2014: A Year in Reviews

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Marino

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Edited By Marino  Staff
2014 at a glance.
2014 at a glance.

2014 was certainly a year. I don't know what else can be said about the ups and downs at this point, but before we wave goodbye and/or give the finger to 2014, I've compiled some data based on the staff reviews once again. If you've been around for a few years, you know I used to do this kind of thing with achievement data and site traffic as well, but unfortunately those features are long gone. Will they return one day? We can only hope. So, despite the decline of the importance of reviews, I went ahead and put this together for the fourth year in a row. I already have the spreadsheet built, so I might as well use it for something, right?

Once again, I've paired this data with some of the best community artwork from throughout the year (plus one old one). The total number of reviews is less than before, but we did have the debut of two new reviewers on the site. But, first, credit where credit is due.

Art Credits

Previous "Year in Reviews"

And, now, let's...do...thiiiiiiiis!

Alex

The reigning, defending, undisputed world heavyweight champion once again reviewed more games than anyone for the third year in a row. Despite having a reputation for reviewing terrible games, Alex did not dish out a single 1-star review this year. Alex's two 5-stars were early releases this year (Jazzpunk and South Park).
The reigning, defending, undisputed world heavyweight champion once again reviewed more games than anyone for the third year in a row. Despite having a reputation for reviewing terrible games, Alex did not dish out a single 1-star review this year. Alex's two 5-stars were early releases this year (Jazzpunk and South Park).

Brad

Brad took a page out of Jeff Cannata's book this year; he loves loving things. His two 5-star reviews were The Last of Us: Left Behind and Shadow of Mordor.
Brad took a page out of Jeff Cannata's book this year; he loves loving things. His two 5-star reviews were The Last of Us: Left Behind and Shadow of Mordor.

Jeff

Jeff seemingly liked a lot of games, but it was the first year that he didn't dole out a single 5-star review. Being the advocate for Dr. Tracksuit may have taken a toll on him this year.
Jeff seemingly liked a lot of games, but it was the first year that he didn't dole out a single 5-star review. Being the advocate for Dr. Tracksuit may have taken a toll on him this year.

Patrick

Patrick reviewed more games this year than ever before. It's not the first time that he was unable to find a worthy 5-star game, but honestly it's been a pretty rough year. It had to hurt a lot to give Yoshi's New Island a 3.
Patrick reviewed more games this year than ever before. It's not the first time that he was unable to find a worthy 5-star game, but honestly it's been a pretty rough year. It had to hurt a lot to give Yoshi's New Island a 3.

Rorie

Matt Rorie made his review debut this year with Dragon Age: Inquisition. I'm using this image from a couple years ago because I didn't have a chance to before. It's too good not to utilize it.
Matt Rorie made his review debut this year with Dragon Age: Inquisition. I'm using this image from a couple years ago because I didn't have a chance to before. It's too good not to utilize it.

Dan

Despite just joining the Giant Bomb crew midway through this year, he quickly became the de facto Nintendo review man. His first-ever 5-star review was Bayonetta 2.
Despite just joining the Giant Bomb crew midway through this year, he quickly became the de facto Nintendo review man. His first-ever 5-star review was Bayonetta 2.

Staff

Drew can see into your soul. Even with half a face.
Drew can see into your soul. Even with half a face.

Stars

This is the first year in Giant Bomb history that we did not have a single 1-star review. That's pretty hard to believe considering all the broken-ass games we had this year, but it's true. It's damn true. Aside from that, the percentages worked out quite similar to previous years.
This is the first year in Giant Bomb history that we did not have a single 1-star review. That's pretty hard to believe considering all the broken-ass games we had this year, but it's true. It's damn true. Aside from that, the percentages worked out quite similar to previous years.

Platform (Pie)

We went from 11 different platforms last year to 7 this year. Out with the old, in with the new.
We went from 11 different platforms last year to 7 this year. Out with the old, in with the new.

Platform (Bar)

This chart is for the crazy people who yell at me for the way I do pie charts. By the way, if you're doing the math, the total here adds up to more than how many reviews were done. That's because some reviews cover multiple platforms.
This chart is for the crazy people who yell at me for the way I do pie charts. By the way, if you're doing the math, the total here adds up to more than how many reviews were done. That's because some reviews cover multiple platforms.

Monthly

Will we ever break out of the Christmas, Second Christmas (March), Summer Drought cycle? I dunno. But, if we ever do, 2014 certainly was not the start.
Will we ever break out of the Christmas, Second Christmas (March), Summer Drought cycle? I dunno. But, if we ever do, 2014 certainly was not the start.

Publisher

The stark contrast between the hot mess of Ubisoft this year and the stellar lineup from Nintendo is pretty interesting. Both of those companies only had 3 reviewed games last year.
The stark contrast between the hot mess of Ubisoft this year and the stellar lineup from Nintendo is pretty interesting. Both of those companies only had 3 reviewed games last year.

Peace Out, 2014

No Caption Provided

P.S. - It's 174 days til E3 2015.

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MooseyMcMan

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Neat-o! And good work!

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nightriff

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#2  Edited By nightriff

Awesome article, love this nerdy shit.

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baka_shinji17

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Small businessman!

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fobwashed

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delicious.

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FinalDasa

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#5 FinalDasa  Moderator

Numbers and charts! Good work

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Nictel

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Great that you did this again :D

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Brendan

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Great work, thanks! I love this every year.

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UlquioKani

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These are always great!

Alex holding it down once again.

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deactivated-5cc8838532af0

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Love seeing these every year. Bless you for doing them.

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cornbredx

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Ya, no 1 star reviews this year because they said "Fuck it, we don't wanna review games we can't stand to play anymore." haha

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civid

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Excellent work good sir! The Mary/Drew/Alexis/Danny picture always cracks me up, even though I don't get the context.

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alex

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Feels weird not to have a 1-star under my belt this year. Feels wrong.

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Lelcar

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Alex continues to knock it out of the park. He's a fantastic reviewer too.

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Slag

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#14  Edited By Slag

@alex said:

Feels weird not to have a 1-star under my belt this year. Feels wrong.

You've still got a week to rectify this oversight.

Didn't you play this one?

No Caption Provided

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GaspoweR

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CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARTS

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FLStyle

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Loading Video...

I assume there'll be more reviews in 2015, you know, because of all the 2014 delays.

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Castiel

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It turns out I apparently love charts because I always love going through these every year. Awesome job Marino!

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enragedstump

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Wow Dan reviewed a lot of games in his short time here. Didn't realize it was that much!

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csl316

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#19  Edited By csl316

5 stars on the info.

6 stars on the presentation.

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heyupikablu

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Love me some stats!

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peritus

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Great as always. I love me some pie-charts.

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ShadowSwordmaster

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These are great.

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viking_funeral

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Impressive as always.

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antivanti

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@civid said:

Excellent work good sir! The Mary/Drew/Alexis/Danny picture always cracks me up, even though I don't get the context.

If you're talking about the "Ears" picture it's Mary, Drew, Alexis and Ty Root (Mary's boss). It's from the extra-life stream and someone mentioned that to sound like a posh Englishman saying "yes" you can say "Ears" which sounds like "m'yes" but Mary couldn't make it work. Someone in chat made that picture =)

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linkster7

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Great work!

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white

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Small businessman, represent!

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seanord

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Props on pulling this together. Nice work.

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Lanechanger

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Alex reviewed 18 games and not a single 1-star? This is some alternate reality gamegeddon shit!

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NicksCorner

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This is a quality post, gj Duder.

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LibrorumProhibitorum

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Dan's pie chart is a peace symbol. Fitting.

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datarez

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#31  Edited By datarez

Nice work duder.

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samartu

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#32  Edited By samartu

Good nerdy shit. Love it.

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Spitznock

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It looks like there are fewer and fewer reviews per year, comparing this year's chart to previous ones. Not saying it's a good thing or a bad thing. Just an observation.