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The Biggest News of 2015: Part 2
The aftermath of E3.
Hopefully you've already been through part one of our year-in-review. Picking up where that feature left off, we continue on after E3 to discuss Fallout 4, Destiny, Metal Gear, and all the other games that have come to define 2015. Read on for a month-by-month breakdown of the biggest announcements and stories from the second half of the year.
July: The Passing of an Icon
The industry lost an icon early this year. Satoru Iwata passed away at the age of 55, but he was more than just a CEO; Iwata was the face of Nintendo. While in recent years he was most visible as the host of the company's Nintendo Direct presentations, he also led Nintendo through several rocky and transitional years. You can learn more about his enduring legacy here.
Iwata will be missed, but not soon forgotten.
July: Other Big Stories
Sega is not the same company that you might remember growing up. In years past the parent company behind Sonic the Hedgehog was mostly serious and protective of its image, but in 2015 Sega has embraced its wild side. While this insane (and official) trailer hit critical mass on the Internet, Sega's Sonic Twitter account continues to delivery quirky, and entertaining updates.
We also learned that YouTube star PewDiePie isn't just a divisive gaming icon, he's also a multi-millionaire.
Mafia 3 was officially confirmed at the end of July, though we didn't get details on the racially charged story until the following month.
The big news stories out of July's QuakeCon were new details about Fallout 4's companions, and our first hands-on look at the upcoming Doom game's multiplayer.
And Square Enix may have inadvertently revealed some of the first games for Nintendo's upcoming NX platform, Dragon Quest X and XI. However, the company quickly clarified that the releases are simply "under consideration."
July: Biggest Games
Journey Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 10
Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Rocket League Review | GameSpot Score: 9
August: Destiny Drops Dinklage
Updates aren't anything new in games, but replacing an voice actor entirely for a current game is unheard of. But Bungie swapped out the divisive Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage in Destiny for the prolific Nolan North.
The primary reason given was that, with updates still coming to the game, Bungie wanted an actor to be "the voice of Ghost throughout the Destiny universe." Unfortunately, Dinklage was not available, so the acting was re-dubbed from the beginning.
If you want to relive the original, we put together a comparison of Dinklage's character to Nolan North's.
In related news, Destiny's developers also explained why The Taken King was priced at $40. But basically, the argument comes down to the quote, "The Taken King is well more than twice as much content as the Dark Below."
August: Other Big Stories
Print magazine like Time don't get as much attention these days from mainstream audiences, but when they do, it's because they have amazing cover photos of people like Palmer Luckey. Here are some of the best reactions and photoshops of the infamous image.
While video game footage leaks on the Internet all the time, it's not often that the major distributor is a porn site. But in August, Pornhub became the inadvertent distributor of early Fallout 4 gameplay.
Ahead of Blizzcon, Blizzard announced the next expansion for World of Warcraft: Legion. The update will introduce a new Demon Hunter class, raise the level cap to 110, and significantly improve the transmog system.
And finally the latest Hitman film joined the not-so-famous ranks of auteur Uwe Boll: it's one of the worst reviewed game films of all time.
August: Biggest Games
Until Dawn Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Review | GameSpot Score: 9
Madden NFL 16 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7
Devil's Third Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 3
Rare Replay Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Mad Max Roundup | GameSpot Score: 6
September: Metal Gear Online's Rocky Start
While Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a predominately single-player experience, there are still a host of online features. Unfortunately, it took a while for those to start working after the game's launch.
Konami sent out constant updates to players on the status the game's FOB service, but the hiccups were still severe and spread across PS4, PC, and Xbox One. And some of the problems leaked over to the campaign mode, such as transferring data over from the prequel, Ground Zeroes.
But the problems were eventually cleared up, and they didn't seem to hamper the glowing praise the game received from critics and fans alike.
Now, how Konami has responded to the Kojima controversy is another matter entirely.
September: Other Big Stories
While it wasn't the same AAA event as in years past, the Tokyo Game Show still brought plenty of highlights. But the real standout at the show is the fan cosplay. Some of the best in the world gather in Tokyo for the gaming event, and we saw some deeply impressive Metal Gear outfits.
