These are our favorite video games of 2015
Different strokes, different folks — never has this been more true in gaming. And so, it’s with that spirit of varied perspective that we at Engadget bring you our favorite video games of the year. There is no one-size-fits-all winner here. Instead, we’re highlighting the best games to suit specific tastes and who better to make those calls than our very own staff of trusted gaming editors. So if you’re still looking to make that list for Santa, get a gift for someone you know or just dedicate a chunk of holiday vacation to quality play time, consider our selections for 2015’s greatest gaming hits.
Her Story, Sam Barlow (PC, Mac)
Her Story is an FMV game where you’re sat at a police computer. In order to solve a mystery, you have to watch a series of police interviews, but the files are corrupted and split into hundreds of time clips. You can search these clips by the words that are in them, but you have to be specific as your searches can only display a finite number of results. Sitting down for six hours, utterly enthralled, I scrawled names, clip numbers, and clues on a physical piece of paper, slowly unravelling a truly gripping story. It’s a short, unique experience, and the best six hours I’ve spent with a video game this year.
Honorable mention: Nuclear Throne, Vlambeer (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita)
Until Dawn, Supermassive Games (PlayStation 4)
I never thought a video game would make me feel like Wes Craven. Before I started playing Until Dawn, I was almost positive that Sony’s advertising and marketing teams were ignoring it for a reason. Imagine my delight when I realized I couldn’t have been any more wrong.
Supermassive Games’ PlayStation 4 debut is unlike any big-budget game I’ve played in ages. Rather than sticking a gun in my hand, it sat me down in a director’s chair and essentially told me to craft my own horror movie. It could’ve been disastrous, but Supermassive intrinsically gets what makes for a good horror flick: the unknown, atmosphere, killer writing, and great performances from (mostly) unknown actors.
Sure, I’ve played scarier games (oh hi, Outlast and Dead Space), but those weren’t necessarily “fun” for me; I only made it an hour into the former before NOPE-ing out. Until Dawn expertly balances scares and an atmosphere of unease with genuinely funny bits to lighten the mood. This alone makes it much easier to play for extended periods. But even if I hadn’t needed to pack my play-through into a weekend, I still would have. It didn’t take long for the game’s hooks to dig in and pull me through experiences that I didn’t think were possible in a big-budget video game and I couldn’t wait to see the next one.
My filmmaking talents peaked with a crappy stop-motion short at community college, but my appreciation for movies has done the exact opposite. I don’t know why I’m surprised a video game that lets me live out an altogether different childhood dream had such an impact on me, but here we are. Supermassive Games, you have my undivided attention.
Honorable mention: Fallout 4, Bethesda Game Studios (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
Bloodborne, FromSoftware (PlayStation 4)
If you know me, you know that, on paper, a game like Bloodborne pretty much ticks all my boxes for what not to play: It’s hyperviolent; it’s scary; it refuses to hold the player’s hand; it’s unforgiving. And yet, after avoiding FromSoftware’s spiritual successor to its Demon’s Souls/Dark Souls series for most of 2015, I made a Black Friday impulse buy (the disc was $20 on Amazon) and I’ve been screaming at my television in frustration (and occasional delight) ever since.
Let’s be clear: I’m nowhere near even halfway through my hunter’s bloody quest in the chiaroscuro-heavy, Lovecraftian land of Yharnam, but I won’t stop; I won’t give up. No matter how many times I die and have to replay an entire section, slaughtering the zombified and supernaturally nightmarish residents at a methodically deliberate pace over and over, I’ll do so with pleasure. Bloodborne’s storyline may be vague, the mechanics largely unexplained and punishing (one-hit death blows, anyone?), the save points scarce, the overworld map entirely missing, my character’s purpose opaque at best and the game’s UI chock full of systems I have to go online to understand (what even is ‘bloodtinge’?), but I love all of it. I love the sense of accomplishment I feel when I finally outsmart and eviscerate a boss, and get to save.
I love a game that won’t let you press pause by design.
