The System Wars Most Anticipated Game of 2015 Is...

I asked. You all voted. We are talking about roughly 150 votes, and over 50 games nominated across every single platform currently active on the market. 2015, you see, promises to be the most packed and exciting year gaming has had to look forward to in a while now- so good, that it might even go down in history as the best gaming year yet. It's that good. It doesn't matter what system you rep, handheld, console, or PC, everything has some amazing games to look forward to this year.

With so many games coming up, you would think that System Wars' votes for the most anticipated game of the year would also be pretty fractured and spread out. Amazingly enough, that was not the case. The votes concentrated among ten games in particular, and of those ten, two clearly led the pack- in fact, those two games were so close that calling a winner was actually quite very literally impossible until the last vote was counted (and then, I had to go back and recount for those two games, because of how close they really were). This has never actually happened before.

I'm going to get around to announcing the winner soon, but first, from #10 to #2, here are the runners up:

NO MAN'S SKY (PS4, PC)

This incredible looking indie game promises the entire galaxy to players- you have a wealth of worlds to explore. The entire universe is your playground in No Man's Sky.

XENOBLADE CHRONICLES X (WII U)

Monolith Soft's follow up to what is widely acknowledged to be one of the best role playing games of last generation offers unprecedented scale, a vast, staggering open world, and an experience unlike any other on Nintendo's console.

FINAL FANTASY XV (PS4, XB1)

Square Enix's newest epic has been a decade in the making, and it looks like it will have been worth it- Final Fantasy XV looks like it will be a return to form for the franchise, promising the kind of defining role playing action the series became known for in the first place.

PERSONA 5 (PS3, PS4)

After seven years, Persona 4, widely regarded to be one of the greatest RPGs of all time, is finally getting a follow up. Literally nothing is known about Persona 5, except that it exists, and that it is releasing some time this year. But so great is everyone's faith in Atlus that it managed to chart itself a very high spot on this list regardless.

UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF'S END (PS4)

The newest entry in Naughty Dog's flagship franchise promises more of the Uncharted formula that we have all come to know and love, except bigger and better this time, with all the improvements that being on the most powerful console of the generation can provide.

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT (PS4, XB1, PC)

The concluding chapter to one of the defining franchises of our time, Batman: Arkham Knight will up the ante and the stakes on the already excellent Batman: Arkham City in every way possible, with not only some long awaited gameplay and mechanical improvements, but also a thrilling story that will provide a fitting end to the saga.

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT (PS4, XB1, PC)

Geralt of Rivia's story finally comes to the end with the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the conclusion to CD Projekt RED's excellent The Witcher trilogy, which promises all the role playing of the first two Witcher games that we have come to love, while also taking cues from other hit RPGs of today, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

BLOODBORNE (PS4)

The last time From Software and Sony Japan teamed up, we got the groundbreaking Demon's Souls, which redefined our understanding of what a video game could be in an era of video games increasingly defined by a shift away from interactivity. With From's mettle having been proven with games like Dark Souls, one can only giddily look forward to what they have up their sleeve with Bloodborne.

METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN (PS3, PS4, X360, XB1, PC)

Kojima is back, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain might legitimately go down as one of the defining video games of our era, and one of the best of all time. From a sheer gameplay and mechanical perspective, the game is so ridiculously improved over its predecessors, and mostly everything else on the market, that it almost renders them obsolete. Like many other games of its era, The Phantom Pain is open world, but rather than shoehorning it into its design, it seems to utilize it sensibly. From a story perspective, The Phantom Pain takes us back into the past of the Metal Gear timeline, promising to clear some longstanding mysteries, while undoubtedly also creating some new one. It is small wonder, then, that The Phantom Pain is one of the most awaited games of this year.

---

Okay guys, those were the runners up, #10 to #2, okay? Just a quick recap here, to ensure there is no confusion later:

10. No Man's Sky
09. Xenoblade Chronicles X
08. Final Fantasy XV
07. Persona 5
06. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
05. Batman: Arkham Knight
04. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
03. Bloodborne
02. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

And now for the winner. Are you ready?

The System Wars Most Anticipated Game of 2015 is...

The Legend of Zelda (Wii U)

It is a mark of just how much goodwill the Legend of Zelda series has when it manages to command such a lead even in a year with as many great games coming out as 2015. But of course, with this new Zelda game, Nintendo is promising us the world (quite literally), and this time, we have every reason to believe they will deliver it to us. The showings of the game so far have shown us a gorgeous, lush open world that promises to break free from the shackles of the Zelda formula, while Nintendo themselves have shown a willingness to change what Zelda is like with A Link Between Worlds, the game that they have stated is the spiritual predecessor to the Wii U installment. Add to it the promise of Nintendo's first truly open world title in decades, and beautiful graphics and an amazing soundtrack, and it's not hard to see why The Legend of Zelda is as eagerly anticipated by everyone as it is.

SCOREBOARD:

1. The Legend of Zelda: 1505 points
2. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: 1490 points
3. Bloodborne: 1040 points
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: 970 points
5. Batman: Arkham Knight: 880 points
6. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End: 635 points
7. Persona 5: 570 points
8. Final Fantasy XV: 490 points
9. Xenoblade Chronicles X: 390 points
10. No Man’s Sky: 295 points
11. Torment: Tides of Numenera: 235 points
12. Halo 5: Guardian:190 points
13. Rise of the Tomb Raider: 180 points
14. Quantum Break: 130 points
15. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: 100 points
16. The Order 1886: 95 points
17. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number: 90 points
18. Pillars of Eternity: 90 points
19. Just Cause 3: 90 points
20. Mario Maker: 75 points
21. Star Fox: 75 points
22. Codename STEAM: 75 points
23. Splatoon: 70 points
24. Rodea The Sky Soldier: 65 points
25. Mortal Kombat X: 65 points
26. Star Citizen: 55 points
27. Forza Motorsport 6: 40 points
28. Resident Evil HD: 40 points
29. Soma: 15 points
30. Axiom Verge: 40 points
31. Grand Theft Auto V: 40 points
32. Dying Light: 30 points
33. War for the Overworld: 25 points
34. Salt and Sanctuary: 25 points
35. Kingdom Under Fire 2: 25 points
36. Ori and the Blind Forest: 25 points
37. Screamride: 25 points
38. Project Cars: 25 points
39. Star Wars: Battlefront: 25 points
40. Starcraft 2: Legacy of the Void: 25 points
41. Mad Max: 25 points
42. Dark Souls II: 25 points
43. Helldivers: 15 points
44. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse: 15 points
45. Fire Emblem If: 15 points
46. Final Fantasy Type 0: 15 points
47. Galak-Z: 15 points
48. Yoshi: 15 points
49. MM3D: 15 points
50. Total War: Attila: 15 points
51. Ratchet and Clank: 15 points
52. The Division: 15 points
53. Rime: 15 points

Some final, interesting observations:

• The battle for the top two was really very closely fought- Zelda and Metal Gear were involved in a neck and neck battle until the very last vote was tallied, when Zelda finally emerged victorious, although barely.
• The PS4 is the most represented system in the Top 10 with eight out of the ten games being playable on it; Wii U is the least represented with just two games.
• On the other hand, the Wii U managed to get the most exclusives in, with Xenoblade Chronicles X and Zelda U both exclusive to it; PS4 was tied with the Wii U, with Bloodborne and Uncharted 4. Surprisingly, not a single PC or Xbox One exclusive charted in the top 10.
• One very surprising result here was the absence of Star Citizen- it performed very poorly, counter to all the hype that the game seems to receive. It appears that the game's episodic distribution method may be confusing players.
• On the other hand, PC games such as Torment and Pillars of Eternity did surprisingly well, with one of them managing to do better than any Xbox One exclusive.

System Wars has good taste sometimes.

Seriously. Between this and the Game of the Year ballot, my faith in System Wars' collective taste is restored somewhat.

The Order scored a lot higher than it should have but overall I'd say besides Uncharted 4 and Persona, my top 10 would look very similar

It seems that the anicipated list is similar to mine. Happy to see that Legend of Zelda Wii U won.

I'm very happy with that list :) All great games in the making! 2015 looks to be awesome! :D

Also:

• On the other hand, the Wii U managed to get the most exclusives in, with Xenoblade Chronicles X and Zelda U both exclusive to it; PS4 was tied with the Wii U, with Bloodborne and Uncharted 4. Surprisingly, not a single PC or Xbox One exclusive charted in the top 10.

Yes.... "surprisingly"...*coughcowspotcough* ... >.>

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt should've been number 1 imo. Still, a great spot for a not so old IP. On other hand System Wars may be full of trolls and fakeboys but when it comes to taste, System Warriors are a lot better than other communities, even the gamespot itself. Let's not even mention youtube and metacritic community that are full of drama queens and whiney little kids respectively.

Why would cows vote Zelda the most anticipated though

Right on.

