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Yikes, 2015 is over already? As they say, time flies when you frantically play games between family, work, and other life obligations! (That is the saying, right?) 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—The Unfinished Swan (PS3)

February—Final Fantasy II (GBA)

March—Resogun (PS4) (PS+); Shovel Knight (Wii U)

April—Strider (PS4) (PS+); Destiny (PS4)

May—Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (DS); Monster Tale (DS); Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U); Velocity 2X (Vita) (PS+)

June—Tower of Guns (PS4) (PS+)

July—Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

August—Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies (3DS)

September—Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4); Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (PS4)

October—Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (original version) (PSP)

November—Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)

December—Destiny: The Taken King (PS4); Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)

Total Beaten: 19

Hmm. 19 is six fewer games than I beat in 2014 but hey I do have two kids now demanding my attention (that seems like a good excuse). Besides, these are some solid games here (there's no telling how many games I could have finished in the time I've spent with Destiny) and I did manage to finish at least one thing each month, which in that respect is an improvement over the year before.

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—7 (PS+: 6)

February—25 (PS+: 6)

March—9 (PS+: 6)

April—5 (PS+: 4)

May—12 (PS+: 5)

June—7 (PS+: 5)

July—11 (PS+: 7)

August—7 (PS+: 4)

September—16 (PS+: 6)

October—10 (PS+: 6)

November—6 PS+: 4)

December—17 (PS+: 5)

Total Bought/Acquired: 132 (PS+: 64)

While this is certainly a big number, it's actually a noticeable improvement (i.e., it's lower) than 2014. Without PS+ it's only 68 games or about 5.5 games a months. When you take digital impulse buys from PSN flash sales and the like, it's really not so bad at all.

Addendum of Sorrow: Games I spent a fair amount of time with in 2015 but didn't finish:

-LEGO Marvel Superheroes (Wii U)

-Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved (Vita)

-Super Smash Bros. (Wii U)

In my defense on this one, this is the sort of game you play forever anyway. It's not like you really "beat" it eventually, unless you simply do everything there is to do. I'm thinking about jumping back into this, though, for Cloud and Bayonetta. We'll see...

The Golden Hippo Awards

It's that time again! Time for the third annual Golden Hippo Awards! Just remember, everybody, that these awards are based solely on the games I played in 2015 and my opinions about them. Most of these didn't come out in 2015, so don't expect to find my thoughts on Fallout 4 or anything. But these are a lot of great games. Let's get going!

Game of the Year: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (DS)

I always thought I'd like this game but I would not have waited so long to play it if I'd had any idea just how much it would grab me. This game consumed my waking hours for about a month. I was either playing it or thinking about it. The story—a deadly mystery if ever there was one—is just so good, as are the distinct characters it involves. And it finds a way to make multiple playthroughs narratively important without making the game feel padded out. 999 is one of those games that I just can't recommend strongly enough.

Runner up: Shovel Knight (Wii U)

As someone said, Shovel Knight plays like our best memories of the NES...but without the need rose-tinted nostagia. Tight controls, fantastic level design, infectious music—this is a game that will stand the test of time.

Runner up: Destiny: The Taken King (PS4)

The Taken King was such an improvement on year-one Destiny (which was not a bad game on its own) and I gladly spent a ton of time playing it. I'm sure this year will prove similar in that regard.

Best Music: Shovel Knight (Wii U)

Jake Kaufman knocked this one out of the park. If you have any appreciation for game music, you gotta at least listen to this soundtrack.

Craziest Moment: Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

Nearly any part of this game could win this award but there's one in particular that I'm thinking of, a battle in the sky that involves not just Bayonetta and her adversary but also two giant creatures that they each summoned that are battling it out at the same time. It's pure, delightful insanity! There is much destruction and disregard for the laws of physics and it's totally awesome.

Best New Character: Athena Cykes (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies) (3DS)

Athena is a great spunky character that was a wonderful addition to the Ace Attorney cast. Hopefully she will continue to play an important role as the series goes forward (and hopefully we'll get to play all those games over here in the West). She's got great music too!

Biggest Missed Opportunity: No co-op on Tower of Guns (PS4)

Tower of Guns was a great arcade-style FPS but it would have been even better with a friend. Or, as my preferred way to play is, split screen with my wife 

Best Pure Gameplay Experience: Captain Toad (Wii U)

When I think "gameplay experience," a methodical puzzle game is not what comes to mind but Captain Toad did such a great job exploring the title character's limited move set. There is very little pretense or rationalization about what you're doing. It's just a wonderfully designed game.

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.

Downwell—This tightly designed action game has a surprising amount of depth. But I bet I can sell you on it with one word: Gunboots! Also available on PC!

Pac-Man 256—Ingeniously-designed endless Pac-Man.

Lifeline—Help talk a stranded astonaut through the decisions that will save his life. Hopefully. Good story!

Final Fantasy: Record Keeper—Not terribly deep but great for nostalgia. I played this a lot for quite a few months before burning out on it.

Flop Rocket—A great rocket escape game.

Out There—A super difficult but also super interesting space roguelike.

***

And that, my friends, was 2015. Let's do this again next year! But first...2016