Honorable mention: Splatoon, Nintendo (Wii U)
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, The Chinese Room (PlayStation 4)
Sometimes a game can show more by showing nothing at all. In Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, there are no character models to watch, only shimmering outlines constructed from a strange golden dust. The world is now abandoned, lost to an otherworldly phenomenon, and you’re left to walk through a quaint village in leafy England. Occasionally, you’ll trigger a story sequence which shows a brief moment during the crisis. You can hear the dialogue perfectly, but the faint silhouettes that move back and forth require you to use your imagination. How Stephen, Katherine and the other residents look in my head will be completely different to you. But like a brilliant audiobook, none of that really matters. If anything, it made me care about the characters and their problems more. There are no second-rate models or weird animations to pull you out of the experience. Only top-notch dialogue, delivered by a sensational set of voice actors.
Then there’s the environment. Yaughton, a fictional town in Shropshire, England, is a beautiful place to explore. The village hall. The local pub. A church perched at the top of a hill. All of these places have been constructed with an astonishing level of detail. Whether it’s a cluttered desk in someone’s spare bedroom, or a garden with laundry flapping in the wind, every object helps to build a sense of place. Ultimately, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is a static sandbox — nothing really moves or changes, save for the shimmering story sequences. But that only makes the game more impressive. The characters are flawed and their personal relationships are fragile, complex affairs. Piecing them together and ultimately experiencing the residents’ final moments create some truly heartbreaking crescendos.
Months after finishing the storyline, I still find myself replaying some of the more emotional scenes in my head. For me, that’s the sign of a great game and one I would heartily recommend to players that prioritize narrative above everything else.
Honorable mention: Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Bluepoint Games/Naughty Dog (PlayStation 4)
Undertale, Toby Fox (PC, Mac)
2015 was filled with AAA games I’d spent years waiting for: Fallout 4, Star Wars: Battlefront, Batman: Arkham Knight and many, many more. But when it came time to pick my favorite game of the year, none of them made the cut. Don’t misunderstand me. Those are all great games and you should absolutely play each and every one of them, but none of them affected me the way Undertale did.
Undertale, if you’re not familiar, is an independent adventure game best known for being “the friendly RPG where nobody has to die.” It’s a game where every battle is its own mini-game and, if you choose to, you can talk your way out of a fight. On the surface, it looks like an homage to classic SNES games like Earthbound (and on some level, it is), but it’s more than that. Undertale unpacks the common RPG tropes of save points, random battles and multiple endings, and exploits them to create an emotionally manipulative experience that sticks with you through multiple playthroughs. Talking too much about the game’s conceit would be a massive spoiler, but here’s a taste: What would happen if your character remembered every death they experience? In Undertale, they do, and it gets weird, creepy and kind of hilarious.
Undertale’s irreverent humor, nostalgic style and bold disregard for my expectations left an impression on me that no AAA game could match. It’s not always subtle, but it’s effective — by the end of my time with it, Undertale had guilted me into never playing it again. A do-over would ruin the perfect experience I had. Considering how much I loved the game, I almost hate to agree. It’s right. I’m probably not going to play Undertale again — but you should.
Honorable mention: Splatoon, Nintendo (Wii U)
Life is Strange, Dontnod Entertainment (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4)
I didn’t expect to love Life is Strange. As I sat through its first demo at Gamescom 2014, I had a feeling I’d like it — but love? No one ever sees love coming. On the surface, Life is Strange is my kind of game: a narrative-driven, point-and-click adventure featuring high school drama, supernatural powers and two young women who remind me of myself, just a few years ago. Those are the elements that convinced me to play Life is Strange, but the writing was what kept me going. The main characters are richly portrayed, with complicated histories, powerful personalities and unique traits that make their manufactured actions and decisions feel real, even when their stories involve traveling through time (and even weirder events).
Life is Strange wasn’t developed by a team of teenage girls, but it easily could have been — and I mean that as the highest compliment. Some of the scenes feel as if they’re pulled directly from my own past: The main young women, Chloe and Max, lounge in a bedroom plastered in posters and graffiti, discussing potential love interests and overbearing parents, and the deja vu is real. When the story eventually diverges from paths well worn by American suburbia, these realistic roots keep it grounded. The characters never feel fake and the situations seem plausible, even at their strangest.
