1- Battlefield 1
After the Second World War, the Vietnam War, modern conflicts and futuristic battles, the Battlefield series operates more than a return to the roots, since this year it devotes itself to the First World War. Hence the presence of the number 1 in the title of the game!
For all that, do not expect a historical fidelity to any test, the developers having chosen to favor an effective gameplay and a staging to great spectacle. The first of these two aspects is particularly evident in the multiplayer mode, which is the DNA of the series. Up to 64 participants compete on huge maps, on foot or in vehicles (jeeps, tanks, planes and even ... horses!) Extremely maneuverable and fast.
The First World War as a Playground
The parts are nervous at will and the feelings of the weapons very satisfactory. The graphic engine and the physical engine combine to offer hyper realistic visuals and a very great "destructibility" of the decors. So much so that some battlefields are unrecognizable at the end of the game, when the shells of the tanks have landed half of the buildings and dug out real craters in the ground. The solo mode, the usual weak point of the previous strands (for lack of quality or even for its total absence), benefits from a division into different "stories of war" independent. The adventure undoubtedly gains in rhythm and diversity, although it is difficult to accept that no chapter puts us in command of the French troops.
In the end, if you're not too keen on historical loyalty and realism, Battlefield 1 is a sure bet. And if you're looking for a less fanciful "World War I" experience, you can always take a look at the indie Verdun game, which is less accessible and mainstream than Battlefield 1 but far more realistic.
2- BlazBlue: Central Fiction
If the fighting games no longer have as much odds as at the time of the arcade terminals and the first consoles, they still retain an important core of fans. If you are part of it, 2016 will have been a good year for you since after Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator, King of Fighters XIV and Street Fighter V, it is the turn of the BlazBlue saga to decline its recipe for success in a new episode.
Fourth major game of the series, Central Fiction is extremely technical and does not hesitate to release a casting of madness, since there are no less than thirty three playable characters, five of which are totally unreleased. This number of fighters is all the more impressive because each of them has a unique ultimate ability and plays differently than the others. So there is something to be done before you can master all the techniques, if that is possible.
From the high-flying bat
And if ever this profusion of characters was not enough, two additional heroes are available as downloadable content (paying, alas). BlazBlue offers a tutorial, a mode of training, a scripted solo campaign and various modes against artificial intelligence (among which the classic Score Attack and Unlimited Mars, Or the new Speed Star Mode).
Without forgetting, of course, various competitive modes, local and online, which constitute the true reason for any game of fight. So it's for all types of players, who will all benefit from fine, detailed and colorful graphics, mostly in 2D and in a typically Japanese style of course. The lively music is also lacking salt, some limited editions also offering a CD version of the soundtrack.
3- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Blockbuster among the blockbusters, Call of Duty has established itself in thirteen years and thirteen major episodes as a de facto reference in shooting games. Cumulative sales amount to several hundred million copies, and each new episode has the mission of making this insolent success last a little longer. This year, the opus Infinite Warfare takes up the challenge, with a futuristic context that even flirts squarely with science fiction.
The scenario opposes two armies located on two different planets (the Earth and Mars), which has a significant impact on the gameplay, since in addition to the classic FPS missions, the developers also propose bold secondary missions, made of space battles And clashes in zero gravity.
The King of the FPS offers a trip in space
As always with Call of Duty, dazzling explosions and cinematic staging definitely ensure the solo show, while the multiplayer mode guarantees an "infinite" lifetime, limited only by the possible lassitude of the player. With twelve cards and fifteen different game modes, there's plenty to fight for dozens and tens of hours. Infinite Warfare also perpetuates the tradition of the Zombies mode, which appeared for the first time in the episode World at War in 2008.
Since then, this cooperative mode where players face waves of undead has grown steadily. Here, it is called Zombies in Spaceland, takes place in a park full of surprises, and even allows himself to make appear David Hasselhoff guest star.
Big icing on the cake, some editions of the game give access to Modern Warfare Remastered, a version of the mythical episode of 2007 brought up to date. Solo spectacular, multi solid, zombie mode delusion and bonus game: the menu Call of Duty of this year 2016 proves particularly copious!
4- Civilization VI
Water has flowed since 1991, year of release of the first episode of Civilization under DOS. As the game progressed, the game improved graphically and regularly made some adjustments to gameplay, but never changed the original concept.
Twenty-five years after its beginnings, Civilization is continuing this trend with a sixth episode that modifies some principles (for example, regulars will notice that cities now occupy several huts, not just one) but preserve intact the original idea, which is particularly ambitious: To advance his civilization from the year 4000 BC to the year 2050.
