Topic: 2015 Games of the Year...

As 2015 draws to a close, what has been your top 5 games of the year?

My top 5 are as follows (Console I played it on)

5: Destiny: TheTaken King (XB1/PS4)
4: CoD: Black Ops 3 (XB1/PS4)
3: Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4)
2: Rise of the Tomb Raider (XB1)
1: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (XB1)

Unsurprising choice for the Witcher 3 but I think its the best game of this generation by a long way. The stunning visuals are matched by epic game play and story. Rise of the Tomb Raider took everything that made the reboot so good and built upon it - adding more depth to the game play too. Batman: Arkham Knight was overall the best game to be the Batman but was let down by the Batmobile missions as that was so 1 dimensional, repetitive and overused although it was fun to drive around Gotham for fun. People will remember this game because of the Batmobile but the majority of the game is great. CoD: BO3 is by far the best Call of Duty game this generation. I do think the 'story' suffers by making it 4-player co-op and making the missions playable in any order. The XP progression also changes the way it plays too as it could be a different experience based on what you have upgraded/unlocked. Zombies is superb as only Treyarch seem capable of delivering and the MP isn't 'ruined' by the new movement mechanics (like AW) but also adds something 'new' to the series. Destiny: The Taken King is on the list because it has certainly improved on the yr1 content/structure/story. Its also been my most played game by quite a margin (not even including the previous years content) so I think itt deserves to be on my list.

Well that's my top 5, what's yours?

1. Witcher 3 - by a Velen country mile.
2. Assassins Creed Syndicate - best one in years, possibly ever.
3. Mad Max - under-appreciated by most - supremely satisfying vehicular combat and post apocalyptic exploration.
4. Halo 5 - best since Halo 3 - might have been higher up the list if the Chief had a bigger role.
5. Transformers: Devastation - just like being a teenager in the 80's again!

Batman narrowly missed out on the number 5 slot to Transformers which was love at first sight. Not had much of a go of Tomb Raider so can't really rate it, same with Fallout 4.

In contrast to bamozzy I've not had much fun with this years COD at all so that probably wouldn't even make a top ten. Might give the Zombie mode a go but the campaign is boring (and that is coming from someone who usually enjoys it).

Honourable mention goes to two Indie games: Beyond Eyes and Never Alone which both made a big impact on me during my time playing through them.

I do think that Black Ops 3's campaign suffers in terms of 'story' because of the decision to make it 4-player co-op AND the fact the missions can be played in any order. I do think this has affected the 'story'. Each mission therefore has to be 'self contained' and not necessarily follow the same progression that a strictly linear and traditional campaign offers.

I also think the decision to add an XP progression with unlocks and a certain amount of customisation has had an impact too. It does add to the 'replayability' and the extra 'Nightmare' mode adds a different take on it as well, but it doesn't help overall impact of a 'linear' story. I can understand Treyarchs decision as many don't bother to play these more than once or twice (if they bother at all) but with some unlocks carrying over into other modes (camo's, reticles, player cards etc) it does give extra reason's to replay. Also the addition of co-op gives this an extra reason too - something to do with friends. I guess you can have a different playthrough depending on what you opt to upgrade as well as this can change your playstyle.

Zombies is very much like the traditional Black Ops/Black Ops 2 style - its got more of the things that were in these but with a few 'extras'. Its not as basic as the world at war Zombies that started it off but it plays just as well. The remake of Der Reise is great too. Again this has Camos, player cards etc that are usable in MP as well.

What I like about the MP is that it plays very much like a traditional Call of Duty. The maps flow just as well rather than degenerate into the chaotic random encounters of AW. The movement enhances the experience rather than 'dominates' it as well. The majority of wall running spots are often in the open so its quite a high risk thing to do - it does favour the person not wall running if they are vigilant enough to spot them but the benefit of 'flanking' is sometimes worth that risk. The Specialists in general are not game breaking and can add to the 'fun'. I would have liked a 'no specialist ability' playlist or at least just 1 'moshpit' mode in each of core and hardcore where these are not active. Overall though I think it plays very well - with the specialists. Maps are in general well designed and flow well - like traditional CoD maps always have. Partly because they have that 3 lane system and partly because the new movement doesn't allow you to jump over buildings/walls etc like AW's did.

I do wish this had a more traditional and linear campaign, I enjoyed both Ghosts and AW's (as well as the last gen Campaigns too in general). I do think it would have had a much stronger story but I guess it may have impacted on its replayability too. I know linear stories can have co-operative game-play too but often you are restricted by what missions you have all unlocked. If one player hasn't started the campaign, they often can't jump into the later missions. Either that or you always have to start at the beginning or the lowest mission that everyone has unlocked i.e if one person has only reached the 3rd mission but everyone else has finished it then that's where you can start from.

Overall though, the amount of content and the fact that its all quite substantial in terms of replayability and playable with friends, especially after the overall disappointment of last years Advanced Warfare, I think this is one of the best CoD's on this generation. I do think its one of, if not the best FPS games this year as a complete package too. Other FPS games may have better campaigns but the MP is poor or vice versa - at least from my perspective anyway.