The game’s main draw is its choose-your-own-adventure design that puts each player directly in the world, deciding where the characters go, what they say, and even who lives and who dies. Point-and-click adventures often get flak for not offering truly unique experiences for each player, but Life is Strange’s story is twisted enough to nullify those complaints.
Honorable mention: Gravity Ghost, Ivy Games (PC, Mac)
Fallout 4, Bethesda Game Studios (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
This is actually my first Fallout game, and I was surprised at how quickly I got sucked into it. And this, despite the hours upon hours of confusion at the start, the muddled menus, and a ridiculously hands-off approach to showing you how to play the damn game. There’s just so much to do in here. I have no idea how far am into the primary game because the sidequests are so richly fleshed out and entertaining. I know I should be looking for my lost baby son, but look there’s a giant crab that needs to be fought in the middle of some castle ruins. Not to mention all the vignettes and nuggets hidden outside of these diversions.
I wouldn’t say the game has a severe learning curve — because you can play through so much of Fallout 4 whilst happily oblivious of so many obfuscated (or even hidden) features regarding major parts of the game, like settlements. Then again, maybe those frustrations are what kept me playing. Reading other gamers’ impressions and how they forged their own paths through the game gave me even more ways to play Fallout 4. And once I’ve satisfyingly hoarded all the materials I need for my settlement, I will get to work building my architectural masterpiece. (Or at least put a roof over some of my residents’ heads. Terrible landlord here.)
I love playing Fallout 4 because it’s packed with so many things to do, see, and steal. It pitches somewhere between Grand Theft Auto V (and the seemingly endless diversions found there) and the characters, choices and gameplay styles found in the Deus Ex games, all surrounded in the unpretty atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic Boston, Massachusetts.
Honorable mention: Bravely Second, Square Enix/Silicon Studio (3DS)
Image credit: Shutterstock (top image)
Amazon tells customers to throw out unsafe ‘hoverboards’
As a popular destination for self-balancing “hoverboards,” Amazon needs to take its safety responsibilities seriously. The retailer has already pulled some models from its store until it can be proved their batteries and chargers are reliable, but now it’s taking the unusual step of telling a small number of owners to throw them out. In an email, Amazon has warned US and UK customers that their hoverboard has been deemed “unsafe” and that they should “dispose” of it immediately.
In correspondence shared with Engadget, Amazon told one UK customer that his RioRand self-balancing scooter did not come equipped with a compliant UK plug. He was advised to hand it in at a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) location and would receive a full refund. UK retailers Tesco, Argos and John Lewis have stopped selling hoverboards altogether.
With the popularity of hoverboards rocketing, Chinese manufacturers have helped flood the market with near-identical models that may not have passed consumer safety checks. In the UK, authorities have seized more than 15,000 self-balancing scooters at sea ports, airports and postal hubs over potential fire risks linked to internal batteries and cut-off switches, chargers, plugs and cabling. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is also investigating reports of fires and is seeking to determine whether the two-wheelers are safe.
Apple shutters Topsy, the social analytics firm it acquired in 2013
Apple is shutting down analytics firm Topsy Labs two years after snapping it up for over $200 million. Unlike Hopscotch, though — the mass transit directions and guides it bought in 2013 and shuttered in September — it’s not quite clear what Topsy’s technology was ever used for. The San Francisco firm created tools that allowed users to search and extract data from Twitter and other social media services. Those include keyword trackers and products that can determine whether a particular topic is being talked about positively or negatively on social media.
Due to the nature of Topsy’s work, it’s very much possible that Apple used its technology to improve the search function on iOS. As 9to5mac noted, Cupertino introduced “proactive” search with iOS 9 that enables Siri, Calendar and other third-party applications to conjure up more accurate results. Unfortunately, we might never know for sure what Topsy’s role at Apple was, as the firm has already said goodbye on Twitter.
