2013 Recap and the Golden Hippo Awards

On 01/04/2014 at 08:46 PM by daftman

I can’t believe 2013 is over already. It was a good year, all in all, and I actually know what I’ve played through the year thanks to Backloggery.com and my monthly recap blogs. Below you’ll find all the games I beat this year and below that the number of games I bought or somehow acquired. The numbers for PS+ and Free with Gold games that follow in parentheses are included in the total; I just wanted to make special mention of them since I didn’t have to pay for them beyond the membership fee. After looking through all that, make sure to stick around for the Golden Hippo Awards!

Games Beaten

January—Kirby Mass Attack (DS); Radiant Historia (DS); Shinobi (3DS) [those three were holdovers from 2012]; Double Dragon Neon (PSN) (PS+)

February—Resident Evil 5 (PS3) (PS+)

March—Dead Space: Extraction (Wii); Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (GCN); Jeanne d’Arc (PSP); Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

April—Mega Man Powered Up (PSP); BioShock Infinite (360); Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3); Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)

May—Rocket Knight (PSN); BloodRayne: Betrayal (PSN) (PS+); HarmoKnight (3DS)

June—

July—Golden Axe (PSN) (PS+); Portal 2 co-op (360); Borderlands 2 (360)

August—Gears of War 2 (360)

September—Mirror’s Edge (360); New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U); Galaga Legions DX (PSN) (PS+)

October—

November—Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS); El Shaddai (PS3); Metal Slug (Wii); Metal Slug 2 (Wii); Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

December—Gears of War: Judgment (360)

Total Beaten: 28

28 seems pretty good to me, especially considering that there were two months when I didn't finish anything. It's still more than 2 a month on the average.

Games Bought

Note: Click on a month to go to that month's recap and see what these games are.

January—14 (PS+: 3)

February—3 (PS+: 3)

March—7 (PS+: 5)

April—2 (PS+: 1)

May—10 (PS+: 2)

June—14 (PS+: 6)

July—7 (PS+: 1)

August—10 (PS+: 2) (Free with Gold: 2)

September—16 (PS+: 5)

October—11 (PS+: 4)

November—21 (PS+: 2) (Free with Gold: 2)

December—13 (PS+: 4)

Total Bought/Acquired: 128 (PS+: 38) (Free with Gold: 4)

I found this number pretty shocking. Even taking out free games, it's still a lot more than I expected. At this rate I'll never finish my backlog lol.

The Golden Hippo Awards

It’s the moment everyone’s been waiting for! Or didn’t know was coming. Whatever. These awards are based solely on the games I played in 2013 and my opinions about them. And yeah, most of them didn’t come out in 2013. Well, except…

Game of the Year: BioShock Infinite (360)

What a view

Perhaps it’s cliché to choose such a well-known, big budget, triple-A game as GotY but dang, what an experience! The graphics are a sight to behold, the combat is visceral and exciting, and the story will stick with you long after the credits roll. Yes, you can nitpick about the clashes between its message and gameplay or how it might fail to uphold the legacy of choice that the original BioShock sought to establish, but for me that’s all it is. Nitpicking. BioShock Infinite is the complete package (What? Multiplayer? Pfft!) and while it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, everyone should try it. Should experience it. I really can’t think of a better word. It was my favorite experience of 2013.

Runner up: Jeanne d’Arc (PSP)

I’m really surprised how much I enjoyed this tactics game. Read my review here.

Runner up: Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

I haven’t gotten to play 3D World on the Wii U yet but I loved this portable outing. I’m actually playing the post-game content, if that tells you anything.

Best Music: Radiant Historia (DS)

I played Radiant Historia almost entirely in 2012, merely finishing in 2013. Otherwise it would have been in the running for GotY because I seriously love that game. But I can’t help but give it the nod for best music. Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts, Parasite Eve, Street Fighter II, Mario & Luigi, and many others) just knocks it out of the park. I wish there were a few more tracks but each one shines. I still listen to the soundtrack all the time.

Best Retro Revival: Double Dragon Neon (PSN) (PS+)

I don’t have much history with the Double Dragon series but Neon was just so much fun to play. Difficult, but fun. And I loved how it brought back that ‘80s vibe with such reckless abandon. The developers had a blast making it and I think that really comes through.

