Best of Twentydoz

Best Vidya Games 2012

2012 was a pretty damn good year for video games.  Here’s a list of my personal favorite games that I played.  There’s some in the list that I haven’t gotten around to, so keep that in mind.

1. Borderlands 2  

There’s a lot I can say about this game, so I will.  I love it, and I love the experience.  The gameplay is tight, engaging, and very addicting.  The characters are what actually set this game apart from its competition, and really draw you in.  The game is even more fun to play with a group of friends, and it doesn’t take away from the experience in the slightest.  If you're looking for a game that's worth every penny this is it; you will play this longer than expected and actually enjoy it!  The best way to judge this game is that I’m still playing it.

2. Mass Effect 3

This shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Without a doubt one of the best trilogies of any gaming series ever.  This game feels like what war should feel like.  There’s a lot of anxiety, dread, and also a slimmer of hope.  The characters are really good, and I love catching up with former crewmembers in this game.  The fan-service in that regard is astoundingly great.  Looking back at my review, I was scathing of the ending.  Now, I don’t hate it; I got caught up in the moment.  It's the direction they chose to take with the ending, and you got to respect that.  The multiplayer was definitely an element I didn’t see myself liking, but I played it so freaking much.  I can’t see myself stopping either.  It’s incredible to see how much effort they’ve put into continually release more free content for the multiplayer.

3.  Far Cry 3 

The best way to describe this game is Skyrim with guns.  I really fucking love this game.  If I were to continue the comparison to the beloved Skyrim, I’d say FC3 has a more interesting story.  So BOOM.  Also, most bro hero ever? I think yes!  The story missions in this game are well designed, and INCREDIBLY fun. I think a lot of sand box games could learn from this game, like, that you don’t have to make story missions scripted, rather just simple and engaging.  I was totally captivated during the entirety of the game, and I was constantly exploring the islands looking for treasures and hunting animals.  Oh and you will have dreadful nightmares of sharks from this game.  We are treated to an extraordinary villain in this game named Vaas.  He reminds me of Joker a bit, but he’s unique in his own ways.  He’s very crazy, and he wants to kill you.  There’s a lot to be found in this game, and it’s mostly fun. 

4.  Dishonored 

I didn’t hear about this game until a friend of mine literally showed me it.  I was really impressed, bought it, and played it after I had my fill of Borderlands 2.  This game is awesome because it makes you feel so powerful for using stealth.  Dishonored plays as a stealth game in the first person; I know that doesn’t sound too appealing, but Dishonored works within its technical limitations and goes leaps and bounds beyond it.  It has its own, original, new universe, an alternate universe steam punk world with weird blood magicks (they come from harvest these other-worldly tentacle-faced whales!).  The gadgetry and magic really headline the gameplay in this game.  There’s some really cool stuff you can do, and you can even play the game without magic if you want.  My favorite is definitely blink which is teleporting (it’s the handiest), summoning rats, possession (you can possess anything from rats to people), and many more.  Everything about Dishonored story wise is very fascinating, and it becomes one of those games where you seek out extra information to learn more about the lore – talk about immersion.  I really liked the graphic style of this game; it’s very bleak yet very beautiful at the same time.  I actually liked that they made this game a mission based game rather than a sandbox game.  It makes you feel very cautious about your surroundings and explorative at the same time.  The game rewards you and punishes you in a very unique way, and I like the way the game creates chaos based on your actions.  The chaos level creeps its way into the story as well.   The gameplay is really tight, and the evolution of different powers and equipment make you feel very powerful and capable by the end of the game.  The game feel is AMAZING.  The rush of teleporting roof top to roof top, of sending a horde of rats to eat your foes, to even swashbuckling sword fights  it feels amazing.  Stealth games take note of Dishonored; they got everything right.  Ass Creed you are shamed.

5. XCOM: Enemy Unknown 

THIS GAME.  I had no interest in this game until Steam had it on sale.  I played it on Christmas Eve, and had a hard time putting it down.  This game plays a lot like Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, or any Strategy RPG.  It feels so gooooooooood.  The basic concept is that you’re a leader of this secret group to prevent and research aliens.  They attack Earth, and you defend Earth.  There’s really not a whole lot story going on here, but that’s okay.  You have a lot of interaction with different manager characters and you grow a strong bond with your soldiers that you’ve named and customized after your favorite characters, friends, and family – Darth Vader was my one man army. XCOM treats your soldiers with the rule with if you die in battle you’re dead for good, so you grow a bond with your little soldiers.  This game will stress you out and make you feel like crap when you complete a mission at the sacrifice of one of your prized soldiers.  I had to put the game down a couple of times because I lost one of my more powerful characters, and had to start anew with a rookie soYou can intercept UFO’s with your fighter jet, which plays out like a Pokémon battle – very awesome.  There’s a ton of resource management as well.  You also have some tough decisions to make; do you protect Canada or Mexico?  Do you send laser guns to the Brits?  The game turns into a race to turn alien technology against them and save Earth.  It’s interesting because you can completely fail this game, sort of win, and win.