We haven't seen much of Rare's next Xbox One game, Sea of Thieves game, but Microsoft is already calling it "the best game that Rare has ever made." It remains to be seen whether or not that's hyperbole. Banjo-Kazooie was pretty good, after all.
Developer Niantic achieved some cult fame with its mobile game Ingress, but the company probably going to get a lot more attention for its next project: a collaboration with Nintendo called Pokemon Go. Similar to Ingress, you'll travel around the world (or your local city), and look for hidden Pokemon. It's set to launch as a free download on iOS and Android in 2016.
And if you ever wondered how much it costs to make a massive, open-world game like the Witcher 3, the developmental price tag is around $81 million.
September: Biggest Games
PES 2016 Review | GameSpot Score: 9
FIFA 16 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Destiny: The Taken King Review | GameSpot Score: 8
SOMA Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Super Mario Maker Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Forza Motorsport 6 Review | GameSpot Score: 8
LEGO Dimensions Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
October: Cyberpunk Hype
Picking a specific standout moment in October is difficult, but one story that will continue to be talked about well into 2016 are the developer claims on Cyberpunk 2077's size.
According to CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077 will be "far bigger than anything else that CD Projekt Red has done before... far, far bigger."
The Witcher 3 is already an intimidatingly massive game, so the scope of Cyberpunk is a little hard to imagine. However, the developer says they're currently not planning to discuss the game further until 2017, presumably around the game's launch.
October: Other Big Stories
Previous Friday the 13th Games may not have been great, but developer Gun Media is attempting to try again. A successful Kickstarter for the game raised $800,000, just over the game's $700k goal.
A PS4 survey was leaked into the wild asking users if they want to change their PSN IDs, have more PS2 games, and create custom backgrounds. The PS2 part, at least, has come true, so maybe the others will too?
Nintendo's Pokemon company partnered with Build-a-Bear to reveal custom stuffed Pikachus coming in 2016.
And the developers behind PayDay 2 responded to the criticism around introducing microtransactions to their game. To extend post-launch support and to support a growing team, the developer created the Black Market Update, despite previously saying Payday 2 would not have microtransactions. A producer on the game stated, "We understand that there is a lot of fury, anger, and disappointment with us adding this. From an economical standpoint however, completely based on statistics, we can already see that the Black Market update is working as we intended. Going forward, we hope we can convince the parts of the community that resist this change that this was the right decision to do to ensure the stability of Overkill as an independent developer and the future growth of Payday 2."
October: Biggest Games
Assassin's Creed Syndicate Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Halo 5: Guardians Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone Review | GameSpot Score: 9
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth - Rising Tide Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Guitar Hero Live Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 6
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 3
Rock Band 4 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 5
Yoshi's Woolly World Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 6
November: The Big Xbox Update
The new Xbox experience launched on November 12, bringing a revamped UI, backwards compatibility for over 100 games, and further integration with Windows 10.
Microsoft's Mike Nichols called it "arguably the most significant release we've ever made to a console--and that anybody's ever made to a console." Though the real effects won't be seen until after the holidays. Will the introduction of backwards compatibility shift current Xbox 360 owners over to Microsoft's new system, or is the gap between PS4s and Xbox Ones sold already too great? Only time will tell.
November: Other Big Stories
The first Nintendo Direct since the passing of CEO Satoru Iwata was filled with lots of joyful news for Nintendo fans. The next fighter for Super Smash Bros. will be Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife. Classic Pokemon games red, blue, and yellow are returning to 3DS in all their pixelated glory. And the darkest entry in the Zelda franchise, Twilight Princes, is getting an HD version for Wii U.
The singer for Breaking Benjamin broke a copy of Star Wars Battlefront sent to him by a PR company and called the game a "piece of sh*t."
While they're not out yet, Bethesda worked to explain how Fallout 4 mods will work on Xbox One and PS4. Director Pete Hines said in an interview, "The idea is you go to play the game, there's a menu option, you click on it, and there's a bunch of stuff for you to download. And you click on the stuff that you want and you start playing a game with these new mods."
Blizzard announced that it will no longer report World of Warcraft's subscriber numbers.