Biggest Surprise: Mario Kart 7 (3DS)

After the watered-down mess that was Mario Kart Wii, I did not think I’d like Mario Kart 7. I had no intention of playing it originally, but it came bundled with my 3DS XL so I decided to give it a chance. I’m sure glad I did. It brought back the need for skill in order to do well and offers a nice challenge, even if rubber band AI still rears its head from time to time. It’s not my favorite Mario Kart but it’s a solid addition to the series that I’m glad to have on my 3DS.

Game with the Longest Tooth: Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS)

SMT IV was my introduction to the MegaTen series and I’m glad I played it. It’s got a great battle system and an interesting story and tons of demons to recruit or fuse but my goodness, it just goes on and on and on. The problem is exasperated by a terrible map and complete lack of a waypoint system. You can literally wander around for hours trying to find where to go. It’s a shame because the endgame is really interesting but it just takes so dang long to get to it!

Most Frustrating Zombie (for the game that wouldn’t die): PaRappa the Rapper (PSP)

I was so excited to finally get to play this quirky piece of gaming history, but I never finished it. I got stuck on the second to last level, the one where you have to rap past your old masters to get to the bathroom first. I played it countless times and almost beat quite a few times but never managed it. The timing just does not seem consistent. Sooo frustrating.

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.

ARC Squadron—A great Star Fox-esque space shooter

Super Hexagon—Simple to learn, hard to master, quick to play. Super Hexagon is a true classic.

Infinity Blade—The face of “core” iOS gaming. It’s one-on-one fights are a blast and work perfectly with touch controls.

Scurvy Scallywags—Ron Gilbert’s take on the match-3 puzzler. It’s hilarious and fun.

The Nightjar—Probably the most unique game I played this year, The Nightjar has no graphics and is played entirely with your ears. Definitely check it out if you think modern gaming is in a rut.

***

And that’s all for 2013! Be sure to check back next year for more, um, stuff. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you. And I’m sure I’ll post some blogs in between.

Cheers for 2014!

Addendum: Here are a few games I spent significant time with in 2013 but did not "beat"

-Guild Wars 2 (Mac)

-LocoRoco 2 (PSP)

-PaRappa the Rapper (PSP)

-Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)

-Gods Eater Burst (PSP)

-Dragon's Crown (PS3)

mothman

01/04/2014 at 09:09 PM

Some great choices. Definitely loved Radiant Historia. It stands as one of the best RPGs I've played.

Loved Mario Kart 7 and actually finishing SMT IV was an accomplishment as far as I'm concerned

daftman

01/04/2014 at 09:50 PM

Finishing SMT IV is definitely an accomplishment. And I'm surprised how much I like Mario Kart 7. I'm hoping Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on my Vita can fill that niche this year.

Cary Woodham

01/04/2014 at 10:06 PM

Hooray for hippos!

01/05/2014 at 09:24 AM

01/05/2014 at 11:06 AM

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinoceroses
I only like hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me too

The Last Ninja

01/04/2014 at 11:16 PM

Whao, dude! I beat like, 5 games (maybe) this year. How do you do that? (plus balance a family?) For me, I bought quite a few games this year (most of them retro games): Probably about 20 games (which is nothing compared to yours).

Hippo awards? We need some Ninja awards! But of course, no one would ever live long enough to get them!

01/05/2014 at 09:31 AM

If you'd just keep track of things, I'm sure your gaming statistics would surprise you. Mine certainly surprised me. And can you tell exactly which games you played this year? That was my problem but now I know

And ninja awards are a terrible idea. No one would know they're going on in the first place and then people would just start dying and it'd be very confusing. I suppose you wouldn't have to worry about the same people winning twice though lol

transmet2033

01/05/2014 at 12:14 AM

I think that I had two fairly unproductive months this year as well. When I say unproductive I probably still finished a game or two. Look at December, one of my most unproductive months and I still beat two games.

I like how your awards are based on the games that you played, not necessarily the games that were released this past year. Tearaway and SteamWorld Dig were probably my favourite new games I played this past year, but Metroid Fusion was my favourite game that I played this year. I say that because I beat it a good half dozen times this year...

01/05/2014 at 09:41 AM

I always want to finish at least one thing a month. If I planned things better, I'm sure I could throw in a really short game at the last minute. Definitely trying for no "unproductive months" in 2014.

I have some leftover money on my eShop account after getting the new Phoenix Wright game, so I'm planning on picking up SteamWorld Dig sometime. As for my awards, I figured there was no point in telling everyone else what games were best from 2013 when I'd have to go on hearsay. There are plenty of lists like that as it is, and mine was much more fun to write.

