What a year it's been. From January's debut of Dying Light and Life is Strange to December's Just Cause 3 and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, there have been a ton of games to choose from. However, for ever great game there was a a bad one as 2015 was no stranger to unfortunate circumstances.
There were a lot of disappointing games and topics in 2015. Below were 10 that stood out the most.
10. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Died
Let's be real here, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has been a non-factor for many years. It's a sad turn of events when you consider that it's responsible for several of the most well-received games in history. Nonetheless, many hoped that Robomodo could revive the franchise. Instead of making use of such an opportunity it ensured that it would never breathe again. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 was one of the lowest-rated games of the year, and for good reason. I was unfortunate enough to review it, and occasionally have nightmares about its horrible gameplay and presentation. Rest in peace, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
Read More: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 Review
9. Wii U Lost Hope
Although Nintendo had huge ambitions for the Wii U, its poor sales have resulted in the company re-allocating its resources. So, while the Wii U had Super Mario Maker, Splatoon, and Xenoblade Chronicles X, that was about as far as good games went on the platform during the last 12 months thanks to a severe lack of third-party support. Consequently, it didn't even manage to sell 25% as many hardware units during Black Friday as the competition despite having the lowest price point. Fans will just have to endure these painful months as Nintendo readies the upcoming NX console/handheld hybrid.
Read More: Dear Nintendo, Please Consider These Features For NX
8. Halo 5: Guardians Skipped Local Multiplayer
343 Industries' intentions with cutting local multiplayer were good. This is an industry that has evolved to allow nothing short of breathtaking visuals, and engineering splitscreen has been a serious challenge for modern software development where pushing hardware to its limit is required. But this is Halo we're talking about, a franchise that owes much of its success to local multiplayer. Halo 5: Guardians gambled big money focusing its efforts on online multiplayer, and it paid dearly for it with widespread bad word of mouth and negative reviews from those who purchased it thinking they could enjoy its acclaimed gameplay with their friends and family on the couch. You can bet that the next Halo game will have local multiplayer, and it'll be better for it.
Read More: Halo 5: Guardians Review
7. PS Plus Failed To Substantiate Subscription Fee
The second year of PS4's PlayStation Plus was underwhelming. Its servers were still unreliable, reminiscent of the PS3 days when the subscription wasn't even mandatory. But where it really faltered was with game delivery. The only stand-out game was Rocket League, a budget-priced multiplatform indie title. At $50+ per year, PlayStation Plus just isn't good value to many PS4 owners. As a result, myself and many others have stopped paying for it.
Read More: Why PlayStation Is Losing Fans
6. Batman: Arkham Knight Got a Buggy PC Version
There's nothing quite like putting down $60 on a game that everyone else seems to be praising and finding out that you can't even enjoy it reliably. Batman: Arkham Knight's PC version was a tragic mess that resulted in the game being pulled from the Steam store for more than two months. Even with multiple patches it still suffers from poor performance and game-ending glitches. It's a shame because it had the potential to become a benchmark for PC hardware.
Read More: Batman Arkham Knight Is Still a Buggy Mess
5. Evolve Celebrated a Forgettable Launch
Winner of multiple E3 2014 awards, Evolve was expected to be one of the biggest new IPs of 2015. Instead, it was a game that most gamers forgot about within weeks of launch. Some blame its shortcomings on its game design which lacked a high engagement rate. Others blame it on aggressive DLC and pre-order structuring. Whatever the case is, it didn't sell nearly as many copies as was projected, and was one of the year's biggest AAA failures financially and critically.
Read More: How Publishers Are Screwing Gamers with DLC and More
4. Metal Gear Solid V Forgot About Story
I happen to consider Metal Gear one of my three favorite gaming franchises. As with millions of other fans, I've beaten all the games, and anxiously awaited Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain knowing that it would conclude more than 20 years of storytelling. What we as fans were presented with was nothing close to satisfactory. Huge plot elements were left out, Big Boss rarely spoke, and the second half of the game was rushed. While the game deserves praise for its genre-leading gameplay, its story was massively disappointing sending Hideo Kojima's legacy away on a somewhat bad note. Speaking of Kojima…
Read More: Despite Praise, MGSV Doesn't Leave a Good Lasting Impression
3. Konami Ruined Everything It Touched
Everything Konami did in 2015 was saddening. Cancelation of Silent Hills killed the hope of millions of horror fans, and its tumultuous break-up with Kojima Productions resulted in a rushed Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. It broke Hideo Kojima's heart, and along with it the hearts of millions of fans around the globe. It didn't even let Kojima attend The Game Awards 2015, which is downright despicable. It was on a mission to do bad things to the gaming industry this year, and it succeeded with flying colors.
Read More: 5 Ways Konami Has Hurt Gaming
2. The Order: 1886 Failed To Become a Big New IP
If The Order: 1886 was good, it would have made a profound difference on Sony's delivery this year. Unfortunately, it wasn't good. Many called it boring, and its short length with no play value resulted in a huge wave of buyer's remorse. We happened to give it the lowest rating of any AAA game this year, and that may come as a surprise given how beautiful the game is. Ready At Dawn's new IP, which hoped to become a multi-part franchise, was dead on arrival, and it hurt the PS4's software library in a major way.
Read More: The Order 1886 Review
1. Star Wars: Battlefront Was Made For Non-Gamers
It was natural to expect more out of Star Wars: Battlefront. It had a big budget, a colossal marketing campaign, a proven game engine, and promised the best Star Wars gaming experience yet. Unfortunately, what EA DICE didn't share before release was the game was made for "8 year olds". It lacked depth, maps, a single-player campaign, or any form of deep gameplay. Instead of being a great way to enjoy the universe of Star Wars, it was a forgettable, generic first-person shooter that was traded in by a large number of buyers.
Read More: 5 Reasons You'll Stop Playing SW: Battlefront Within a Week
