With that first paycheck of 2015 finally bringing some numbers to your bank account, we imagine you'll be looking for a suitably entertaining way of emptying it again.
While you could stock up on a crusty loaf and head in the direction of the nearest duck pond, we think you'll get a few more hours out of the latest batch of video game titles vying for your fingers this February.
Here are five virtual experiences you'd do well to delve into over the coming weeks.
Evolve
Coming to: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Four versus one doesn't sound like a fair fight, but when that 'one' is a monster the size of a semi-detached, it's a dust-up worth sticking around for. Evolve's premise is simple: a team of four players, each with their own unique skills and weapons, must hunt down and kill a single opponent player, cast in the role of a monster. Said monster must evade the team for long enough to grow into a towering leviathan, capable of tearing the small band apart. It's hide-and-seek of sci-fi proportions, set to consume your multiplayer interests for months to come.
Arrives: 10 February
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Coming to: Nintendo 3DS
Bad news for your N64 - a 3D remake of the cartridge classic The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is threatening to end that annual trip up to the loft for "one more play". One of Link's finest outings, the 2000 title sees players go after a masked rogue by the name of Skull Kid, who pinches the Ocarina of Time and Link's horse Epona. Set in the twisted land of Termina, this is a welcome return to the puzzles and masks that we obsessed over in younger days. You're going to wish your commute was a little longer.
Arrives: 13 February
Total War: Attila
Coming to: Windows PC
Micromanagement: a term that strikes dread into the heart of project managers and office workers. Yet, in the guise of a PC game, it can be a cause for joy. If you like your gaming strategic then the latest instalment of the bewildering, epic and immensely complex Total War series is one for you. Set at the dawn of the Dark Ages (395 AD, but you knew that), players begin as the Western Roman Empire with vast territories under your control - only to be met by a growing threat from the East (the clue is in the name). Storm settlements, siege cities and soak yourself in an improbable number of units, factions and stats. This is one for the strategy purists.
Arrives: 17 February
The Order: 1886
Coming to: PlayStation 4
Forget everything you know about the Victorian period. Well, nearly everything. Keep the smog-filled visions of a sprawling London, fat on industrial revolution and sick with poverty - then add some Tesla coils, Arthurian knights and werewolves. This is the world of The Order: 1886, a monster-hunting, cover-grabbing, third person-shooting game that's been making noises for the PlayStation 4 since what feels like 1886 (it's been in the works since 2010). Slick combat, gorgeous visuals and an epic story line, this could be the shooting match the PS4 has been waiting for.
Arrives: 20 February
Oddworld: New N Tasty
Coming to: Windows, Mac, Linux
Yep, yet another old title port. But Oddworld: New N Tasty isn't just a fresh lick of pixels. Resurrecting a classic platformer from your PS1 days, Abe's Oddysee has been built from the ground up for a new HD generation, with new physics, graphics, speech, sounds, vocals and cut-scenes. The soul of the adventure remains intact: the puzzles feel trickier, the chase sequences more manic - everything you remember from the original is here, just... sharper.
Arrives: 25 Feb (already out on PS4, coming soon to PS3 and Xbox One)
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