by Alex Quevedo
Just like in past years, I played some video games in 2015 and wouldn’t you know it, some of them were pretty, pretty good. Let’s take a look at my personal favorites after the jump.
Ah, the Top 10 Games of the Year feature. What’s great about these lists are the varying opinions of each one you read. Each year, for SmashPad specifically, I struggle! Mostly because I barely can get to playing 10 actual games throughout the course of the year. To recycle some old excuses, much of my content comes from event previews, so I get to see a lot of what could be cool rather than what for sure is cool (or is garbage). But in 2015 I actually played through 10 games! HOWEVAH, I didn’t care for half of those to put them on this type of list, so I’m back at Top 5.
So on that note, let’s get to my top 5 games of 2015:
5. Halo 5: Guardians – Xbox One
Halo 5 hit some stumbling points with its story, which was a shame for a franchise that typically told a solid story without pseudo-requiring you to dive into outside material. However, it’s new multiplayer offerings with Warzone and Breakout, along with setting up what could be a great story in the future, made Halo 5 one of my more enjoyable games of the year.
4. Disney Infinity 3.0 – Multiplatform
As Disney continues to acquire the world, or at least more franchises, it can continue to build out its toy base for the Infinity series just as the franchise hits its stride. With Disney Infinity 3.0, that’s thanks in large part to Star Wars, which helps build out a much improved combat system and expansive world, along with more Marvel and Pixar playsets and figures.
3. LEGO Jurassic World – Multiplatform
A new LEGO game each year is to be expected at this point, for one franchise or another, but they have yet to grow tiresome. LEGO Jurassic World capitalized on a beloved franchise by capturing just enough nostalgia in an incredibly fun atmosphere in which you can actually explore the Jurassic Parks.
2. Batman: Arkham Knight – Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
After having taken some time off from the Arkham series, Rocksteady returned with the fantastic Batman: Arkham Knight. They managed to push the series forward and avoid very common Batman story crutches through a compelling story, depth, and a solid combat system that included the pretty awesome Batmobile.
1. Fallout 4 – Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
A ways into playing Fallout 4, I questioned whether the game was really that good or if it was just so involved, so full of choices and details, that it kept you hooked in spite of whether you liked it. But then I just gave up and thought it was just that damn good.
And so ends my annually abbreviated top 10 list for 2015. I’m looking forward to playing through some of these games again, whether as a completionist or just to get a different experience a second time around. Even more so, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some of the other top games of 2015 (Tomb Raider!) and eventually racking up the games in 2016.