This game really impressed me when it was revealed at E3, and playing the recently released demo assured me that this would be an awesome game that I’ll definitely spend time with while also participating in the GoW4 Beta. Also, Steven Blum does the voice of the main character.

Killzone 3 (22nd on PS3)

Jrow’s Take: I’ve talked some on the podcast about how I felt a little duped by Killzone 2. It was nice looking and the multiplayer was ok, but something about it didn’t make me cling to it the way I did with Call of Duty or Halo. With a new decrease in the reaction time, Killzone 3 should feel a little more twitchy than 2 did, akin to Call of Duty. Move controls will also add a new dimension to the game as Killzone 3 is the first serious foray into FPS gaming on a hardcore console. I’m a huge fan of Metroid Prime’s FPS control scheme on the Wii, and I’ll be most interested to see how it translates to Move and the PS3.
Reminder: The Open Beta launches this Thursday, February 3rd on PSN.

Other noteworthy releases in February:

• Mario Sports Mix (7th on Wii)
• Borderlands: GotY Edition (8th on 360)
• Gears of War Triple Pack (15th on 360)
• De Blob 2 (22nd on Wii)