My 10 most hyped games of 2015

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

A new year has already been ushered into our lives and you know what that means!

YES! MORE GAMES!

There's so many amazing titles set to release in 2015 that I have no idea where to start. Seriously, there's just SO many across all platforms! But I've given it plenty of thought over the past month and have come up with a list of games that I am most excited about.

Below will be my list in order of hype levels. I'll post some images and trailers to help you folks with short attention spans just glide through this article.

And for funsies, I'm going to rate my hype levels for each game from 1 to 10. 10 being my hype levels when I first watched the entirety of Gurren Lagann (spoilers: it was pretty fucking hype).

Without further adieu, here is my top 10 most hyped video games for 2015!

HERE WE GOOOOOO!!!!

10. The Legend of Zelda Wii U

Ahhhh....Serenity

Alright, I'm going to admit it. I'm not the biggest Legend of Zelda fan. In fact, I think I've only really thoroughly enjoyed Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past the most. Well, those and most of the top down Zelda games on the Gameboy systems (but not the DS, because fuck those touch controls). I tried getting into Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, but they didn't keep my attention for too long. I've recently started playing Windwaker HD on my Wii U, but even that hasn't managed to fully pull me in. I do appreciate Zelda games though. They're top notch games with excellent gameplay and design, they just don't appeal to me as much as die-hard Zelda fans.

With that said, the new Zelda game for the Wii U which was announced pretty recently looks fantastic. The fact that the developers are so eager to show up footage of the game while it's still in it's early days of development shows how much faith they have in the finished product. 

YEEEAH!

Fantastic visuals, new gameplay twists, a horse that rides itself and a massive open world all sound like great things for the franchise. I'm also interested in the idea that you can tackle any dungeon in any order and attempt to travel to any part of the map without restrictions.

Even though I may not enjoy Zelda games as much as others, I am definitely excited to get my hands on the next instalment on this legendary franchise, ride Epona through open green fields and then vault myself high in the air to shoot a stupid Moblin in between the eyes!

Hype Level: 3 (I'm looking forward to it, but I need much much more)

9. The Order 1886

Ready at Dawn has so far shown me that they can do big budget games for home consoles even though their main repertoire has been focussed on handheld games. That being said, the PSP games they developed were some of the best on that console. Both God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta successfully delivered a console experience to the Sony handheld, keeping combat, graphics, scale, sound and much more in tact during the transition. On top of that, they also developed the Daxter game for the PSP, one of the best platformers available on that handheld that was a beautifully executed spin off of Naughty Dog's franchise Jak and Daxter.

So what makes The Order 1886 worth the hype for me? It's not just the absolutely GORGEOUS visuals, it's mainly the story and how the developers are attempting to deliver it to players. Trailers so far have shown how seemless the story telling and gameplay weave together. Gameplay itself also looks incredibly tight and well polished. Though the gameplay doesn't look to be the most original thing out there, it seems to work and it seems to do it's job well and I'm ok with that.

God DAYUM

Story-wise, you get to play as the (literal) Knights of the Round Table in a steam punk Victorian London setting battling humans and half-breeds (werewolves). The plot revolves around The Order, a secret organization of knights sworn to protect humans from the Half-Breeds in a war that's been going on for centuries. The dawn of industry has changed the shape of this war, giving the upper hand to Man. Based on the trailer below, it seems like there may be a human resistance group working with the Half-Breeds. To what end, we don't know. But the general setting and plot have me invested already. On top of all of this, the music score has, so far, proven to deliver incredibly tracks that compliment the setting extremely well. Seriously, check out some trailers and search for some tracks, they're pretty good!

The Order 1886 has an amazing engine that you can find out about here 

And did I mention Nikola Tesla is the guy who creates your weapons? Awwww yeeeah

Despite all this positivity, I don't expect this game to blow critics away nor will it win the hearts of gamers. Perhaps some will find it too linear (a bogus claim that I've already written about), perhaps the story outweighs the gameplay, perhaps the entire game will end up being painfully mediocre and uninspired.
Either way, I look forward to getting my hands on The Order 1886 and shoot up some Englishmen and Werewolves!

