Most Anticipated 2015: Josh's Picks

Shacknews has returned to begin a year full of gaming coverage. It all starts with the continuation of our annual tradition, where each staff member lays out a number of games that they're anticipating for the new year.

Dying Light

Techland had a chance to do great things with Dead Island, and personally I feel they missed a lot of great opportunities. However, that chance has come around for them once more with Dying Light. So far everything I’ve seen has me even more excited to dig into the zombie-infested world. If they truly can ride the thin line between Mirror’s Edge epicness and zombie slaying goodness, you guys might not see me for a while.

Resident Evil: Remastered

Sometimes you just have to return to the classics, I mean what isn’t to like about the blood-boiling, pants-wetting theme behind Resident Evil? Not to mention the updated graphics are looking pretty good from where I’m sitting. So far this game is shaping up to be another remaster worthy of sitting in my already too-vast video game collection.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

I still remember the first time I played The Witcher, and the giddy feeling I got when I finally completed the game. It was a story worth telling, a story that has continued throughout The Witcher 2, and somehow I feel that same giddy feeling as I watch the trailers for The Witcher 3. Maybe it’s the third person combat, or the way the story pushes me through the world. Either way, The Witcher 3 seems to be shaping into a beautiful beast of a game. I mean, have you seen those PC Requirements? I think I need to upgrade.

The Order: 1886

I’ve always been a sucker for games that take history and change it, giving me a new look at how things could have been were things like vampires and other dark creatures real. From the unique weapons, to the dark and dirty gameplay we’ve seen advertised, The Order: 1886 is shaping up to be something I could really get lost in.

The Division

Tom Clancy, the father of the perfect stealth game (I mean the original Splinter Cell, in case you were wondering). I haven’t always been a fan of the games his novelistic works have inspired, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get giddy when I see the trailers and gameplay for The Division. Let’s just hope Ubisoft gets it together before they release this one. Seriously, don’t screw this up guys… please.

PlanetSide 2 (PlayStation 4)

I’ve been waiting for this moment all of my life! Okay, maybe not all of it, but still. I’ve been sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for them to finally announce this game on consoles. And what with the closed beta coming soon (you can totally read about that here), I’m even more excited. I enjoyed my time with PlanetSide 2 on PC, however, it just didn’t like my PC very much. I sure hope it likes my PS4 better so that I can like it back.

Battlefield Hardline

Oh Battlefield… Woe is me for having hope, but I just can’t stop it. Battlefield is such a great series, even if they’ve buggered it up a few times, and I just can’t stop myself from being excited about what Visceral is bringing to the table. Whether I’ll be complete disappointed and heartbroken, or fall in love with the series all over again still remains to be seen. Either way it has to make my list.

Josh Hawkins

Guides Editor

Joshua holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and has been exploring the world of video games for as long as he can remember. He enjoys everything from large-scale RPGs to small, bite-size indie gems and everything in between.