Over the past few years, the "Arkham" series has established itself as one of the best franchise running. The first game, "Batman: Arkham Asylum," was released in 2009 and redefined what it meant to be a liscned game. Two years later, the sequel "Batman: Arkham City" improved upon its predecessor and stood out in one of the most packed years for gaming in a long time. A prequel came out in 2013 entitled "Batman: Arkham Origins," while many consider it a step back from the previous games it still obtained much praise."Arkham Knight" is scheduled to be the last game in the series, and it's shaping up to be quite a game. Set in what appears to be a larger world with many new gameplay features, "Arkham Knight" looks to be the biggest and best game in what has already been a fantastic video game franchise.
In 2009, developers From Software released "Demon's Souls;" an action RPG set in a middle time where you must power through level after level of enemies. Two years later From Software released a spiritual successor entitled "Dark Souls," which received even more praise and pretty much perfected sword and shield combat. Now in 2015, their newest game "Bloodborne" looks to build off of its predecessors. Set in what appears to be a fictional Gothic, Victorian London, it changes up the style of the previous games. The biggest change seems to be that the developers want players to be more offensive. Shields have been removed and old style guns have been added. the character movements are also much faster with an emphasis on dodging and less on putting up your guard absorbing attacks. A few months ago Sony put out an invitation to an alpha of the game which I was lucky enough to get into. and I was very impressed. The new changes feel great, and the game keeps the difficulty that the previous games in the series have been known for. After playing the alpha, I can honestly say I can't wait for the full game.
In 2008 developer Kojima Productions released "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots," one of the greatest games ever made. It took stealth influences from from the series previous installments, but evolved into a fantastic action-adventure. So when "Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain" was announced, I immediately became skeptical. How do you improve on a nearly perfect game, and for a series to be truly great each new installment needs to improve upon its predecessor. From the gameplay that we've seen thus far, it does look like "The Phantom Pain" could accomplish this feat. With tighter looking combat and the help of improved technology from the new generation of consoles and high end PCs, "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain" could be the game that the series has always destined to be.
I'll go ahead and say it, I haven't actually played either of the two previous "Witcher" games; I have heard great things though. Based off the novel series of the same name, the story follows a monster hunter named Geralt of Rivia. An action RPG set in an open world, the game is developed by the the Polish studio CD Project RED; and from the early gameplay that has been shown, the game looks great. The series has become known for a few things: notoriously difficult combat, decision based gameplay that effects the endgame, and being absolutely stunning. "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" is often cited as one of the most graphically impressive games ever released. "The Witcher 3" will be the first time a game in the series will come to a PlayStation console, and as an owner of a PS4, this makes me very happy.
What this game has going for it, is that it has all the potential in the world. "No Man's Sky" is an upcoming science-fiction, exploration film taking place in a procedurally generated world where you start on one planet and then travel and discovers others. Traveling to what may be an infinite number of planets finding new species of plants and animals, as well as competing in space and land combat appear to make up most of the gameplay. With the first full length trailer playing at this past E3, the game was the talk of the convention; overshadowing many triple A blockbusters. My only worry is the game might be to ambitions; it is being developed by a small studio with limited experience, none of which is anything close to this game. But I have faith that they will be able to turn that ambition into something special. First coming to PS4 and then PC sometime in 2015, "No Man's Sky" may be the most exciting new game of the year.
There are a lot of promising looking games scheduled to come out in 2015, and despite no gameplay being released yet, this may already be the most hyped game of the year. Set to be the final installment in one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" will be the epic conclusion the series deserved. I was worried for a while whether or not there would be another game since "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception" didn't really feel like a final game. With the first gameplay being recently posted online, the game looks gorgeous and shows true promise. It is kind of sad that this will be the final game, but all great things must come to an end. Over the past few years Naughty Dog has stood out among the pack and is widely considered the best development studio working; the "Uncharted" series has been their crowning achievement, and "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" is shaping up to be a truly epic finally.
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