Hype Level: 5 (Decently hyped, cautiously optimistic)

8. Xenoblade Chronicles X

I've recently gotten to put some time into Zenogears for the Playstation 1 on my Vita, and holy shit is it ever a good game. A JRPG with mechas? GOD DAYUM. It's a damn shame I missed out on the Xenosaga series on the PS2 and hardly got the time to finish Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii (thank god for the 3DS version...I mean NEW 3DS version) because the developers who are responsible for the Xeno series are fucking awesome. I mean, back in the Squaresoft glory days, the Xenogears team was considered one of the best! They used the Final Fantasy Active Battle System in their game and added a new twist to it which involved button combos. They allowed you to fight inside a Mecha for certain fights. They delivered an astounding soundtrack that many fans hold dearly in their hearts. They also pumped out some of the best visuals on the Playstation 1 that I've ever seen, which have also aged incredibly well thanks to the use of sprites!

So yeah, I'm pretty hyped for Xenoblade Chronicles X, the next instalment of the Xenoblade series and the next installment to the Xeno franchise. A little confusing, I know, but you get used to naming conventions like this when you play a ton of games. 

He's not going to do what I think he's going to do right...? oh...OH! YEEEEEAH!!!!

Xenoblade Chronicles X looks to be one of the best RPG games to release in 2015. A massive open world, fantastic visuals, the ability to pilot mechas, the MMOish combat of Xenoblade Chronciles, an incredibly talented composer (who made music for Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill, Sengoku Basara, and much more). OO, you can also create your own character! While I know that usually doesn't mean very much in the long run, it's a nice thing to have in an RPG.

Hopefully by the time I get my hands on this baby I'll have enough time to play it and bathe in it's glory. 

Hype Levels: 7 (Pretty hyped!)

7. Arkham Knight

The Arkham Series is still the best licensed super hero video game franchise ever to grace us with it's presence. No other Batman game has come close to making you FEEL like the Dark Knight. No other Batman game has captured the atmosphere of Gotham so well. No other Batman game, or even super hero game, has even come close to managing a massive list of villains so masterfully. The Arkham Games (at least the ones by developer Rocksteady) are worthy of high praise. 

The first time Arkham Knight was revealed was god damned glorious. I remember drooling over the sight of a massive open world Gotham City and the unbelievable visual fidelity between cutscene and gameplay. I remember freaking the fuck out when the game footage started to bug out. I remember that I freaked out even more when the trailer revealed that it wasn't faulty footage, rather it was the work of Scarecrow. Fucking brilliant. 

THE MUTHA FUCKIN' BATMAN

And one of the best things about this is (and I can't believe I'm saying this) is the absence of (WARNING MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR ARKHAM CITY!) The Joker!. He's been running the show for 3 Arkham games now and it's getting kind of tiring. But thanks to his death in Arkham City, it's now prime time for some of Batmans other villains to take the spotlight from the clown prince of crime! (SPOILERS ARE OVER!).

DID I MENTION YOU GET TO DRIVE THE BATMOBILE FINALLY? A Batmobile that looks SUPER fucking sick and badass? YEAH BABY! OO and there's going to be a new villain designed specifically for this game called The Arkham Knight. No one knows who he is and I can't wait to find out what Rocksteady has in store for us in terms of plot. 

My only worry is that Arkham Knight doesn't deliver on all fronts, particularly in the Open World aspect. While I really enjoyed Arkham City, I almost preferred the linear design of Arkham Asylum much more. Mainly because the open world of Arkham City was so barren that it wasn't really worth exploring. On top of that, I'm also worried that the Batmobile (as hyped as I am for that thing) won't play very well and ultimately bog down the experience. 

But I'm still excited nonetheless to don the cowl and become Batman again for one last game!

Hype Levels: 8 (PRETTY HYPED!!)

6. Uncharted 4

Two words: Naughty Dog

Naughty Dog is the top dog (heh heh) when it comes to Sony's first party developers. They've created some of the best games I've ever had the pleasure to experience. They've been a developer that have managed to grow up with their audience (Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter, Uncharted, The Last of Us). They've been consistently amazing with every title they've released, even if that title didn't manage to be better than it's predecessor (Uncharted 3 for example) they still managed to create a well polished, tight game. 

It was about time for Naughty Dog to reveal Uncharted 4's gameplay, and boy did they ever show it off. Based on the 15 minute Playstation Experience gameplay trailer, you can see that Naughty Dog has managed to bring in gameplay designs they've learned from The Last of Us. One thing to note is the brilliant hand-to-hand combat that uses "punch lasers" to detect environmental objects to interact with, a technology that even wowed Hideo Kojima. On top of that, Naughty Dog has touted a more 'open' game design akin to The Last of Us where there can be multiple paths that a player can take. 