6.  Journey  

Journey is magic!  Don’t stop believing that.  I guess I ought to clarify; Journey is not a game about the beloved ‘80s rock band, but rather an almost spiritual journey of a robed character.  In a year where there’s been a lot of great indie games released, this is the cream of the crop.  I’m actually really impressed with Sony’s release of stream of great indie downloadable titles that are really great; Unfinished Swan, Sound Shapes, and some others.  Before I get any further, I want to give a nod to Fez because that is a really phenomenal ‘12 indie title.  At the very beginning of the game you spot a mountain far off in the distance, your goal is to reach it.  This game has a level of polish that is hard to surpass; its graphics, music, and gameplay are really top notch.  The game is pretty simple, you get from point A to point B; it can be completed in a couple of hours.  But this game is really about the experience there.  You ride on magical carpets, hide from scary ass dragon things, and avoid freezing to death in the high peaks.  There’s also this wonderfully magic element with the multiplayer; you interact with anyone who is playing on the same level as you.  Journey’s a bit different than normal cooperative play; you don’t know who they are and you can’t talk to them.  It’s so wonderful when you come across a seasoned veteran with what seems like a mile long scarf that can show you a couple of secrets and help guide you along.  Then he’s gone, and you’re freaking out at first.  Did he die?  Then you realize he decided to go on with his own journey, and you feel abandoned.  There’s something special about the multiplayer here, and it’s something we haven’t seen before.  I loved this game more than I expected.  I’ve talked to different peeps about this game, and it seems like everyone has a different take on what Journey means.  I love that about this game; it makes it special for everyone.  It’s really something when you reach the mountain. It’s the quintessential PS3 exclusive of 2012.

7. Max Payne 3 

As you read in my review, I really loved this game.  This game is a well-defined 3^rd person action game.  The controls are incredibly responsive, and the gameplay is both incredibly frustrating and rewarding.  The campaign is super solid, and it feels like an AAA gritty action film.  I really like that this game stands on its own; it doesn’t really require the player to know Max’s backstory or play his older games.  The music is so good. HEALTH outdid themselves on creating a heart pounding, gritty electronic music that certainly adds more to the game and its intense moments. The game-feel is sooooooooooo good in this game.  I think that and the story make MP3 on my top ten.  It’s responsive, and the bullet time shoot outs make you feel SO POWERFUL.  It’s like you’re a modern-day gun wielding demigod and you are slaying evil mortals.  The multiplayer is pretty solid to boot.  I’m really impressed that they devised a way to make bullet time feasible in multiplayer – it’s pretty sweet.  I think the multiplayer is kinda bad in the way that noobies can be steamrolled pretty easily, and it’s hard to get a handle on the game when everyone is better and have better gear.  Besides that this is a near perfect action game, and I’d recommend this to any fan of noir or action films.  MP3 is a tough game, but it’s rewarding and fun to keep ya around.

8. Hotline Miami 

This is such a fantastic game, and great effort for an indie developer.  I’ve spent a lot more time on this game than I ever anticipated, and I’m okay that most my time was spent on retries.  HM is not an easy game, but it has that hardcore old school feel that is not seen much these days.  I love the top-down strategic infiltration/action/slaughterhouse gameplay.  The game-feel is really good, but I have to admit sometimes it feels loose.  This is tricky to explain; it’s like you’ll intend for something to be thrown in one direction, but the reaction time from your button press to the action is delayed a little. I don’t know, maybe I got used to this later on in the game, but this is definitely my only beef with Hotline Miami.  I will say the music adds to this game; I still listen to the soundtrack!  The plot is very surreal and at times seems like it feels influenced by Clockwork Orange, and we’re treated to animal masked vigilantes.  It’s really trippy and awesome.  HM also boasts collection of unlockable animal themed masks that give you game-changing boosts and weapons; you earn them by completing certain score on levels.  There’s even a secret ending for true completionists! Anyone that’s a fan of the movie Drive will love this slick, 1980’s inspired blood-fueled massacre.

9. Spec Ops: The Line 

SOTL was hard to place on here.  I really like this game, but at the same time I loathe it.  I love it because how different it is for a military shooter.  I hate it for how bad it makes me feel; there’s moments in this game that will make you put down your controller and think about what you just did – killing doesn’t feel good.  Spec Ops does something that COD or Battlefield will likely never try to emulate, and that is give the player consequences for killing.  In SOTL, you and your two squadmates are ordered to go to Dubai during the worst series of sandstorms in the history of mankind to help the evacuation of its rich citizens and find out the fate of the 33^rd battalion of US soldiers that were originally tasked to evacuate this city.  So this game devolves into pure insanity as you continue your journey, and you’re tangled in this awful conspiracy as you discover that the 33^rd battalion is alive and roaring. I don’t want to give away too much more about the plot, yet I want you to keep in mind that this game captures the horrendous feeling of war.  Spec Ops game feel is good, I wouldn’t say it’s great.  It doesn’t play as smoothly as I’d like for a 3^rd person shooter, but I’m glad it’s not a 1^st person shooter.  It makes you feel more connected to your character and your allies.  The squad mates’ A.I. isn’t very strong, and you’ll end up doing most of the work in this game.  The guns feel heavy, and powerful.  The cover system is solid, and won’t mess up the flow of combat.  There’s a tacked-on multiplayer to this game, and it’s mediocre at best.  I wish they hadn’t added multiplayer, but I guess they were just trying to be competitive.  The graphics in this game are better than you’d expect.  I really like what they did with the sand (it’s no Journey!), but it can act/look dynamic at moments.  The sandstorm bits are harrowing and the graphics lend to this.  There are several surreal moments in this game that look stunning, and really add to the experience.  I chose Spec Ops not because it’s one of the best games of 2012, but rather it’s the game we needed.  I highly recommend this game to anyone who overlooked it. There’s an experience here that can’t be found anywhere else.

