The Retail Games of 2015: Part 2

DmC: Devil May Cry The Definitive Edition/DMC4: Special Edition – March 17, Summer

Ninja Theory’s unfairly maligned DmC is the latest last-gen title to get a new gen remake, so people will get a second swing at the new-look Dante in March 2015. DmC was an excellent reboot of the series, with great combat mechanics and a neat control scheme for dishing out damage. DmC will come with all the DLC launched first time around, including Vergil’s Bloody Palace and Vergil’s Downfall.

A host of improvements and new modes have been added, too, with rebalanced combat, a manual lock-on option, a new Turbo mode to speed up gameplay by 20 per cent and more.

For those who can’t get over Dante’s new emo look, Devil May Cry 4 is also getting a remake for PS4 and Xbox One, which is due out some time in the summer of 2015.

Premature Ejudgeulation

Yes and Yes.

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Project Cars – March 2015

Screenshots and trailers of Slightly Mad’s racer show off a very slick and gorgeous sim, but actual hands-on gameplay has left us slightly concerned. A delay from November to March was a wise move.

Project Cars has been in the hands of PC gamers for a while now, with its crowdfunded development offering backers a constantly evolving game that has gained many fans. How well it makes the transition to consoles (PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U apparently) remains to be seen.

Premature Ejudgeulation

Need for Speed Pro Street 2.

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PGA Tour – Spring 2015

EA has turned full crazy golf with PGA Tour, with the announcement trailer showing what looks to be Ian Poulter teeing off on a regular course which rapidly transforms into a scene from Battlefield. We’ve seen Poulter pull of some amazing shots in the Ryder Cup, but chipping over a battleship is another prospect entirely.

While the turn towards the fantastical may be off putting for some, it could prove a great change of pace for the series, combining both sim and arcade gameplay for hardcore and casual fans alike. It’s listed for a launch in Spring 2015, and with EA golf titles usually arriving around the Masters, we’d be surprised if this one was any different.

Premature Ejudgeulation

Tiger Woods 2007 season.

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Mario Maker – TBA

Nintendo has gone all LittleBigPlanet with Mario Maker, handing the tools to the player to create their very own side-scrolling levels across four iconic games from the franchise.

Right now, the original Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U have been included as available art styles for players to use in their level designs. You’ll be able to tweak and refine stages as much as you like, even midway through test runs to alter platform placements or add more Goombas.

Creation suite games always require a thriving community of great designers, and hopefully Mario Maker leads to many new great levels for us to enjoy. Without the complexity of LBP’s tools, this should be more accessible to all skill levels.

Premature Ejudgeulation

Super Mario Bros 1-1 made terribly 1 million times.

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Fable Legends – TBA

The latest Fable looks to be another sidestep for the series, what with it being a 4-vs-1 RPG. It’s set several hundred years before the original trilogy, and Lionhead has the rather ambitious plan of making the experience last for five to ten years in the hands of players.

Will it have the staying power to keep players coming back for as long as a decade? We’ll find out more next year.

Premature Ejudgeulation

What happened to Lionhead?

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F1 – TBA

Having failed to produce a next-gen Formula One entry in 2014, Codemasters will be under pressure to deliver with its 2015 offering on PS4 and Xbox One. With the team announcing the latest effort is being rebuilt “from the ground up”(sigh) and releasing earlier in the season than previous entries, race fans can look forward to seeing what’s in store sooner rather than later.

Codemasters will also continue to digitally update the game throughout the course of the season, based on the events of each race. If this feature works, it’ll be a great way to deliver more realistic experiences based on the evolving quality of each garage. Let’s hope it’s a case of the classic ‘new year, new you’ for Codemasters and F1.

Premature Ejudgeulation

Podium finish.

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Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin – April 3

Dark Souls 2 tots up the remake list with Scholar of the First Sin, which will come to PS4 and Xbox One this April with all DLC included. We’ll also be getting a graphical upgrade and some balancing tweaks, as well as more players in a single online multiplayer session.

The game will also be getting an old-gen release, but while it lacks the graphical upgrade, it will feature the new NPCs, improved matchmaking and item balancing of the PS4 and XBone versions.

For those still playing the old-gen version, or want to get a headstart on some of the best weapons in the game and character classes, you can check our extensive list of guides here.

With Bloodborne set to release before the Dark Souls 2 re-release, it’s hard to see many people wanting to double-dip in bone-crushingly difficult RPGs, but there may be some who simply can’t get enough frustration.

Premature Ejudgeulation

Brett is super down about this as we forced him to write loads of guides. Other people may be quite excited.

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Godzilla – Summer 2015

Revealed at The Game Awards as a PlayStation-exclusive, Godzilla is set to launch next summer. This will be the first home console Godzilla title since 2007, so fans of the monster have been waiting a long time for some city-destroying action.

Early screens have shown off some familiar faces: including Mothra, Mecha Godzilla, Hydra, Jet Jaguar and of course Godzilla himself. The only trouble is the screens aren’t exactly spectacular. So while Godzilla fans can be excited that it is coming out, what we’ve seen so far doesn’t exactly leave much room for optimism.

Premature Ejudgeulation

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Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate – 2015

Having already launched in Japan, fans in the West will be able to get their hands on the latest Monster Hunter game early next year.

Originally launching back in 2012, the 3DS remake will get fully integrated online multiplayer and improved traversal mechanics, allowing you to climb up and over obstacles in the terrain. There will also be all new areas and the game will make use of the portable’s touch screen.

It will no doubt prove popular with Monster Hunter fanatics, though like most other entries in the series, not cause many waves outside of Japan.

Premature Ejudgeulation

Probably going to be a hell of a lot better than Jurassic World.