PixlBit

I'm honestly a little upset I didn't get one in 2014. I just would have liked to have a Playstation FOUR in Twenty-FOURteen. Oh well. 

2015 was a mostly good year for me. The stress of my thesis made me pretty nihilistic for a two-or-so week period in May, but I got it done and accepted and even ran a 5K in 23 minutes or so. Stress helps me run, it turns out. 

I pretty much laid back for most of the year until my dad told me about an inventory job where you got to travel and before the end of the year I was offered the adjunct version my current teaching/professing position that would start in Spring 2016. We'll get to that, as it turns out this odd-numbered year was good and that even-numbered one would suck, totally throwing off my expectations. 

By this point, I pretty much played on PS4 exclusively, so I'm just going to look through my PlayStation Store purchase history instead of Wikipedia ... except, wait. I probably played other games. Dammit. 

Well, here's what I own from that year:

Let's see, PS UBS, Better Call Saul S1E1 and S1E2, Netflix, Hulu, funimation, Powers, more episodes of Powers, YouTube, Live Events Viewer, Conversations with Creators (which I kinda wish was still a thing)  ...

Oh, here we go. Here's what GAMES I purchased in 2015 (games I finished in bold):

Tennis in the Face (about 5 times on March 22 ... did I buy it 5 times for my birthday? Probably just downloaded demo a bunch? I really hope I didn't get overcharged)

This one was tons of fun and part of the reason I played so much is because of how satisfying I find the R2 trigger on Dualshock 4. It's clearly an iPhone game, but that didn't stop me from loving trying to get the high score. 

I honestly played this more than most AAA games I had in 2015

How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition (demo)

I barely remember this, but I remember it being set on a beach and involving zombies and therefore lost interest.

Destiny (demo)

This game looked really pretty and was one hell of a large download, but without any friends to play it with, I saw the "grinding" aspect of it a bit too soon. I still enjoyed what I played, but my friend Ryan wanted to have an XBOX, so we can't have fun together. 

Driveclub (PS+)

I mentioned this in the last blog, since it actually released in 2014, but it's a driving sim. Looks pretty, but I can't stand the controls. 

Batman: Arkham Knight (physical, but I had season pass)

Since I bought the other 2 games for $5-10 on Steam and couldn't have paid more than $15 for Origins, I paid $100 for this full package partly to support Rocksteady, since I really liked the series. 

I for one was not disappointed, as this was probably the most graphically impressive game that year, I happen to love the Batmobile outside of tank stealth missions, and the story is a cut above a lot of other video game narratives, even if the "twist" was a huge letdown. 

I completed the main game 100%, but had to use a guide for a couple Riddler trophies. I never understood why people complained about those when they're optional, but oh well. It took me FOREVER to get the Brutality 101 trophy though, which was the ONLY roadblock to my Platinum in this game for a long time. 

Minecraft (bought for mom; never really play it)

Honestly, I don't have much more to say than what's in parentheses. It's weird that I'm a media professor, cause I was a kid who always chose writing papers over doing projects, so the building doesn't really appeal to me and I'm not a "graphics whore," but I still think this game is fugly. It's just not for me. I'll stick to Yakuza 0 as far as games that I'm never done with. That arcade combat and story-driven gameplay are much more my speed. 

White Night is a B&W horror game that I still think has really cool presentation ... so it's too bad I can't figure out how the hell to get away from that ghost. 

The Legend of Korra is one I talked about for 2014 already, but I still think it's a decent game if you take into account it's a budget title, so I can excuse environments being a bit less full. 

Trials Fusion (demo) is a game I thought was pretty fun and just consists of doing 2D sidescrolling bike stunts. If it's cheap now, I might actually just outright get it.

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut (sale) is a sorta-but-not-really Metroidvania-style game in which you play as a belly dancing genie whose sex appeal magically destorys murderous plants and animals. Except you also turn into certain animals. 

It's a short game, but a fun one, and I don't mind having something clearly meant for portables on my TV, since I always end up just playing portable stuff at home anyway. 

Hyper Void (PS+) is one I'm not sure I ever actually downloaded. 

 

Planetside 2 (demo?) is one I don't really remember

 

Resident Evil Revelations 2 (PS+) is one I played maybe the first 10 minutes of and thought was ok. 

 

Dead or ALive 5: Last Round (demo) was a decent fighting demo. I've always like DoA's focus on multi-leveled stages and I was wanting to play a 3D fighter at the time, so the limited demo roster at least scratched that itch. I wonder why DoA isn't as popular anymore. Honestly, this is the only one in the series I've played outside of arcades. 

Warframe (demo) is one I don't really remember, aside from I think I was surprised what they let you do for free. 

Hardware Rivals Beta (beta) is another I don't really remember, but the concept of Twisted Metal with offroad vehicles seemed appealing. 

Star Wars Battlefront (Holiday Sale) was $10 around Christmas, and that's about what this demo of a game is worth. 

Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection (demo) did make me really want the game, but I wanted to wait until this helicopter-building-shooting madness was on sale. I've since picked up all of the main console games in the series, starting with this collection. 

