My Top 5 games of 2015

Well 2015 has come and gone leaving us with some great games, everything from becoming the Dark Knight one last time in Rocksteady's last Batman game to listening to Kiefer Sutherland play the iconic role of Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid V. We've had fun firing giant balls with rocket powered cars in Rocket League and went on another adventure with Geralt in The Witcher 3, it felt like a year for open world sandbox games. As much as I would have loved to give more games a shot in this list there were some I didn't play enough of to warrant a spot on the list (that's not to say they aren't great games but it would be unfair for me to list them). So let's take a look at what I did play and why they deserve their place in my list, perhaps some of you might even be tempted by them!

#5 - Dying Light

I love open world games, the sheer amount of content you can experience can sometimes overwhelm you or it can end up becoming a grind and boring. Having previously given Dead Island (another title from Techland) a few hours of play and eventually becoming bored of it I thought the game would happen in Dying Light, fortunately I was wrong and it was the complete opposite despite some similarities between them. The game puts you in the shoes of Kyle Crane who gets sent to the zombie infested city of Harran with the mission of obtaining a sensitive file stolen by Kadir Suleiman.

Gameplay is much like Dead Island, you can find weapons and upgrade them to have things like electricity coming off an axe or improve their duarability to prevent them from breaking (though they can be repaired a limited amount of times). You'll also spend much of the game looting items, upgrades and weapons just like Dead Island, you might even come across a few rare mods to improve your current weapon. The skill system is a highlight since it focuses on 3 main areas, Power (combat), Agility (movement) and Survivor. Each tree has some unique abilities including some passive traits that allow you to perform things like taking less damage or sprinting for longer, probably one of the biggest things in the game is the movement system and if you unlock the grapple in the Agility tree you'll be able to move around the city from rooftop to rooftop at a much faster pace. Movement is such a big feature in this game, you can jump over enemies heads, slide under walls and climb up massive towers. It has a day and night cycle which allows for greater risk at night with better rewards such as higher xp gain for increased leveling, if the night isn't easy for you though the game let's you sleep it out and wait till daylight.

The game also features Coop and Multiplayer, get a group of friends together to take down a swarm of zombies or even be the zombie and go against other players with special abilities. A fantastic game for both single player and multiplayer, easily one of my top games of the year and I look forward to eventually finishing it.

#4 - Tales from the Borderlands

Telltale are masters of storytelling and 2015 was no exception as they managed to deliver 3 titles based on popular franchises including Minecraft, Game of Thrones and my personal favourite Borderlands. Tales from the Borderlands puts you in the shoes of 2 vault hunter wannabes that get thrown together to find a mysterious vault so they can loot it's treasure, of course things aren't nearly that simple and along the way you're going to have to make some tough choices on how things play out. The story takes place after the events of Borderlands 2 so expect spoilers if you haven't played that game (end game spoilers that take place at the end), without giving anything away there are some really great characters and the charm/humour from the franchise is as good (if not better at times) as the rest of the Borderlands games.

Gameplay is pretty much the same in most Telltale games but they have some new additions such as an inventory system (which doesn't really get used all that much) as well as being able to customise your characters/vehicles during certain points in the game via the Quick Change stations just like you would any other Borderlands game. There is also a small element of shooting in the game which feels great but a little odd at times for a point and click adventure, still it's nice they added sections like this as it's what makes Borderlands.

I even considered putting this higher on my list because it was the best story I had enjoyed all year, though the game wasn't the longest and I clocked in 12 hours over the course of 5 chapters. To me this is the best game Telltale have produced (including Wolf Among Us) and it's something I could easily recommend to anyone wanting to have a whacky adventure with some unlikely characters.

#3 - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is in my mind one of the best games of the year, it has a great cast of characters, an interesting story and plenty of things to keep your interested for a long time. If Ground Zeroes was too short and linear then Phantom Pain sets that right by giving you a huge open world Afghanistan (and later Africa) to explore with plenty of side activities to keep you on your toes, you'll even get to manage your own base and soldiers with micro management.

As the game progresses you'll eventually unlock more options and more equipment in how to approach a mission, you can even recruit buddies to help you on missions such as D-Dog who will sniff out enemies or attack them depending on the role assigned to him. Even if you might prefer to do things Stealthy the game does give you the option to treat it like an action game but it's more fun trying to sneak your way around and honestly it's how a Metal Gear game should be. Missions may vary and you might find yourself triggering new ones by playing others, each one can be dealt with in an almost random order but there are certain ones that need to be played before unlocking others. Not really a massive thing but there are some cassette tapes in the world you can hunt out to play on your iDroid device (or use as helicopter landing music) such as Europe - The Final Countdown, A-ha - Take on Me, Kim Wilde - Kids in America and many others, all of which make the game enjoyable.

It's one of the biggest open world games of this year and while it might not be as long as Witcher 3 you'll still end up playing this for a long time, I haven't even managed to finish this despite spending over 50 hours (it might even more like 70 or higher I lost count). Then you have the multiplayer which I have not yet tried but get this for the single player as it's one of the best games of this year period. Highly recommend this for any Stealth action fan out there, even has Kiefer Sutherland doing the voice of Snake this time and while some didn't like the change I found he does a great job in the role.

