It’s 2016 and that means that there is a whole new slate of games that we all have to look forward to. Many of which have been announced years in the making, and some others as recent as last E3. While there are a lot of games still to come while others have been delayed, I have picked my top games that I am excited to play this year!
For the record, I am primarily an Xbox 1 gamer, so this list will reflect accordingly.
5. Far Cry Primal
Far Cry is one of those game series that I would see all over television and that my friends would play and talk about, but I never got into it. But then here comes the game play trailer and it’s the protagonist (first person) RIDING A MAMMOTH! That’s clearly just one small aspect of the game, but that definitely caught my eye. With all the talk how large the world is and exploration possibilities the games have produced, it is certainly something that I would love to get into. Open world exploring is something that I enjoy, and I hope that this game not only provides it, but also provides a great story that will take me from one end of the world to the other and back again.
Far Cry Primal releases February 23rd.
4. The Division
3. Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2
I would like to thank iDizzy81 for this. Due to his love of video games, his broad spectrum of games, and his tendency to try any game that looks interesting, I found myself buying Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare and enjoying the hell out of it. The first game combined all the joys of childhood cartoonism with the hilarity of plants shooting seeds/eating zombies wearing outhouses. While that description is along the weird side, it’s still one of the better games I’ve played on the Xbox One. With this game coming back with what looks like bigger, better, more badass plants and zombies, it definitely makes my top 5 anticipated.
Garden Warfare 2 releases February 23rd, and has a Beta from January 14th through the 18th.
2. Mass Effect Andromeda
One of the best gaming series on a console came to a close, and left by far the WORST taste in my mouth out of any game I have ever played, and I have played some pretty bad games (Assassin’s Creed Unity). It was as if everything I sat down and actually thought about and did meant nothing in the game. Needless to say, I was not happy when I went back for my second and third completion. That being said, I did go back for my second and third completion. While there was no major open world exploration, the story was very straightforward but gave you room to do other missions to better yourself in the war against the Reapers. Overall great series, and I hope that with Andromeda Bioware can resurrect the series and save it.
Mass Effect Andromeda is slated for a release in December.
Honorable mentions:
With there not being a release date yet, this game cannot make this list, though it will remain my most anticipated game of the next few years. That game is of course, Kingdom Hearts 3. If you read my earlier post, you’ll know how much I love the game franchise. With the acquisition of the Star Wars Franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe and their close work with Square Enix, this game has an unlimited amount of possibilities of appearances from Luke Skywalker right down to Captain America and Thor. This game was officially announced as “currently in development” not too long ago, yet there is still no set release date. While the delay and not knowing is really irksome, I’m glad. I want this game to be perfect. I don’t want a release date with delays, I want a hard release date and a midnight release party.
While I do play primarily on an Xbox One (current gen; I own and play on a Playstation 2 and Nintendo 64), I have considered and looked into getting a Playstation 4 for Kingdom Hearst 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. It is not the only game that I would buy a Playstation 4 for, assuming the Playstation Store has a few others, but it is a key factor and is therefore worthy of an honorable mention for a game that I am anticipating for 2016.
Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue has a release set for later this year.
1. Gears of War 4
The best gaming franchise on Xbox currently? One could make that argument. It is definitely top two for me wit Halo, and it’s too close for me to actually make a decision. This game is so highly anticipated for me, that I will not be watching any trailers, social media posts, NOTHING! until this game comes out. As a friend of mine says, I will be going “dark” into this game. From the chainsaw executions, to the different types of weapon executions, these games have been down-right GRUESOME. The blood and gore in this game is so over the top, that it insights different emotions from the people playing. While it is very gory, this series also has one of the most twist-tacular stories spread through the first 3 games, and really pulls on your emotions (if you’re like me and spent hours of sleepless nights playing). With there only being an announcement of the game and no set release, it will definitely be something work keeping a close eye on. For the record, I still haven’t seen the trailer posted below.
Gears of War is set to release this holiday season.
Tagged: 2016, BioWare, Coalition, Cole Train, far cry, Gears of War, Kngdom Hearts, mass effect, Plants vs Zombies, Playstation, Playstation 4, Square Enix, Tom Clancy, Video Games, Xbox One