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Games Beaten

-Destiny: The Taken King (PS4)

I enjoyed the first year of Destiny but The Taken King really brought it to a new level. The introduction of quest lines was a big, meaty addition that really helped flesh out the grind and give it purpose. The new content was excellent, from the Dreadnought to the raid, and the story was a huge improvement. Add to that tons of new gear, quality of life improvements, and some great new multiplayer modes and The Taken King is a complete, robust package.

-Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)

Captain Toad exudes charm and a sense of fun that few games do anymore. Our hero has a very limited move set (augmented by the occasional power up) but the game largely works because it understands that and fully explores it. The levels are long enough to be interesting and short enough to avoid tedium, and the extra objectives can be downright devious but always fair. With a healthy amount of content and wonderful music and graphics, Captain Toad is a real gem of a game.

Games Bought

The last couple of months have been light on game purchases...but not December! Right at the beginning of the month my wife picked up The Elder Scrolls Online (PS4) and unlike the last time she bought a console MMO (*cough*Defiance*cough*), she's been playing it pretty regularly since then. I think it looks pretty dull but I'm glad she likes it lol. The PS4 love continued with Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag—I have yet to play an AC game but this seems to be the fan favorite—Until Dawn, which I'm particularly excited to experience, and inFamous: Second Son (on clearance for a mere $10 at Target). For the Wii U we finally found The Wonderful 101 for a good price (been watching that for, like, two years) and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.

PSN had some good sales in December, which suckered me into buying several things  Bastion finally came to the PS4 and Vita (cross buy!) and was super cheap. I've had that on my computer for a long time but now I can play it with a nice controller. Also grabbed Rollers of the Realm (PS4/Vita)—the pinball RPG—and Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut (PS4). Topping off this list is Gradius V (PS2 Classic), one of Treasure's masterpieces that I've always wanted to try. This naturally leads to the month's PS+ selections. Freedom Wars (Vita) seems like the one I'm most likely to actually play, since I know some people who play it already. SSX (PS3) has me intrigued. I loved that series on the GameCube but I know it's never reached those heights since then. Gauntlet: Slayer Edition (PS4) is probably good dumb fun. King's Quest - Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember (PS4) and Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (Vita) will probably never get played but hey, you never know!

That just leaves my birthday and Christmas. My wife got me Steins;Gate (Vita), one of the few games I've really wanted lately, and I got her Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4), which I think she'll really enjoy playing (co-op!). My wife also bought one of our nieces Pokémon White (DS)...then decided she probably wouldn't like it much and kept it lol (don't worry, we bought our niece a different game).

Whew! A full month indeed. I've actually ordered a few games already with money I got but since I don't count these things till I physically have them, they'll go on January's list 

Now Playing

-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies: Turnabout Reclaimed DLC (3DS)

Finally playing this DLC episode from the last Phoenix Wright game. I thought I'd have it done last month for sure but things were very busy O_O It's a great story so far and has a delightfully unusual premise.

-Destiny: The Taken King (PS4)

They introduced a limited-time racing event last month and that's mostly what I did (got some nice gear too). I hope they announce the next DLC soon. There is plenty more I could do but I'm nearly done with all the content I care about.

-Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP)

Got back into this a little bit. Crafted a good raw damage sword (the Great Kris). Hoping to finish this off in the next couple of months.

-Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! (PS4)

Started this with the wife. It's funnier than I remember the other two being. It's an interesting counterpoint to Destiny but I've been enjoying it.

Much like last month there are several games I'm "still playing" that I haven't touched for several weeks just do to the business of the season. Hoping to mop a lot of those up in January.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end. Keep your eye out for my recap of 2015 sometime in the next couple of days!