We’ve searched our last tweet.
— Topsy (@Topsy) December 16, 2015
EE recalls every free Power Bar it ever gave out over fire risks
If you own one of EE’s free Power Bar chargers, we have some bad news. After issuing a partial recall on selected units in August, the company announced today that it’s asking for every single portable charging unit to be handed back. Tests reveal more models may be susceptible to overheating and could pose a fire risk.
“If you have a Power Bar, you should stop using it straight away and hand it in to one of our stores,” says EE on its website. “We are taking this action because we are aware of a very small number of further incidents where Power Bars have overheated in circumstances that could cause a fire safety risk.” If you return your free charger, EE says you’ll be given a £20 voucher to spend on accessories.
When the free Power Bars first became available in April, the UK operator gave out more than one million units in just four days. However, a medical student was left with nasty burns after one exploded while charging, so the company requested that 500,000 Power Bars sporting the model number E1-06 be returned. With additional reports of overheating, the carrier has today decided that the safety of its customers comes first, so it’s abandoning the initiative altogether.
Source: EE
Large Hadron Collider may have detected a new particle
The rejuvenated Large Hadron Collider might have achieved another breakthrough… provided everything lines up, that is. Two teams of CERN scientists have detected an excess of gamma ray pairs that they suspect might represent the radioactive decay of a previously unknown particle. The data is far from conclusive (there’s a 1 in 93 chance that it’s nothing), and the researchers don’t expect to have enough data until they present at a convention next summer. However, it’s rare that two groups notice the same anomaly — that’s frequently a sign that something’s up.
What could it be if it’s not just a fluke, then? It might be a large particle that has decayed in steps, or a relative of the legendary Higgs boson. The most exciting possibility is that it’s a graviton, the massless theoretical particle that governs gravity in quantum field theory. If any of these is true, the discovery could shake up our understanding of physics. The Higgs boson was the key to filling out the commonly accepted model of how the universe works. Whatever this is, if it’s anything meaningful, would go beyond humanity’s current understanding.
[Image credit: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images]
Source: New York Times
The next Ford GT has a Gorilla Glass windshield
Corning, the firm that’s famous for making the glass for your smartphone that never, ever breaks, has now signed a deal with Ford. The firms are teaming up to produce a new windshield glass for next year’s Ford GT that promises to be thinner, lighter and tougher than anything that’s gone before. The Gorilla Glass hybrid (two capital Gs, one lowercase h) will not only be seen up front on the new ride, but also to replace the glass that normally sits on the engine cover window.
When it comes to cars, weight is king, and the lighter a car is, the more efficient and better-handling it can be. The reason for all of this hullabaloo is that this new glass will knock upwards of 12 pounds from the weight of the GT with no discernible downside. The pair also promise that, unlike that smashed smartphone in your bottom drawer, the windshield can withstand anything the road throws at it. In the included clip, you’ll see balls of ice being fired at the window by a high power cannon and, amazingly, survive.
Right now, this sort of gear will only be available on the most expensive of Ford’s sports cars, but if successful, that’ll change. As with most things in the automotive industry, high-end technology eventually trickles down to the sort of whips that regular folks can afford.
Via: SlashGear
Source: Ford
Google’s self-driving car project to become its own company under Alphabet, report says
A new report coming by way of Bloomberg says that Google’s self-driving vehicle project could soon turn into its own company under Alphabet, citing a person familiar with the matter. The report is unconfirmed, but the publication says these plans will come to fruition sometime in 2016.
This rumor also sheds some light on how Google plans to make its driverless car project profitable. As a stand-alone business, the self-driving cars would act as rides for hire, similar to how Uber operates. However, it seems that Google’s self-driving cars would be limited to college campuses, military bases, and corporate office parks initially:
“Google’s autonomous vehicles have logged more than 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) on public roads, mostly around San Francisco and Austin, Texas, making these cities logical places for launching a service, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. The fleets – which would include a range of large and small vehicles — could be deployed first in confined areas like college campuses, military bases or corporate office parks, the person said.”