1. AC Syndicate - Best AC game for ages.
2. Joint 2nd for Batman Arkham Knight and Witcher 3 - cos I can't decide which is best.
4. For me it's Lego Marvel Super Heroes - I've had hours of fun playing this.
5. Far Cry 4 (technically 2014 but I got it for Christmas)

1. Batman
2. Dark Souls 2 Xbox One (I know this is from last year but I only got it this year and its the game I've spent the most time on)
3. Halo 5
4. Ori and the Blind Forrest
5. Gears of War

I'll admit, I haven't fully decided on my favourite games of the year yet. Partly due to the fact that there is still time in the year to play a couple more games (or progress further in the ones I have played) and partly due to being unable to decide between three games as to which one is my favourite. On the last day of the year, I'll have finally decided and will make a list of my top 6 favourite games of 2015. For now though, here are my current top 5 favourite games of 2015;

5) Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (3DS)
4) Dead or Alive 5: Last Round (Xbox One)
3) Ori and the Blind Forest (Xbox One)
2) Splatoon (Wii U)
1) Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water (Wii U)

As noted, I'm still undecided between my top three favourite games of the year. Ori and the Blind Forest was a beautiful game and a very polished platforming experience. Splatoon meanwhile is a creative and colourful game with insanely fun and addictive gameplay. Then there is Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water, which I'll admit I'm not too far into, but I've become completely captivated by it's visuals, setting, characters, and gameplay (with particular praise to it's lovely usage of the Wii U gamepad). Deciding between these three games is certainly a challenge.

The Witcher 3 nothing can touch this game. Nothing

1.) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2.) Ori and the Blind Forest
3.) #IDARB

1. Rise of the Tomb Raider - Phenomenal story and gameplay
2. Halo 5 - fantastic at everything, but not enough singleplayer content
3. Mortal Kombat X
4. Don't Starve: Giant Edition
5. Forza 6

1. Rocket League — PS4
2. Mortal Kombat X — PS4
3. Transformers Devestation — PS4
4. Black Ops III — PS4
5. Drive Club Bikes — PS4

@Tasuki:
No Nintendo love at all? Xenoblade X? Splatoon? Yoshi? Just surprised because it seemed like you're also a pretty big Wii U fan.

My top 5 are...
1. Yakuza 5 (PS3) - Last gen game that arrived 3 years late here but as the saying goes 'better late than never.' I love the old school feel and the GTA meets Shenmue meets Streets of Rage vibe. Story is a bit convoluted but still interesting and there's a ton of side activities, most of which are very good, that are easy to get caught up in.
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider (Xbox One) - Took everything great about the first one and refined it. Longer, more interesting campaign with a cliche but still enjoyable story. The return of the pseudo-open world that worked perfectly in the reboot, more expansive optional tombs and now there's the addition of crypts to find more hidden goodies. I also think there's a nice balance of action and platforming/exploring and in those aspects the gameplay has been bettered. Then there's the expeditions with score attack and now Endurance mode which adds plenty of replayability. Only thing I'd like to see in the future is a little more confident and witty/sarcastic Lara.
3. Forza Motorsport 6 (Xbox One) - The best racing sim I've played this gen.
4. Mortal Kombat X (PS4) - Like Tomb Raider, a game that builds on a solid foundation. Whether wanting to play singleplayer or multi the game is jam-packed full of content and the ridiculous, nonsensical - but fun - story mode returns.
5. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (PS4) - Biggest surprise of the year for me. I wasn't sure what to expect given it was a very small budget production and the weekly roll out of episodes but I think just like the first Revelations, Capcom did a good of mixing old and new school RE and loved seeing a bigger role for Barry and Claire, both of which were characters that hadn't been heard from for a while.

@Gamer83: Lol funny thing is I didn't play any of the new Wii U games that came out in 2015 yet.. I played a demo of Splatoon and it was ok just not my cup of tea. If it had offline co-op then maybe. As for Xenoblade I am on the fence with that one right now. I think the newest Wii U game I played was Neo Fast Racing or whatever its called.

Mostly this year I have bought more games for my older systems like the Genesis, Dreamcast and Original Xbox.
Rocket League I will be honest and probably would have never bought let alone played if it wasn't for PS+. MKX I rented from Gamefly and was surprised with that one so I bought it from them for 10 dollars and I probably don't need to explain Transformers. Blops III and Drive Club Bikes I played over a friends house and those I will probably pick up when they get cheaper till then I just go over to my friends place to play them.

@Tasuki:
Interesting, I knew you were into retro gaming, for some reason also thought you were playing a lot more Wii U than it appears you actually do. Transformers certainly needs no explanation considering I'm an 80s kid.

@Gamer83: Yeah most of the Wii U games I played were Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, Tekken Tag and that was usually when I had the guys over from work. I don't recall playing anything that came out in 2015, unless my memory is going, so I didn't list them.

As for retro gaming goes I finally was able to get my retro set up going so I have access to most of my systems, before it was pull the system I wanted to play out of the closet climb behind the tv and unhook one to hook up another so, I really didn't have the urge to buy more games for those systems. But with the help of some switch boxes and the early release draught of PS4 games I got my systems set up now and ready to play whenever I want and I went back and bought some games that I missed or no longer had.

5: Killer Instinct
4: Rare Replay
3: Ori and the Blind Forest
2: The Witcher 3
1: Rise of the Tomb Raider

SteamWorld Heist is the best game this year.