The latest and greatest video games to play over spring break

Originally published in the April 10, 2014 print edition of the Sac City Express

Graphic courtesy Sac City Express

 If there’s one thing that’s for sure in life, it’s that being a video gamer and a college student is a tough combination to juggle.

It’s hard enough trying to find time for any hobbies while slaving over stacks of paper, reading endless pages of textbook goodness, studying all night long for tests and quizzes and trying to stay awake through all those hours of lectures, but free time to play video games? What’s that?

Luckily, spring break is coming up and it’s an exciting time because that shiny new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 actually have some games coming out to play. The recently released “Infamous: Second Son” for PS4, “TitanFall” for Xbox One, and the multi-console “Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes” are sure to keep gamers busy during this year’s break from classes.

In addition, “Thief” for current and next generation systems recently began pick-pocketing gamers, and “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2,” “Dark Souls II” and “South Park: The Stick of Truth” hit current generation consoles over the last couple of months.

As for new releases over the seven glorious days of freedom, according to IGN.com, “Lego: The Hobbit” turns Bilbo Baggins into a mini- figure, Elder Scrolls Online finally drops on PC, “Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn” brings the legendary series to the realm of MMORPG and Red Lynx Studios’ critically acclaimed series “Trials” comes to PlayStation with “Trials Fusion,” which will also release for PC and Xbox One.

For those gamers who are into motion gaming, Xbox One serves up “Kinect Sports Rivals” in time for spring break. While the picking is a little bit slim for the handhelds and Nintendo’s home console, the Wii U, gamers who haven’t picked up “Super Mario 3D World” yet owe it to themselves to play one of 2013’s biggest games.

In fact, picking up a Wii U is a good idea if nothing on the other consoles jumps out as must-play right now because in May, “Mario Kart 8” hits store shelves and a new “Smash Bros.” game is slated for release later this year.

Whether it’s a new release that has City College students firing up their consoles or PCs this spring break, or if they’re setting out to tackle that backlog of recent games that college classes have kept gamers from playing, there’s plenty of rest, relaxation and 12-hour button mashing marathons to be had during this year’s week away from campus.