The Best of 2016

My Top Four Games of 2016

The only other 2016 release I beat was TrumPiñata, but there's no way I'm putting that atrocious cash grab in a "Top Games of 2016" list.

Criteria:

1. It had to come out in 2016.
2. I had to beat it.

The 8 Books I Read
The 58 Movies I Watched
The 19 Games I Beat

2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010

2016: The 19 Games I Beat

Every year, NeoGAF has a 52 games challenge, in which you have to beat 52 new games before the start of the next year. There is also a movie and book equivalent, in which you have to read 50 new books and watch 50 new movies. These challenges provide that extra motivation to do/finish the things you already wanted to anyway and can lead you to checking out stuff you otherwise may not have (this is especially true with books).

Once again, I didn't even come close to completing the challenge, beating only one more game than I did in 2015.

Here are the 19 games I beat in 2016:

Police Trainer (Arcade)
The House of the Dead (Arcade)
Oh...Sir! (PC)
Mount Your Friends (PC)
Life is Strange (PC) - April 1
Halo 5: Guardians (Xbox One) - April 16
Devil's Third (Wii U) - April 19
The Lab (HTC Vive) - April 26
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (The Nathan Drake Collection) (PS4) - May 13
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (The Nathan Drake Collection) (PS4) - May 23
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (The Nathan Drake Collection) (PS4) - May 28
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4) - June 9
The Brookhaven Experiment (HTC Vive) - July 18
TrumPiñata (HTC Vive) - July 22
Titanfall (Xbox One) - October 2
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4) - October 10
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (PS4) - October 12
Platinum Demo - Final Fantasy XV (PS4) - November 29
Final Fantasy XV (PS4 Pro) - December 12

We'll see if I fare better in 2017.

2015

The Best of 2015

My Top Ten Games of 2015

#4 - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

#9 - Adventure Time: Magic Man's Head Games

#10 - Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

The other three 2015 releases I beat were Mortal Kombat X Mobile, Devil's Third, and Oh...Sir!. Even though The Nathan Drake Collection contains the first three Uncharted games remastered for the PlayStation 4, I didn't feel right putting any of those other three above it. I also had a great time replaying all those games right before playing Uncharted 4.

Criteria:

1. It had to come out in 2015.
2. I had to beat it.

Best Music Video of 2015
The 4 Books I Read
The 42 Movies I Watched
The 18 Games I Beat

2014
2013
2012
2011
2010

The Best of 2014

My Top Four Games of 2014

I only beat four games that came out in 2014, so this is my list by default. I doubt Destiny would make any "Top" list of mine otherwise.

Criteria:

1. It had to come out in 2014.
2. I had to beat it.

2014 was another year where I intended to do "Best of" categories like I did in 2012, but I never actually did any. I did take some notes for potential awards and nominees a couple of years ago, however:

Best DLC: The Last of Us: Left Behind

Best Gameplay Sequence: Exploring the mall with Riley, The Last of Us: Left Behind

Best Re-Release: The Last of Us Remastered

Best Music Video: Turn Down for What by DJ Snake & Lil Jon

Man Crush: Troy Baker

2013
2012
2011
2010

The Best of 2013

My Top Ten Games of 2013

Everything after BioShock Infinite above isn't officially ordered. Below are the rest of the 2013 releases I beat until February 2016. They are also not officially ordered:

Call of Duty: Ghosts
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
Gunpoint
Papers, Please
Ryse: Son of Rome
DmC Devil May Cry
Knack
Killzone: Shadow Fall
Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death

Criteria:

1. It had to come out in 2013.
2. I had to beat it.

2013: In Memoriam

Back in 2013, I had intended to do a full "Best of" blowout like I did in 2012, but I never got around to it except for a few:

Best Unlockable Achievement
Best 2012 Game
Fluffiest Booty
Favorite Concept Art

Below are the notes I took as I was planning them. I haven't edited this since, so some stuff may be missing, and some stuff maybe shouldn't be there. These are just ideas I was working on along with some nominees for the rest of the categories:

Best Ending: The Last of Us; BioShock Infinite; Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Best Ending Credits: Saints Row IV; Knack

Best Writing: The Last of Us; BioShock Infinite; Grand Theft Auto V; The Stanley Parable; Gone Home

Best Music: BioShock Infinite; The Last of Us; Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons; Gone Home

Best Graphics: The Last of Us; Grand Theft Auto V; Super Mario 3D World; Beyond: Two Souls; Dead Rising 3; Ryse: Son of Rome

Best Use of Cussing/Foul Language: The Last of Us; Grand Theft Auto V; Saints Row IV

Worst Ending: Killzone: Shadow Fall; Call of Duty: Ghosts

Best Narration: The Stanley Parable; Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