I can't WAIT for Uncharted 4. I can't WAIT to see what Naughty Dog can do with the PS4 (considering how amazing The Last of Us was on PS3) and I can't wait to see whether or not this is the last adventure Nathan Drake will ever have.

My only fear is that Uncharted 4 ends up being even more disappointing than Uncharted 3, narrative wise. While Uncharted 3 was indeed an amazing game, it's plot was just nowhere near as good as Uncharted 2.

Hype Level: 8 (PRETTY HYPED!!)

5. Final Fantasy Type-0 HD

If you know me in person, you'll know that I'm a Final Fantasy fan. You'll also know that I was incredibly disappointed with Final Fantasy XIII and think that the series hasn't been as good as it was during the Playstation 1 era. However, Square Enix looks to remedy my faith in them by FINALLY releasing Final Fantasy Type-0 to the west. 

Now a quick history lesson. Final Fantasy Type-0 was originally called Final Fantasy XIII Agito and was going to be a part of the Nova Crystallis series which also included Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII (now known as Final Fantasy XV). Final Fantasy Agito eventually changed it's name to Type-0 and separated itself from the FFXIII universe. Agito was also, originall, a Japanese only game released on the PSP. It never came to the west for the PSP despite the cries of fans everywhere. Hell, even a group took it upon themselves to make a fan translation patch and attempt to release it on the internet until Square stopped them. As time passed, the Vita came out and new hopes for a Type-0 HD release for the Sony handheld bloomed once more...

Only for it to be quickly stomped out by Square as they announced that Type-0 would be released for the Playstation 4 with updated visuals, controls and whatever instead.

CUE THE ANGRY FANBASE.

I don't like Off-Screen footage...but this DOES look pretty badass

At any rate, while I'm also bummed I don't get to play this game on a handheld as it was meant to be played, I'm just happy I finally get to play this game in some way. 

So what is Type-0? Well, it's an ARPG set in the land of Orience, divided into four 'Crystal States'. Each state has a crystal and thus their cultures revolve around that crystal and it's power. Of course, with this kind of power just sitting there, there's always going to be war. This Final Fantasy's Cid is going to be the main antagonist it seems, who will lead an army to conquer the other 3 nations and their crystals. However, by the time Cid reaches the nation of Vermillion, it's up to the elite Class Zero to stop him.

Class Zero consists of 14 playable characters, all of which have their own traits, weapons, play styles and more. The game will have a mission structure akin to Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker or Monster Hunter. Battle systems range from small scale fights where you control a party of Class Zero characters (using Crisis Core/Kingdom Hearts action system) or large scale battles between armies in the world map. Side-Missions involve liberating towns, aerial combat, Chocobo breeding and much more.

If anything, I'm most excited for the gameplay of Type-0, and despite it being on the PS4 instead of the Vita, I'm still going to enjoy the ever living fuck out of this game! 

The only thing that's blocking my hype at the moment is that the handheld gameplay design won't translate well onto a home console, and that the story won't deliver whatsoever and having gameplay try to carry the entire experience (which can end badly in some cases).

Hype Level: 8 (Pretty hyped!)

4. Final Fantasy XV

HOLY

FUCKING

SHIT

IT'S HAPPENNING!!!!

After over a DECADE of waiting, Final Fantasy Versus XIII...isn't coming. Rather it's been given an upgrade to a mainline Final Fantasy game, the fifteenth one in fact, and boy oh boy does it ever look fantastic.

I've been a HUGE fan of the Kingdom Hearts series. It's combat was vastly different to many JRPGs I've played up to that point. The fact that I was in complete control of the combat was awesome. Seeing Sora whiz around the combat zones, smacking Heartless with his keyblade, casting Firaga at a Titan, etc etc. All of it was so buttery smooth it was like I was controlling a fight scene from an anime or something.

So the fact that a mainline Final Fantasy game was going to adopt that combat system and improve it with better animations, tighter controls, more abilities and weapons? IM SO DOWN FOR THIS.

