2015 Review inc Game of the Year

It's been a much quieter year for gaming, the amount of time I have for gaming is forever shrinking. Excluding iOS & DLC I only completed 11 games, 4 of which were very short.

Watch_Dogs (PS4)
Peggle 2 (PS4)
MGSV - Ground Zeroes (PS4)
Knack (PS4)
Shadow of Mordor (PS4)
CounterSpy (PS4)
Assassin's Creed Unity (PS4)
Battlefield Hardline (PS4)
Journey (PS4)
Witcher 3 Wild Hunt (PS4)
Fallout 4 (PS4)

Witcher 3 was my game of the year because unlike Fallout 4 it kept me entertained for the full length of the game & had a satisfying ending. I also enjoyed Shadow of Mordor but the last boss fight was far too easy.

Maybe I need to stop playing long open world games that consume many hours to complete & enjoy the smaller indie titles like Counterspy or Journey. I have quite a few of these thanks to PS+ & the PSN sale purchases like the Telltale Borderlands & Game of Thrones games. I enjoy playing/watching a good story & it's probably why given the choice I would rather watch a movie then play a game that has resulted in less gaming time.

My predictions from last year included purchasing a Xbox1 console never came true, with my limited gaming time one console is more than enough for me. The WiiU carried on gathering dust & I expect that will be gone at some point this year.

Spending wise I only purchased 3 games on release, Metal Gear Solid V, Fifa 16 & Fallout 4. Everything else was either in a sale or from trades. I don't think I spent more than £150 throughout the year.

2016 then will be very similar to this year, just enjoy what I already own & buy the odd few titles I want on release like Uncharted 4 & No Man's Sky.

Witcher 3 (PS4) - Completed

I was worried about starting Witcher 3 because of Skyrim would I enjoy another long RPG or would I get bored but The Witcher 3 kept me hooked all the way through, I did ignore some of the sidequests to do with the races & Gwent card game but completed everything else.

The main campaign was brilliant really interesting story & the characters were well written, I would have liked to have played with some of the other characters like Triss, Yennefer or Letho.

Anyhow completed and onto the next game which is Metal Gear Solid V. I've cancelled my pre-order for Destiny The Taken King I want to break free from the endless weekly grind & spend my limited gaming time playing something else. So MGSV for now & then Bloodborne.

Witcher 3 - Skellige

Back to The Witcher 3 & I've decided to carry on with the main quest and set sail for Skellige.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt (PS4) - Funny Walking Man

I give you the Funny Walking Man

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Explosive Barrel

Explosive Barrels & Fire Magic do not mix.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt - Twitch Test

Playing some Witcher 3 so I could test Twitch exporting of the gameplay to youtube, it takes a while for the exported video to be scaled up to 720p quality, will look at the PS4 settings to see if I can stream at 1080p.

The Witcher 3 - Sidequests

Sidequests can be either very short & quick or a long string of objectives you have to tick before they are completed.

The Fists of Fury sidequest above has you wondering around Velen taking on opponents in a fist fight to become the champion , I've not yet completed the quest.

They are also a good way to explore areas you would not normally visit to find other hidden quests or rare loot.

The Witcher 3 - Contracts

I've been lucky to spend a fair bit of time over the weekend enjoying The Witcher 3, I've managed to craft some Griffin swords & sell quite a lot of loot that I am now carrying around 10K in gold.

Sidequests & Contracts have been my main focus. Contracts are given to you by village noticeboards & usually involve you doing some investigative work before killing a monster.

The example below is The Merry Widow contract.



The various contracts you collect given you an expected level your character should be, anything coloured green is usually safe enough for you to give it an attempt.

When completing the contract you are normally rewarded with loot & gold from the person who issued the contract.

The Witcher 3 - Monsters

After finishing off the quests & finding all the secrets in White Orchard I completed the main quest to arrive at a new location in Velen. The map is huge !!

I've decided to stick with the main quest for a while & have encountered some new monsters in a Gargoyle & Golem.



I need to look into crafting some better swords & armour instead of sticking with buying from shops. I'm also a bit unsure on what loot to keep, dismantle or sell.

If it was not for Fallout 4 & MGS V then The Witcher 3 would easily be my game of the year.

New Game - The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

After completing Battlefield Hardline I had nothing else to play & was a bit unsure about what to purchase. Asking fellow gamers on rllmuk two games got mention quite a bit Bloodborne & The Witcher 3.

I did not enjoy Dark Souls on the 360 & I don't enjoy playing excessively gory & potentially scary games. So I ordered The Witcher 3 along with Far Cry 4 (mainly to give Abbas something to enjoy) & DriveClub (I'm itching for a racing game, have not played one on the PS4.

DriveClub & Far Cry 4 have not been delivered but The Witcher 3 was waiting for me when I got back from work on Friday.

Over the weekend I have enjoyed making potions, swimming underwater for treasure, killing ghouls, finding a lost frying pan, getting scared by a noonwraith, collecting herbs & hunting a griffin.


I did have reservations about the game because of Skyrim. I thought I was done with medieval style rpgs but boy how wrong could I be, the Witcher 3 is an amazing game & I'm only still in the first location.

I've got a couple of side quests to complete before I turn in for my main quest & some locations I need to check for loot. Really wish we had a three day weekend so I could play the game some more.