We've officially left 2014 behind and we've done so with a number of lists to recount all the big happenings throughout the year. Some of the lists cover the big games that dropped while other lists focus on the funny glitches or the niche titles that were really cool but you may have missed. We've got it all.
Beyond the lists, we also take a look at some of the big stories that closed out 2014, including the DDoS attacks that brought down PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, and all the bonuses and deals that came out of those attacks. But it's not all about looking back... some of our stuff also focuses on what's ahead. It's time to take look at the past and a glance into the future with a wrap up of 2014 in this January 3rd, 2015 edition of the Gaming Blend Weekly Recap.
Funniest Glitches of 2014
A cool list of glitches from 2014 has been unveiled. Walmart sold a guy a box of rocks instead of a PS4. Poor guy. Strangely, Chris Evans showed up in a promotional bit for Call of Duty Online over in China.There's a very powerful chicken hat in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and you won't believe what it does. Bungie has decided to keep the Xur event running a lot longer in Destiny than they originally planned. There's an explanation as to why the hackers targeted Xbox Live and PSN. Ryan Winslett gives a thoughtful piece on why 2015 might be the year to quit gaming. The horse update has finally arrived for Minecraft on the PS3 and PS Vita. Halo 5's multiplayer beta gets underway this week. And The Talos Principle has an interesting surprise for pirates.
Xbox Live Creator Leaves Microsoft
The man behind the creation of XNA and Xbox Live has taken his leave from Microsoft; Boyd Multerer has moved onward and upward. Steam just set a new active user record due to the holiday sale. Rockstar extended their Christmas events following the attacks on Xbox Live and PSN. Evolve will be playable in a solo mode for those wanting to tackle the game offline... that's a nice gesture. Microsoft has detailed the pre-order bonuses and limited collector's edition for Halo 5: Guardians. World of Warcraft has some good things and some bad things about this particular feature. That massive price cut on the Xbox One is nearly done and over with, so here are the best deals to grab. After everyone thought everything was back to normal, Sony has revealed that they're still having problems with PSN
Origin Scamming Users
Charged for a game you didn't buy? Sounds like something from EA's Origin... oh wait, it is. Sony extended their holiday sale due to the outage from the hackers. There's a new kind of scoping in Call of Duty, this time it's “blackscoping”. Here are the free games for PlayStation Plus in January. This Destiny player received some real-life loot from their fiancee... check it out here. The best selling games... according to Amazon. Here are seven of the most exciting new IPs we're looking forward to. The beta for Planetside 2 is finally set to get underway this January. And the FBI has been called in once again to investigate the hacking of Xbox Live and PSN.
GameStop Announces Halo Day
Here's an interesting bit of news: GameStop will be hosting a Halo Day. As I said... interesting. The end of Season 1 for Diablo III is drawing to a close. DayZ's dumb ways to die music video is a great little piece of entertainment offered up by a member of the DayZ community. Electronic Arts has come forward to deny that there was any kind of security breach on their part regarding the Origin accounts. In a funny bit of news, someone actually dialed '911' over the PSN DDoS attack. A new game called Paparazzi lets players chase down celebrities; it's a very interesting game for the PS4. Steam's Holiday sale goes out with a massive bang, and check out this GTA V player robbing a convenience store... with a snowball.
PSN Users Getting Special Holiday Gift
Due to the downtime suffered at the hands of the scroungy folks who DdoS'd Xbox Live and PSN, Sony has announced that PSN users will get a special gift. 343 Industries will be removing the very controversial “flinch” animation from Halo 5: Guardians following some negative feedback from beta testers. The problem? It caused the reticule to flinch when a player was being shot. So yeah, according to the competitive players the features has to go. Microsoft has decided that the sales for Xbox Live just can't end right now... they've decided to extend some of the bundles and deals a bit longer. Mortal Kombat X is getting a very familiar face added to the roster... good 'ole Kung Lao.
5 Funniest Game Videos Of 2014
You'll really want to check out this list of some of the funniest video game videos of 2015. Destiny's DLC plans for 2015 may have been leaked ahead of time. If you really like the iCEnhancer and Grand Theft Auto, prepare your eyes for GTA V + iCEnhancer. Someone wants to become an e-celeb... how? Well, by destroying a 20th Anniversary Edition PS4 on live camera. The age of digital distribution brings with it a lot of fears and those fears are being realized when you see things like Aliens: Colonial Marines and AvP 2010 being removed from Steam. If you thought the game modes in Halo 5's beta were kind of paltry, fear not for a new mode has joined the fray. And a new job hiring for Square Enix points to the possibility of some sort of PC possibility for Final Fantasy XV.