Conquering the world at your fingertips
You will begin your game at the head of a tribe of savages and, if everything goes well, finish it by dominating the world and launching a real space conquest. In the meantime, you will have discovered countless technologies ranging from the wheel to nanotechnologies, pottery, navigation, bronze work, cartography, education, economics, astronomy, satellites , Robotics or nuclear fusion.
The game takes place on a turn-by-turn basis and requires systematically making informed decisions, whether in terms of military conquest, building construction, scientific research or resource management. Moreover, different types of victory are available (military, scientific, cultural, religious or score victory), thus confirming the multipolar orientation of the adventure, which leaves you free to develop as you see fit and to impose Your views to the whole world. To do this, you will incarnate a charismatic leader who will take different traits according to the civilization retained at the beginning of the game among the twenty proposed.
Cleopatra for Egypt, Catherine de Medici for France, Mahatma Gandhi for India and Peter the Great for Russia are all waiting for you to set out to conquer the world.
5- Dead Rising 4
If you are talking about zombies and a big brown with a baseball bat surrounded by barbed wire, Negan's image of The Walking Dead should normally come instantly to your mind. The first episode of the seventh season was much talked about last month, because of his unsustainable violence.
However, it is at Frank West that we will be interested today. His posture on the jacket of the game and his weapon clearly inspired by the famous "Lucille" could pass for plagiarism, but it would be to forget the wacky nature of the Dead Rising saga which, in this specific case, makes us rather inclined to evoke a Tribute or a nod. It must be said that, like the previous parts, Dead Rising 4 does not take itself seriously.
Zombies and delusions at will
Of course, violence necessarily responds to the call when one is forced to trick zombies by the thousands. But the possibility of doing it with improbable weapons and in totally staggered outfits brings a sacred dose of second degree. Thus, you can fight with an electric ax, a crossbow with fireworks or an ice sword. All dressed in an exoskeleton type of armor, a cowboy costume, a Santa Claus dress, a wrestling uniform, a fire-breathing dinosaur mask or a simple dressing gown. bath. The vehicles are not left behind, since the opportunity will be given you to tinker and drive totally whimsical gear.
All this at the service of one thing: the massacre of the real hordes of undead who adore clustering around the hero. If it is clearly not the most subtle and the most distinguished game of this end of year, Dead Rising should in any case constitute a sacred strike.
6- Dishonored 2
At the end of 2012, Dishonored was a surprise and a huge success, deserving both critics and players. Particularly awaited, its suite is finally available and takes all the strengths of the original. Expect to regularly widen your eyes in front of a sublime artistic direction that really lacks personality, and to have powers even more numerous than in the first episode. Because you can not only embody Corvo once again, but also his daughter, Emily.
Indeed, the events of Dishonored 2 take place fifteen years after those of the first episode and the little girl has grown well. Becoming adult, and as gifted as her father, she can now turn into a disturbing form shadowy, almost invisible to the enemy. Or, more interestingly, use Domino's power to bind the fate of several opponents. Kill or kill one, and all others will immediately suffer the same fate! The various powers can be improved over the course of the adventure and, above all, combined with each other in order to create original strategies.
Action, infiltration and artistic direction at the top!
The freedom of an action-oriented gameplay or infiltration is also left to the player, so much so that it is possible to finish the game without ever killing a single person! The brilliant level design also contributes to the multiplicity of paths, literally and figuratively, which ensures great replayability. With the culmination of a mission already cult, which will give you the opportunity to evolve in a fully mechanized mansion. Moving rooms, stairs that emerge from the walls, walls that turn into floors and other engineering towers confirm the talent of the developers of Arkane Studios.
Whether you prefer to violently trick your enemies or sneak into their backs and discover multiple secret passages, Dishonored 2 will fill you with ease.
7- Eagle Flight
As expected, 2016 will have been the year of the advent of virtual reality. If the necessary accessories are still expensive, they have the merit of existing, of being widely available, of functioning properly and of competing (which should lead rather quickly to lower prices). But the most important thing is that the publishers play the game, the catalog of titles created for virtual reality is not at all stark.
Among the most interesting creations is Eagle Flight, developed by Ubisoft and available on PC as on PS4, provided that one has HTC Vive, an Oculus Rift, or PlayStation VR. The basic idea is as simple as it is effective: put us in the skin of an eagle that freely flies over the city of Paris. At least a slightly futuristic version of our capital, emptied of every human being. Nature has definitely resumed its rights, the most iconic buildings and monuments are nicely surrounded by vegetation, and wild animals roam the streets of the city in complete freedom.
When virtual reality turns us into eagles
The game has a free flight mode that allows to hover over the Eiffel Tower or Notre-Dame Cathedral and to admire the herds of giraffes and other groupings of doe. The journey is all the more pleasant and accessible to all that it is enough to move the head to change the direction of the flight.