Best Male Performance: Troy Baker as Joel (The Last of Us); Nolan North as David (The Last of Us); Gerald "Slink" Johnson as Lamar Davis (Grand Theft Auto V); Steven Ogg as Trevor (Grand Theft Auto V); Ned Luke as Michael (Grand Theft Auto V)

Best Female Performance: Ashley Johnson as Ellie (The Last of Us); Courtnee Draper as Elizabeth (BioShock Infinite); Annie Wersching as Tess (The Last of Us); Sarah Grayson as Sam (Gone Home)

Best Art Direction: BioShock Infinite; Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons; The Last of Us; Papers, Please

Best Gameplay Sequence: Burying your brother in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Best Theme Song: Papers, Please

Best Non-Playable Character: Jorji (Papers, Please); Lamar Davis (Grand Theft Auto V)

Best Game of Glory to Arstotzka: Papers, Please

Best Textures: Gone Home; Killzone: Shadow Fall

Best Achievements: The Stanley Parable

Best Love Story: Gone Home

Best Use of Nudity: Papers, Please; Saints Row IV

Best Boss Battle of 2013: Bob Bargas, DmC Devil May Cry; David, The Last of Us

Best Pores: Dead Rising 3; Ryse: Son of Rome

Best Twist: Rapture, BioShock Infinite; Annie being Chuck Greene's daughter, Dead Rising 3

Best Co-op: Dead Rising 3; Splinter Cell: Blacklist

Best Late Title Card: Call of Duty: Ghosts

Game I died the most in: Knack

Best Use of Physics: Knack

Best Reflections: Knack

Man Crush - Troy Baker

Best DLC - Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep (Borderlands 2)

2012
2011
2010

2015: The 18 Games I Beat

Every year, NeoGAF has a 52 games challenge, in which you have to beat 52 new games before the start of the next year. There is also a movie and book equivalent, in which you have to read 50 new books and watch 50 new movies. These challenges provide that extra motivation to do/finish the things you already wanted to anyway and can lead you to checking out stuff you otherwise may not have (this is especially true with books).

I didn't even come close to completing the challenge, beating only 18 games during the entirety of 2015.

My ratings are done on a 5-star scale (no halfsies). I didn't rate all the games I beat for 2015.

★ - Hated it
★★ - Disliked it
★★★ - Liked/enjoyed/didn't actively dislike it
★★★★ - Really liked it
★★★★★ - Loved it

For games, I sometimes wrote a sentence or two about my thoughts and experiences, which are included here. I also include about how many hours it took me to complete some games.

Here are the 18 games I beat in 2015:

Game 1: Knack - ~10 hours - ★★★
Longer and more challenging than I expected, Knack was an enjoyable action-platformer that felt very much like something from the creator of Crash Bandicoot.

Game 2: Depression Quest - ~3 hours - ★★★★★
A very accurate portrayal of depression that hit a bit closer than I expected, Depression Quest is an important experience that those who wish to know more about the illness should play.

Game 3: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist - ~21 hours - ★★★★★
Much better and truer to Splinter Cell than what I was initially led to believe, Blacklist is a great addition to the franchise that allows a lot customization and freedom in how to handle situations. The co-op, as always, was the best part of the experience for me. I completed all the 4E missions including the DLC with random partners.

Game 4: Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae - ~5 hours - ★★★★★

Game 5: Borderlands 2 - ~83 hours - ★★★★
I played the entirety of this game and all of its story DLC on co-op with my friend Sean. We begun on August 23rd, 2014 and just finished up everything on March 27th, 2015. An overall enjoyable game that can get tedious at times, we ended up ignoring most of the enemies near the end as we were so over-leveled by that point it didn't matter. Tiny Tina is the best.

Game 6: Ryse: Son of Rome - ~10 hours - ★★★★

Game 7: Mortal Kombat X (iOS) - ★★★

Game 8: Batman: Arkham Knight (PC) - ★★★★★
A fantastic game all around, and probably the most technically impressive I have played to date (July 25th, 2015). Really liked the story, and the writing for one character in particular was top notch. Game of the Year contender for sure. Oh, and I liked the Batmobile!

Game 9: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD (PS3) - ★★★★★

Game 10: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD (PS3) - ★★★★★

Game 11: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (PC) - ★★★★★

Game 12: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC)

Game 13: Metal Gear HD (PS3) - ★★★

Game 14: Resident Evil 5 (PC) - ★★★★★

Game 15: Until Dawn (PS4)

Game 16: Star Wars Battlefront (PS4)

Game 17: Adventure Time: Magic Man's Head Games (Gear VR)

Game 18: Nidhogg (PC)