DiRT Rally – PC – December 7th
The DiRT series had fallen on hard times after breaking away from the Colin McRae brand, adding little more than superfluous details to the games that released afterwards. It became clear that the series was losing touch with what made it so popular in the first place. But then Developer Codemasters decided to try something different; releasing their next game, DiRT Rally into Early Access so that fans of the series could give instant feedback. The result is a game that feels faithful to its roots and is one of, if not the best racing sim of 2015.
BADLAND 2 – iOS – December 17th
If there was a game that you could label as a must have that just snuck in the back door of 2015, BADLAND 2 would be it. No, it isn’t a console or PC epic, but rather a masterfully crafted mobile experience that successfully builds on the foundations laid down by its 2013 Game of the Year award-winning predecessor. The game has instantly been labeled an “Editor’s Choice” in the App Store, a title reserved only for the most deserving games and is currently sporting a metacritic score of 97.
The game gives players control of a blob that you move through a series of mazes, each with their own unique dangers and sports an art style that is an obvious homage to LIMBO. BADLAND 2 is the ideal sequel; one that retains what made the original work so well and makes additions that naturally weave themselves into the core gameplay. At $4.99, BADLAND 2 is very much worth your time.
These are the games that stood the tallest in the final month of 2015. Are there any we missed? Do you think we’re overrating any of these? Sound off in the comments below.
Xenoblade Chronicles X – Wii U – December 4th
Xenoblade Chronicles X is one of the most anticipated Wii U games over the last couple of years and as our own Mike Splechta put it, the game is simply “breathtaking”. Xenoblade Chronicles X is easily the largest game on the Wii U, and may very well be the system’s best RPG to date. You can get lost in the game’s world for hundreds of hours at a time and always find something new to learn or do. Not many games can say that.
Nuclear Throne – PC, PS4, Vita – December 5th
Nuclear Throne is another Early Access success story that has grown a community of passionate followers from the ground up. The game is a top-down roguelike shooter that tasks players with shooting everything in sight while evolving their characters to have bigger and better abilities. The great thing about the game is that each run you make is different, as sometimes you will find yourself outrageously OP, mowing down everything in sight, while other times you may be hopelessly outclassed by your enemies. Developer Vlambeer is also known for Twitch streaming their development process, so if you have a question or find a bug, fans can easily get in touch with them and they are very good at being responsive.
December is normally a pretty bare month for game releases since the awards for the best games of the year have generally been decided at this point. But every now and then we get a small surprise that hits us out of nowhere (like last year’s The Talos Principle) or a big delayed AAA title on its absolute final deadline of the year (Rainbow Six Siege). This year was a mix of both, with the expected titles coming within the first four days of the month, and a couple of surprises following over the next couple of weeks. Here are the best games from the month of December.
Just Cause 3 – PC, Xbox One, PS4 – December 1st
Just Cause 3’s success is dependent upon whether or not you can put up with frequent performance issues. As noted in our review, the the game suffers from frequent frame rate drops and crashes, but it should be understood that these are things that can be ironed out with updates over time. Sure, it’s frustrating that many games nowadays have so many glitches and bugs at launch, but that’s simply a reflection of the times we live in.
Fortunately, all is not lost and the game succeeds in accomplishing what it sets out to do, with a massive world to liberate and even more insane stunts to pull off as you traverse from one area to another. Oh yeah, and you can blow up A LOT of stuff.
Rainbow Six: Siege – PC, Xbox One, PS4 – December 1st
Rainbow Six: Siege was one of Ubisoft’s annual surprise announcements a few years ago and after several delays, it finally made its way to the general public and its reception has been largely a warm one. The game is inspired by real world counter-terrorist operations and revolves around carefully planned tactics in close quarters combats. You won’t be pulling off kill streak after kill streak, but the will to hold onto your only life in each round creates a sense of tension that you just can’t find in most modern online shooters.
