Video games of 2014: Month by month

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Let’s be real here: 2014 sucked. A lot.

But what about video games? Did last year suck for them too?

Well … let’s see. Join me as I go through last year in gaming, month by month. As a bonus, I’ll compare what I’ve been playing to what was actually released. See how in tune I am with current gaming events!

(Spoiler alert: I’m not. I’m really not.)
January

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January: Octodad: Dadliest Catch

Event of the Month: It’s the month after December. Nothing happened. Everyone was too busy playing Fire Emblem to do anything.

New Releases: Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD, Wii Fit U

What I Was Playing: Fire Emblem Awakening, Breath of Fire IV, Pokemon X.  Two new games and one over 10 years old. Usually it’s the other way around, but I couldn’t resist the Pokemon and Fire Emblem.February

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February: The result of Twitch Plays Pokemon

Event of the Month: Twitch Plays Pokemon takes the internet by storm. Just to let everyone know, I loved Pidgeot long before he was cool. (Side note: as of January 2015, TPP is still going. They haven’t given up yet!)

New Releases: Bravely Default, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Tales of Symphonia Chronicles

What I Was Playing: Fire Emblem Awakening, Breath of Fire IV, Pokemon X, Bravely Default. I got Bravely Default pretty soon after its release since everyone was hailing it as the second coming of JRPGs. It was okay, I guess.March

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March: Titanfall

Event of the Month: Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney finally gets US release date after two years of waiting. Now if only they could give us Dragon Quest VII 3DS, I would be happy.

New Releases: Dark Souls II, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Metal Gear Solid V, Yoshi’s New Island, Titanfall

What I Was Playing: Bravely Default, Breath of Fire IV, Pokemon X. Not much of a change.April

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April: Child of Light

Event of the Month: Major gaming convention PAX East held in Boston. It showcased demos of popular upcoming releases, such as The Crew and Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel.

New Releases: Goat Simulator, Elder Scrolls Online, Child of Light

What I Was Playing: Breath of Fire IV (finally slogged my way through! Worth it.) and Skyrim. This is about the point where I got sucked into Skyrim for a month straight.

May

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May: Hoenn Intensifies

Event of the Month: Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire announced for November release, surprising no one. The memes are inescapable.

New Releases: Kirby Triple Deluxe, Wolfenstein: the New Order, Mario Kart 8, Watch Dogs

What I Was Playing: Skyrim, Tales of Phantasia (when I was coming up for air in Skyrim.) Side note: 10 minutes of Tales of Phantasia had more depth, emotion and character than 50 hours of Skyrim.

June

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June: Shovel Knight

 

Event of the Month: E3 2014! Zelda Wii U is announced. And some other games, but that was all I really cared about.

New Releases: Shovel Knight, Tomodachi Life, Sniper Elite III

What I Was Playing: Assassin’s Creed III, Tales of Phantasia, Metroid Fusion. Still no interest in current new releases.

July

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July: QuakeCon 2014

Event of the Month: QuakeCon 2014, North America’s “largest LAN party”, held in Dallas. Massive competitions held for games such as Fallout 3, Wolfenstein, and of course, Quake.

New Releases: The Last of Us Remastered, The Wolf Among Us: Episode 5

What I Was Playing: Tales of Phantasia, Dragon Age II, Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, Tales of Xillia. Don’t ask me how I managed to juggle so many games. I don’t know either.August

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August: Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney

 

Event of the Month: Nintendo announces the New 3DS. I have a few things to say about it.

New Releases: Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, Tales of Xillia 2, Madden NFL 15

What I Was Playing: Kingdom Hearts 3D, The Sims 2 (chronicled here).

 

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September: Hyrule WarriorsSeptember

Event of the Month: The Sims 4 is released to mediocre reviews and complaints that they got rid of the swimming pools. Wait for them in the upcoming expansion pack, only $39.99!

New Releases: The Sims 4, Hyrule Warriors, FIFA 15, Forza Horizon 2

What I Was Playing: Tales of Phantasia, Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney, The Sims 2.
Anyone know if Hyrule Warriors is any good? It got all quiet after it was released.

 

October

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October: Final Fantasy XV’s new trailer

Event of the Month: Final Fantasy XV switches directors and gets a new trailer as Square Enix decides they should probably get it finished. I mean they’ve been sitting on it for what, eight years? I write about the new trailer. (Apropos of nothing, I got enough views to get paid that month.)

New Releases: Super Smash Bros. 3DS, Bayonetta 2, Sunset Overdrive, NBA 2K15, The Evil Within

What I Was Playing: Skyrim, Tales of Xillia, The Last Story. This is when I got back into Skyrim again. I ended up selling it after that letdown of an ending, so that’s the end of my Skyrim adventures, I guess. November

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November: Dragon Age Inquisition

Event of the Month: Majora’s Mask, a Legend of Zelda game that could be considered a cult hit, announced for Nintendo 3DS. Zelda fans flip out. Expect something on it from me in the future.

New Releases: Dragon Age Inquisition, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Super Smash Bros. Wii U, Far Cry 4, and basically every other big game of the year. All at once.

What I Was Playing: The Last Story, Pokemon Omega Ruby (I wrote about it too!), Tales of Destiny. I could only afford one new game to buy, so I picked Pokemon. Later, Dragon Age. Later.

December

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December: Kingdom Hearts 2.5

 

Event of the Month: The Game Rewards 2014 held in Las Vegas. Dragon Age Inquisition wins Game of the Year. Literally everyone asks why I haven’t gotten it yet. Well, you throw $60 my way and maybe I will.

New Releases: Kingdom Hearts 2.5, The Crew, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

What I Was Playing: Pokemon Omega Ruby, Dragon Age II, Assassin’s Creed IV, Bowser’s Inside Story, Persona 4 Arena. Wrapped up the year with some really good games! And Dragon Age II. Also I forgot to write. Sorry.

 

Here’s to a 2015 with better, less-buggy games that have evenly spaced release dates and actually have all their content instead of day-one patches and DLC!

…Hey, I can dream, right?