10. Walking Dead

 Like my fellow blogger, Hoeney McGraw, I loved this game.  But I have a hard time justifying it higher than ten on my list.  The reason I say this is because I feel like it’s less of a video game and more of an interactive movie.  That’s fine, but when it tries to be a video game it really struggles.  I feel like moving forward, onto season 2, this game should employ more and challenging puzzles and some actual gun/gameplay.  I think that could definitely add to the game.  Besides that little beef with this game, Walking Dead season 1, as a whole is absolutely amazing.  I actually feel like this game is better than the tv show at times, and it captures the desperation, angst, hope, fear, and hatred of the characters during a zombie apocalypse.  I would advise anyone who is fans of Walking Dead, zombies, or great narrative to give this game a try.  NOTE: Do not to play this in one sitting; it will make you depressed.

Honorable Mention:

Darksiders 2 

 I really, really, really, reaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to put this on my top ten.  I couldn't find a spot for Death on here.  I feel really strongly about this game on many different levels; the graphics, gameplay, and game-feel are incredibly well made.  It’s astonishing how poorly this game was received!  The chief problem with this game is its identity; it is a jack of all trades but master of none.  I think my only beef about this game is the story, and that’s because there isn't much of one in this gem.  You can definitely overlook this if you’re up for an adventure! R.I.P. Vigil Games.

Halo 4 

This is the Halo we were waiting for.  Well, let me clarify, this is the Halo I was waiting for.  I was a big fan of the first Halo game, and I can’t even count or begin to think how many hours I spent playing that game.  That was a game that will forever define what a great FPS should be.  I liked the second one alright; I generally liked all the additions and improvements upon the original.  Then we got Halo 3.  I hate this title so much; I feel like they changed so much of the game that I couldn’t get behind it.  It was Masterchief, but it was boring.  I dunno; I felt like they lost what was so special about the earlier titles.  I skipped this one, and briefly touched ODST and Reach.  ODST is not very good, and I can’t recommend it except for the Gears of War inspired Horde mode where you kill waves of Covenant.  Reach is aight, and I appreciate what they tried to do with it.  It didn’t feel like a worthwhile last hoorah for Bungie, and I was excited for a new developer to take the Halo mantle.  343 made the Halo HD remake.  I personally haven’t tried it, but I heard it sucked.  I was disappointed about this, and it made me wary of Halo 4.  I didn’t buy H4 until I tried it at a friend’s.  It blew me away.  The game-feel in this game is so right for an FPS.  You feel the weight of every single different gun.  You hear the different guns blazing while in combat.  You feel the swift gun-bunt when you slam it into the back of a grunt’s head.  It’s AMAZING.  Oh. Oh. OH. The graphics!  Halo 4 is the best looking game on the 360.  It blew me away.  When I popped it in for the first time I just stared at different stuff, marveling at the great detail in every little thing.  Oh my gun-jizzing-goodness.  It’s unbelievable.  I don’t understand how my 360 doesn’t explode when I press play.  Now the campaign isn’t exactly AAA, but I love the decision that we’re fighting a new species of aliens.  That was a strong decision, and let’s be honest; we’ve been waiting for new enemies and guns for ages.  Halo 4 is actually more about Cortana than Masterchief, and I’m not sure if that is a good idea.  I don’t particularly like this romance between the two of them, and it gets awkward when Cortana has a case of Tourette’s when you’re busy blowing baddies’ heads off.  There are a couple of vehicle-centric levels, and they’re good.  They do a great job of making you feel incredibly powerful.  One of the last levels has Masterchief piloting a spaceship, and plays like Star Fox.  That is pretty freaking awesome.  There’s not really a flying section like in Halo Reach (the best thing about that game, M I RITE?).  The multiplayer is super solid, and I think the change of zombies to flood was really cool.  I’m not really a multiplayer guy, but I’ve played this.  So that’s commendable in of itself.  The other mode in this game is called Spartan Ops, and it’s really bland.  I haven’t followed the story behind it, but it’s something about other Spartan warriors on a ship and they do jobs?  I dunno.  It’s really boring compared to the campaign.  This game is incredibly solid, but I couldn’t find a place on my list for it.