Afro Samurai 2 was voluntarily removed from stores and refunds were issued for what the developer called a "failure." Further chapters of the game have already been canceled.
And similarly, the Batman: Arkham Knight started issuing full PC refunds as issues with the game continue. While the studio will continue to work on fixing the issues, it offered the statement, "We are very sorry that many of our customers continue to be unhappy with the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight. We worked hard to get the game to live up to the standard you deserve but understand that many of you are still experiencing issues."
November: Biggest Games
Fallout 4 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Star Wars Battlefront Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7
Rise of the Tomb Raider Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Need For Speed Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters Review | GameSpot Score: 9
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Undertale Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
December: Psychonauts, Ni No Kuni, and the PlayStation Experience
December has only just begun, but we've already had an influx of big announcements courtesy of the PlayStation Experience. Following the announcement of Psychonauts 2, developer Double Fine also revealed that there would be a PlayStation VR-exclusive Psychonauts prequel.
Namco Bandai announced a PS4-exclusive sequel to the Ghibli-inspired RPG Ni No Kuni.
And in addition to the first gameplay from Final Fantasy VII Remake, we also learned that the game will be episodic.
You can check out our rund down of the biggest news from the PlayStation Experience press conference here.
December: Other Big Stories
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 caused some controversy early this month with the developer said it would not bring the game to the West. Koei Tecmo stated that it remains "focused on delivering the best in fighting entertainment to our fans around the world, while consciously respecting and strategizing to support the different global audiences the Dead or Alive franchise lends itself to." DoAX3 is currently slated for release only in Japan and Asia.
The Witcher 3 took top honors at the Video Game Awards show in LA.
The next pack of Mortal Kombat DLC characters will include: Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Xenomorph (Alien), Bo Rai Cho (drunken fist master) and Tri-Borg (combination of Cyrax, Sektor, and Robot Smoke).
There's a lot more yet to come in December, and we can wait to see what exciting news takes us into the new year.
December: Biggest Games
Just Cause 3 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Rainbow Six Siege Review | GameSpot Score: 8
Xenoblade Chronicles X Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
More...
Hopefully you've already been through part one of our year-in-review. Picking up where that feature left off, we continue on after E3 to discuss Fallout 4, Destiny, Metal Gear, and all the other games that have come to define 2015. Read on for a month-by-month breakdown of the biggest announcements and stories from the second half of the year.
July: The Passing of an Icon
The industry lost an icon early this year. Satoru Iwata passed away at the age of 55, but he was more than just a CEO; Iwata was the face of Nintendo. While in recent years he was most visible as the host of the company's Nintendo Direct presentations, he also led Nintendo through several rocky and transitional years. You can learn more about his enduring legacy here.
Iwata will be missed, but not soon forgotten.
July: Other Big Stories
Sega is not the same company that you might remember growing up. In years past the parent company behind Sonic the Hedgehog was mostly serious and protective of its image, but in 2015 Sega has embraced its wild side. While this insane (and official) trailer hit critical mass on the Internet, Sega's Sonic Twitter account continues to delivery quirky, and entertaining updates.
We also learned that YouTube star PewDiePie isn't just a divisive gaming icon, he's also a multi-millionaire.
Mafia 3 was officially confirmed at the end of July, though we didn't get details on the racially charged story until the following month.
The big news stories out of July's QuakeCon were new details about Fallout 4's companions, and our first hands-on look at the upcoming Doom game's multiplayer.
And Square Enix may have inadvertently revealed some of the first games for Nintendo's upcoming NX platform, Dragon Quest X and XI. However, the company quickly clarified that the releases are simply "under consideration."
July: Biggest Games
Journey Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 10
Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Rocket League Review | GameSpot Score: 9
August: Destiny Drops Dinklage
Updates aren't anything new in games, but replacing an voice actor entirely for a current game is unheard of. But Bungie swapped out the divisive Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage in Destiny for the prolific Nolan North.
The primary reason given was that, with updates still coming to the game, Bungie wanted an actor to be "the voice of Ghost throughout the Destiny universe." Unfortunately, Dinklage was not available, so the acting was re-dubbed from the beginning.
