It’s still wildly crazy to me that December is here and we’re quickly staring down the end of 2014. I don’t know about you but the year has completely flown by. Before we catapult ourselves into 2015, lets have a quick look back at the year that was with my annual awards.

Traditionally, these awards highlighted the best of the best, like a traditional awards list that you’d see from other sites like IGN. Last year however, I changed up the formula a bit. Instead of nominating and ultimately picking my favorite out of the group, I instead presented a “Best Of” list, highlighting all of my favorites from that particular category. Think of it more as a celebration of the games industry rather than a direct competition. I actually had a great time doing it this way as ultimately I’m just one person and don’t have access to every game out there. It’s quite possible that I didn’t play something the masses loved this year.

My one rule with these awards is that I absolutely must have played the game in order for it to appear in any category. Like any review I do, I can’t pass judgment on something if I haven’t spent time with it. I’m bringing back some category favorites such as Best Downloadable Title and Best Soundtrack with a few other categories mixed in. My Game of the Year post will be up closer to New Years Eve so make sure to tune in for that as well. There’s certainly a lot of worthy candidates t pick from this year.

The awards kick off this Friday so make sure to bookmark the site, subscribe, or do whatever you need to in order to remember! Since I love hearing form you guys, definitely feel free to let me know what your top titles this year were as well.

Here’s a look back at the past four years if you’re curious about winners or want to see my thought process a little more clearly:

2013: Soundtrack, Download, Biggest Surprises, Game of the Year

2012: Downloadable Title, Best Character, Xbox 360, PS3, Biggest Surprise, Soundtrack, Game of the Year

2011: Downloadable Title, Xbox 360, PS3, Disappointment, Soundtrack, Game of the Year

2010: Downloadable Content, Wii, Disappointment, Game of the Year