#2 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Ah yes The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a game that's won GOTY and countless awards for it's sheer brilliance in gameplay, voice acting, story and basically everything else. I haven't spend as much as time with this as I'd have liked due to the countless other open world games being released in such a short space of time, did manage to sink a fair chunk of time into it though and all the time I did spend with it makes it my #2 game of the year. Not really found myself getting into the previous Witcher games but something drew me into Wild Hunt, perhaps it was the freedom and variety coupled with the sheer scope of a world to explore that really piqued my interest.

The story takes place years after the events of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, continuing the adventures of Geralt of Rivia as he searches for his long lost lover Yennefer of Vengerberg. As the story unfolds you'll travel far and wide in the massive open world (which is 30 times bigger than previous Witcher games), having such a large world means having plenty of content to fill it with and it sure has that, with enough content you could spend weeks or even months trying to complete.

Combat has been revamped to make it better by adding new mechanics such as combat on horseback, swimming underwater and Geralt can even jump this time around allowing him to climb obstacles. Also new to the game is the collectible card game "Gwent", this replaces the dice game found in the previous games and instead offers a fast-paced combat card game that has more than 150 unique playing cards, four factions, hero cards, spell cards and more. Some people have enjoyed Gwent so much it's become something they enjoy more than the actual game itself!

Everytime I explore the vast world I am always surprised as just how detailed the world can be, swimming underwater you might find a hidden treasure or scaling a tower might give you a new recipe to create a new item. It's got everything Skyrim has and more, it's almost neverending and there is still content being created for it. If you're one for adventures and you had fun with Skyrim or previous Witcher titles then you should pick this up as it's definitely a game of the year contender (and was almost mine).

#1 - Batman: Arkham Knight

So that brings us to Batman: Arkham Knight as my game of the year, which might be an odd choice and not even something I could fully answer. It's the swansong from Rocksteady Studios in their Batman: Arkham trilogy and boy did they go out with a bang. I've always been a fan of Batman and played various games over the years (including some really bad ones), it was such a delight when Arkham Asylum released back in 2009 as it did something very few games did and made good use of a license. Arkham Knight is the ultimate Batman experience, you have the best freeflow combat system in any game as a staple for the series but refined enough to make it feel more fluid, you can drive around the streets with the Batmobile - (which at times can be a little tedious and annoying but the fact it's in the game still feels like it makes the whole package that much sweeter) and then you have a wonderful cast of villians - each one with their own personality and charm.

The game is a visual treat with some great moments highlighting just how pretty it is, at times it's hard to believe it's the same engine they have been using since the first game. Everything looks and sounds like it should, Kevin Conroy reprises his role as Batman along with many of the cast returning (including Mark Hamill as the Joker) to bring the world to life. Gameplay is much like the other games in the series, you have main missions, side missions, challenges and riddler trophies to collect - this time they have also added racing tracks to make use of the Batmobile. At times you might find yourself using the Batmobile as a tool to help you out during combat or to help solve a tricky enviroment puzzle. Another great addition is the teamup moves which let you pal up with Catwoman, Robin or Nightwing during certain moments to add more spice to the freeflow combat (I wish there was more of this outside of challenge maps).

I was a little disappointed they didn't do more with the story since it felt a bit lackluster at times and wasn't as dramatic as Arkham City, they also didn't do much in the boss battles (they do have some though). Minor gripes aside though when it comes together as a complete package it's a great Batman title and even with the various PC problems the game has had the game still managed to deliver a stunning game that is hard to ignore, not everyone will enjoy it or put it high on a list but it's the game I most enjoyed in 2015.

I hope one day Rocksteady Studios does another game based in the DC Comics universe, perhaps a Justice League game?

Honourable Mentions from 2015

Picking 5 games from the year was a tough chocie and while some might be better in the long run it would be unfair not to mention games that deserve a place in my list just as much as any other, perhaps one of these was your game of the year.

Rocket League - I'd be a fool not to mention this game, released back in July for PC and PS4 it managed to offer a fun sports game involving remote controlled cars and giant balls. The real charm of the game is that it doesn't matter how good you are at it and easily something anybody can jump into for a quick game with friends or solo. Such a simple concept that had such a passionate team creating it with plenty of updates and DLC still coming out the game is one of the best multiplayer games of the year (if not the best).

Assassin's Creed Syndicate - I've played most of the Assassin's Creed games over the years with 2 being my favourite and Black Flag coming a close second. Syndicate took what I loved about both of those games and mixed them together, it had great characters, a great open world London to explore complete with grappling around from rooftop to rooftop and enjoyable missions. That's not to say it didn't have flaws like most of the titles in the series it did suffer from being a bit repetitive - would be great if Ubisoft took a little time out from making it a yearly franchise. All in all though it was easily my 3rd favourite from the series and something even those burnt out by previous entries will adore, hopefully we'll see the Frye twins in another title!

DragonBall Xenoverse - This was a surprise hit for me, been a fan of the anime for such a long time and grew up watching it so it was refreshing to get a game on PC after all the ones that were released on console it was finally our time. After such a lengthy wait for a DragonBall game to turn up on PC it was worth the wait, the story takes the anime and takes a look at "what if" scenarios depicting events unfolding in other ways. You are recruited by Trunks and can make your own fighter to stop a pair from corrupting the timelines, along the way you'll teamup with Goku, Vegeta and more as you take on the most powerful fighters. It has plenty to do from story missions to online battles and quests you can do with friends that should keep you playing for hours, I managed to sink 63 hours into the game and still have more left to finish. Combat suffers at times but for a fan you'll certaintly forgive the flaws, here's hoping they release a sequel in the future.

• Craig Bishop