Paper Mario Sticker Star 

Allow me to begin with declaring my profound love for Paper Mario.  I'm a huge fan of the first entry into this unique paper Nintendo universe.  I played that game almost too many times (probably 30) when I was a kid, and I loved the gamecube sequel as well.  The Wii one doesn't count.  I think I loved them so much because it's an action-oriented turn-based RPG.  It's definitely in the vein of Super Mario RPG, and that's perfectly ok.  Now this 3DS version is very different than its predecessors in several ways.  1.  Every attack is based on stickers you collect. 2.  Resource management is key to this game. 3. There's a lot of secrets and puzzles.  I really fucking loved this game, but at the same time it drove me up the wall at how frustrating its mechanics can be.  There will be moments when you are forced to use up some super-awesome-powerful sticker on a group of baddies, then to find you're facing a boss without anything powerful to whomp on him with.  Alas, this is a small gripe.  I think this game is actually what developers should look back on how to make future RPG's.  It requires a lot more thought, and there is absolutely no level-grinding involved in this game.  It's amazing.  I highly recommend this game to anyone that owns a 3DS, and/or an affinity for sticky things.

BEST MOVIES 2012

I want to clarify, I am not the Oscars, I do not vote for the Oscars, and my list of favorite movies will definitely be the end all be all BEST movies of all time.  I also didn't see everything....Also, these are interchangeable except the top 3.

1. The Dark Knight Rises

Batman is the best.  Christopher Nolan ends the Batman trilogy triumphantly.  There's a lot of hate for this movie, and I really don't get it.  There's so much to like, and I think the problem is that we're constantly comparing Bane to Joker.  I personally feel that Bane is just as enigmatic as the Joker, but less chaotic and more sinister.  Bane, Catwoman, and John Blake were great additions to the series.  I can't even begin to describe how large my boner was when Anne Hathaway appeared on screen decked out in all leather as Catwoman. OOOOOOOOOO!  Dat ass. Anyways, I personally feel like this movie is more about what makes a hero, and what they struggle with to keep on hero-ing. For a super hero movie there's actually not a whole lot of action, but I savored the slow impending destruction of Gotham.  The last twelve minutes make my heart swell up like I'm watching a classic Disney movie.  Nolan really knows how to give closure to such a tremendous trilogy.  I LOVE IT.  (totallythebestbatmanmovie!!!!11)

2. Silver Linings Playbook

I initially went to go see this because the cast is a freaking home run (Robert Deniro, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and freaking Chris Tucker!).  I really had no idea what this movie was going to be about, and I gotta admit I was mostly surprised.  I mean, I knew it was going to be a romantic comedy of some sort, but I didn't know exactly what I was getting into.  Bradley Cooper plays as the main character, Pat, who is afflicted with bipolar disorder.  The film begins with his mother taking him out of mental health facility, and taking him back to their house.  Almost immediately we are treated to the beginning of the madness; Chris Tucker pleads with Bradley Cooper's mom to take him saying it's all good with the mental health facility.  But it wasn't.  So there's that, then we witness a lot of emotional breakdowns, and explanation to his back story.  He goes to his court-mandated therapist who plays "My Cherie Amour", and he loses his shit.  We find out that his wife cheated on him with another teacher (the both worked at a school), and on top of that it was their wedding song.  So every time he hears that song he goes berserk.  From this point on we learn that Pat has a silver lining playbook; he thinks that despite being sent to a mental hospital it will make him better for his wife Nikki.  He is obsessed with getting back together with his wife, and will do anything to do it.  Later on he goes to a dinner at his friend's house, and is introduced to JLaw's character.  She's the sister to Pat's friend's wife -woo. She recently lost her husband and her job (she was sleeping with everyone in the office!); so she is super depressed.  Pat's friends were trying to pair up this sad pair.  It doesn't really work, and Pat is off-put with the idea that JLaw would replace his Nikki.  So skipping ahead a lot, Robert Deniro aka Pat's dad, is a bookie and is on a winning streak.  Deniro wants Pat to stay around for good luck, but Pat is busy.  Pat devised a plan with JLaw to give Nikki a letter only if Pat is her dance partner for an upcoming dance competition.  Practice actually helps Pat, and he calms down tremendously.  Deniro ends up taking a bet for all his money with his friend on a football game with a sidebar on Pat's dance competition.  Without spoiling much more, this movie evolves from a romantic comedy, to a character study, family drama, sports movie, and so much more.  This movie stressed me out so much to watch just because how awful Bradley Cooper acts; he punches his dad in the face!  But, bro, this movie makes you feel so good.  All the pressure just melts away after watching the last scene, and it feels like everything is right in the world.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of romcoms, but this so much more than just that, it's a top-tier movie.

3. Wreck-it Ralph 

C'mon!  You knew this would make the list.  I love Disney.  I love video games.  This is not a half-assed movie, and it's so much fun.  Anyone who's played videogames in the past ten years will get almost all of the references and I guess the relevance(?).  Anywho, Disney created up this whole new classic arcade game called Fix It Felix.  Ralph is the bad guy that destroys a building, and Felix fixes the damage.  Ralph is tired of being a bad guy, and wants more respect.  He decides to go out into the other nearby game worlds to get a hero medal to prove that he isn't just a bad guy.  So freaking cool concept.  We don't get to travel to any recognizable video games, but we see a lot of cameos from video game stars like Zangief, Bowser, Sonic, that bar guy from that rootbeer game, Qbert, and a shit ton more.  Ralph goes to an fps world that totally reminds me of Aliens meets Halo, and we see the main baddies.  Little bug aliens, and the end up doing bad stuff.  I'm not going to talk a whole lot more about it plot wise, but this was a strong Disney movie.  I was really taken by surprise that this wasn't made by Pixar.  It's really charming, and there's a lot of detail to be found in each scene.  I was smitten by this movie.  It's such a good Disney movie, and it's great for anyone who likes video games.

4. Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino made a movie in 2012?!  Yup, and it was fucking awesome.  It was about this bounty hunter who teaches a freed slave to become a bad ass.  And I guess to save the ex-slave's wife too.  Oh and Leonardo Dicaprio is FUCKING NUTS.  I don't know how he didn't get nominated....BUTYEAH.  He's a psycotic slave owner who makes slaves fight each other and junk.  It's freaking crazy!  Ohoooooooh!  There's the best shoot outs in this movie.  The gunshots are so satisfying.  The blood. Ooooooooo.  This was my favorite action movie.  The plot's good, but not the best.  I got to admit, this is not that chatty for a Tarantino movie.....

5. Looper

Did you like Inception?  YOU'LL FUCKING LOVE THIS MOVIE.  Uh.  It's nothing like Inception, but this is the best sci-fi action awesome movie.  Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play the same character, but Bruce is the old one.  By that I mean, Bruce is sent back in time to be killed by JGL. UGH.  It's a time travelling movie, but it's really freaking cool.  I don't want to get into it too much, but the ending to this movie made my head explode.  It's so well-layered, in a good way.  Only complaint is JGL has a Bruce Willis CGI face.  This was a dumb idea.  I mean it was meant to seem that he looks more like Willis, but it looks weird because the audience already knows how JGL should look.  They should've gotten some unknown actor instead because we would be weirded out by CGI face.

6. Zero Dark Thirty

Looks like Hurt Locker all over again!  I wouldn't be surprised if Jessica Chastain (MOAR LIEK JESSICA GODDANG!) takes away best actress at the Oscars.  So I saw this purely out of everyone's hype for this movie, and I really like the movie title.  I wasn't really drawn to it, and since it was based in reality I had a hard time relating to it (that's a joke).  But this was pretty dang good.  It's kind of what I expected; a slow buildup to the discovery of Bin Laden.  But it was really worth while.  If you paid attention to major events in the past twelve years you'll have a basic understanding as to what's going on in the movie.  Now, I don't know how factual this movie actually is, but it's not too factual because I didn't fall asleep.  This is a well done movie, and I really got into it as the movie progressed.  I was hype as shit when *HISTORICAL SPOILERS* they killed Bin Laden.  I was really hoping Andy from Parks and Rec was going to get the 'shot', but that's something left for my dreams.

7. The Cabin In The Woods

I don't like scary movies.  I didn't want to see this movie.  I saw this reluctantly on DVD after it was released.  This movie is essentially an homage to what horror movies are, and poking fun of it.  It's really not a scary movie, and it's actually cool to see the monsters come on out.  This movie was a lovely surprise, and I highly recommend it to anyone.  I guess not children....

8. Avengers

I'm a nerd, so I flocked to this movie like syrup flocks to pancakes? Uh anyways, this movie is the definition of a summer movie; crazy action, funny one-liners, and lots of explosions.  I could really nitpick this movie, but I had so much fun watching this.  And it's literally the first supergroup movie ever made, so that's a big deal in of itself.  

9. Seven Psychopaths

SP is the movie that probably no one heard about unless they had their Walken-radar at the ready.  This movie is about Colin Farrell who is a big-shot writer, and is desperately trying to work on a new book.  He hangs out with Sam Rockwell who plays one of the titular seven psychopaths, and is just a lovable goof that doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.  Then there's Christopher Walken who plays Rockwell's dognapping partner.  Well, they dognapped Woody Harrelson's (he's a big, bad mob boss) cute doggie, and insanity happens.  The thing I really loved about this movie is that there's stories inside of stories when Farrell's trying to create stories for his new book.  Without spoiling anything, there's a lot of plot twists, crazy action sequences, dream sequences, and drug sequences!  I really enjoyed this movie.  I thought it was going to be a dumb movie, but it was fantastic!  Sam Rockwell acts superbly in this!

10. Prometheus

I know I probably shouldn't put this movie on my list, but I really liked it!  I'm a massive Aliens fan, and this was a really fun prequel.  Having said that, there's a shitload of flaws with this movie.  I think that's ok if you keep in mind that all the Aliens movies have really dumb people in it.  Like really dumb.  I gotta say Prometheus does have the DUMBEST characters, and it's frustrating to begin to think why they couldn't run to the left.  But there's a lot of mystery to this movie, and every time I watch this movie I get confused and excited.  Something about those feelings make me feel like a child discovering something new and exciting.  Also, this movie looks so fucking good.  The CGI makes me jizz.  I am fond of watching this movie with people who hadn't seen it because the debates afterwards are primo - kinda like Looper/Inception.  