If you want to relive the original, we put together a comparison of Dinklage's character to Nolan North's.
In related news, Destiny's developers also explained why The Taken King was priced at $40. But basically, the argument comes down to the quote, "The Taken King is well more than twice as much content as the Dark Below."
August: Other Big Stories
Print magazine like Time don't get as much attention these days from mainstream audiences, but when they do, it's because they have amazing cover photos of people like Palmer Luckey. Here are some of the best reactions and photoshops of the infamous image.
While video game footage leaks on the Internet all the time, it's not often that the major distributor is a porn site. But in August, Pornhub became the inadvertent distributor of early Fallout 4 gameplay.
Ahead of Blizzcon, Blizzard announced the next expansion for World of Warcraft: Legion. The update will introduce a new Demon Hunter class, raise the level cap to 110, and significantly improve the transmog system.
And finally the latest Hitman film joined the not-so-famous ranks of auteur Uwe Boll: it's one of the worst reviewed game films of all time.
August: Biggest Games
Until Dawn Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Review | GameSpot Score: 9
Madden NFL 16 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7
Devil's Third Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 3
Rare Replay Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Mad Max Roundup | GameSpot Score: 6
September: Metal Gear Online's Rocky Start
While Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a predominately single-player experience, there are still a host of online features. Unfortunately, it took a while for those to start working after the game's launch.
Konami sent out constant updates to players on the status the game's FOB service, but the hiccups were still severe and spread across PS4, PC, and Xbox One. And some of the problems leaked over to the campaign mode, such as transferring data over from the prequel, Ground Zeroes.
But the problems were eventually cleared up, and they didn't seem to hamper the glowing praise the game received from critics and fans alike.
Now, how Konami has responded to the Kojima controversy is another matter entirely.
September: Other Big Stories
While it wasn't the same AAA event as in years past, the Tokyo Game Show still brought plenty of highlights. But the real standout at the show is the fan cosplay. Some of the best in the world gather in Tokyo for the gaming event, and we saw some deeply impressive Metal Gear outfits.
We haven't seen much of Rare's next Xbox One game, Sea of Thieves game, but Microsoft is already calling it "the best game that Rare has ever made." It remains to be seen whether or not that's hyperbole. Banjo-Kazooie was pretty good, after all.
Developer Niantic achieved some cult fame with its mobile game Ingress, but the company probably going to get a lot more attention for its next project: a collaboration with Nintendo called Pokemon Go. Similar to Ingress, you'll travel around the world (or your local city), and look for hidden Pokemon. It's set to launch as a free download on iOS and Android in 2016.
And if you ever wondered how much it costs to make a massive, open-world game like the Witcher 3, the developmental price tag is around $81 million.
September: Biggest Games
PES 2016 Review | GameSpot Score: 9
FIFA 16 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Destiny: The Taken King Review | GameSpot Score: 8
SOMA Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Super Mario Maker Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Forza Motorsport 6 Review | GameSpot Score: 8
LEGO Dimensions Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
October: Cyberpunk Hype
Picking a specific standout moment in October is difficult, but one story that will continue to be talked about well into 2016 are the developer claims on Cyberpunk 2077's size.
According to CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077 will be "far bigger than anything else that CD Projekt Red has done before... far, far bigger."
The Witcher 3 is already an intimidatingly massive game, so the scope of Cyberpunk is a little hard to imagine. However, the developer says they're currently not planning to discuss the game further until 2017, presumably around the game's launch.
October: Other Big Stories
Previous Friday the 13th Games may not have been great, but developer Gun Media is attempting to try again. A successful Kickstarter for the game raised $800,000, just over the game's $700k goal.
A PS4 survey was leaked into the wild asking users if they want to change their PSN IDs, have more PS2 games, and create custom backgrounds. The PS2 part, at least, has come true, so maybe the others will too?
Nintendo's Pokemon company partnered with Build-a-Bear to reveal custom stuffed Pikachus coming in 2016.