KnightDriver

01/05/2014 at 03:45 AM

Scurvy Scallywags! Ah yea another Ron Gilbert game. I'm all over it!

01/05/2014 at 09:42 AM

I played that game off and on for several months. It's a lot of fun. A nice change of pace for the genre.

Super Step Contributing Writer

01/05/2014 at 05:10 AM

I would get Arc Squadron on my phone if it could run it. It does look great.

That music from Radiant Historia is intense, I like it.

I often found the timing inconsistent in Elite Beat Agents as well. It sometimes couldn't seem to decide what I should be following: beat, rythm, vocals? But I still consider it one of my favorite games ever.

Double Dragon Neon looks fun, as does Infinite. Don't know about 7, but Mario Kart 8 looked damn pretty when I saw a trailer for it on Nintendo Direct.

01/05/2014 at 09:46 AM

You should look up the soundtrack to Radiant Historia and listen through it. That song was just the tip of the iceberg.

I didn't have much trouble with Elite Beat Agents. It's much easier to know what you need to do when, in my opinion. That's an awesome game, by the way. Good choice.

I haven't really seen much about Mario Kart 8 but I hope Nintendo learned their lesson about the series. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Aboboisdaman

01/06/2014 at 08:54 PM

Hooray for Double Dragon Neon!! I didn't think it was too hard. I loved the music and how they used DD 2 sprites on the overworld map. I hated Skullmageddon at first, but after watching He-Man (yeah I just said that lol) I came to appreciate his obvious Skeletor influenced design. If you want a hard DD game play DD 3 on NES. It's a nightmare!!!

01/06/2014 at 09:00 PM

I'll pass on the nightmare lol. Skullmageddon was kind of annoying but I thought he was funny, especially his song during the credits.

jgusw

01/06/2014 at 09:04 PM

I keep forgetting about Jeanne d’Arc, but it's offically on my "to get" list now.

Bioshock Infininte is one the of the best released games this year I played. As much as I enjoyed Shin Megami Tensei IV, I can't say the same. The map was just too bad.

01/07/2014 at 08:17 PM

Yay! Jeanne d'Arc is a great game. Definitely worth having and playing.

It's really too bad about SMT IV. There are things I really liked about it but I can't recommend it to people without some serious caveats. You gotta know what you're getting into with that game.

Alex-C25

01/12/2014 at 12:47 AM

I recently installed the first Bioshock on my PC and I hope to play it this week. I want to play Infinite, but first i'm going through the first and second game.

You meanie, I really liked Mario Kart Wii :(...... nah just kidding, i'm fine if you don't like the game :P. Though seven looks interesting is some aspects, for some reason I don't have the urge to play the game, even if I like Mario Kart in general.

01/12/2014 at 02:32 PM

I know people like Mario Kart Wii but I couldn't stand it because it seemed to take all the strategy out in favor of accessibility, as if the normal rubber band AI isn't bad enough. MK7 went a long way in restoring my faith in the series. I'm definitely interested to see how the Wii U game turns out.

I hope your PC runs BioShock without any problems. That's a great game. I haven't played the second one yet but I hear it's pretty good. Same great gameplay even if the story is less remarkable.

01/12/2014 at 02:47 PM

Bioshock IS running great with my PC. Played some of it last night.

Eh, I don't care about strategy when I play Mario Kart, I play Mario Kart to have fun and MK Wii delivered that and I love how crazy the races could become. That's just me.

NSonic79

01/20/2014 at 01:15 PM

It's odd how many free games we are being offered with these days thanks to PS+ and Xbox Games for Gold. Never in my time have I ever had that kind of library given away for free. and that's not even counting PlayStation Home's PSOne Classics free give away!

I really need to play Bioshock INfiniate I'm still waiting for a GOTY edition that I hope will be out in March. I'm possitivily THROBBING to play that game now.

Also need to get Double Dragon NEON for XBLA. I could use some more arcade beatemups!

I can't even consider trying to beat all those games for beating sake. Good show on your part!

01/20/2014 at 07:40 PM

Free games with a service subscription. I'm sure that will be a big part of the future, especially with PlayStation Now around the corner. But I didn't know they gave away free PS1 games on PS Home! I thought Home was worthless lol.

Double Dragon Neon is really great. I hope you have someone to play it with though. I do have to make an extra effort to get some of these games done, not because they're bad, but from life and busyness and whatnot. But I'm a little a little OCD, I guess, and like to have that closure. And it makes for a great list!

PixlBit