@charizard1605: Because, Zelda!

dying light the order 1886 bloodborne the witcher 3 final fantasy 15 batman a night project cars just cause 3 AC victory resident evil hd dead island 2

I really thought MGSV:TPP would win.

"The showings of the game so far have shown us a gorgeous, lush open world that promises to break free from the shackles of the Zelda formula"

Errrr, from what Ninty last demonstrated, I think that's a bit reaching, Char. I may be proven wrong, but the last Zelda U footage showed a bland, uninteresting, dull world if I've ever seen one. I hope it's improved monumentally by release.

Is Zelda really coming in 2015 ? That would be cool if it does happen.

Bloodborne, Zelda and Witcher 3 are my most wanted

I wonder if Zelda doesn't come out in 2015 if that means Phantom Pain takes the crown? :P

Damn, nice results... and wow I really thought MGSV had it, but still, that's my top 3 most anticipated games in the top 3 slots.

**** zelda, this is a travesty. I demand a recount.

I'm hyped for Zelda, so obviously I have no beef with the win.

It is a bit funny though.

There has already been tons of info and gameplay footage shown for MGSV and it all looks great. Theres already a playable prologue for it and it plays great.

On the other hand, we know so little about this new Zelda and what we've seen looks rough as hell, very much a work in progress.

In that sense, it is crazy that Zelda pulled ahead, but of course it was only by a vote.

I guess everyone (myself included) is just banking on the fact that 1, even the worst Zelda games are still good games and 2, the prospect of a large scale Zelda is pretty damn exciting.

@ConanTheStoner:

Maybe the genre and style Zelda represents is more popular ? I dont care at all for MGS like games myself and hated MGS4 too.

I mostly play RPGs and adventures and Zelda is one of my top, so there is not big mystery, MGS is not for everyone.

For me MGS should not even be in the list, Zelda, Witcher, Majora Mask, Zenoblades, Bloodborne and FF are the major games.

Well MGS4 sucks a fat one, so that's understandable. MGSV is looking to be the antithesis to that game.

Zelda is the more popular brand, but at the end of the day these two franchises sell roughly the same. Compared game to game of course, Zelda as a franchise mops the floor with MGS because it has so many damn entries and has been popular from the start whereas Metal Gear didn't start kicking until the PS1.

MGS is not for everyone, I agree, but these two franchises have roughly the same mainstream appeal these days. I guess you could say that this poll represents that well.

Why oh why did you start with a legit post and then edit in this stupidity...

Also, it's Xenoblade and Majoras Mask

And lol @ ripping on MGSV and then hyping fucking FFXV lol

I think in the present market context, Metal Gear has more appeal than Zelda for sure, it aligns more closely with what mainstream audiences want from their games these days; that said, Zelda had the legacy, which is what keeps people hyped for it, I imagine.

I will say though, Bronan, you said Metal Gear has had a playable prologue and Zelda has not, I don't think that is strictly true- Zelda got A Link Between Worlds, which Aonuma has said is like the precursor to the Wii U Zelda, and A Link Between Worlds was amazing, so it's not like people's faith in Zelda is blind, necessarily. I know a large part of my own hype for Zelda comes from just how darn good ALBW was.

I thought Star Citizen was set to release in 2016? It wouldn't have changed my votes, but still, I didn't think it was valid.

That's a good top 10 list right there, I'm kinda surprised.

Lol at people thinking FFXV coming out this year. The game is about 45% done last time i heard so no way its making 2015 release.

Agreed with most of the list and MGS V is gonna be GOTY this year.

Yeah, Zeldas legacy is almost unmatched in this industry. I always get hyped when a new Zelda is announced.

And well, I do get where you're coming from. ALBW lubed the hype engine for ZeldaU. It's just not the same as being a straight up ripped level from the main upcoming game of course.

Also, shame on me, I never finished ALBW. All these great games in my backlog and here I am trudging through Phantasy Star IV... a frustratingly archaic game, but I haven't played it in 20 years and nostalgia was calling.

I always think SW is full of tasteless morons and then we get poll results like these and I'm just like wtf?

Well done SW.

MGS games are action adventure games. MGSV has more RPG elements than any Zelda game. Shut up plz.

Also, MGSV will be larger in scope and scale than any of those games you listed aside from Xenoblade.

@Wiimotefan:

I wouldn't write off FFXV, it may be pretty large scale. But yeah, MGSV will definitely be bigger than TW3, MM (lol), Zelda and Bloodborne.