There's also the setting where you get to play as Noctis, a prince from Lucis who's on the run with 3 of his closest friends after his kingdom was invaded by an evil empire. The hierarchy in Lucis is also very Yakuza inspired, something that's fresh and original for a JRPG. We also get treated to a modern setting, another new addition to the Final Fantasy franchise. 

Another thing that makes me excited for the game is the way that Tetsuya Nomura described Noctis. At first glance, Noctis seems like your typical emo pretty boy with as much personality as a wet noodle, but Nomura assures us that he's going to be something completely different and new to the franchise. A main character who's outside persona is strong and silent, but only because he needs to keep this image up for his people. In reality, Noctis is a trouble maker and a clutz, the kind that leads his friends to cause pranks and upset authority figures while tripping over himself and spilling spaghetti all over the place. Generally speaking, Noctis already sounds so much more exciting and interesting than Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII. Despite his looks, I believe Noctis will become one of my top Final Fantasy characters if Nomura manages to deliver on his words.

Naaah, I think we should drive right up to it's face

oh GOD and the music??? Forget about it, it's going to rock. If the trailer music is anything to go by, I know this will be yet another stellar soundtrack from the Final Fantasy franchise, especially since it's being composed by Yoko Shimomura, famous for his works on Kingdom Hearts games, Mario and Luigi RPG games, Parasite Eve games and much more. 

If Final Fantasy XV could do ANYTHING to disappoint me, it would just be that the open world ends up being INCREDIBLY shallow. But if there's plenty to do and plenty to explore, it'll be one hell of a game.

Hype Level: 9 (HOLY FUCKING SHIT SO MUCH HYPE)

3. Bloodborne

I am TOTALLY prepared to die over and over again.

In fact, anything 'Souls' related will be the only time you'd hear me say that phrase. 

Demons Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 are, by far, some of the best and most difficult games I've played. The sheer amount of lore, the tight controls, the heavy atmosphere, the unique art design....all of it comes together so well in these games that they create a wonderfully woven tapestry of excellent game design.

Perhaps the first boss of the game?

While I, and many other Souls fans, have been disappointed with Dark Souls 2 not living up to the standards that it's predecessor set I still thought it was one of the best games to release in 2014. One of the main reasons that I believe lead to Dark Souls 2 being a lesser Dark Souls was the fact that the main team (helmed by Hidetaka Miyazaki) responsible for Demons Souls and Dark Souls did not work on Dark Souls 2. They are, however, working on Bloodborne...and based on the footage I've seen, and the news I've heard, it looks like they're putting everything they've got into creating one hell of a game. 

BURN BITCHES!

Bloodborne won't be a cakewalk. The trademark difficulty of the Souls games will remain intact, perhaps even amped up thanks to new gameplay changes such as faster combat and firearms. We're also going to be treated to a sort of 'gothic victorian' setting instead of a dark fantasy setting fans have grown accustomed to in the Souls series. We're also going to see some fantastic environments and even a randomized dungeon that you and some friends can tackle together to gather some incredibly valuable treasure. 

Most of all, I look forward to experiencing the lore of Bloodborne. It looks so unique and so different compared to the other souls games that I don't know what to expect of it! And if you're a fan of the Souls series, you'll know that lore has NEVER been a weak point.

Watch as this enemy type has a background story over two pages long and connects to at least 5 other enemies

On top of that, I can't wait to feel terror once again as a massive boss monster looms over me while a beautifully orchestrated soundtrack plays to enhance my dread. I can't wait to slowly grow in power so I can overcome previously difficult obstacles. I can't wait to test out the transforming weapons (one moment, I'm smashing a monster with a giant hammer, the next moment I'm stabbing at them with a sword hiddin inside the hammers hilt). I simply can't wait for Bloodborne.

Hype Level: 10 (MY HYPE WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS!)

2. Persona 5

If there's one thing that I love the Persona series for, it's style.

And god damn does Persona 5 ever live up to that precedent, especially in the newest trailer that was released today.

If you know me, you'll know that I LOVE Persona 3 and 4. I've put hundreds of hours collectively into both and I have even tried to initiate Waifu Wars with you. Persona is one of my favourite franchises of all time specifically because it delivers on all fronts:
Amazing, personal stories with deep thematic concepts and likeable characters. (both main and side)
A visual style that just oozes with charm and personality.
Gameplay that blends RPG mechanics with 'Dating Sim' so harmoniously that you'll be playing for hours on end without care.
Music that's lively, catchy, full of energy and still remains thematically appropriate.
and SO much more.

