PixlBit

Another year in the bag! 2016 broke new ground in the "Whaaaaa-! It's already over??" category. Somehow I managed to play some games in there, so let's take a look. First up are all the games I beat this year and then how many I bought or somehow acquired (don't worry, I don't list those specifically). Be sure to stick around for the Golden Hippo Awards after that!

Games Beaten

January—Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies: Turnabout Reclaimed DLC (3DS); Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! (PS4); Gradius (PSP); Ico (PS3) (PS+)

February—Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (Wii U)

March—Deus Ex: Human Revolution: Director's Cut (Wii U); Mega Man (3DS); Mega Man 2 (3DS); Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U); Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP)

April—The Legend of Zelda: TriForce Heroes (3DS); Dead Space 2 (360)

May—Mega Man 3 (3DS); The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii); Broforce (PS4) (PS+)

June—Star Fox Zero (Wii U); Sonic CD (PSN); Freedom Wars (Vita) (PS+)

July—Rocket League (PS4) (PS+)

August—The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Picross (3DS)

September—Song of the Deep (PS4); Mighty No. 9 (PS4)

October—Mega Man Legends (PS1); Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (Vita); Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4); Until Dawn (PS4)

November—Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PS3)

December—Sonic: Lost World (Wii U)

Total Beaten: 28

28 is a noticeable jump from the 19 I beat in 2015. That surprises me since this year was super busy. But I'll take it! That's the trend I hope to see: beating more, buying less (though I'll still never catch up lol). Speaking of which...

Games Bought

or somehow acquired

Note: Click on a month to go to that month's recap and see what these games are. The PS+ games in parentheses are part of the total but I wanted to make special note of them since I didn't have to pay for them beyond the subscription fee.

January—11 (PS+: 6)

February—12 (PS+: 6)

March—6 (PS+: 5)

April—8 (PS+: 6)

May—11 (PS+: 6)

June—5 (PS+: 4)

July—10 (PS+: 6)

August—9 (PS+: 5)

September—8 (PS+: 5)

October—6 (PS+: 6)

November—6 (PS+: 6)

December—7 (PS+: 6)

Total Bought/Acquired: 99 (PS+: 67)

Squeaking in under 100! And only 32 of those not accounted for by PS+. This, my friends, is a historic display of self control, especially considering how susceptible to PSN flash sales I am lol.

Addendum of Sorrow: Games I spent a fair amount of time with in 2016 but didn't finish:

-Final Fantasy III (DS)

And that's it. Guess I did a better job of finishing things in 2016. I put FFIII to bed because, well, it was kind of boring. It was a big step for the series, what with introducing the job system and all, but even that's been done better by now. With so many other games to play, I couldn't justify putting more time into one that I wasn't enjoying.

The Golden Hippo Awards

It's that time again! Time for the fourth annual Golden Hippo Awards! Just remember, everybody, that these awards are based solely on the games I played in 2016 and my opinions about them. Many of these didn't come out in 2016, so don't expect to find my thoughts on Battlefield 1 or anything. But these are a lot of great games. Let's get going!

Game of the Year: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4)

I have been waiting for a follow up to Human Revolution for five years, and when it finally arrived I was not disappointed (though I know some people were...idiots  ). I love the cyberpunk setting and story and really enjoy the stealth-with-action-back-up gameplay. Though the story does end very abruptly, I feel that the amount of game to play in that time is very satisfying. I really enjoyed my time as Adam Jensen.

Runner Up: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

I feel that Skyward Sword gets a bad wrap for its motion controls. Not because the motion controls are bad—they're not—but because it has motion controls. But those complainers are ignoring the gorgeous world and awesome dungeons and the fact that the motion controls are actually integrated into the game really well. Not to mention that Skyward Sword features one of the best Princess Zeldas in the series.

Runner Up: Dead Space 2 (360)

What a great sequel. It perhaps lost a little of the atmosphere of the first game—or perhaps the dread and claustrophobia were simply more familiar to me this time around—but I thoroughly enjoyed my time blasting away necromorphs, and the combat options had definitely been amped up since the first game. Dead Space 2 can definitely withstand multiple playthroughs.

Best Story: Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (Vita)

This sequel to 999 keeps the great story going. It's bigger and more convoluted but still AWESOME. This is a long game but definitely worth the time to see the true ending. I can't recommend a story-based game more strongly.

Best Expansion: Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows (Wii U)

This new campaign repurposes the old levels from Shovel Knight to let you play as Plague Knight.  But since Plague Knight plays completely differently than Shovel Knight, Plague of Shadows comes off as another breath of fresh air rather than a rehash. And there's a great story stitching it together too. Oh, and it's free if you own the base game. Sure can't argue with that!

Biggest Backlog Victory: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

I have a monster backlog. Many of these games will likely never be played but I do have a priority of sorts and Skyward Sword, as the most recent and reportedly longest Zelda, was a big item on my mental list. And it's really good too!

Better Than Popular Opinion: Star Fox Zero (Wii U)

Yeah, this game has some problems, but once you get used to the unorthodox controls it is quite good...in my opinion at least. Plus, the Arcade Mode has a giant flow chart of all the possible paths through the game and which ones you've played through. If I had more time and fewer games to play, I'd spend a lot of time filling that out.

The "Old Games Are Still Good" Award: Mega Man Legends (PS1)

Other than the dated, pre-dualshock controls, MML holds up really well and was a ton of fun to play in 2016. Hoping to get through its sequel in 2017.

Most Insane Two-Player Action: Broforce (PS4)

If you have not had the pleasure of experiencing Broforce with a friend (or three), you are missing out. What an awesome, ridiculous, over the top tribute to '80s action movies. A pure manic good time.

Honorary iOS Awards

I've never included iOS games in my backlog or kept track of what I play. I'm much more lax with myself, thankfully, but here are some great ones I played this year.

Operation Dracula—This shmup is a send up to early '90s arcade games. It's colorful, kind of absurd, and pretty hard. Got a great announcer too lol.

Reigns—This game is very unusual. Rather than try to explain it myself, let me steal a bit from the first paragraph of Touch Arcade's review: "It's basically dating service Tinder, with swiping left or right to make decisions, combined with ruling a kingdom. Seems interesting enough, but Nerial and company have managed to imbue Reigns' concept in such a way that each decision feels weighty. As well, there's an intriguing long-term game here, with secrets to discover and an overall goal to reach that gives each session a unique purpose beyond its amusing concept, and elevates the whole experience above an amusing concept." It's really easy to play and really easy to just keep playing. Probably my favorite iOS game I played in 2016.

Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch - Tyranid Invasion—This is a serious, squad-based strategy game. It's a big game and I ended up having to delete it because I needed the space for other things but if you like strategy games, this is a great one to buy.

And that wraps up 2016! Cheers, everybody! Let's go play something