2015 is proving to be one of the best years in gaming in a while. From the early year hits in Bloodborne and Evolve, or the big time sequels of Mortal Kombat X and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, it seems were only ever a month or so away from the next big game. The release of the stellar Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain almost feels like a capstone to such a phenomenal year, but we have to keep calm and remind ourselves that is only September.
2015’s holiday season is predictably packed with the usual suspects, but even long running, annualized series are using thing year to try something different, or to go back to basics. Series we know and love are taking risks this year in hopes to reinvigorate a stalling product, we should all
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
The open beta a month ago confirmed what seemed to be the dawn of a new age for the Call of Duty series. The slow paced plodding of old games is being thrown out the window in exchange for jet pack fueled, parkour infused, near future gun play. The newer, faster pace screams Titanfall in all the right ways, with multiplayer taking on MOBA like traits in the same way Evolve would earlier in the year. Now every player is a specific sort of character instead of some faceless special operative, and these characters come with their own abilities and weapons that can be altered and customized, but only to a point. Time will tell how long the influence will last, but its definitely a welcome shake up. To keep up with the competitive side of COD, check out the CODpedia.
2. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
With Assassin’s Creed Unity’s launch being a PR nightmare, and the game itself being somewhat underwhelming, gamers were generally excited to see that the next stop in the series was going to be a bit different. The England-centric story was leaked pretty early, but the punchy characters, the “back to basics” approach to gameplay, and the overall implications of the London setting were a mystery until earlier in the year. This years Assassin’s Creed looks more like an episode of Netflix’s Peaky Blinders than the sort of games were used to, which could be a better thing than we know.
3. Star Wars Battlefront
The re-branding and re-imagining of one of the best Star Wars licensed series ever has gotten the whole of the gaming community pretty excited. Not only are we finally getting another entry in the series – thanks in part to us also getting another entry in the film series in December – but it’s shaping up to be the biggest and most impressive shooter not called Call of Duty in a long time. Check out the Battlefront Wiki for more information.
4. Rock Band 4
In an awkward turn of events, it looks like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are both making a comeback – only two weeks apart from each other. It looks like the war of the plastic peripherals is about to begin anew, but both critically and sales wise, Rock Band has been winning that war consistently. With the added bonus that your old instruments are compatible with the new game and your entire back catalog (save for some Beatles tunes) will be completely accessible, it’s going to be hard to go head to head with the former reigning king of musical rhythm games. Guitar Hero looks to be going a completely different direction, though, with is a great idea. The rhythm game renaissance is upon us!
5. Fallout 4
For years, Fallout 4 was the most anticipated game not announced yet, save for maybe Half-Life 3. There was no great guarantee that it was ever going to happen, with Bethesda committing to The Elder Scrolls Online after Skyrim. But when the announcement came right before E3, we all lost out collective minds. The hype seems deserved, as Fallout 4 looks to take the tried and true open world formula that the series helped invent to greater lengths. With an incredible amount of customization to play with, and a story that looks to flirt with the pre-war lore in new ways, November couldn’t come soon enough. Come to the Fallout Wiki for more information.
What game are you closing your 2015 with? Leave it in the comments below, or tweet it to us @CurseGamepedia.