My Most Anticipated Games of 2016

By Sam Coles:

I know this sort of post seems a bit redundant considering it’s now the start of February, but I wanted to give you an insight of what games I’m looking forward to in the coming months of 2016. So in no particular order I’ll tell what games interest me, so remember this is my opinion, so don’t get a nark on if a title that you’re looking forward to isn’t on here.

DOOM:

If you read my blog, know personally or watched my stream of Doom (95) you would know that I love old school shooters. When Wolfenstein was first announced back in 2013 I was worried they would take on all the modern shooter clichés of the time. However they didn’t and Wolfenstein The New Order was a fantastic game with no regenerating health and game that will kick you in the neither regions if you don’t manage your health.

They announced Doom as a reboot to the series at E3 2014; I was excited because maybe they’re slowly bringing back the old school conventions of shooters, with the break neck speed of 60 mph to the exploration of secrets. Then Bethesda showed us gameplay to Doom at E3 2015 and it was everything I hoped for! It has the high speed movement, the over the top graphic violence turned up to 10 and the big levels where you have to look for health, ammo and key cards. There is no specific release date yet but id software assures us that it’s going to be out in 2016.

Final Fantasy XV:

Here is a game that I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole if you showed me it 4 years ago. I’ve never been a fan of the J-RPG genre because I’ve found that they’ve always been about whiney teenagers since FF VII anyway. There have been a few exceptions with VIII and IX, but the genre wasn’t my favourite.

It wasn’t until last year where I played two HD remakes, which were Final Fantasy Type-0 which was a very dark game about war and Final Fantasy X. I got review copies for both of these games and my expectation were low, however I started to play them, which I then eventually started to like them with their serious subject matter and goofy moments to brighten you up after those grim moments.

Final Fantasy XV looks to be a massive and epic experience where you travel these wide open spaces with a vast array of flora and fauna. The game seems to take what was traditional of the FF games after the disastrous Lightning trilogy, with a huge world to explore and challenging combat, plus it helps that game looks absolutely beautiful with what we’ve seem so far.

Far Cry Primal:

Now here is a game that I didn’t see coming because the setting was so unique. Most people at this point are getting fatigued with Ubisoft open world games because they over saturate the market.

Don’t get me wrong I liked Far Cry 4, but it felt more like a tweaked version of Far Cry 3, with a rehashed story with the same crazy villain etc. When the Far Cry Primal trailer came around I was surprised, the setting of the game in the Stone Age makes sense with Far Cry’s survival elements. This time taking settlements and crafting weapons looks like it means something rather than it being something you do once because the tutorial tells you to do it and you’ll never do it again.

So there will be no guns or explosives in this game, you’ll have to rely on your environment by crafting spears and taming animals to do your bidding. The over the top violence suits time period of 10,000 BC with the tribal disputes and I look forward to explore the world and tame a sabre tooth tiger.

Uncharted 4 – A Thief’s End:

Do I have to explain this one? Yes? Alright! If you don’t know I love the Uncharted series and after

playing and reviewing The Nathan Drake Collection it got me super excited for the 4^th game.

The gameplay footage that has been shown off at E3 and the Playstation experiences looks beautiful with its visuals coupled with its high octane action and platforming. Now the game has been delayed twice already, originally it was meant to release at the end of 2015, then March of 2016 and finally April (for now). I don’t care if they delay it again because I know Naughty Dog as a studio care about quality and they want their final game in the Uncharted series to go out with a bang. I look forward to taking control of Nathan Drake again.

2016 looks to be a good year in gaming and that is what I’m looking forward to this year. What games are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments, Twitter: @SamColes2 or @BristoianGamer or Facebook: Bristolian Gamer.