The first major game of the year is a jetpack-powered blockbuster that could take down 'Destiny' — here's what we know about 'Anthem'

• The first big new game of 2019 is coming on February 22: "Anthem" is a massive blockbuster title for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
• The game is being made by EA's BioWare studio, which is most well-known for its hugely popular "Mass Effect" series.
• But "Anthem" is a major new franchise for the studio, and it's far more focused on gameplay than narrative development — it's more similar to Activision's "Destiny" than previous BioWare games.

The first huge game of 2019 is nearly here: "Anthem" is scheduled to arrive on February 22 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC players.

So, uh, what is it?

Well, it's the first major new franchise from EA's storied BioWare studio — a crew that's most well-known for having created the beloved "Mass Effect" series — in years. And that means it's got some absurdly high expectations to meet. 

With "Anthem" just a few weeks away from launch, we're diving in to what we know about the first huge game of 2019:

First and foremost: What is "Anthem"? It's a lot like "Destiny."

If you've never played "Destiny," the premise is simple: It's an online-only first-person shooter that puts players into a shared online world.

Sometimes there are public events in that world — a monster that needs to be taken down with combined firepower, for instance. And sometimes you choose to go on private events with friends or strangers — dedicated missions with specific goals. 

It's not an MMO-style game, along the lines of "World of Warcraft," but it's not entirely different either. Players see each other and can interact in a shared online space, just like they did in "WoW." 

The difference with games like "Destiny" and the upcoming "Anthem" is that the shared online space is only shared by a limited number of players. In games like "WoW," servers could hold hundreds of players who all existed in the same virtual world. In games like "Destiny" and "Anthem," the world houses far fewer human players.

Unlike "Destiny," "Anthem" is a third-person shooter. Also unlike "Destiny," "Anthem" has a major focus on mobility — your character has a jet pack!

Whereas "Destiny" is laser-focused on being a great first-person shooter, "Anthem" is seemingly focused on mobility. To that end, each of the game's suits has its own type of jet pack — the primary form of travel in "Anthem."

Those jet packs enable players to fly through the air, and also to fly through underwater sections of the world. If we're being honest, it looks delightful — there are even little flourishes to embellish your flying. And who doesn't want to embellish their flying?

So, what do you do in "Anthem"? You take out monsters!

The planet that "Anthem" is set on is a bizarre world of monsters, ancient gods, and a tiny contingent of humanity that's barely hanging on.

As a "Freelancer" — a human who wears a sweet, Iron Man-esque robot suit — you're in charge of keeping your fellow humans safe. And that means going out into the wild, taking on crazy monsters, and defeating them.

The overarching threat to the world is the monsters, but more specifically, that the monsters will get control of various "tools of the Gods" that were left behind. So the story of "Anthem" goes: The Gods set out to create the world in nine days, but stopped after three and disappeared. What they left behind is their tools — powerful artifacts that you, as a Freelancer, must keep from falling into the wrong hands.

What this means in practice, most likely, is you'll find lots of sweet stuff to power up your character with out in the wilderness.