2015 offered a ton of new games, some major hits some weren’t. What were some of Grim Reaper Gamers favorite games? We count down our member favorites of the year. Members voted based on their love of the game and how many hours they wasted playing them. Read on to find out what they chose.
14. Mad Max
Welcome to the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max! Drive around a vast wasteland upgrading your weapons and vehicles to liberate bases that are under the stranglehold of Scrotus and turn the land back over to the people. Mad Max’s car combat may take a bit to get used to but is very entertaining as is the games out of vehicle melee system which will seem very familiar to anyone who has played Shadow of Mordor. The game may be repetitive in regards to what kind of missions are available but I had a ton of fun driving around and blowing shit up. If you haven’t played it yet definitely look to rent it or get it on a flash sale.
13. Bloodborne
From Software builds upon its tried and true formula from the Dark Souls series and perfects it with Bloodborne. Bloodborne a PS4 exclusive and quite possibly the best game to be released this generation just recieved an expansion pack. The Old Hunters builds upon the world that Bloodborne gave us from it’s release. The new expansion brought back the thrill and challenge that made Bloodborne so great in the first place. From the first time you beat a fellow hunter in PVP to beating Ebriatas Bloodborne will pack the thrills and keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the entirety of it’s 25-30 hour story.
12. Witcher 3
Do you like blood and boobs? Well this is the game for you.Oh you never played 1 or 2 that’s fine just youtube the basic story and you will be fine. This game is large in content, at least 100 hrs, so there is plenty to do. This was the first AAA title in a long time to offer 16 pieces of free DLC after launch. The beasts of the Witcher’s world are plenty and dangerous. Be warned the combat system takes a while to get used to
11. Battlefield Hardline
In this spin-off of the Battlefield series Visceral Games, developers of the Dead Space franchise, take the fight to the streets in a Cops and Robbers version of of Battlefield. The game lacked in content and that was its downfall in the beginning and just couldn’t build traction after that. Blood Money was an awesome game mode and a go-to favorite of GRG. It’s worth a purchase if you can find the premium edition for $25.
10. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
The hype train had left the station and was gaining steam as the latest installment in Hideo Kojima’s Solid Snake saga dropped. Unlike so many times before the train did not derail. Despite some minor issues the game lived up to its potential.
Set during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan it provides an interesting theatre of operations as Snake navigates canyons, tiny towns and large open vistas. Missions are varied and the story is solid without the constant interference of cut scenes that made Metal Gear Solid 4 a chore to play. Combine that with some of the best visuals we have seen in a game of this scope yet and we have a clear contender for GOTY.
Base building is new to the series and while it is somewhat limited it is still a welcome addition. Simply use your Fulton retrieval system (fancy word for a balloon eh?) to stock up on stationary machine guns, vehicles and even to refresh your army of recruits.
All of this provides a game within the game. Send squads out on mercenary missions to gain resources used to upgrade your base or Snakes equipment. Metal Gear Solid is an excellent attempt at carving out its own claim in the ever growing Open World genre and with additional content coming down, I’m sure people will keep coming back to it.
9. Elder Scrolls Online
While Elder Scrolls Online came out 2014 on the PC, it didn’t reach consoles until June of 2015. Many Grim Reaper Gamers are MMO fans and were very excited for a major MMO to come to consoles. Elder Scrolls Online offered the standard MMO gameplay like questing, crafting and dungeon raiding. Elder Scrolls Online also allowed you to pick pocket which was a great way to earn money. The game offered a great voice chat system that was very similar to how PC gamers use Teamspeak or Mumble. The voice chat was built in and allowed you to have many more players than the current console’s party limits. A usual GRG ESO night would have 20+ players in chat.
The main reason GRG puts it as a 2015 favorite game was ESO’s PvP game mode. Players would enter Cyrodiil for a massive online war between the three factions. You would attack or defend supply camps, towers and castles. Deploy offensive and defensive siege. Coordinate with other players. Overall, GRG had a lot of fun in Cyrodiil and PvP.
8. Rainbow Six Siege
Rainbow Six returns with RB6: Siege. The newest tactical installment in the series franchise. This game is strictly Multiplayer. There is no single player campaign. While that may turn some off, we at GRG feel they’d be missing out on an incredible game.
Multiplayer games are a more tactical, slower paced game than most are used to. Running and gunning is the quickest way to a spectator screen. Take your time, use drones, and walk around crouched to reduce noise and WATCH CORNERS! All important elements to success in this game. Teamwork and communication is a must if you want to win. It can be a bit rough at first until you get some renown and unlock some operators but once you this game a good time.
In addition to multiplayer Terrorist Hunt is back and is very different from those of you who played RB6 Vegas 2 but a welcome addition to the game. We highly recommend it to anyone who’s on the fence about it. You won’t be disappointed!
7. Rocket League
Rocket League was a surprise hit for Grim Reaper Gamers. The premise is simple. Soccer with rocket powered cars. While it may be a simple basic game, the gameplay was a total blast. GRG even ran their own private league that lasted weeks. The game was released for free when it launched but is now $20 dollars. This is probably the reason it was so popular in GRG as we are cheap bastards. If you’re looking for a fun game to play you can’t go wrong with Rocket League.
6. Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront marks the return of the Battlefront franchise to the gaming world. Gameplay is very casual and a departure from what we expect with current shooters. Battlefront is not a stressful, rage inducing shooter and that is the beauty of it. While it may turn off some but we feel that they are missing out on a fun game. One key feature is you can shoot Ewoks and who doesn’t want to do that? Battlefront boasts some of the best graphics and sounds in any console game. It not only looks incredible, but it sounds it as well.
Had the game added a little more depth with classes and shipped with more maps it could of scored higher on our list. Hopefully Battlefront 2 (which we all know is coming) will address that.
5. Halo 5
Master Chief returns in the newest installment of the Halo franchise. Play as Master Chief in his quest to find Cortana. Single player is standard Halo gameplay as you face already familiar enemies. You also get to play as Locke, a Spartan tasked with bringing Master Chief down. This is a nice change of pace but would of been better if there was any real difference in gameplay between the two Spartans.
What puts this title on our list is it’s Multiplayer game modes. You have Co-Op Single player, standard arena modes and the new game mode called Warzone. Warzone is a massive battle featuring 24 players. Two teams of twelve fight over capture points and AI opponents. You not only need to hold capture points to score, you have to kill the AI enemies as they earn massive points in game. They also introduced a new Requisition system which allows you to buy more powerful weapons and vehicles. This new feature can really change the battle very quickly.
Finally, 343 has promised new Multiplayer DLC for free and they have really come through with that promise. We have had Big Team Battle gamemode, Forge and Theater mode added. They just released Cartographer’s Gift which included one new Warzone map, one new Arena map and two new Big Team Battle maps along with some new armor skins and assassination animations. The free DLC is a welcomed change from the way modern game developers handle it (and charge for it).
4. Ark: Survival Evolved
Ark Survival Evolved recently launched as a preview title on the XBox One and Grim Reaper Gamers can’t get enough of it. The game is basically Minecraft with Dinos and is very addicting. What really makes this game special is the PvP servers where you must work as a tribe in order to survive. The game also forces your tribe to be very social as you need to create alliances with other tribes or risk them turning on you. GRG has a very large group of players and has become one of the main tribes on Server 115. The game is still in alpha preview so there are some bugs, graphical glitches, and not enough servers. It can be very difficult to log onto your server at peak times.
If you’re looking for a fun, relaxing game that takes Minecraft to the next level then you should really check out Ark. The preview price is $35.00 and will unlock the full version when that is released.
3. Destiny: The Taken King
Destiny The Taken King, or as we’d like to say in GRG, how Destiny should have shipped. While TTK is just an expansion to the original title released in 2014, we feel it belongs in GRG’s top games of 2015. It earned it’s spot with the amount of GRG players on both consoles, time and effort put in, and overall excitement for the game. We ran several raiding parties per week. Participated in the Iron Banner Competitions. And we generally had several full fireteams playing every night of the week. Destiny may not be the perfect game mix between an MMO and FPS but we absolutely love where this genre is heading.
2. Black Ops 3
Call of Duty titles have been a Grim Reaper Gamers go to game for almost a decade. It’s been a mainstay for our Wednesday Community nights since CoD 4. While we may stray from this title throughout the year, we’ll line up in the fall to get our yearly dose of the CoD crack. Black Ops 3 is Treyarch’s return to the CoD Franchise. This title is pretty much a remake of Black Ops 2 (set in the future of course) with the addition of Wall Walking and Specialist roles.
Black Ops 3 does fall short of our number one title due to several major issues. While constant party drops and locked lobbies are bad, it’s the private lobby issues that really hurt this title for us. While CoD is mainstay game for our Wednesday night private rooms, BLOPs 3 is flat out broken. Game Chat just does not work, we’ll have a full run of 18 and at best can hear about 4-5 players.
Issues aside, it’s Call of Duty and a staple game of GRG. We’ll bitch and moan but buy it and play it every year. Don’t judge us.
GRG’s Game of the Year: Fallout 4
Fallout 4 was one of the most anticipated games of 2015 and it delivered on multiple fronts to earn our GOTY award from GRG. It delivered on pretty much everything you would expect from a Fallout title. A massive open world to explore, an unbelievable amount of content to spend and an ungodly amount of hours combing through.
Fallout added a what seemed like an afterthought but it turned into something GRG members have been spending hours playing with. Settlements was designed as a end game function but is open throughout the game and can be a major distraction towards the storyline.
The main story line is that you go into the vault with your significant other (you can play as a female now) and your child. Your significant other is killed and your child is stolen. The main story line is finding your child and tracking those that took him. Along with a good story there is also tons of side quests and about a dozen companions (with their own side quests) that can be chosen as you find them. Basically equating to well over 100+ hours of content. That is not factoring in all the buildings you can explore in the wasteland.
With the amount of GRG members playing and the amount of hours invested by our members you can see why this game was voted GOY.