Dustin Chadwell: I can't imagine making a top 5 RPG list that doesn't include Persona 4. Of course, Persona 5 is high on my list of anticipated games for 2015. Considering it will also be released on current-gen consoles, I'm pretty excited to spend time with it later this year — and by "time," I mean 100-plus hours, but when it comes to Persona, that's not a bad thing.
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Mark Buckingham: I still spin up JC2 somewhat regularly. It's great for jumping in, goofing around for a half-hour, and getting back out, since I've scoured every inch of the massive game world. Avalanche confirmed the rumored abysmal free-to-play model is not going into the final product, something many fans were thrilled to hear. It looks like more of what we loved about JC2 in a new area and with some new tricks up Rico's sleeve. Sounds good to me. If they can pull off multiplayer anywhere close to what the PC JC2 multiplayer mod did, all the better. This is probably my most anticipated title this year.
Read more WP impressions about Just Cause 3
8. Star Wars: Battlefront (PS4/XOne/PC)
Tony "OUberLord" Mitera: On the one hand, oh my god you guys, we're getting a new Star Wars: Battlefront, and it's being made by the same people who are most associated with the Battlefield series. On the other hand, that series has been a train wreck in recent years, with each release marred with severe problems. I have every bit of faith that at some point in its lifetime, I'll be happily singing the game's praises as I murderously pilot an AT-ST around on Endor. I'm just hoping that it won't take a messy launch and six months of waiting on patches to get there.
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Chris DeAngelus: The Souls franchise has earned a reputation for its high difficulty and intense gameplay. Bloodborne isn't technically part of the Dark Souls franchise, but it's a spinoff that moves things toward a more Victorian era. The gameplay follows the same core Dark Souls formula, with a few significant changes. The speed has been drastically increased, with emphasis on a parry-based gun mechanic and fast dodging, so the game has a very different feel. The addition of a randomly generated dungeon mode has the potential to give Bloodborne nearly infinite replay value.
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6. Rise of the Tomb Raider (XOne/X360)
Redmond Carolipio: Lara Croft's reboot in 2013 still remains one of my favorite games. I saw it as the equivalent of "Batman Begins" for the franchise. I even downloaded and played the Definitive Edition. I want to see how Crystal Dynamics takes the new Lara even further as far as a storied character and central gameplay figure, especially since she is one of the few true female lead characters around. What will she be able to do as she evolves into more of a hardened adventurer? What stories await? I'm also looking forward to how damn good this game is going to look.
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Thomas Wilde: I have a love/hate relationship with Nathan Drake; on the one hand, you have the action setpieces that equal or exceed anything else in the business, but on the other, he's the sixth leading cause of death in the Uncharted universe. I can safely say that I'm interested in Uncharted 4 for the former. There will probably be at least two all-time great levels in Uncharted 4, wonders of pacing and design that set the tone for action-adventure games for the next few years, and Nathan Drake will commit an unsettlingly large amount of murders in self-defense in order to get there.
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4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PS4/PS3/XOne/X360/PC)
Mark Buckingham: Open-world, somewhat unscripted, open-ended problem-solving? This is a ways off from ultra-linear MGSs of yore. Kojima likes to push boundaries, and I have no doubt this title will do a few things we've never seen in its own universe, and perhaps even in gaming in general. The production values are always top-notch. Pairing that with a healthy dose of innovation will keep the series strong and could help define this generation.
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3. Batman: Arkham Knight (PS4/XOne/PC)
Rhi "StormyDawn" Mitera: I've always had a special place in my heart for Batman and, more so, for the Bat Family and his rogue's gallery. The Arkham games are all great and really do a great job of bringing the comics to life in a way I don't think any other superhero-based video games have properly done. With every game in the series, the world gets larger and more nuanced, and so do the characters, even the "evil" ones. Also, the Batmobile finally makes its heroic debut.
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2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4/XOne/PC)
Brian Dumlao: The first Witcher game helped set the standard for how an open-world action-RPG on the PC can be done by a relatively small team. The second expanded that story tremendously while showing how that same team could pull off a technical miracle on a home console. The third comes to the PS4, Xbox One and PC with a much more refined formula, the promise of a great story, and the ability to play as more than just Geralt. If you aren't excited about this title, you're likely not an RPG fan.
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Redmond Carolipio: Of all the games coming out in 2015, No Man's Sky shows the most technical and artistic ambition. I also think one of the most intriguing things about it is how much we still don't know — like when the first trailer for "Interstellar" came out and actually, you know, made us think about what it could be instead of serving it up. Any game that basically promises a galaxy of literally infinite possibilities for exploration almost needs to be held to a different standard, especially if it delivers on that promise. If you're giving me a universe to explore on this kind of hardware, I'm all in.