Bloodborne
From Software’s highly anticipated, spiritual successor to the Souls franchise has players counting down the days until they can enjoy some more video game sadomasochism. Dark Souls was a cult success that split gamers down the middle and earned a reputation for being a gruelling, but fair, challenge.
Bloodborne hopes to carry on the success that Dark Souls enjoyed, but Dark Souls 2 was a dip in form that left many feeling like the sequel was a quick cash in. Hidetaka Miyazaki, director of Demon Souls and Dark Souls, is back at the helm after leaving Dark Souls 2 directing duties to Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura. With Miyazaki at the head, fans are expecting great things.
On the other hand, the game is a separate entity to the Souls series. Miyazaki is reinventing the game’s mechanics and pushing for a faster paced, risk vs reward formula, and this could either breathe new life into the series or leave fans feeling like From Software has lost its way. With the weight of Dark Souls, and the knowledge that Dark Souls 2 underwhelmed resting on their shoulders, From Software could crumble under the pressure in 2015.
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront is arguably one of the most successful Star Wars games ever, and is a title that many hold in their hearts as one of their favourite memories. The simple, fast-paced action left players pining for more, but the sequel fans desperately wanted never came to previous generation consoles. After years of rumours and leaked snippets of gameplay, it was revealed the sequel to Battlefront 2 was cancelled.
BUT, EA then bought the rights to making Star Wars games, and suddenly the Battlefront series was revived. With a sequel hitting shelves Holiday 2015, there is much speculation over what features are in store for the overdue entry.
However, Star Wars: Battlefront is a game that could be doomed to fail. The original two games were very basic, and would not be as well received in 2015 as they were 10 years ago. On the other hand, if DICE changes the formula too much, many may feel EA have betrayed the game’s roots. The shooter is a very competitive market, and nostalgia may keep Battlefront going for a while, but the game may be inevitably outdone by its competitors. A balance between innovation and staying true to the series roots needs to be found in order for this to be a success, but its own high expectations could also be its downfall.
Arkham Knight
One of the biggest games to be released in 2015 is the final third of Rocksteady’s Arkham series. Batman Arkham Asylum came out of nowhere and blew every other Batman game out of the water. A strong storyline, great villains, and excellent combat gave the game critical acclaim, and a sequel was soon in the works. Arkham City took the series to a new level and opened the game up to a small section of Gotham that you could freely move around, beating any criminals that were unlucky enough to wave a baseball bat at you.
Although Arkham City was still very well received, many criticised it for not being focused enough. The open world felt too empty, and you were aimlessly being pointed around the map so the game could fit in as many villains as possible, without the story required to keep it interesting. Arkham City sounds like it may be going one step further and giving you EVEN MORE villains and running from A to B in an open area without much story to get stuck into.
With the game’s 2015 release nearing, Rocksteady needs to address the criticisms of Arkham City, otherwise the massive ending to a much-loved series could fall a little flat. The story needs to be stronger than Arkham City’s, and with the Joker now dead, there are doubts over whether the Arkham Knight will be able to fill his sadistic, blood-soaked boots.
Total War: Attila
The Creative Assembly hit massive criticism for Total War 2: Rome due to the game’ s AI having the intelligence of a potato and bugs plaguing the game for months after release. Even now, after receiving a huge amount of hefty patches, the game still hasn’t won over fans as the epic Roman experience it wanted to be.
With just over a month to the release, Total War: Attila has many debating whether it is worth a purchase, as it runs on the same engine as Total War 2: Rome. With the last attempt as disappointing as it was, is this game going to follow the same path, or fix everything completely? No one knows yet, but signs aren’t promising.
Whilst many previews of Total War: Attila are praising it for its revamped politics system, the battles are still something of a concern. The AI is said to still be in a rough state, allowing players to easily exploit its potato-like intelligence. The Creative Assembly have a reputation to fix, and this game could be make-or-break for the Total War franchise.
Evolve
The new co-op shooter by Turtle Rock Studios, the creators of Left 4 Dead, has created a lot of positive talk in 2014. Previews have been heaping praise onto it due to its well-balanced strategy and intense, monster-hunting battles.
A couple of months ago, however, there was a closed alpha for the game which left many wanting more and others scratching their heads. The core gameplay works, but it only works with a group of players that know what they are doing. Evolve is a complex game that requires each of the hunters to fill a role in their squad. That last thing they need is a ‘Leeroy Jenkins’ type of player to flail around, filling everything that moves with bullets (including teammates).
Whilst many, I am certain, would play Evolve with every intention of playing it ‘properly’, there are concerns that the game is too complex for a lot of people to grasp. If the game does not have a good tutorial or and low difficulty entry, it may turn players off and stifle its own success. Though Evolve could receive critical acclaim, a failure to become a commercial success could be in the cards and kill any chance of a sequel.
About the author