The report lines up with news we have heard in the past, such as Google deploying its driverless car project to Austin, Texas as well as news that it would be a good candidate for a spin-off company in the future. However, if the self-driving car project were to become a standalone company under Alphabet, it might be under much more scrutiny than it has been before.
Alphabet is cracking down on the spending habits of subsidiaries, requiring companies under its umbrella to pay full price for resources. With that in mind, it’s not particularly clear how this would affect the self-driving car project. There’s a definite indication that it would need to figure out ways to become profitable, and offering rides for hire could be a good possibility.
source: Bloomberg
Come comment on this article: Google’s self-driving car project to become its own company under Alphabet, report says
Google: Android Pay coming to Australia in 2016
Android Pay has been exclusive to the US market, but that will be changing in 2016. Google today announced plans to bring its mobile payment service to Australia in 2016 in partnership with financial institutions like Westpac, Bank of Melbourne, Bank of South Australia, and many more.
Google’s mobile payment service will support Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards issued by its launch partners in Australia, but the search giant will offer support for more further down the line.
The company’s Australian blog noted that Android Pay will be available to use at many locations in the country, including big chains like McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, Domino’s Pizza, Crust Gourmet Pizza and other well-known companies. It’ll also work with some other local companies, but that’ll take a bit longer for businesses to get on board. Additionally, users will be able to use Android Pay to checkout on mobile applications, such as Catch of the Day.com.au, EatNow.com.au, and more.
We’ll no doubt hear more news as well as more supported financial institutions and retailers as we get closer to an official launch date.
source: Google
Come comment on this article: Google: Android Pay coming to Australia in 2016
YouTube to receive background downloading and pause buffering
As part of Sundar Pichai’s talk at the Google for India press conference, he has unveiled some new features for YouTube that are designed to help avoid streaming problems associated with questionable data connections.
Pichai announced that YouTube will soon be updated with two new offline features. The first option builds on YouTube’s offline feature that is available in India, allowing users to configure set times when videos will be downloaded in the background for viewing at a later date. This is designed to empower users to only download lumps of data when costs are cheaper or connections are stronger.
The second improvement has been made to YouTube’s pause buffer. The tweak means that a video will continue to fully buffer even if the viewer hits pause. Furthermore, the video will continue to download even if the user switches away from the YouTube app. A system notification is displayed once a video has buffered to 100 percent, so you can simply wait for a download to finish and won’t have to worry about infuriating interruptions.
See also: Sundar Pichai talks new internet initiatives for India
We don’t have a release schedule for these YouTube updates yet, but as they were announced in India and are targeted at countries with patchy network connections we can probably expect these regions to see the update first.
Some HTC phones banned from sale in Germany
HTC is facing a sales ban on handsets sold through Deutsche Telekom AG, after a German court granted an injunction request against the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer. This ruling is likely to compound HTC’s financial problems, which have been hindered by poor smartphone sales this year.
The case was filed by Acacia Research Group LLC, a patent licensing firm based in Plano Texas. Acacia had issued a suit against Deutsche Telekom over standard essential patents related to voice coding technology last year. The group has licensing deals with Apple, Samsung, Amazon, Huawei and others over these standard technologies, but not with HTC. It is not clear if HTC and Acacia are actively participating in licensing discussions or not.
Deutsche Telekom has confirmed the ruling but states that sales of its HTC devices are still currently available through its online shop. The carrier says it is working with HTC to minimise disruption to consumers.
HTC smartphones:
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This news is just the latest in a year full of disappointment for HTC. Although HTC saw a boost to its monthly revenue in November following the launch of its new One A9 smartphone, it is still facing a situation where revenue is 40 percent lower than last year and the company is struggling to break even each quarter. HTC has already announced a 15 percent reduction in its workforce and is preparing to launch new products, such as the Vive virtual reality headset, to diversity away from stiff competition in the smartphone market.
See also: HTC’s monthly revenue reaches six-month high in November
The injunction is expected to take effect later this month, although HTC has said that it intends to launch an appeal.
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