This was an interesting year across the board. On PS4 I liked how the year started with Infamous: Second Son and Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes both in March and Mercenary Kings to set off April. I thought Second Son was a class "Graphics & Gameplay" tour de force with great writing and performances, although it didn't really grip me towards the end. Ground Zeroes was just insane as a massive sandbox Metal Gear with the entire mission taking place in a single camera sequence - the Phantom Pain might have a very profound impact when it comes out next year. Mercenary Kings was awesome - one of those retro indies that actually innovate their reference material instead of just emulate it.

In the summer I played The Last of Us Remastered and I'm glad I waited for this version. It really does live up to its reputation and I kept thinking about the ending long after I finished it. Sony also redeemed the lackluster Killzone Shadow Fall with a solid co-op mode that gets back to what the series is all about.

I'm really pleased with how the PS4's blend of Indie and Triple AAA continued and really took off in the fall. I played so many excellent titles from Destiny, Shadows of Mordor, Advanced Warfare, and Drive Club which were complemented by Velocity 2X, Pix the Cat and Spelunky. I just built a new PC and my time will be largely there for the next few months, but I'm excited to see where this console comes next.

My favorite development in 2014 might be this amazing nexus that is emerging between PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, with PlayStation Plus in the middle tying them together. I recently read how Sony gave away over $1,300 in games for the subscription service which frequently goes for $30 on sale. It's awesome getting new games every month but especially when they tie my devices together into what I'm playing at home and on the go. Whether free like Terraria, Fez, Hotline: Miami and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth or discounted like Rogue Legacy and Hohokum, many of my most memorable games in 2014 were ones I played during my commute on the Vita and after work on my 55" and PS4.

The Vita maybe surprised me the most as the library with the greatest depth and breadth of titles in 2014. I had pretty much gave up on the idea that high-fidelity action games could be playable on a handheld but it really proved me wrong with Uncharted, Gravity Rush and Killzone Mercenary. I played modern classics in the Arcade genre like Luftrausers and the emerging Western takes on JRPGs like Child of Light. Sony did a great job attracting the best and brightest indie devs of today, bringing their classics over discounted or free and now poised to showcase their upcoming games in 2015. It really is the best place to play games like Rogue Legacy and Spelunky and when Hotline Miami 2 comes out next month, I'll be playing it mostly on my Vita.

So 2014 was a great year for expanding my horizons and pursuing interests and I like the way gaming is headed. If nothing else, it was a nice break from my Dota and Elder Scrolls addiction, even if I'm more or less back there now with my new desktop :/