But Ubisoft has not forgotten the most gamers of us. Thus, a challenging solo campaign requires us to slalom in the corridors of the subway, to pass through rings or even to fight enemy raptors. A multi mode where two teams of three players compete for a poor rabbit is also available. If you have the chance to own a virtual reality helmet and have always dreamed of flying, Eagle Flight may well be exciting.
8- Farming Simulator 17
The presence of Farming Simulator in this case may surprise, due to an agricultural theme that detonates in the world videogame production. And yet, it is really a must, with a loyal and numerous audience. For example, the 2013 version sold more than two and a half million copies. At the time of its release, the 2015 version made equal play in the rankings of the best sales with mastodons such as Fifa, Call of Duty, The Sims or World of Warcraft.
As for Farming Simulator 17, which has just been released, Steam statistics already give it almost twice as many active players as Call of Duty Infinite Warfare. And this is not only a sign of weariness on the part of the players for the title of Activision. The community dedicated to Farming Simulator is really important, as evidenced by the availability of hundreds of mods and even private servers.
A game of management "of the peasants"
All this is at the service of a single cause: the development and profitability of your farm. But in order to achieve this goal, you will have to get involved. Even if it is possible to hire workers to help you in most tasks, you will have to plant seeds, plow fields, harvest different types of crops or make bales of hay. Fortunately, all this is not done by hand, but at the controls of tractors and other highly sophisticated agricultural machinery.
The game thus offers more than two hundred vehicles, modeled with fidelity according to real models. The two playgrounds available being very wide, it is even possible to drive trains to transport certain resources. And if you are in a more bucolic mood, you will also be able to raise animals. Cows, sheep, chickens and pigs are waiting for you to be bought, fed and sold. Back to nature guaranteed!
9- Final Fantasy XV
As the messiah by all players console since 2006, when it still bore the name of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Final Fantasy XV finally sees the day at the end of 2016 after a development manifestly very chaotic.
The release of FF15 is therefore a major stake for the publisher Square Enix, expected at the turn by hordes of fans, ready to literally adore the game as to crucify it. It is impossible to deny the major importance in the world videoludic landscape of the saga Final Fantasy, begun in 1987 and became definitely cult during its passage to the 3D in 1997 in the occasion of the seventh episode. The fifteenth will be that of the transition to the open world.
L'arlésienne FF15 finally available
While Final Fantasy XIII had been criticized for its "great corridor" aspect, Final Fantasy XV takes the opposite side of this trend, leaving the player freedom to move wherever he likes and multiplying the secondary quests. The developers have obviously drawn some lessons from episodes XI and XIV, massively multiplayer and therefore open by nature. This time, it will be solo that will cross the vast scenery of the game, where many fantastic elements and modern life cohabit with success. If fighting with the sword, devastating spells, gigantic monsters and Chocobos races always meet the call, the adventure begins all the same with the wheel of a luxury convertible while Noctis, the character Main, has a mobile phone.
This contrast promises to be interesting, and the same goes for the combat system, which abandons the traditional turn-based clashes typical of Japanese role-playing games for a real-time system close to Western action games. Final Fantasy XV may well be a turning point for the saga.
10- Gears of Wars 4
The completion of the first Gears of War trilogy in 2011 was not synonymous with conclusion for the series as a whole, as evidenced by the recent release of Gears of War 4. Twenty-five years after the events of the third episode, Marcus Fenix passes the relay to James Dominic Fenix, his son. Accompanied by two other mercenaries of his generation, he will have to face the Vermines, who are in a way an evolution of the Locustes that were believed definitively annihilated. His turn has therefore come to decimate enemies to the chain, sometimes literally since the famous rifle-chainsaw is still part of the arsenal.
More generally, this fourth episode does not claim to revolutionize the saga. Third person view, covering blanket shots, virile ambience, big guns and big tacks, gore sequences galore, endless waves of enemies, effective multiplayer modes ... The fans will not be at all disoriented. Not surprised either, but it was important for the new studio in charge of development to put the series back on track, after Gears of War: Judgment, developed by People can fly. This quite disappointing spin-off may have suggested that no one would ever succeed in doing as well as Epic Games.
The return of Microsoft's flagship title
But The Coalition, studio at work on Gears of War 4, proves the opposite. On Xbox One as on Windows 10, mastery of the Unreal Engine 4 is felt, while some particularly explosive passages also betray a sacred sense of staging. Most players and critics all agree that the overall quality is fairly uneven, with some levels being much more dull (both in terms of substance and form) than others.
Overall, Gears of War 4 undoubtedly returns with everything that had made the success of the first three episodes.
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