And the developers behind PayDay 2 responded to the criticism around introducing microtransactions to their game. To extend post-launch support and to support a growing team, the developer created the Black Market Update, despite previously saying Payday 2 would not have microtransactions. A producer on the game stated, "We understand that there is a lot of fury, anger, and disappointment with us adding this. From an economical standpoint however, completely based on statistics, we can already see that the Black Market update is working as we intended. Going forward, we hope we can convince the parts of the community that resist this change that this was the right decision to do to ensure the stability of Overkill as an independent developer and the future growth of Payday 2."
October: Biggest Games
Assassin's Creed Syndicate Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Halo 5: Guardians Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone Review | GameSpot Score: 9
Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth - Rising Tide Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Guitar Hero Live Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 6
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 3
Rock Band 4 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 5
Yoshi's Woolly World Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 6
November: The Big Xbox Update
The new Xbox experience launched on November 12, bringing a revamped UI, backwards compatibility for over 100 games, and further integration with Windows 10.
Microsoft's Mike Nichols called it "arguably the most significant release we've ever made to a console--and that anybody's ever made to a console." Though the real effects won't be seen until after the holidays. Will the introduction of backwards compatibility shift current Xbox 360 owners over to Microsoft's new system, or is the gap between PS4s and Xbox Ones sold already too great? Only time will tell.
November: Other Big Stories
The first Nintendo Direct since the passing of CEO Satoru Iwata was filled with lots of joyful news for Nintendo fans. The next fighter for Super Smash Bros. will be Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife. Classic Pokemon games red, blue, and yellow are returning to 3DS in all their pixelated glory. And the darkest entry in the Zelda franchise, Twilight Princes, is getting an HD version for Wii U.
The singer for Breaking Benjamin broke a copy of Star Wars Battlefront sent to him by a PR company and called the game a "piece of sh*t."
While they're not out yet, Bethesda worked to explain how Fallout 4 mods will work on Xbox One and PS4. Director Pete Hines said in an interview, "The idea is you go to play the game, there's a menu option, you click on it, and there's a bunch of stuff for you to download. And you click on the stuff that you want and you start playing a game with these new mods."
Blizzard announced that it will no longer report World of Warcraft's subscriber numbers.
Afro Samurai 2 was voluntarily removed from stores and refunds were issued for what the developer called a "failure." Further chapters of the game have already been canceled.
And similarly, the Batman: Arkham Knight started issuing full PC refunds as issues with the game continue. While the studio will continue to work on fixing the issues, it offered the statement, "We are very sorry that many of our customers continue to be unhappy with the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight. We worked hard to get the game to live up to the standard you deserve but understand that many of you are still experiencing issues."
November: Biggest Games
Fallout 4 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Star Wars Battlefront Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 7
Rise of the Tomb Raider Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
Need For Speed Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Bloodborne: The Old Hunters Review | GameSpot Score: 9
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Undertale Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 9
December: Psychonauts, Ni No Kuni, and the PlayStation Experience
December has only just begun, but we've already had an influx of big announcements courtesy of the PlayStation Experience. Following the announcement of Psychonauts 2, developer Double Fine also revealed that there would be a PlayStation VR-exclusive Psychonauts prequel.
Namco Bandai announced a PS4-exclusive sequel to the Ghibli-inspired RPG Ni No Kuni.
And in addition to the first gameplay from Final Fantasy VII Remake, we also learned that the game will be episodic.
You can check out our rund down of the biggest news from the PlayStation Experience press conference here.
December: Other Big Stories
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 caused some controversy early this month with the developer said it would not bring the game to the West. Koei Tecmo stated that it remains "focused on delivering the best in fighting entertainment to our fans around the world, while consciously respecting and strategizing to support the different global audiences the Dead or Alive franchise lends itself to." DoAX3 is currently slated for release only in Japan and Asia.
The Witcher 3 took top honors at the Video Game Awards show in LA.
The next pack of Mortal Kombat DLC characters will include: Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Xenomorph (Alien), Bo Rai Cho (drunken fist master) and Tri-Borg (combination of Cyrax, Sektor, and Robot Smoke).
There's a lot more yet to come in December, and we can wait to see what exciting news takes us into the new year.
December: Biggest Games
Just Cause 3 Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
Rainbow Six Siege Review | GameSpot Score: 8
Xenoblade Chronicles X Review Roundup | GameSpot Score: 8
More...