Honorable Mention:

Frankenweenie

This is the Tim Burton/Disney movie we've been waiting for since Nightmare Before Christmas.  I would've placed this on my list, but Cabin in the Woods and Prometheus kinda are both monster movies.  I love monster movies, but I couldn't place Frankenweenie on the top ten. I enjoyed this movie mostly because it's the first Burton movie in some time that has some heart.  It's really unique; it's black and white stop-motion movie set in 50's.  It's about this boy named Victor who loves his dog Sparky.  Sparky gets hit by a car, and Victor is devastated.  He gets inspired by his loony Russian science teacher to test the bounds of science, and via Frankenstein, Victor revives Sparky.  Sparky's kinda a zombie dog now, but Victor loves him nonetheless.  There's an upcoming science fair, and competition is stiff.  Victor's classmates hear rumors about Victor's experiment, and they perform the same on their deceased and living pets.  So we're treated to a whole bunch of awesome classic monster movie references; werewolf, godzilla, gremlins, vampire, and so much more.  This movie was really clever, and had a great message.

21 Jump Street

This really ought to have been on the top ten.  This was the funniest movie of 2012.  I can pop it in and still get lots of laughs from it.  Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill have a great chemistry, and are genuinely hilarious. This is pretty much Super Bad but the kids became the goofy bad ass cops.  I think that's the best way to put it.  

Skyfall

I liked this movie.  It had the best visuals in a Bond movie yet.  I got to admit for a Bond movie, this was the least Bond movie ever made.  The last stand scene stuff comes to mind.  I digress; I had fun and Daniel Craig is a badass. Javier Bardem was equally crazy and bad ass; great Bond villain. Am I the only one super stoked they killed off M? WHOOOOOOOPS.

Music

So I actually didn't listen to much new music this year.  I don't think I could comprise a list of ten albums, so here's ten songs! yeah! YAY! *Note: I have kinda shitty taste in music*

1. Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine?

2. Two Door Cinema Club - Literally anything off Beacon

3. Tenacious D - The Roadie

4. Kendrick Lamar - Backseat Freestyle

5. Frank Ocean/Earl Sweatshirt - Super Rich Kids

6. David Byrne & St. Vincent - Who

7. Walk The Moon - Anna Sun

8. Sleigh Bells - Comeback Kid

9. TNGHT - Higher Ground

10. Wallpaper - Stupidfacedd/ Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop

   

America's Caca 3

Dearest readers, you know I love America (my blood is red, white, & blue for god sake!), video games, and for quite some time, the Assassin’s Creed series.  Shoot, I even reviewed the last two Ass Creed games in my patriotic hype for AC3. Now can someone please tell me why I hate the third one?  Yeah, I didn’t think so.  Maybe I am losing it? (Just a head’s up, I’m going to spoil the shit out of this game.  And don’t play this.  Don’t spend money on this. )

Story

Set in colonial America during the years of 1753-1783.  It stars a brand new assassin named Connor – This got me more pumped about this game than it ought to have; I was so tired of playing as Ezio! See, but you don’t get to play as or know about Connor for a good four to six hours!  I was going to talk about this later, but FUCK IT.  You play as Connor’s dastardly daddy Haytham Kenway (pssst he’s a total chode!). You (Daddy H) are sent from London-town to the colonies, and along the way you are taught almost EVERYTHING about the game.  I hate this more than words.  I’m used to games having a level that is solely made to teach you the different basic game mechanics, but nope, Ubisoft decided to up the ante.  They thought it would be cool if they stretched tutorials out for hours!  It was maddening!  It gets worse.  You see, you think while you’re playing Haytham’s little adventures that you’re the good guy, that you’re helping the assassins.  PLOT TWIST, you’re a freaking Templar.  You’re the leader of Templars in the colonies, and love the redcoats!  Can this get any worse? Yes, Hayeater manipulates this Native American lady into helping him find this alien artifact boosh, and for no reason they fall in love.  You get the feeling that these colonists use the Native Americans as a means to an end, and it’s depressing…It doesn’t explicitly show it, but I’m pretty sure old Haymaker rapes the Indian chick after she saves his life. It made me so infuriated, that I didn’t pick it up for a couple of days (I went back to Borderlands 2).   

Thaat's Lee!

After a break, I jumped into Connor’s story.  You see that Native American lady got preggers from Hayface, and Connor lives with his mom in a village of fellow Native Americans.  There’s more tutorials here, but not for much longer.  You learn to hunt animals, and your village is burned down by one of Daddy H’s henchmen Charles Lee.  If you thought Connor’s dear old poop pop was bad, this Charlie is a really twisted villain.  He gets off killing Indians, shooting dudes in the back, pissing on the American flag, and his favorite: running away like a sissy. 

Oh and if you’re curious as to what’s going on with the game’s true main character (character-ception lololololol. Shootmeplz.) Desmond, there’s not a whole lot going on.  He’s just in a cave using the Animus, so he can learn to be better?  I don’t know. ALIENS?  I’m not going to pretend to know what’s going on in the backdrop of this game because it’s complicated, I don’t remember most of it, and it’s just not terribly interesting.  Oh and you meet Desmond’s dad.  PARALLELS?!?!?!?!?!?!?