Troy Baker recently mentioned that MGSV makes Skyrim look like an "afternoon play pen" haha.

No Man's Sky? Really? I wonder if people even know how that game works, going by the info we already have.

And FFXV and Zelda this year? HAHAHAHAHAHA

@charizard1605: See bro, like I told you: because Zelda! :P

Wtf i dont remember voting for this one and wtf i just noticed the system wars awards are available.. i seem to have missed a lot in system wars lately lol

good list tho i sure will be getting more games this year than i did last year

it doesnot look very interesting

star citizen on other hand has 2 games. MMO star citizen and SQ42 which is SP campaign and will take 50 hours to finish.

@ConanTheStoner: Jesus, man, you HAVE to get around to completing A Link Betweeb Worlds. The entire game is great, but the back half of that game is nothing short of stunning, it's probably the best Zelda has been this side of the N64.

As for PS4, I hear that one is the black sheep of the series? Or am I remembering it all wrong?

Also, did anyone else notice that seven out of the top 10 games are all open word in some capacity? That's actually very interesting.

Star citizen is set for 2015, but since the FPS isn't even here and the AC module was already late, it's easy to assume it'll only release in 2016. Well, the first episodes that is. The Persistant Universe will most likely onyl launch in 2017.

It's my most anticipated game but i can easily see it not make it to this year.

@Desmonic: Zelda is Zelda. When I thought Skyward Sword had permanently killed off interest in the series, Nintendo follows it up with A Link Between Worlds.

I mean -_-

@charizard1605: I think you mean 7 out of those 10 games are "next-gen" enough* .

* citation needed

first part of SQ42 is releasing late 2015. it consist of 10 hours of gameplay

Yeah it dosent look very interesting to me too.. looks like a flying in space simulator all the trailers show you flying in space and landing.. so no story?

wrong. SQ42 is storyline campaign. its open ended game where you fly space ships and on board it has FPS gameplay too.

@charizard1605: Zelda gonna Zelda I suppose :P Also is ALBW really related to the new Zelda? That would actually be pretty awesome!

@charizard1605:

I know this man... I know this haha. My damn aversion to handhelds is a curse, I just can't make myself sit here and play it. It WILL happen before Zelda U hits. In those months leading up to release the hype will be unbearable and that's when I'll go for the kill.

I believe PS3 was considered the bastard entry, but I've only played PS4. It was my first JRPG and I was obsessed with it. It still has its moments, but certain aspects of the game are driving me nuts.

Yet, Zelda won't sell diddly squat. See how meaningless this is?

I was talking about No Man's Sky.

Yeah, I figured the modular/episodic distribution is the reason for its low performance. Still, I thought I might as well mention it.

Well, inasmuch that A Link Between Worlds was supposed to be the first instance of the new direction that Zelda will take from now on- non linear progression, open world, and so on. That's what they are trying to do with the Wii U Zelda as well, and Aonuma did say that ALBW is basically a precursor or a test run for the Wii U Zelda. It's not going to be directly related (at least, I don't think it is, but with this series' timeline, who the **** even knows anymore), and it will obviously play differently (3D vs 2D Zelda), but it will have the same approach and structure that A Link Between Worlds did.

No way. They still need to get the FOS module in the first half of the year, than teh Planetside one latter on, optimize it and then release it.

Whiel SQ42 will onyl be the first 10 missions, it still needs to take all the gameplay mechanics including flight modules. Hell, the larger ships like the Redeemer are still in development. If i'm wrong, i'm wrong, but i'm calling it late.

Which is fine honestly. They should take their time

He's talking about NMS, not SC.

And finalstar is sort of right. There is suppose to be a main narrative about 40 to 100 hours long. The game is about getting to the center of the galaxy, which is what the "storyline" is about.

However, the devs have hinted that there'll be no dialogue. In fact, there seems to be no humanoid NPCs in the game. So how even the narrative is delivered to make it engaging is unkown.

Haha, really? I would have figured that all JRPGs of that era aged very well, I mean, 16bit RPGs, man, those are timeless.

Then again, I guess I was thinking more SNES RPGs, I confess to not having had as much experience with Genesis as most, so that might be why.

Still want to hunt down and play these games, though, the only ones I ever really put time into were Online back in the Dreamcast and Gamecube days, and then there was one shitty one on DS. So... yeah lol.

I keep forgetting sales=quality.

@charizard1605: Ah, ok. So it's more in a game direction sense rather than story and all that. Cool. Question: weren't 3D Zeldas already like that though? Non-linear?