Persona 5 looks to, once again, set the bar even higher in the RPG genre. While we've only been shown a relatively short gameplay trailer, you can take a bunch of information out of it with no problem whatsoever.

Dude looks pretty badass!

For one, the menus are so stylized that I might end up messing around with them for longer than I care to admit. We also get to see dynamic movement in dungeons, jumping from chandeliers, dashing from wall to wall, sneaking past enemies Solid Snake style. We're also seeing the engine used in Catherine (another game created by developer Atlus) being used with some upgrades in visual fidelity, which is great because Catherine looked STUNNING in motion. We're also treated with a small snippet of the music that's to come throughout the trailer, and yes...it remains awesome.

There are so many questions to be answered though. Like, why does the main character and his party look like they're robbing someone? Why does the cat (named Morgana) have the 7 deadly sins around it and why does the name Luxuria come up? could it be that the Cat has the Luxuria Persona? The demon of Lust? If so, does that mean main characters will all have a persona revolving around the 7 deadly sins? Is the game going to feature Social Links still? If so, why does the menu seem to be missing the S. Link option and only have 'Co-operation' there instead?

We can also see that the the game is going to feature classic Shin Megami Tensei demons as enemies...so does that mean it'll also feature demon negotiating? We also see that the characters can equip guns and weapons...something that the mainline SMT games do as well...so what does that mean?

SO FREAKIN' STYLISH

SO MANY GOD DAMNED QUESTIONS!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Hype Level: 10 ( MY HYPE WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS!!)

1. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

If you know me, this won't come to you as surprise WHATSOEVER. Metal Gear Solid is, by far, my favourite game franchise ever. The story, the evolving gameplay, the memorable characters, the serious subject matter, the silliness, the visuals, the music...just...everything.

It's been one hell of a roller coaster ride though, let me tell you. Hideo Kojima is the master of trolling his fanbase. For several months, we were lead to believe that a new game company named Moby Dick Games was developing an interesting game called The Phantom Pain or something. The initial trailer showed a bandaged man trying to escape a hospital with a friend, only to be met with hallucinations, soldiers, and fire whales...

yeah...

anyways, long story short, it was just Kojima fucking with us and that it was actually Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, something he revealed with a BRILLIANT trailer after he decided to stop trolling .He created a fake twitter account for Moby Dick Games lead developed Joakim Mogren and even dressed up in a blonde wig and sunglasses for his profile picture for fucks sake. WAIT, he also got a guy to dress up in bandages and go on an interview about The Phantom Pain. Seriously, it was both hilarious and frustrating.

BAIL!

Anyways, MGS5 is going to take place between Peace Walker and Metal Gear Solid 1. This means we'll get to witness Big Boss's fall from grace as he finally becomes the villain every Metal Gear Solid fans know he'll become. MGS5 looks like it won't go soft on the serious subject matter either: child soldiers, blood diamonds, dead soldier ashes being rubbed into your face, torture, rape, etc etc. It's also nice to know that Kojima won't shy away from the silliness either, especially with the multiple types of cardboard box items, a chicken hat, and the ability to fulton away ANYTHING back to your very own, customizable, Mother Base.

Did I mention the game will also feature a full fledged Multiplayer? Similar to GTA Online, Metal Gear Online will be treated like a separate entity...something that Kojima has been trying to do since MGS3. So hopefully this iteration of Metal Gear Online will be here to stay, and I have a feeling it will be.

OO and there's this buddy system that let's you bring along NPC buddies to help you in a mission, like the super powered sniper Quiet or the ever so lovably BADASS Wolf with an eye-patch D.D.

Oh god and did I mention the Fox Engine? A game that looks THAT good and runs at a solid 60 FPS at 1080p on a PS4? That engine must be made out of black magic or something, because holy shit!

I'll just run over here and...OH GOD, BAIL!

Oh christ, and the open world aspects is super exciting. The first metal Gear game to go full open world....AND with multiple environments! HOW BIG OF A GAME DO YOU WANT TO MAKE KOJIMA?? WERE YOU REALLY THAT JEALOUS OF GTAV?

Please...Kojima...I can only get SO erect.

Hype Levels: 11 (My hype...pierced the heavens...)