SUDDEN FASTFORWARD.  Connor is 18, and he’s out for his dad and that meanie Charlie Horse.  He is informed of an old black man named Achilles that has a house in the middle of no-where.  Connor’s elder tell him to check that dude out, and instead is almost killed by TEMPLARS.  Old black man Morgan Freem…..I mean Achilles takes Connor in, and teaches him everything about being an Assassin (I just realized how similar this part is to that awful action movie Wanted).  MOAR TUTORIALS! MOAAAAAAAR!  These aren’t actually that bad.  You learn to use this thing called a rope dart which is essentially Scorpion’s spear from MK.  Super bad ass!  And you also learn to captain a ship!  Ship shit is literally my favorite thing in this game, but we’ll get to that later.  So Achilles sends you on your way, and you learn about all the bad, bad men that help Haydouche with his Templar plans.  You do some not assassinating, and form your own little community back at Achille’s house.  Ugh. And other stuff.  I don’t think you do much in this game except errands, and kill Brits.  I think you have a grand total of three assassinations in this game.  Woo.  I guess I don’t want to ruin most of the story, but I’ll give you a taste.  Haydingerdanger tries comes back into Connor’s life in a helpful way, but he ends up just being a turd to him.  They have another falling out, and passing on – eeeeeehhhhhh?  Get it? Getitgetitgetitgetit?!

 You reenact some important American historical events like Paul Revere’s ride.  And by that I mean you ride on a horse with Paulie on it.  SOOOOO ACCURATE AND REWARDING.  I honestly was expecting a bit more from the historical aspect out of this game; like, say Paul is riding on in a flurry to warn the British are coming and you are fending off Red Coats from catching him from a tree sniping them with bow and arrow.  It all just feels weird and unnecessary.  I mean, it’s cool that this game takes place in history, but does Connor have to rewrite history in order for him to be involved?  Again, this is not what I asked for!  

SPOILERS.  You kill Charles Lee after the most frustrating chase sequence I’ve ever witnessed.  It’s awful.  You only have one other chase in the game, and that one’s pretty easy.  This one is completely unfair, and I don’t understand how this was okay’d before release.  Its super frustrating because there’s some quick time stuff going on and you have to run through mobs of people that will not be budged!  And the game that generally holds your hand throughout its entirety, now it suddenly decides to not tell you where to climb and whatnot.  I did this section a good twenty times before I got it right.  I haven’t been more frustrated with this game series since Ass Creed 2 with Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying contrapooption.  I should’ve remembered why I don’t like these games, and kept that with me.  God damnit!  Don’t play this game! 

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OH!  It gets better.  We find more alien shit, and Desmond dies.  It was the most bittersweet thing ever.  I don’t even know who won!  Assassins?  Templars?  Aliens?  I don’t know.  The ending is so fucking ambiguous.  I am half-hoping that I’m just too thick to actually understand it, and the ending is actually good decent.

Graphics

Ass Creed Tres is the culmination of all the prior titles work into one better game.  This game’s graphics uses a lot of similarities to the older games, but it looks a whole lot sharper as a whole.  The wilderness can be quite awesome looking – especially in the snow.  I think one of my favorite locales is Boston in the winter; looking onto the city from the docks looks so freaking good.  Graphics definitely enhance this game, and enrich the experience.  There are some faults, but it’s pretty minor.  I played it on the 360 and there’s a little bit of texture popping.  You also might witness some strange things like this guy floating above his barstool for no freaking reason. Another nice thing about it is that there’s not a whole lot of loading.

Gamefeel

I was genuinely excited about this game, and kept a blind eye to the actual gameplay of this series.  This is something I had to do a little bit of soul searching after I completed AC3.  Does this game play well?  Is it fun?  There’s no doubt that there is fun to be found in this game, but there is literally no challenge in this game.  Most objectives can be achieved without breaking a sweat.  The only challenge comes in the form of unfair tasks that they don’t actually tell you what to do.  This is not good game design especially considering this game commonly holds your hand throughout.  This is definitely a problem for me and probably most of the hardcore gamers.  We definitely prefer a game that gives us some building blocks as to how to play in the beginning then progressively challenge us with the basics while peppering in a few new tricks.  A good comparison to something I’ve reviewed is the Alice Madness Returns.  That game is, by no stretch of the imagination, a good game, but it does appeal to good game design in that regard.  

Some of the easiness in AC3 also stems from the combat, and how simple it is.  It’s designed for you to win; it’s really hard to die in combat in this game.  I remember back in E3 of 2012 that they promised more intuitive combat and the use of two different items in fights.  Well they sort of accomplished this, but only sort of.  You use a long rage weapon and a close-combat weapon at your ready at all times.  But that’s not really the same as saying you can swing your hatchet into someone’s head, and then swing around and shoot your recently departed enemy’s musket at on.  All combat situations in this game come down to blocking/dodging and then countering.  It gives the player an illusion of fluidity, but it's just different animations you can pull off based on what you have equipped.The animations are really awesome at first, but it feels pretty empty after you do it for hours.  

