These are the specs of the PC I started using in August 2016.
| CPU | Intel Core i7 3770 |
| Motherboard | Asus P8P67 Pro REV 3.0 |
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600MHz |
| Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti |
| Storage | Western Digital 2TB Black HDD, Samsung 840 Pro 128 GB SSD, Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB SSD |
| Optical Drive | Asus DRW-24B1ST |
| Case | Fractal Design R3 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CMPSU-850HX 850 Watt |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home Premium 64-bit (OEM) |
Charles and Heather do their best to satisfy the hunger of their robot patrons in VR The Diner Duo, a virtual-reality cooking game for the HTC Vive. We are playing co-op and go through the first six levels.
I talk about GameFly and other miscellaneous topics as I walk with the doggies to check the mail.
#1 - Final Fantasy XV
#2 - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
#3 - The Brookhaven Experiment
#4 - The Lab
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.
1. It had to come out in 2016.
2. I had to beat it.
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.
Every year, NeoGAF has a 50 books and 50 movies challenge, in which you have to read 50 new books and watch 50 new movies before the start of the next year. There is also a game equivalent, in which you have to beat 52 new video games. 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).
The movie challenge was the only one I completed, watching a total of 58 throughout the year of 2016.
My ratings are done on a 5-star scale (no halfsies).
★ - Hated it
★★ - Disliked it
★★★ - Liked/enjoyed/didn't actively dislike it
★★★★ - Really liked it
★★★★★ - Loved it
Here are the 58 movies I watched in 2016:
The Good Dinosaur - ★★★★★
World of Tomorrow - ★★★★★
The Revenant - ★★★★★
Triumph: The Primary Election Special 2016 - ★★★★★
Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie - ★★★★
Mortdecai - ★★★
The Martian - ★★★★★
Deadpool - ★★★★★ - February 27
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) - ★★★
RoboCop (2014) - ★★★
Project Almanac - ★★★
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - ★★★★ - March 26
Lemonade (Beyoncé) - ★★★★★ - April 24
Kingsman: The Secret Service - ★★★★★ - April 28
Lucy - ★★★ - April 29
Ant-Man - ★★★★ - May 6
Captain America: Civil War - ★★★★★ - May 6
Room - ★★★★★ - May 11
Zoolander 2 - ★★★ - May 26
X-Men: Apocalypse - ★★★ - June 7
Finding Dory - ★★★★★ - June 16
The BFG - ★★ - July 2
10 Cloverfield Lane - ★★★★★ - July 8
The Secret Life of Pets - ★★★ - July 9
Big Hero 6 - ★★★★★ - July 10
Keanu - ★★★ - July 22
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot - ★★★★★ - July 23
Green Room - ★★★★★ - July 23
Paper Towns - ★★★★★ - July 23
Batman: The Killing Joke - ★★ - July 24
Triple 9 - ★★★★ - July 24
Hardcore Henry - ★★★ - July 26
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition - ★★★★★ - July 28
Star Trek Beyond - ★★★ - August 1
Suicide Squad - ★★ - August 4
Sicario - ★★★★★ - August 10
John Wick - ★★★★ - August 10
Black Mass - ★★★★ - August 11
Pete's Dragon - ★★★★ - August 17
Karolyi - ★★★★ - August 18
Whiplash - ★★★★★ - August 25
The Fundamentals of Caring - ★★★★ - August 26
Enemy - ★★★ - August 27
The Nice Guys - ★★★★★ - August 28
Triumph: Summer Election Special 2016 - ★★★★★ - August 30
Don't Think Twice - ★★★★ - September 9
Zootopia - ★★★★★ - September 10
Shin Godzilla - ★★★★ - October 12
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back - ★★ - October 26
The Wicker Man - ★★ - November 1st
Doctor Strange - ★★★★★ - November 3rd
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV - ★★★ - November 14
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - ★★★★ - November 20
Me Before You - ★★★ - November 22
Sausage Party - ★★★ - December 13
Ghostbusters: Answer the Call - ★★★ - December 16
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - ★★★★ - December 21
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates - ★★★ - December 31
And though it isn't part of the challenge, I decided to also keep track of the television I watched:
Marvel's Jessica Jones (Season 1)
iZombie (Season 2)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Seasons 2 and 3)
Saturday Night Live (Season 41)
Broad City (Seasons 1-3)
You're the Worst (Seasons 1 and 2)
Seinfeld (Whole Series)
The Walking Dead (Seasons 4-6)
Stranger Things (Season 1)
Futurama (Season 10)
Love (Season 1)
The Get Down (Part 1)
Daredevil (Season 2)
Black Mirror (Season 3)
Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV (Whole Series)
Comedy Bang! Bang! (Season 3)
South Park (Season 20)
Westworld (Season 1)
Baskets (Season 1)
I should be able to complete the movie challenge again this year, though I will give more time to reading books in 2017.
Every year, NeoGAF has a 50 books and 50 movies challenge, in which you have to read 50 new books and watch 50 new movies before the start of the next year. There is also a game equivalent, in which you have to beat 52 new video games. 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 only read eight books in all of 2016, but that's double the amount I read in 2015, so I'm improving!
My ratings are done on a 5-star scale (no halfsies).
★ - Hated it
★★ - Disliked it
★★★ - Liked/enjoyed/didn't actively dislike it
★★★★ - Really liked it
★★★★★ - Loved it
Here are the eight books I read in 2016:
Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy - ★★★
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson - ★★★★★ - Finished on June 18
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield - ★★★★★ - Finished on June 23
Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos and Joy Ang - ★★★★ - Finished on October 28
The Dumbest Kid in Gifted Class by Dan Ryckert - ★★★★★ - Finished on December 14
You're Never Too Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day (Audiobook version, read by Felicia Day) - ★★★★★ - Finished on December 18
Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The World by David Sheff - ★★★★★ - Finished on December 28
Yes Please by Amy Poehler (Audiobook version, read by Amy Poehler) - ★★★★★ - Finished on December 28
This year was the first time I ever listened to an audiobook. I got three free ones via a promotion with Audible and started listening to them on my 16+ hour drive to visit my mom in Kansas. It really makes memoirs (when narrated by the author) way better.
#1 - Batman: Arkham Knight
#2 - Life is Strange
#3 - Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae
#4 - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
#5 - Undertale
#6 - Halo 5: Guardians
#7 - Until Dawn
#8 - Star Wars Battlefront
#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.
1. It had to come out in 2015.
2. I had to beat it.
#1 - Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
#2 - Nidhogg
#3 - Mount Your Friends
#4 - Destiny
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.
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