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is a walking simulator I personally think is at least on par with Firewatch and What Remains of Edith Finch, but I guess most folks were not so keen on it. I actually might go back to "complete" the game. There's not a whole lot of a story here and the title is pretty much all there is to it, but it's a relaxing game. 

Bloodborne (on sale $40) is one where I got stuck in the first area, which I'm told is the hard part of the game meant to teach you about it. I'm sure I'll go back to it at some point, but I suck at it for the time being. I really only bought it cause it came out a day after my birthday. 

Race the Sun (PS+) is actually a really fun endless ... flyer. It's simple, but addicting. 

LEGO Marvel Superheroes is far and away my favorite LEGO game, and I'm super happy I got it for like $6, cause this is one of the few LEGO titles I would actually have paid full price for and been ok with. There's so much to do, the references are funny, and I love flying around the city as Iron Man. 

Grand Theft Auto V is another one I talked about last blog, but still a great technical feat whose story I found amusing. I'll leave it at that. I did "skip" the shootout in the graveyard, because I thought that level had some bullshit difficulty. 

The Witcher III Wild Hunt (sale) is still absolutely beatiful to look at, but the side quests didn't hook me like many others and I found the combat a bit difficult as far as fighting the dragon in the first bit of the game. Then I spoke with a king in another town who kept asking me all these questions you'd have had to play the other games to know how to answer and I felt I was in over my head. 

Rocket League (PS+) is a game that was free that year and everyone who had a PS4 considered more or less the game of the year. Mine would still be Arkham Knight, but I wouldn't fault anyone choosing this. 

Such a fun game. I platinumed the initial release, but not the subsequent DLC. I wonder if it still has a strong community, though there's no way it can match the wave of people playing it when it launched on PS+. 

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (sale): As I said in the previous blog, I actually don't like the Nemesis system and the stealth gameplay wasn't my speed. It also isn't that attractive-looking and the open world is a bit barren. Still, I'd like to complete the story at some point cause the Arkham-style combat with swords and magic mixed in is decent enough. 

Wolfenstein The New Order (sale) is another I talked about last blog. It was fun for the first few insane levels, but the story got more serious and less over-the-top and the gameplay got too hard in the middle, so I just switched to very easy mode. 

NBA Live 2016 (demo) is an EA basketball game. It was fun. I still refuse to buy any of these games until they're super-cheap. 

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (sale) I think I played 2 and Pre-Sequel for a bit; one of the times I played co-op but my friend seemed uninterested. I should re-download it at some point. 

Metro: Last Night Redux (demo) I honestly don't remember this much, aside from seeing it on sale on both PS4 and Steam ALL THE TIME.

Other games I've played that were released in 2015:

Life is Strange would have been in my top games of 2015 had I played anything but the demo of episode 1 that year. This game was one hell of a PS+ gift last year and now I'm hooked on the series ... and should probably check if that Max DLC is available in Before the Storm. 

This is by MilliganVick on DeviantArt; I think it looks pretty cool

Broken Age is another I got on PS+ later and I liked the charm of the game's visuals and story enough to complete a couple levels, but there was some bullshit point-and-click puzzle I didn't have the patience to trial and error through, so I stopped playing. 

Ether One was a PS+ freebie later on and it kind of reminded me of Myst in that I got stuck. 

Blazblue Chrono Phantasma Extend is a really cool alternative to Guilty Gear in terms of presentation and music, but the gameplay feels a bit slower somehow and oh dear God, the story mode just is not that interesting to me. I can't tell if the fact there's a mode where you literally have characters discuss the series' lore in classroom setting is an example of being self-aware or an example of being hopelessly oblivious to how needlessly convoluted the game's plot is. 

Journey I bought on sale a bit later on, and I dug the relaxing atmosphere and on-rails gameplay, but these games are too short for me to recommend buying at full price. 

Tembo the Badass Elephant I played a demo of and really enjoyed, but it got a few middling reviews. I think I'll still get it if it ever pops up on sale again. 

I own Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, but have never played it. 

How could I forget Until Dawn! This one I only rented and tried to beat before the dawn literally via a Red Box rental on a weekend, but I ended up finishing it after buying it a couple years later ... so about last year. The game looked so damn good despite frame rate issues and had a great horror movie atmosphere that actually got me a couple times, but was still cheesy enough I could play through it. I still plan to go back for the Platinum. 

Look at my furrows of worry!

Grow Home was a PS+ title the community actually voted on, but the other titles weren't much to look at honestly. It was an interesting little game though. 

Mad Max is one I've owned for a while now but never got around to beating. I usually hate desert settings, but driving around is fun enough for me to excuse it. Plus, while it's a typical open-world game, it's a really good open-world game, kind of like modern Marvel movies are all the same, but that doesn't mean some aren't way better than others.

I own Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain by way of PS+, but have never downloaded it. 

Super Meat Boy is I think another PS+ grab for me and I actually thought the first few levels were quite manageable, especially since you respawn so quickly. I liked what I played of it. 

Transformers: Devastation I bought last year and is it me, or are Platinum games' bosses real pains in the ass? Still, the presentation and gameplay is very good overall. 

Deadpool was a surprisingly fun rental that I got pretty close to beating. Some great presentation with them nailing the comic book feel and Deadpool humor as well as some solid, addicting beat-em-up gameplay made for a great experience for me.