The basic interface for combat is bad.  It’s really bad.  It has a radial menu that pauses the game to allow you to select your weapon of death, but it’s far too sluggish.  It really takes out the immersion of the game.  This happens more than you think because you can only have three different items keyed to the d-pad, and it will force you to open this menu when you need a different weapon.  

For a game about assassinations and stealth there isn’t much of either.  The stealth in this game is very janky, and is the exact same from the previous titles.  Blend in with people walking, sit on a bench, hide in bushes, hide in a well are all great ways to hide from trouble.  There are several missions that task you in listening to conversations of peeps while being hidden, and it’s so dumb.  You can sit on a bench as they walk by you, and don’t think anything of it.  This is not stealth.  I think for this series to continue on it would need to overhaul a lot of its components to be a stealth game or change it to make it feel more of an action game (it’s more action anywho).

The wilderness, the cities, and the homestead each have a very distinct feel.  The wilderness is where all the wild animals roam and you can climb on trees.  I actually love their tree parkour in this game; it makes you feel like Tarzan…in a good way.  It’s a lot of fun exploring here.  The cities, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia play a lot like older Ass Creed games.   

 

I think my favorite aspect of this game is definitely the homestead.  This is where your good old mentor Achilles resides.  During the course of the game you meet characters that you help out, and then help them move into the area where Achilles resides.  This is essentially where you get almost all the side missions of the game.  I actually like this even though the missions mostly go here do this kind of stuff.  You get to know all the different residents pretty well, and you get a chance to document them (Creepin’!).  You see some families grow, some come together, and some fight.  It feels pretty realistic in the setting it takes place also.  Most importantly all these missions reward you by getting insight on these secondary characters, and means of actually making Connor stronger.

This leads to a new and excited aspect of this game.  Like in the older titles, you can upgrade your arsenal and the city you live in.  In this one, you earn money by actually trading with merchants you have encountered.  I like this especially compared to the older titles because it’s more of a challenge to make money and to protect it.  You don’t receive money just for clearing out baddies or buying shops like the previous games.  I actually got addicted to figuring out what items I could sell at the highest price and the quickest way to acquire that item. There’s also crafting based on the skill of the inhabitants of the homestead; their skill increases the more favors you do for them.  That’s the reward I was talking about earlier, and it’s really awesome feeling when you know you’ve got the most powerful items in the game.  

There are a wide variety of different types of side missions in this game, and they’re great ways to earn some spending money. There’s fighting, assassinations, hunting, message running, and a bunch more.  I personally don’t find them all that interesting, but some can be pretty fun.  I enjoyed the hunting ones because you hunted for super-duper rare animals that could be a challenge to kill.  Quick side note about hunting; its bullshit in this game.  It’s so fucking hard to ambush a bunny while hiding in the bushes, and it’s boring!  I don’t like it.  The game punishes you for hunting with bow and arrow or guns! It wants you to pounce on your pray like a cat on a mouse...but you're a dude hiding in bushes. UGH.  I gave up on hunting early on in the game, and I never missed it.

 

I think my favorite addition to this game is being a captain of the ship.  There are a handful of story missions involving the ship, but there’s a whole lot more side missions.  Both are pretty rewarding and incredibly fun.  I actually think they designed this aspect of this game the best.  They teach you all the basics in one game, and add new aspects as you do more missions like adding different ammo and stuff.  The ship combat plays from a close third person viewpoint.  You see Connor steering the ship, but you can sweep the camera around to look out the left or right side.  You can shoot your main cannons on the left or right side when you line up your shot – the trajectory is outlined for you similar to a golf game.  You also have these miniature cannons that can essentially be fired at any situation and shoot at any direction but aren't very powerful.  The swivel cannons are great to use when your enemy’s ship is almost destroyed; you can shoot their gunpowder storage and BOOM.  So rewarding!  You can also board enemy ships when you use chain shot which destroys their mast and what have you.  Then it turns into an all-out pirate rumble that’s pretty fun.  The side missions vary in protecting a merchant ship or to destroying a fort.  I played the ship sections often, and preferred them to the standard gameplay. 

End of the Line

If you can look past most of the flaws from this sinking ship there’s a lot of fun to be had especially for fans of this game.  Hell, it’s the only game I know where you can pet a dog!  (I can't think of another game that allows that kind of awesome person-to-animal-relationship!) How fucking sweet is that!  But seriously bros, this game is for serious Ass Creed fans.  I don’t think I could recommend this game to anyone that hasn't played the older games because there is so much stuff going on that if you didn’t have any prior information on you’ll be confused the entire game.  And to boot the story isn’t all that riveting, original, or great except how they depict Native Americans in a positive light.  It’s surprising to see them depicted historically accurate and also incredibly sad.  I think that’s the appeal to Connor except when he just wants to kill everyone for not being an assassin.  Meh...I guess what I’m trying to say is this game didn’t live up to the hype, but isn’t a terrible game.  It’s also the best pirate simulator I’ve ever played – minus the raping and pillaging.