Editor’s Choice: Jake s Top 10 Games Of 2015

I admit that Dota 2 has the benefit of an established fan base unmatched by almost any free-to-play game (League of Legends excluded). Not many games have fans who are willing to pay for something that doesn't benefit them in any way. Taking that into account, though, there still is no good excuse for free-to-play micro-transactions that benefit the company more than the player. Honestly, the solution is just to make your game cost money. Remember that? When games cost a flat fee for the entire thing? This was a largely successful model, and the only reason I can see for the shift is pure greed, especially by a company like EA that already has boatloads of money to roll in.

While the whole editorial staff contributed to our 2015 awards, we wanted to allow everybody the opportunity to publicly name their personal top 10 games of the year. While many did play the majority of releases in 2015, please remember that unlike our main awards, the editors are not naming the best games, but their personal favorites out of the selection they played.


Not only have we gotten two Avengers movies in the last five years, The CW has aired yearly crossover events since 2014, and Netflix even debuted their own small screen superhero team-up this summer with The Defenders . Ultimately, the team-up aspect of Justice League is something comic book TV and film fans have seen many times now, though not necessarily with these exact characters. While there's undoubtedly excitement each time a team-up event occurs in either film or TV, Justice League simply using different heroes in a story we've seen before - even though they're unquestionably some of the most beloved and storied heroes in comics - isn't quite enough anym


Certainly, at the end of the day, movie and TV viewers can - and should - like what they like. In terms of which event, either Justice League or Crisis on Earth-X, was more successful in achieving what they set out to do, however, the Arrowverse crossover clearly pulls ahead. It's much more consistent in tone than Justice League , a surprising feat given it unites four different TV shows, and ups The CW's superhero MOBA game meta, improving upon crossovers that came before it. All in all, Crisis on Earth-X is a better, more cohesive team-up event than Justice Leag


The CW's Crisis on Earth-X crossover event – featuring Arrow ** , Supergirl ** , The Flash ** and Legends of Tomorrow ** – was a better team-up than Warner Bros. and DC Films' **Justice League ** . Ever since The CW expanded its comic book TV universe to include The Flash , a spinoff from the network's flagship DC series Arrow , they've aired annual crossover events. While the first year only featured a team-up between the Green Arrow and the Flash, these events have grown exponentially to include heroes from Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow . This year's crossover event, Crisis on Earth-X, was the biggest yet to air on The CW with the heroes facing off against Nazi versions of themselves from an alternate unive

Plants vs. Zombies 2 already has 10 "premium plants" for a total cost of more than $30 altogether, tax included. And that's just plants. You can also pay for upgrades and in-game coins. To my knowledge, Plants vs. Zombies never went higher than $20 for the whole game, with no micro-transactions, so I can only assume PopCap is making a truckload off of this. Now I know people like to point out how less than 10 percent of people who play free-to-play games participate in micro-transactions. This makes it seem like the companies are doing what's best for the player by offering a portion of their game for free, while only making a small chunk of change on the side to get by. It's a compelling narrative that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. This number conveniently leaves out how much money they're actually making from those ten percent of people who want a full gaming experience.


The resulting movie isn't quite Snyder's vision - which has prompted petitions for Warner Bros. to release a Snyder cut of Justice League - but isn't quite a Whedon film either. That lack of consistency means fans of Snyder's work, though they may be in the minority, were underwhelmed by the film, while those hoping Justice League would be a massive overhaul of the DC Films universe also didn't entirely get what they wanted either. The competing visions of Snyder and Whedon/Warner Bros. were felt by many who have seen Justice League, and lessen the experience of the movie - perhaps more for some than oth


Arthas and Nova should never really end up in a battle together as far as Blizzard lore is concerned, but Heroes of the Storm allows players to live out that "who would win in a fight?" fantasy over and over in an addicting MOBA game tips format. This trailer does a stellar job of showing just how fun things can get when you relax and don't think too m


Regardless of what the most hardcore fans thought, the Mists of Pandaria trailer became an incredibly popular TV spot in the month's leading up to the game's release. It featured exciting action with its three way battle, but more importantly, showcased Blizzard's sense of humor. The trailer isn't full of jokes at all, but a few well-placed visual gags make it impossible not to love the cinematic introduction of the universe's new r