The year is only half over and we’ve already had some phenomenal games. Batman Arkham Knight, The Witcher 3, Bloodborne and Mortal Kombat X have already found their way onto shelves, but developers are far from done. Here are some of the most anticipated games still come in 2015.
Rare Replay – 7th August
Rare were one of the top developers back in the day, bringing to life games like Battletoads, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Perfect Dark. The long awaited Rare Replay will have 30 Rare games spanning six console generations all for $30 (£19). It surely can’t even be legal to sell? Check out the full list of games here, but this is an absolute essential for fans of retro games.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – September 1st
MGS 5 will be the very last Metal Gear game that director Hideo Kojima makes. As such, it’s being hyped as the definitive Metal Gear experience that will blow all the others out the water. Focusing on the downfall of Big Boss, the game will also be the final chapter in the long running franchise. Massively open-world, day/night cycle and beautiful graphics will mix with a gripping storyline for an end befitting of the legendary series. Check out why Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be the best here.
PES 2016/ FIFA 2016 – 18th September/ 25th September
These two are bundled in together because it’s a case of pick your poison. FIFA is obviously going to rule the roost for 2016, but a betting man wouldn’t count PES out. Updated graphics and physics still don’t overshadow the arcade-y feel, but if you’re wanting to try something different, Pro Evo is far from the worst choice. EA’s FIFA though is going to be polished from start to finish. If you’re the kind of person that will buy it on release and play it all year, you probably won’t find much to complain about in the 2016 chapter.
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection – 9th October
While we’re all waiting patiently for Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog have decided to re-release all the previous Uncharted titles in HD. The Nathan Drake Collection will consist of: Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves and Drake’s Deception, all remastered for the PS4. If that wasn’t enough to get excited about, the collection will also include beta versions of the Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End multiplayer. There’s been a recent trend in repackaging old games and shoving them out the door for more sales, but Naughty Dog seem to have put their time into this one.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege – 13th October
It’s been a pretty long time since a Tom Clancy game really made people sit up and listen to what it had to say, but since being announced at E3 2014, Rainbow Six: Siege has been on the top of many people’s ones-to-watch list. The claustrophobic shooter is your typical spec ops vs terrorists affair set in (you guessed it) a siege scenario. It’s received mostly favourable reviews and could become huge as a cooperative online shooter. It’s classic attack/defend gameplay thrown in with siege tactics and twitch shooting. Good times!
Halo 5 Guardians – 27th October
Serving as a sequel to Halo 4, 343 Studios and Microsoft could have a future classic on their hands here. The basic plot is: Chief’s gone AWOL, and Spartan Locke has to find him before humanity is wiped out. Everyday stuff in the Halo universe. As an Xbox exclusive, Halo 5 will feature up to four player online campaign co-op, and run at 60 fps, but won’t have localised offline multiplayer. After the disaster that was Halo: The Master Chief Collection, 343 have promised that Guardians won’t be broken at launch – and a promise is a promise…
Fallout 4 – 10th November
Just in case you weren’t already aware, Bethesda may or may not be releasing a new game in one of its lesser known franchises, Fallout. Fallout 4 is easily one of the most anticipated titles of the year, and Bethesda have already run out of their Pip-Boy Collector’s Edition of the game. Thanks to the cult status of Fallout and Fallout 2, Fallout 3 becoming a runaway success and Fallout: New Vegas being damn near perfect, Fallout 4 has a hell of a lot to accomplish. Judging by everything we’ve seen though, it’s going to melt our tiny little minds come release day.
The Rise of the Tomb Raider – 10th November (Xbox One)
After The Rise of the Tomb Raider was announced as a timed exclusive for Xbox One, there was a veritable shitstorm of online what-the-fuckery from fans of the franchise. Having been a Playstation title since day dot, the only people that were happy about the mutiny were Microsoft. Despite this, developers Square Enix have slogged away to create what has shaped up to be a stunning game and a fitting sequel to the awesome 2013 reboot. The Rise of the Tomb Raider will be Lara’s coming of age story as she attempts to become the woman she was born to be. Now that we have actual dates for a PC and Playstation 4 release – albeit a whole year after Xbox One for PS4 – everybody will be getting a taste of the Tomb Raider.
Star Wars Battlefront 3 – 20th November
Star Wars Battlefront 2 was widely considered the best Star Wars game ever to come to consoles. The Battlefield style gameplay, fast paced online multiplayer and slick graphics all clothed in a Star Wars skin made for a perfect combination. When EA and Dice announced they would be pushing ahead with the long awaited Battlefront 3, it was met with mixed feelings. People were first and foremost, ecstatic that the game was on the production line. They were also concerned that EA would, well.. do EA stuff to it. After measured scepticism and E3’s gameplay demo’s, it’s actually looking pretty awesome. If everything goes off without a hitch, Battlefront 3 might just bring balance to the force.
Just Cause 3 – 1st December
Just Cause 3 is on course to be the most explosive, over the top destruct-athon of the series. Protagonist Rico is back to topple dictator General Di Ravello and restore harmony to his homeland and island paradise, Medici. By blowing it up. A lot. Developers Avalanche Studios and publishers Square Enix are keen to let players have as much freedom as possible when it comes to how they want to take the island back. Drive, grapple and shoot your way to revolution – just try not to sink the island in the process.
Mark is the Gaming Editor for UNILAD. Having grown up a gaming addict, he’s been deeply entrenched in culture and spends time away from work playing as much as possible. Mark studied music at University and found a love for journalism through going to local gigs and writing about them for local and national publications.