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A running theme for games in 2014 was that of disappointment, from "mild" all the way to "crushing." Watch Dogs was formulaic (and literally lackluster), Assassin's Creed Unity released as hot garbage, Civilization: Beyond Earth's "beyond" was questionable, the mobile remake of Final Fantasy VI looked godawful -- and outside my own sphere of interest, there's word on the street about Titanfall's lacking content, Destiny's unexpected grind, Halo: The Master Chief Collection's broken internets, and Driveclub's fucked-upedness. Batman: Arkham Knight got delayed, The Witness got silently delayed, Grand Theft Auto V on PC still isn't out, the follow-up to Sleeping Dogs seems totally stupid, and Rise of the Tomb Raider appears to induce executive mouth-diarrhea. Double Fine just stopped trying. Sonic Boom (Wii U/3DS) was way worse than anyone could have expected, some-crazy-how. And then there's The Last Guardian, which just ... come on, guys.

But I would recommend forgetting all that. Neglecting those shortfalls and faceplants, 2014 had a lot of good in it. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor launched with only a minor hitch. Diablo III became legitimately fun. The BioShock saga came satisfyingly full-circle. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney wasn't a disaster. The Wii U finally has a library worth crowing about, with 2013's Super Mario 3D World complemented by Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and of course Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. And The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D is coming, I mean, it was always coming, but it's imminent now. That moon could crash down at any moment.

Being a gamer is as good as it's ever been. Even if I'm still waiting on practically all of my Kickstarter games.

Posts in 2014: 145

Games Played: 112 (96 + 11 DLC/expansion/patch + 5 demo)

The prestigious "Everything Went Better Than Expected" awards go to:

The equally-prestigious "Everything Went Great, Just As Expected" awards:

The un-prestigious "Everything Went Less-Well Than Expected" awards:

The anti-prestigious "... Much Worse Than Expected" awards:

The confusingly-commendable "I'm Not Totally Sure What's Going On, But I Like It" awards:

The awkward-but-agreeable "It's A Little Out-There But, You Know What, You Made It Work" awards:

The frustratingly non-commendable "I Guess I Just Don't Get It" awards:

The anticipatory "You Had My Curiousity, But Now You Have My Attention" awards:

The relieving "Thank Gunpei It's Finally Over" awards:

The anxiety-ruffling "Oh Gunpei, When Will This Finally Be Over" awards:

And winding down to the most satisfying games I played this year...

The penultimate "Space Is So Fucking Awesome" runner-up:

The equivalently-penultimate "But Pirates Are Pretty Rad, Too" runner-up:

And finally, the winningest "Not Perfect, But Damned Refreshing and Fun" award goes to:

With the losingest "Not Sure Why They Bothered Finishing It" anti-award to: