Top 5 Games for 2015

This list is just a personal list and my reasons why these will be some of the best games in 2015, maybe you’ll find my selection or reasons interesting, enjoy! 

(List is in no particular order)

1) Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

(Listen to the trailer song for enhanced reading experience: Nuclear, by Mike Oldfield.)

Allow me to preface this section by admitting, I haven’t had much experience with this franchise. In fact my first time playing it was with my older cousin some 10 years ago with Metal Gear Solid, but then I got my second chance when Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots hit PS3 in 2008, it was my first real run at the franchise and I had a blast! It’s one of the most unique franchises I have ever played and it accomplishes this in the way that it blends both a serious atmosphere with ridiculous jokes and pranks and does them almost awkwardly, but still in an entertaining way. Like managing to sneak around in a cardboard box as a stealth mechanic or using playboy magazines to distract guards, my favorite prank is the scene where one of the newbie members of the series “fox hound” unit, takes a dump in an oil drum…yes you read that correctly, all the while trying to tell some sophisticated story about war and espionage.  

To top it off it’s also a franchise known for some pretty epic boss fights. Furthermore, it has an interesting, but convoluted story from what I gather, something akin to Assassins creed, complete with conspiracies about the future and past, but with crazy autonomous mechs called “gekkos” that sound like cows and all sorts of Japanese weirdness. And admittedly, I haven’t read into it much aside from recognizing the main characters.

Below is some gameplay: 1080p, 60fps:

Fast foward to 2015 and you have this next generation version of the series that promises to be bigger than ever before with Hideo Kojima promising the game to have a world bigger then all of the previous games combined …and that’s just for one location in the game, while also continuing its expansion Metal Gear Online (MGO) all this points to one of the most ambitious Metal Gear’s yet, as well as for both the stealth and open-world genres.

But let’s go back to the multiplayer for a moment, not only does the game have a dedicated multiplayer outside the main game, but it also a side-multiplayer part of the main single player in the form of a motherbase (or base of operations) in which players can store vehicles and weapons with which they can assign troops to guard. The motherbase will be fully customizable and provide support for in-game missions and allows for invasion missions to other players bases as an infiltration exercise, where you can loot another players supplies and even capture and convert their troops.

2) Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

This is another franchise in which I am a relative newcomer to, with my first and only experience coming from the 2nd game in this series. But what impressed me then still impresses me now. Mainly due to it being a damn good looking game, period. It’s been something I never noticed before, but I have begun to appreciate recently is the level of visual flare in animated movies and games lately where they look even better then movies based on reality or fictional reality.

I play a wide range of games and fighting along with, RPG and racing games are just one of those genres I put off in the back of my mind as something I don’t find interesting. I’ve tried them…many times, but its just not my cup of tea. But this year this game and its series is definitely moving up on my list of games to buy. If nothing else this game makes a great graphics demo to show off to friends.

A demonstration of what I’m talking about:

 3) Star Wars Battlefront 3

This is one of the most anticipated games for 2015 and second of all time, if you count Half Life 3 in the amount of fan fervor. Star Wars Battlefront 3, or simply Star Wars Battlefront has been on the wish list of almost every gamer since the series stopped in 2005. The hype is real… and with some of the speculation people already have for this game its a small wonder why. From ground to space combat, to the possibility of an optional first person mode, there is a lot of potential in this new installment.

Like many my first experience with this series started not on the first title, but its sequel BF2, but from that title I began to love the universe in its video game form, the seemingly countless(well couple dozen A.I on a counter display) rebels, droids or storm troopers on screen was impressive at the time, and is still unrivaled for a first person game. Large scale battles on expansive and iconic maps like the Deathstar, Hoth  and Endor kept players coming back for more, coupled with the option to play as any faction from within the Star Wars universe across any period within its history. In one battle you can play as the empire crushing the rebels on Coruscant, in the next as the galactic republic against the separatists forces and their droid army.

Some reservations about EA….

My only reservations about this title have to do with its publisher, EA and to a small extent even the developer DICE itself after its BF4 launch. Now as a lot of gamers know EA has a very spotty reputation in general (something becoming disturbingly common with many publishers recently), they are known as the sole proprietors of many well-known licenses but manage to master relatively few of them. They produce many games without much care for the quality of the final product, Ex: Sim City launch, BF4 launch, lousy support service (a la Origin), and its generally felt mediocre annual sports game offerings. As well as a previous consecutive nomination for one of the worst companies in America for two years running!

With a franchise of this caliber and hype, along with EA and DICE’s own tarnished reputations one would hope they will have enough common sense to not mess around with this new installment of the franchise, here’s hoping….

 4) Batman Arkham Knight

The Dark Knight Returns…

Batman’s next foray into Gotham was one of the most impressive showings at last years E3, due to it being one of the few AAA titles with actual gameplay… *Cough* Uncharted 4..*Cough*  And what was shown was AMAZING! With an expansive open world Gotham stretching as far as the eye can see. The world of Gotham looks intimidatingly vast and purposefully so, as this change was made to accommodate one of the new main features of this title, The Batmobile. In the past it was not possible to create such an environment as the CPU and RAM limitations of the now past gen consoles couldn’t render such detail. Sadly, this also means there will be no PS3/360 version of the game. It’s all PC/PS4/Xbox one ahead! I’m glad since, before that announcement almost every game was being co-developed for both past gen and current platforms, Arkham Knight became the first announced dedicated current gen game.

This is one of the very few exclusively single player titles I will buy day one, sorry The Order: 1886 and Bloodborne. And it’s mainly due to how well this game is put together and the options you have in how you do missions, which seem to only be that much more impressive in this game especially with the newly redesigned Batmobile. It is not only drivable, but it also has turrets, missiles and an ejection seat, for whenever Batman needs momentum to just glide over the city. Batman himself also has his usual gadgets, such as grappling hook, smoke pellets and his detective vision to see unseen areas in missions. It’s an action packed game like no other with more then enough options in which to tackle missions. 

This new Batman release offers collectors the same high level fan service as previous games with two special collectible versions of the game, the Limited edition which starts at a 100 bones and the “Batmobile” edition which starts at $200.

Below is some gameplay from E3:

5) Uncharted 4

The legend returns…one last time 

This is pretty much on every Playstation gamers to buy list, regardless if you’re a hardcore or casual gamer. It’s just that good. And with a team like Naughty Dog behind it you know it will last a LONG time. Which is why I saved talking about this game for last. Where do I start? This franchise from Naughty Dog is one of the biggest system sellers for Sony and given the company’s lackluster financial status, they desperately need this game.

Multiplayer Extraordinaire

Am I the only one that plays the multiplayer for Uncharted almost exclusively to any other multiplayer game? I say this because at times with games like Call of duty and Battlefield taking up so much mind share in the multiplayer genre, it can be easy to overlook fantastic single player games that do a good multiplayer. Seriously, I love Uncharted’s multiplayer and with people bashing the trend of too many multiplayer game I feel glad there are still plenty to choose from. It’s what keep you coming back (as long as it is well done and not forced).

Gameplay included below:

One of the best single player/story experiences you’ll find on ANY platform, period.

If PlayStation gamers have learned anything over the years, it’s that Naughty Dog are creative geniuses at story-based games, to a degree that easily rivals movie productions. The Last of Us for example, even has as many or more awards then certain movies. In a way Naughty Dog games have become two for one super combos combining top notch single player and multiplayer  experiences into one package. A territory only approachable, by large and well funded studios as many developers are recently finding out.