Rockstar has improved upon one of the greatest games of all time. The original version of Grand Theft Auto V was a major accomplishment upon its initial release and remains that way even after a year of the new console generation.
Make no mistake: Bloodborne will put hair on your chest.
The first Call of Duty built for the current console generation, Advanced Warfare is a leap in the right direction for the series. The exoskeleton power doesn't change "everything," but it creates a fresh experience.
More than just a great Lord of the Rings game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor marks a new era for the franchise that can be enjoyed by fans and the uninitiated alike.
Doing the impossible by topping its predecessor, Rayman Legends is one of the best gaming experiences this year. It takes everything fun about classic platforming and puts it in a visually stunning environment.
While Shadow Fall may be best representation of the PS4's visuals, Need for Speed Rivals is the best representation of its power. It's blisteringly fast, not batting an eye at speeds over two-hundred miles per hour for a sustained period of time. Cars look realistic, environments are highly-detailed and the dynamic HUDs and interface are the best the series has seen. It's raw, visceral, intense and boasts a ton of replay value thanks to over one hundred events and seamless online multiplayer. Need for Speed Rivals proves how impressive a PS4 racing game can be by offering a fully realized product that blows past conceptions of what a launch title can offer.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III was created in a three-year development cycle and it shows. This is basically five standalone games wrapped into one deep package. While it will have DLC released for it, there's enough content out of the box to keep players busy until the next Call of Duty and probably some time after that. The campaign is perfectly paced and entertaining throughout, the multiplayer is rich with customization and Zombies is refreshingly challenging. The only real black mark is a story teetering on the on the brink of pretension, but the existentialism of it is undeniably fascinating. Jam-packed with meaningful content, Black Ops III is the Call of Duty you've been waiting for.
Anybody who'd like to replay the series or experience it for the first time before the looming release of Unharted 4 have no reason not to pick up The Nathan Drake Collection; it's simply the best way to experience three great games.
With other toys-to-life franchises seemingly folding by the day, it’s amazing that Skylanders has managed to stay not only wildly successful, but also so fresh and entertaining year after year.
It may not take Call of Duty to the heights of its galactic setting, but Infinite Warfare is out of this world.
Call of Duty: WWII will be fascinating to study from a business standpoint: will consumers embrace the product they have long been clamoring for and how will Activision handle its business strategy moving forward? Will they dive exclusively back into World War II until gamers tire of it again or cycle between different eras from here on out? Whatever happens, there's a fantastic game at the center of this future case study that proves that no matter the ballyhoo, Activision will ensure a superb experience is delivered.
Now that the PS4 has been on the market for over a year, SD San Diego has had time to fine-tune the MLB franchise, giving it more sheen to the point that it's easily one of the most realistic sports games on the market. MLB 15: The Show doesn't bring any major additions to the table, but it does respectably tweak the most beloved modes to streamline the experience for pros and casuals alike.
The Evil Within marks Shinji Mikami's triumphant return to horror, cementing his status as a mastermind of the genre. Smartly aiming for psychological horror over cheap jump scares, it gets under the skin and effects the psyche. Unfortunately, it falls into the modern trappings of boasting too much firepower at the cost of stealth and intelligence.
Part of a surprisingly strong series, Skylanders Trap Team is arguably the best iteration yet. Although Traps are a way to further increase merchandising, they add both a enjoyable layer of depth to gameplay and a fun new aspect of collectibility that will encourage players to trade/loan their captured villains amongst friends.
The physical quality of the figures have remained outstanding and focusing on Marvel should bring in a whole new group of collectors and gamers alike. It may not revolutionize, but Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes 2.0 Edition firmly establishes the property in the gaming landscape.
After a serious misstep with NHL 15, FIFA 15 is a leap in the right direction for EA Sports. Shrewdly taking advantage of current-gen's capabilities with added emotional intelligence and improved animations, this is easily the prettiest EA Sports title this year.
Destiny isn't the convention-bending masterpiece it's been touted to be, but it remains a fine shooter.
Madden NFL 15 marks a noticeable improvement for the long-standing franchise. This is a solid game of football, both on a technical and visual level.
Treated like the Second Coming, Watch Dogs has arrived riding a tidal wave of hype and has turned out not to be a momentous event in gaming, but instead just a great game. In some ways, Ubisoft has done it a disservice by creating expectations it could never live up to, as this is a wholly entertaining experience on its own terms. The campaign is massive and full of enthralling missions, the voice acting and characterization (outside of Aiden) is impeccable and it's jam packed with enough content to keep gamers satisfied until Grand Theft Auto VI.
The magical combination of two creative powerhouses in Disney and Harmonix has produced one of the best Kinect rhythm games to date. Like no other to come before it, Fantasia: Music Evolved combines the required accuracy of the best of the genre with wholly enjoyable remixing tools that allow players to create new compositions on the fly merely with their hands.