The games on this list are all my personal preference. Some of these games might not be for you because they are graphic and hard to play. Either way, all the games on here are great games in my opinion, and full credit goes to the developers for making millions of people happy while playing these video games. I plan on getting more games and updating this list from time to time with them if they can make it.

5. Dragon Age: Inquisition

“Dragon Age: Inquisition” is a graphically remarkable game. It includes hours of content and a fantastic storyline. The third installment of the “Dragon Age” trilogy, this game is also made great by the fact that you don’t have to have played the other two games first to understand it at all. Set in a “Lord of the Rings” style world filled with magic and dragons, this game comes with a new story, bringing new and old characters along for the ride. You have full creative control in creating your character and upgrading and battling your way to the top of the Kingdom. Gaining allies and friends along the way, you start on your path to clear your name after being wrongly accused of murder and high treason. The open-world in Dragon Age is a unique and exciting feature, always allowing you to run into any kinds of enemies. Another bonus of the game, the multiplayer is very fun. You can team up with a group of friends and storm a castle, and in one instance, even fight a dragon at the top.

4. Shadow of Mordor

The only game I have completely beaten on the PS4 and gotten a platinum trophy on, “Shadow of Mordor” was one of the best games I have ever played. Set in the world of Lord of the Rings a few years after the Hobbit, you play as the Human ranger Talion, killed and then reincarnated to exact revenge upon his powerful murderers for killing his family and him. The story is amazing, and if you play on the PS4, there is a system created where if you are killed by a random orc, that orc is promoted for killing the infamous Talion, and he becomes a known enemy to you and more powerful. However, the reason this game isn’t higher on my list, there is no real online feature where you can interact with other players, and after completing the game, there is little to do. Besides the open-world nature of this game, killing hordes of enemies at a time at some point gets a little repetitive.

3. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

I’m assuming most people reading this list will see the word rainbow and be confused, because this game has nothing to do with rainbows. On the contrary, this action-packed first person shooter is another installment in the popular Tom Clancy franchise. This game in particular is a team based infiltration and extraction type of game, pitting your anti-terror operators against buildings full of terrorists. The game is mostly based around multiplayer so if you don’t have friends who also have this game, it will be hard to get into, but with friends fighting alongside you, it is an amazing game. The single player/multiplayer mode of this game is called Terrorist Hunt, where you can infiltrate a building and either extract a hostage, disarm bombs, or secure a biohazard container. The same is true in the multiplayer only game mode, but it is two teams of five of all special operators against each other in tactical warfare. Strategy is the most important thing in this game, from utilizing the operators special abilities to blowing up walls and floors, you have to plan out your attack carefully. The same on defense, you have to  plan a defense and barricade walls and windows to make sure no enemies can come in and complete the objective. This game features maps from Air Force One to a house in rural Oregon, and the intensity and anticipation rarely ease up in this fast moving game. Another plus side, new updates come out generally every month, and this comes with two new operators and a new map.

2. Destiny

Most people who play video games have at least heard about Destiny, but maybe don’t play it themselves. Destiny is a futuristic first person shooter game, made by the same company that created the Halo franchise. There are many similarities between Halo and Destiny, but the differences really set it apart from the older Halo games. Coming out with new DLC’s and content all the time, Destiny is a great game to customize a character and play an amazing story mode, filled with action and adventure on Earth and other planets in our Solar System. You can choose between three classes of Guardians, you can pick either a Warlock, Hunter or Titan. Each with different armor and abilities, there is so much to do in the story lines alone, not to mention the “patrols” you can go on on other planets. Guided by a “ghost,” which is basically a small floating orb that lives in your backpack (yeah, I know), you travel across the solar system after waking up on Earth. The Tower, is a social hub for you and other guardians to mingle and talk to all the people in charge. Destiny has done a nice job of mixing new DLC stories into the original game. I will admit, the original Destiny game without DLC did not have a lot of content to go with it, and the biggest draw to it was the multiplayer feature and doing Raids and Strikes. After adding other parts of the games like The Dark Below in 2014, House of Wolves in May of 2015, the biggest one of all, The Taken King, was added in September of 2015, which also marked the start of Year Two and changed a lot of gameplay, and finally Rise of Iron which was released in September of this year, which started year three. There is a plan for a full actual sequel to Destiny to come in 2017.

1. Madden NFL 16

Madden is one of the greatest all-time video game franchises, spanning over 27 years, back to the original “John Madden Football” game made in 1989. I have yet to play the most recent version of Madden that was just released on August 23 of this year, but seeing as it takes about three years for the gameplay of a Madden game to actually go through a major change, there isn’t a necessity to go out and spend $60 on a game that isn’t different than the one I already have. Nonetheless, Madden is my favorite game to play on the PS4. I never get bored playing the franchise mode, online or off, and seeing how far I can take my team as an owner or coach. I have played in a league with two of my best friends for about six months now, and my team has moved cities and changed names and become a completely different team. Fantasy drafts are always super fun to take part in, and you never know what players will be on your team. The realism of the visual effects are impressive, and the graphics have improved tremendously over the years. Gameplay has improved drastically as well, making it more fun and challenging to play. Obviously no game is perfect, and there are always flaws, but Madden has yet to disappoint, and I enjoy the game more than any other Madden I’ve played, and I have been playing Madden on various consoles since Madden NFL ‘06.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Oracle, Columbus East High School, and Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation.