2014 Recap and the Golden Hippo Awards

On 01/01/2015 at 11:30 PM by daftman

Another year down! Which one was this? 2007? 12? Oh yeah, 2014. I still have a hard time believing it was 2014, let alone that it's over. But let's get on with this, shall we? 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—Gravity Rush (PSP) (PS+); Mario Party 2 (N64—VC); Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC—VC)

February—Killzone: Mercenary (digital) (Vita); Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

March—Dragon's Crown (PS3) (GameFly)

April—Journey (PSN); Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (GameCube); LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (360)

May—God Eater Burst (PSP) (PS+); Velocity Ultra (Vita) (PS+); Gears of War 3 (360); Metal Slug 3 (Wii); Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS) (GameFly)

June—Dead Space (360)

July—Pirate Code (Mac); Beyond: Two Souls (PS3); Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

August—Catherine (PS3)

September—Kirby's Dream Land (Wii—GB); Kirby's Adventure (Wii—NES); LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (3DS)

October—

November—Kirby's Dream Land 2 (Wii—GB); Costume Quest (Mac)

December—Mass Effect 3 (360)

Total Beaten: 25

25 doesn't seem too bad. It's three less than I got through in 2013 but still more than two a month on the average.

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 parenthesis 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—19 (PS+: 3)

February—32 (PS+: 7) (Games with Gold [before mine expired!]: 2)

March—13 (PS+: 4) (Game with Gold: 1)

April—14 (PS+: 6) (Games with Gold: 2)

May—12 (PS+: 6)

June—19 (PS+: 4)

July—11 (PS+: 6) (Club Nintendo Rewards: 1)

August—3

September—12 (PS+: 6)

October—13 (PS+: 6)

November—16 PS+: 6)

December—19 (PS+: 8)

Total Bought/Acquired: 183 (PS+: 62) (Games with Gold: 5) (Club Nintendo: 1)

This number just blows me away. Even taking away the free games, that's still 115. Crazy. I don't know how this happens

Addendum of Sorrow: Games I spent a fair amount of time with in 2014 but didn't finish:

-Pikmin 3 (Wii U)

-Cloudberry Kingdom (Wii U)

-Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (PSP) (PS+)

-Silent Hill: Book of Memories (Vita)

The Golden Hippo Awards

It's that time again! Time for the second annual Golden Hippo Awards! Just remember, everybody, that these awards are based solely on the games I played in 2014 and my opinions about them. A lot of them didn't come out in 2014 either. For instance...

Game of the Year: Mass Effect 3 (360)

It took me a while to finally get to this game but man, did I love it. Just being back in the thick of things with these characters was a treat. The combat was fun and the production values were excellent but it's the story I enjoyed most. One of my favorite things was going around the Normandy and talking to everyone after a big mission. It's a world--um--galaxy that I loved being a part of and I'm sad to finally leave.

Runner up: Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

This game is just pure fun and makes the Wii U a worthwhile purchase.

Runner up: Gravity Rush (Vita)

This game is delightful and, as far as its setting and premise goes, pretty unique in a sea of "me-too" games.

Best Music: Pirate Code (Mac/PC)

So there's this guy Philip Robinson or something and he did this indie strategy game called Pirate Code and it's, like, really good. Full of drama and memorable tunes and stuff. You should totally check out the game. It's super good.

The "Holy crap, this is a portable game?!" Award: Killzone: Mercenary (Vita)

Seriously, I might as well have been playing a PS3 game.

Best Atmosphere: Dead Space (360)

Dead Space really sells the claustrophobic danger of the Ishimura. Not only might there be a monster around the next corner, but one might also come crashing through the wall at you. I very rarely felt safe in that game. It was great!

Best Suspension of Disbelief: Journey (PSN)

Journey was incredible. I completely lost myself in that world and enjoyed every moment.

Saddest Loose End: Pikmin 3 (Wii U)

I really liked Pikmin 3 but I was playing too many games at once and it got lost in the shuffle. I never did get back to it and that makes me sad.

Biggest Surprise: Velocity Ultra (Vita) (PS+)

It was just some PS+ game I got but it turned out to be an awesome little retro-ish-game-with-a-twist.

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.

Wayward Souls—This is a superb action RPG largely inspired by Secret of Mana. It has a ton of challenging content and virtual controls that are actually really good (also supports controllers if you have one). Arguably the best iOS game from 2014.

Leo's Fortune—A great platformer with really pretty graphics. Also wins the award for best mustache.

Threes!—This minimalist puzzler looks simple but is quite deep and replayable.

Paint It Back—It's Picross on your iPhone! I love the subtle humor in this game.

Pinwar—Have you ever wanted to have a pinball duel? Then Pinwar is the game for you!

And that's it for 2014! Let's do this again next year, eh? Cheers for 2015!

Super Step Contributing Writer

01/01/2015 at 11:35 PM

Killzone always looks good.

daftman

01/02/2015 at 05:48 AM

The quality of Killzone games can really vary from title to title, so I hear, but you're right, they do always look good.

transmet2033

01/02/2015 at 07:22 AM

I am not sure how this happened, but I started listening to Podcast Beyond from IGN around the time that Velocity 2X was about to come out. They kept talking about Velocity Ultra and how awesome it was. I found out that I had it on my Vita from last years flash sales. That game was awesome.

01/02/2015 at 09:22 PM

I know! I started playing it on a whim but then I was totally absorbed for a couple days till I finished it. I downloaded the sequel as soon as it hit PS+ but I still haven't played it. Just too much to do. I wish there were more games like that though.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

01/02/2015 at 05:07 PM

I got Pikmin 3 in a trade with Captain N, and I STILL haven't played it. I need to get back to the Wii U stat.

01/02/2015 at 09:24 PM

On the one hand I really want to go back to Pikmin 3 but if I do then I feel like I ought to start over and then it feels like too much of a bother and I don't know. But it gets my full recommendation. You definitely need to get on that. Btw, what did Captain N get from you?

01/02/2015 at 09:30 PM

well, he had it already but it was one of his free games when he bought Mario Kart.So he had an extra. I sent him a Amazon gift card and I think he bought a Mario figurine.

Alex-C25

01/02/2015 at 06:32 PM

Well, I think you are much more productive with the games you complete. I'd be surprised if I manage to beat 10 games alone in a year.

If I have to give a GOTY award for non-2014 game, I would easily choose Half-Life 2 or Portal 2.

01/02/2015 at 09:27 PM

I would play more games if I didn't have this hang up about finishing them lol. I have Half-Life 2 in the Orange Box but I haven't played it yet. Keep telling myself I need to play Half-Life 1 first...

Blake Turner Staff Writer

01/02/2015 at 09:07 PM

You cheating bastard! While us non Wii-U owners are trying to pick the gold from the shit and the Wii-U owners are trying not to gloat about how it's taken them 2 years for the system to be worth owning, you went ahead and picked games that didn't even come out this year!

Still, kudos. I feel we all miss a ton of games and we should take the time out to be like "hey, this is the best game i played this year even if it didn't come out this year."

Also, who did you romance in ME3? It's Tali for me. I keep saying I'm going to try a different option in the next playthrough, but goddamn it I just can't not pick Tali.

01/02/2015 at 09:33 PM

Tali for me too. That's actually what bothered me most about the ending. Whatever I chose, poor Tali would be left all alone

The Last Ninja

01/03/2015 at 10:59 AM

Rats, you barely beat me. I finished 24 games in 2014. I'll be posting about them on Monday, so check it out.

01/05/2015 at 09:18 AM

Haha, I win! Also, uh, congrats on fininshing 24 games...but haha!

KnightDriver

01/04/2015 at 03:42 AM

I managed to finally finish Mass Effect 1 a year or so ago. Now I've got to catch up and play the rest.

I really want to play Pikmin 3. If Nintendo would just release one other thing that I must have for Wii-U, I'd pick one up.

01/05/2015 at 09:22 AM

I like the story arc of Mass Effect 1 the best but they're all good. You really gotta play them.

What are your must plays for the Wii U? Seems like there are quite a few to me. Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, Bayonetta 2, Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8, DKC: Tropical Freeze. Those are the ones off the top of my head. Despite its sales, it's a really good system

01/05/2015 at 11:28 PM

So far at "must play" are Pikmin 3 and Wind Waker HD. Just a slight notch down from that are DKC: Tropical Freeze and Bayonetta 2.

NSonic79

01/16/2015 at 01:34 PM

I need to count up how many games I got for 2014. I was planning on releasing bimonthy of all I got from my last birthdays to Xmas but things got too busy. I think I'll give you a run for your money.

You were able to get into Journey that much? I felt like I lost 2 hours of my life after I beat that game!

01/16/2015 at 10:56 PM

I thought Journey was great. You can't focus on the mechanics or it can seem awfully shallow. But it's an experience, man! I played it in a dark room with headphones, start to finish with no interruptions. It transcends the sum of its part. At least that's what I think.

I'd love to see a year-end summary for you. It's crazy how it's so easy to amass a huge number of games over a dozen months.

Aboboisdaman

01/19/2015 at 09:09 PM

115 new games?!?! No wonder why you always have that cursed status on your backloggery lol. I'm just messing with ya man. I was filling out a survey for Club Nintendo and it asked how many games I bought over the last three months. 37 was the number I came up with, and only one of those was free. I was shocked.

01/20/2015 at 12:04 AM

It's really easy for game purchases to pile up. Even if you take out the free games and Humble Bundles and stuff, I still wound up with too many new games last year. But at the same time, I'd be hard-pressed to give any of them up

PixlBit

2014 Recap and the Golden Hippo Awards

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