game of the year 2015 Archives

37 Japanese Game Makers List Their Top 5 Titles For 2015

Ben-Dutka December 27, 2015 PS4 2 Comments

So, what did some of Japan's top game designers pick for their favorite titles of 2015?

Japanese publication Famitsu showed off the top 5 from some of Japan's top game makers; a grand total of 37 offered their picks for the year.

As cited by DualShockers , there's quite the variety of games on these lists, and guys like Tetsuya Nomura, Goichi Suda (Suda51), Akihiro Hino, Tomonobu Itagaki, and Hajime Tabata listed some surprising titles. It's clear that mobile and handheld entertainment is huge in the Land of the Rising Sun, and you will find a fair number of Western titles, too. Times certainly have changed; it'd be a mistake to assume you'll see an over-abundance of < a href="https://temp.psxextreme.com/ps4-reviews/99.html" Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain , even if it does appear more than once.

Kitase unsurprisingly has Mobius Final Fantasy at #1 but he also lists Splatoon and The Last Of Us: Remastered , while Hino puts Final Fantasy XIV in the top spot and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in the runner-up position (MGSV was #5), and Bandai Namco boss Katsuhiro Harada has Tekken 7 and Persona 4: Dancing All Night as his top two games of 2015.

Interesting stuff.

PSXE Poll Update: Readers Select Their 2015 GotY Finalists

Ben-Dutka December 27, 2015 PS4 17 Comments

Which amazing title will end up being the PSXE reader pick for Game of the Year?

Well, we've got it narrowed down to five: Over the past week, participants voted for their favorite title and the five games receiving the most votes have now moved on to the second and final round.

It's very close so far but the epic role-playing game from CD Projekt Red, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt , leads the way with the most votes tallied in Round 1. Not far behind was the other huge open-world RPG, Fallout 4 ; just a tick behind that is the acclaimed PlayStation 4 exclusive, Bloodborne , and then comes the latest masterpiece from Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain . If you're wondering, only one vote separated Bloodborne and MGSV! Batman: Arkham Knight just edged into the top 5, barely squeezing past one of my personal favorites, Assassin's Creed Syndicate .

Okay, time to pick the overall winner! It was extremely close during Round 1 so it's hardly a foregone conclusion that The Witcher 3 will win… The winner will be revealed when we post our upcoming Game of the Year Awards 2015; look for them next weekend. Vote now!

PSXE Poll Update: FFVII Remake Might Be A Work Of Art

Ben-Dutka December 20, 2015 PS4 6 Comments

The controversy remains at a fever pitch and will likely remain that way for some time.

From the "multi-part" plan to that oft-discussed new gameplay trailer , the arguments seem endless. But PSXE readers remain hopeful.

Our most recent poll was very close, but the majority of participants say the Final Fantasy VII Remake will be an "absolute masterpiece." Almost as many say it'll be "great, but not as good as the original," and a good many claim it'll be nothing but a "colossal disappointment." As expected, there appear to be plenty of fans in every camp but at least, for the time being, the outlook can be considered optimistic. Are you more or less optimistic after that admittedly poorly translated update …?

Anyway, it's time to start our voting for the reader's choice for PSXE's Game of the Year. You've got 10 choices there and the top 5 will make it into the second and final round, and the title receiving the most votes at the end of that round will be the winner. So, which game gets it? One of the PS4 exclusives; Bloodborne or Everybody's Gone to the Rapture ? Or one of the massive blockbusters like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain or Fallout 4 ? Vote now!

Related Game(s): Final Fantasy VII Remake

Stand Up And Defend Your Unpopular Choice For GotY 2015

Ben-Dutka December 20, 2015 PS4 23 Comments

Game of the Year is sometimes predictable, but there are times when you surprise yourself with a certain pick. Some years, you just gotta stand up and profess your love of a decidedly unpopular game. Or, at least, a game that's widely regarded as "good" but definitely not GotY material.

Did that happen to you in 2015?

If you were to select your favorite game of the year, or if you had to pick the title that would win the overall top-dog award for 2015, what would it be? And when you announce your selection, do all your friends laugh? Or look at you as if you had lobsters crawling out of your ears? Sure, it's perfectly normal to choose Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt , but maybe you just loved – God forbid – Call of Duty: Black Ops III ? It's always interesting whens someone picks a dark horse, and it's even more intriguing when they defend that horse…

Me, I adore Everybody's Gone to the Rapture , even if everyone wasn't exactly "rapturous" about the indie hit. I'm not saying it's going to win PSXE's Game of the Year or anything but it has a special place in my heart, that's for sure. What about you?

Is Fallout 4 Game Of The Year? Critical Average Says “No”

Ben-Dutka November 12, 2015 PS4 58 Comments

Well, I guess all the contenders for Game of the Year 2015 are now available (unless you think Star Wars: Battlefront has an outside shot).

And of those contenders, many were thinking Fallout 4 would storm the critical charts and be a definite possibility for the year's most illustrious award. And for the most part, those people weren't wrong…but Bethesda's latest certainly doesn't have the lead, if we go by the average Metacritic ranking.

As of now, Fallout 4 holds an 87 rating (86 on PC and 88 on Xbox One), which is great but well below a few of the contenders: For instance, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain leads the way with a stellar 93 rating (95 on Xbox One and 91 on PC), while The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt holds a 92 average rating (93 on PC and 91 on Xbox One), and the PlayStation 4 exclusive Bloodborne also has a 92 .

As a frame of reference, Fallout 4 now has the same review average as Batman: Arkham Knight , and the recently released Halo 5: Guardians is lower at 85 . This all being said, do you still see Fallout 4 garnering plenty of GotY awards from various sources?

Related Game(s): Fallout 4

Can Any Game Compete With MGSV For Game Of The Year?

Ben-Dutka August 26, 2015 PS4 54 Comments

Many are saying it's the hands-down winner, and they're convinced no other game – even ones that aren't out yet – will be able to touch Kojima's latest masterpiece in the 2015 Game of the Year race.

But is that really true?

Well, so far, from a statistical standpoint, it is. Currently, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain holds a 95 average at Metacritic, the highest average for any game this year (not counting remasters, HD upgrades, and various re-releases). Only Bloodborne and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are close, as both hold a 92 average.

At this point, many would put Batman: Arkham Knight in the running as well. Looking down the road, perhaps the only game capable of going toe-to-toe with MGSV is the hotly anticipated Fallout 4 ; historically, this series has scored off the charts (with the exception of the merely average Fallout: New Vegas ). Other big titles include Assassin's Creed Syndicate , Star Wars: Battlefront , Mad Max , Call of Duty: Black Ops III , Need for Speed and Just Cause 3 . But it's unlikely that any will score in the mid-90s.

But here's the more interesting question: In your mind, which will be most deserving of the best overall game of 2015? Will it indeed be MGSV? Or will you retain a very soft spot for the likes of Bloodborne , The Witcher 3 and Batman ? Can we really say the new MGS has this prestigious award all locked up?

Related Game(s): Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain