In the past, I always enjoyed looking back at a given year and reflecting on the games I played, and deciding which ones I liked best. Starting in May 2023, I had to put my favourite hobby on hold due to some major repetitive strain injuries in my right arm and hand. A miserable year ensued, but i'm glad to report that my arm and hand are doing much better after extensive rehab and i'm back to playing games, and I have a lot of catching up to do.

The only thing that kept me sane over the last 14 months or so was the discovery of Audiobooks as a great medium. I've always been a fairly big reader, though I went through cycles of reading a lot, then stretches where I read very little. I was always old school about how I read, preferring to have a physical book in my hands instead of using a e-reader or audiobooks. My RSI issues got so bad however, that I couldn't even hold up a book without major discomfort. A friend suggested I try Audiobooks, and this proved to be a life-saver as I had to spend a lot of time doing *nothing* to let the muscles, tendons and nerves in my arm and shoulder heal.

So, I listened to a huge number of books. Historically i've preferred non-fiction, especially narrative history and adventure/mountaineering books. I'd made a few forays into Science Fiction, especially in 2020 during the pandemic when I devoured the Expanse books and read the first four Dune books and some other random ones. So I decided it was high time I see what the world of fantasy and science fiction had to offer. I did some light research and chose books/series that looked most appealing. I also read some other random books in other genres that I'll include here as well because why not.

All in all, I listened to 33 books in the last 14 months or so, with another series I'll include that I read just before all this happened. The ranking is purely subjective, based on how much I enjoyed the book. I will mostly focus on the books, and not the narration, unless it really enhanced the experience which it did in a couple cases. Otherwise, assume the narration is good and fine and provided a equivalent level of enjoyment to just reading the book. If I really didn't like a narrator, I'd reject a book based on the 5-minute audio sample.

I'm also going to rank series as a whole, or as trilogies that make up a series, when it makes sense to do so.

***The Books***

19. The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles book 2) by Patrick Rothfuss: this is the only case where I'm splitting up a series because I feel so differently about the two books. I really enjoyed the Name of the Wind but this book really lost me part way through. It started to feel like the author was just turning the main character into a superhero who is good at everything and the storyline was very meandering without much in the way of a compelling Central plot. Even if the series is ever finished I'm not sure I'll bother reading the last book after this one left a sour taste in my mouth. 2/5

18. Silo series (books 1-2ish) by Hugh Howey: after watching the first season of the excellent television adaptation I felt I could not wait multiple years for the next season to find out what happens. The books ended up being a big disappointment and not nearly as good as the show which is unusual. I'm excited to see what the writers of the show turn this into as the core of the story should still be interesting. The books really lacked character development and felt very bare-bones so I didn't even end up finishing the second book and bailed on this series in favour of watching the show! 2.5/5

17. Tawny Man Trilogy(Fitz Chivalry series 2) by Robin Hobb: after really enjoying the Farseer trilogy (more on that later) this trilogy felt like a bit of a slog. The absence of a certain companion for the main character and the dramatic shift in the character of the “fool” to a more sentimental type made me enjoy this a lot less than the first series but it's still not too bad of a read with some good sequences. 3/5

16. The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentlemen Bastards book 1) by Scott Lynch: I read the first book in the series and did not really like it at first with the way the story jumped around in the timeline. I liked it more as it went on and really enjoyed much of the second half of the book, but it felt like a fairly complete storyline so I didn't feel the need to keep reading in the series though I may return to it eventually. I felt the two main characters could have been better developed as we don’t learn much about their inner thoughts and motivations. 3.5/5

15. The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre: I reverted to my usual history books here, pretty interesting true story about a Russian spy during the cold war, not much more to say about it than that. 3.5/5

14. Mistborn (first trilogy) by Brandon Sanderson: I actually read this after The Stormlight Archives by the same author and enjoyed it a fair bit less, although I still liked it overall especially the first book with its heist setup premise and introduction to an interesting universe. 3.5/5

13. All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby: relatively short, very dark and compelling book about a serial killer investigation. Almost found it a bit too dark as it deals with child abuse and it was rough to read in parts. Would make a good season of true detective or something like that. 4/5

12. Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby: fun book about a getaway driver who gets mixed up with some bad people by the same author as above. Great atmosphere and some good plot twists and action sequences. 4/5

11. Best Served Cold (First Law world book 4) by Joe Abercrombie: this is a solid standalone novel in the same universe as the first law trilogy. The storyline wasn't anything amazing but the characters are great and the writing is excellent as always from this author. My only real criticism is that none of the characters are very likeable which made it a bit harder to get invested in the quest. 4/5

10. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card: classic sci-fi novel and the only reread on my list as I forgot I'd read this ages ago in school. Very compelling storyline with an incredible twist near the end that has a fairly dark edge to it, that is really exaggerated by the sinister sounding narration. 4/5

9. Rogues and Heroes by Ben Macintyre: compelling book about the SAS during world war II with some absolutely crazy stories. If you enjoy military history this is a great read. 4/5

8. Riyria Revelations series by Michael J. Sullivan: fantasy trilogy that lacks originality but has great lead characters and a really fun storyline. Just a very fun and enjoyable read that is on the lighter end of the scale. Note that this is the only non-audiobook series on this list as I read it right before my RSI issues got really bad. 4/5

7. The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles book 1) by Patrick Rothfuss: the first book in this series I really enjoyed, especially everything after the main character gets to the university. Sort of like a more mature version of Harry Potter. 4/5

6. Red Rising Series (first trilogy) by Pierce Brown: The first Red Rising trilogy is quite good, even if the first book borrows pretty heavily from The Hunger Games. Would have benefited from multiple character perspectives like the second Trilogy uses. Great writing, memorable characters and loads of crazy action set pieces. 4/5

5. Farseer trilogy (Fitz Chivalry series 1) by Robin Hobb: the first two books take a while to get going but the payoff is worth it. They introduce you to a compelling original universe with some excellent characters who are deep and complex. The storyline is great and the author really takes time to develop it. The final book is in contention for the best book I read this year as it is a fantastic adventure the entire way through with many great moments. 4/5

4. Stormlight Archives Series by Brandon Sanderson: this is a beast of a series with some of the longest books I've ever read. The world is really cool and quite original and it has some very memorable characters and moments. It does drag at times though and I felt some of the interludes between sections were unnecessary. Really looking forward to the last book in the first part of the series though! 4/5

3. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: this is a fantastic science fiction book from the author of The Martian with a big emphasis on the science. Easy to read with a great storyline, even if some aspects of the ending felt a bit weak and unsatisfying to me. The narration of the audiobook is also excellent and adds to the experience. I’d Recommend this to just about anyone. 4.5/5

2. First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie: excellent dark Fantasy trilogy with some absolutely incredible character work especially with Sandan Glokta, the crippled Inquisitor, and Logan Nine Fingers, the battle-weary northerner with a bloody reputation. The characters are all deep and flawed and feel like real people. It takes a bit for the story to get going but it becomes really compelling in the second two books. The narration of the audiobooks is also fantastic and really adds to the experience, would definitely recommend going this route. Excited to dive into the rest of the books in this universe that I have yet to read. 4.5/5

1. Red Rising Series (second trilogy) by Pierce Brown: I enjoyed the second Trilogy in the Red Rising series a good bit more than the first one, which is saying something because those were quite good as well. I'm really happy the author expanded the perspective to multiple characters as it added depth to the storyline and world. The amount of crazy set pieces in these books is just ridiculous and I found the storyline very compelling outside of maybe a few sections with the Valkyries which dragged a bit. The second book in this trilogy “Dark Age” in particular I thought was incredible. I think the series is a must read if you enjoy space opera type science fiction. 5/5

Its been *checks notes* 8 years since I posted a blog on gamespot, but I felt a compulsion to write about my favorite games from 2021 for some reason so here it is:

2021 ended up being a bit of an odd year for gaming for me, and honestly not a great one. A lot of the games I was most looking forward to either didn’t turn out great, or got delayed to next year. One has to think the disruption to development caused by the pandemic had a role to play.

I feel like I had to struggle a bit to find 10 games to put on a list, and I have some reservations with pretty much everything outside the top 5. Still, some quality games did come out and next year is looking like it should be better so without further delay, here are my top 10 games of 2021.

10. Psychonauts 2: I never played the original Psychonauts, and decided to give this one a go on a whim since it had good reviews and was on gamepass. I ended up mostly enjoying it thanks to the creative presentation and unique story. The gameplay was a bit clunky but not bad enough to cause major frustrations, and the amount of variety in the levels kept things interesting enough to be engaging to the end. This might have my favorite soundtrack of 2021 as well and all that was enough for this to squeak into my top 10.

9. Forza Horizon 5: Coming in a bit lower than expected is a game that was near the top of my most anticipated list for the year. I got on board this series with Forza Horizon 3, and absolutely loved both that game and its follow-up.

FH5 ended up being a bit too similar to those games for me, suffered from some frustrating technical issues especially in multiplayer, and also suffered for me because I played it right after the very similarly structured but more exiting and fresh Riders Republic which will appear later on in my list. A lot of the story events are boring and force you to listen to cringey dialogue. Despite these drawbacks, I ended up having a good amount of fun with the game, especially in multiplayer despite the aforementioned bugs and technical issues. It looks amazing and is incredibly optimized. If I just want to sit on the couch and play something to relax, this game has filled that role and I’ve played it more than I initially thought I might.

8. The Ascent: This is also a game that was carried almost entirely by its presentation. A simple isometric shooter with some ARPG elements, I had a great time with this game primarily because it looks absolutely incredible, with a detailed, grungy, beautiful cyberpunk world backed up with great audio design and a sweet soundtrack. The action felt solid and was enjoyable but really I just adored the atmosphere in this game and had no trouble finishing it despite some uneven difficulty and performance.

7. Age of Empires IV: Though I did play Age of Empires III, my RTS time was largely spent elsewhere when it came to the classic games. AoE IV proved to be a solid RTS and a nice bounceback from Relic after the quite disappointing Dawn of War III. Though I only finished one of the four campaigns, I had a lot of fun playing skirmishes against AI, sometimes with human team mates. Though perhaps the game plays it a bit safe overall and didn’t hold my interest for as long as I’d hoped, there are so few quality RTS these days that I still had a lot of fun with this one.

6. Halo Infinite: I would not describe myself as a Halo fan. My only fond memories of the series come from the PC release of the original Halo CE which I played a long time ago, and greatly enjoyed. I think I missed the boat on the rest of the series, bouncing off Halo 2 in its eventual PC release, and only dabbling in the other games when they recently arrived on PC with the Master Chief Collection and not really getting too much out of them.

Halo Infinite was the first time then I’ve been able to play a Halo game on release. I didn’t spend much time in the multiplayer initially as I wasn’t very good at it, but campaign proved quite enjoyable thanks to great action and a nice mix of more linear levels and bigger sandbox ones. After the campaign I returned to the multiplayer and had a better time thanks to my familiarity with the mechanics. The grappling hook is a good addition to the action and the physics allow for some really funny moments.

5. Hell Let Loose: I’ve been playing Hell Let Loose for a couple of years now, but it only fully released this year so I think it earns a spot on my list. HLL has turned into my go-to multiplayer shooter as it offers a good mix of realism and accessibility; this is a hardcore tactical shooter but it’s surprisingly easy to jump in and get into the action. The game looks excellent and has finally seen some much needed optimization though it’s still a demanding game. It has some outstanding WWII atmosphere/immersion and a hefty amount of maps, though the recently added Eastern Front still needs fleshing out. I will likely continue to play this on and off for the foreseeable future.

4. Chivalry 2: Another game that probably should have spent longer in development, I am unashamedly putting this game on my list because I’m really good at it thanks to my time spent with the similar Mordhau and Chivalry 1. Despite some frustrating issues with forming parties with friends and matchmaking, I had an absolute blast with this game. When I played regularly I would be at the top of the team almost every game, going on some ridiculous killing sprees. Running up to the front lines and seeing opponents recognize you and run away because you’ve beat them so many times is a power trip I won’t get anywhere else. Winning a 3-on-1 that ends with you beheading your last foe is a high you don’t find anywhere else. While Mordhau and Chivalry tended to frustrate me, some smart tweaks to the combat in Chivalry 2 made it much less enraging and I only stopped playing because I got bored of the maps and modes available.

3. Riders Republic: After Ubisoft proved you could make a fun open-world winter sports game with Steep, they knocked it out of the park with their extreme-sports follow-up Riders Republic. Mountain biking/bike tricks and jet-packs were added to the existing roster of sports, alongside more varied environments and improved multiplayer features. They also took some design cues from Forza Horizon, and in my opinion made a more fun and exciting game with some ridiculous devices like rocket-skiis and rocket-bikes to play with.

Disclaimer, I’m a big skier and love spending time in the mountains so a game that lets you race down a mountain on skies or mountain bikes is going to appeal to me more than one based entirely on driving. Highly recommend this to anyone who wants a pure fun extreme sports open world game, though I’d suggest turning off the dialogue as it is really bad.

2. It Takes Two: This was just a fun, well paced, well made and remarkably varied co-op game. Despite a cheesy story and one really obnoxious character, ITT was a joy from start to finish. The amount of variety in the levels and gameplay ideas feels like something out of a classic Valve game. The great graphics and animations and tone of dialogue between the two lead characters makes it feel like you are playing through a Pixar movie at times. Grab a friend and play through this if you missed it, you won’t regret it.

1. Valheim: Winning the number one spot rather easily on my list is the biggest surprise of 2021. I’ve never been huge on multiplayer survival crafting type games, bouncing off the likes of The Forest and staying away from the likes of Ark and Rust. However, the Viking theme, strong atmosphere and clear structure of Valheim lured me in got me hooked. This is just an incredibly well designed game and produced so many memorable moments, both building up bases and out exploring/adventuring.

It also helped I had a good group of guys to play with, as we’d build forts/outposts and share communal supplies that allowed me to focus on the things I enjoyed doing. One friend kindly ran a dedicated server to host our shared world, and the game has lots of stuff that works well solo or with other Vikings at your side. After seeing everything the initial early access launch had to offer I’d put close to 100 hours in the game, making it a more complete and polished experience than most “finished” games this year. I look forward to jumping back in once more content has been added.

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There are still a couple of games I need to play (or play more of) from 2021, but this is my list based on what I was able to play. 2022 is looking to have some really strong games, with Stalker 2 existing at the top of my hype list.

I have zero confidence that anyone will actually see this thanks to Gamespots new layout but imma do it anyways!

2013 was decent year for gaming, especially after 2012, but it lacked RPG's and had its fair share of disappointments. Here are the games I enjoyed the most in 2013 from what I have played so far.

5. Tomb Raider

I have never played a Tomb Raider game before and had few expectations of any kind coming into this year's reboot. What I found was a refined version of the formula used by the Uncharted games with much stronger gameplay but weaker writing and narrative elements. The gameplay in Tomb Raider is very solid with tight shooting, fun stealth and some of the best platforming controls and camera angles I have ever seen. The blend of shooting, exploration, scripted events and stealth was very well executed apart from an excess of quick-time events, making this one of the most consistently enjoyable experiences of 2013.

4. Company of Heroes 2

the first Company of Heroes is my favorite strategy game of all time and probably my favorite game from the last 10 years. I find the formula of Real Time Strategy mixed with real time tactics a truly intoxicating one, and I anxiously awaited CoH 2 as it went through a troubled development cycle under THQ. I even had the chance to play a very early version of the game in a closed alpha while it was still under THQ; it was not a pleasant experience but I saw glimmers of hope in the poorly optimized mess. I was relieved when Relic was picked up by Sega, and the beta showed massive improvements over what I had played previously.

Since then, the game has gradually improved with the exception of some questionable DLC practices in the form of paid multiplayer commanders. It has become my most played game of 2013, with steam clocking about 130 hours playtime so far, and I still go in for multiplayer matches almost daily. While I don't think it's a better game than its predecessor, it has the same addictive quality and the core gameplay remains stellar. It also has enough differences to feel fresh and differentiate itself.

3. Rising Storm

simply put, this is probably the best designed and most atmospheric multiplayer shooter I have ever played. It lacks the production value of some of its AAA counterparts, but the asymmetric balance, stellar gunplay and well implemented teamwork mechanics make this a really engrossing game that I keep coming back to. Many maps capture the atmosphere of Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault's better levels (especially the Guadalcanal map), and the way the soldiers talk amongst themselves about their current situation is incredibly cool. This game feels like a world war 2 game on a mechanical level, it doesn't just use it as a backdrop like earlier Call of Duty titles. I just wish there was more of it. More maps, more guns and some vehicles to add variety. These things are coming, and for free, but the seven maps available right now just aren't quite enough.

2. Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag

I am not a big fan of the Assassins Creed series. Even with AC II and Brotherhood, the two previously most accomplished games in the series, I didn't manage to finish. When Black Flag was announced, I rolled my eyes, amazed that Ubisoft were rushing out yet another yearly iteration in the stagnating franchise. I was astonished then that it turned out to be a stellar open world game. The sandbox is well designed and side activities actually have a purpose now with the Jackdaw serving as an excellent focal point for the game, but more than anything it is the way in which the developers captured the Ocean that has me floored. Having spent a lot of time on boats growing up, no game has come close to capturing the feel of the ocean until now.

The most powerful moment in gaming for me this year wasn't some overwrought cutscene in The Last of Us or Tomb Raider, but a moment when I was simply sailing along with the sun setting on the Caribbean sea while the crew started singing a particularly affecting sea shanty. Black Flag won me over totally, despite some annoyances like eavesdropping missions and free-running mishaps returning from previous games.

1. Metro Last Light

This is one of the best story-driven first person shooters since FEAR and Half-Life 2. I found it totally enthralling for its duration, particularly the above surface segments that showcased the amazing weather effects. That atmosphere is just incredible, something that the game inherited from its predecessor, but all other elements have been improved hugely. Encounters with humans are highly enjoyable using both stealth and action, monster variety is much improved, and the pacing is largely excellent. The game remained in my psyche for months after playing it, and I plan on returning for another run through after recently purchasing the ranger mode DLC on sale. The game feels like a labour of love coming from a smaller, less wealthy studio, and it shows.

Honorable Mentions

The Last of Us - I wanted to enjoy this game more than I actually did. I loved the story and the characters, and the weighty and intimate feel of the combat. Sadly I just found large parts of the game rather tedious, particularly the stretch of gameplay that took place in Pittsburgh. The strong writing and relationship between Joel and Ellie had me stay through to the end however, and I was impressed with the mature storytelling and character development even if the gameplay side of things often left me less than satisfied. I feel I would have enjoyed it exponentially more if I could have played it with a mouse and keyboard since the sluggish controller aiming was a major source of frustration for me.

Arma 3 - Mechanically, this game is extremely impressive. Considering the scale and complexity of the series, the fact that everything works as smoothly as it does is amazing. The gunplay is fantastic, the weight of movement and various stances is just perfect for style of gameplay the series is going for. Right now it feels more like a platform for future mods and developer made content however, as there really isn't a lot right now. I look forward to seeing how this title develops in the coming years.

Splinter Cell Blacklist - I never played SC Conviction, so my initial impressions of Blacklist were very negative. However once I got used to the cover system and started unlocking various gadgets, the game shone. Some levels in the middle of the game are really good, and I ended up having a lot of fun with the game despite some annoying action sequences in the second half.

The Stanley Parable - I don't know if this game is as deep and prophetic as some people claim, I found it incredibly funny though.

Antichamber - An interesting puzzle game that has a bit too many moments of "hah! you failed because you didn't know something you couldn't possibly know!" I know that is partially the point of the game but I found it got irritating after a point. Still a nice mind bending experience though.

The Swapper - the puzzles are clever, but it's the amazing atmosphere that makes this a very special experience. The finnicky puzzles toward the end of the game are a huge pain though.

Bioshock Infinite - I enjoyed the first half of this game immensely. The setting is fantastic and the combat is much tighter than in the first Bioshock. However the pace drags in the second half and the story moves away from the themes that made earlier parts of the game so interesting.

While 2013 has already provided us with some great high profile releases like Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite and Metro: Last Light, most of my time over the last few months has been spent in a variety of Alpha's and Beta's for games slated to release later in the year. Here is a rundown of the game's I've been playing for dozens of hours despite their not having been released yet, and what I think of them so far.

Rising Storm

I'll start with Rising Storm, the stand alone expansion for Red Orchestra 2, since it is the most recent beta I have been playing. I loved Red Orchestra 2, and eagerly pre-purchased Rising Storm for 12 bucks when I learned it would get me into the beta right away. Despite somewhat tepid first impressions, I have since become totally hooked on the game. It keeps the basic mechanics of RO2, but it feels totally different mostly due to the change in map design, difference in play style between the two sides and presence of the glorious Banzai Charge. This involves the Japanese screaming their heads off and sprinting at the enemy lines, which suppresses them making it hard for them to aim. The more people involved in a Banzai charge, the more dramatic the effect of the suppression. This results in some pretty epic moments of last minute ditch efforts to capture points.

     Creeping through the dense jungle on either side is super intense, especially since it can be really hard to determine if someone you see moving in a bush 100 yards away is a friend or a foe. After getting used to the new mechanics and learning the maps somewhat, I'm having the more fun in Rising Storm than I've had in any competitive online shooter since Bad Company 2. People really seem to using teamwork which can be really involving, especially since servers hold 64 players. At this point, the community is thriving and there are loads of populated servers, something that was often a problem with Red Orchestra 2. If you are tired of the lack of teamwork in BF3 or have an interested in a really authentic WW II game, you should absolutely check this game out.

I currently have 1 spare beta key for Rising Storm for one lucky winner, first person to ask for it in a comment gets it!

Company of Heroes 2

Continuing with the WW II theme, I had the chance to play the Company of Heroes 2 closed multiplayer beta for about 30 hours, and came away largely pleased. CoH 2 is the game I am most excited for since I know it will provide a lot of play time for me, and I can already tell from the Beta it will live up to this hope. While the balance between factions is currently a bit dubious, the gameplay is as good as ever, with matches becoming more and more intense as they progress. The weather effects on the winter maps really force you to think of new strategies to deal with the cold, and some of the tweaks to the base game work really well. The best change in my opinion is the way points are captured. Instead of having one squad go cap a point, forcing them to become ineffective in combat and not allowing another enemy squad to cap a point, there is now a ring around each point. You must clear the ring of enemy soldiers in order to start capturing a point, a mechanic which serves to further increase the frequency and intensity of the fighting.

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the final release of CoH 2 when it comes out later in June.

Arma 3

I have always liked the idea of the Arma series, a large-scale military sandbox full of flexible missions and gameplay, but I have never been able to really get into the games. I spent loads of time on mods for Arma 2, namely Dayz and Wasteland, but only ever spent a few hours in the base game. I decided to pre-order Arma 3 since it was cheap and gave access to the Alpha, and I put about 15 hours into it. The clunkyness of Arma 2 has certainly been reduced, and I had some fun with the multiplayer, but I'm still uncertain about the game. The amount of content that shipped with the Alpha is pretty small compared to what the full game will have, so I am interested to see how the title progresses as it moves into the Beta phase down the road.

Trackmania 2: Stadium

I poured a ton of hours into Trackmania 2 Canyon, a game that set itself apart from others in the series with its epic drifting mechanics. Stadium is the second environment coming to Trackmania 2, and it is currently in open beta accessible through steam to anyone. To be honest, its exactly the same as Trackmania Nations Forever apart from some minor graphical improvements. The handling is the same and in multiplayer most of the tracks are the same since they are being ported directly from TMNF. Only difference is that TMNF was free and TM2 stadium will cost 10 bucks when it comes out. Not too impressed with this new environment, hopefully Valley proves more interesting. 

     As you may or may not know, I am not the biggest fan of the original Bioshock. I thought Rapture was an great setting and I really enjoyed the first few hours as a result, but once the wonderment had worn off, I thought the rest of the game was pretty poor. The combat was extremely unsatisfying, the pacing was awful, and the main points of the story were lifted straight out of System Shock 2. However Bioshock lacked all of the tension and interesting role-playing elements of that game. After the famed 'twist,' Bioshock fell to shambles in the final third as the most interesting aspects of the story had been told and the gameplay had become beyond stale.

     So as you might expect, I was pretty skeptical going into Infinite. I reluctantly bought it after hearing nothing but unanimous praise for the game, and overall, I thought it was great and a huge improvement over the first Bioshock. The setting is just as interesting as Rapture, but the combat is hugely improved and while the pacing still isn't perfect the narrative drive kept me intrigued and entertained until the end. The story is quite good if not a bit cryptic in its telling, and the characters are generally interesting. The game also sounds and looks great; the soundtrack is very similar to the film 'There Will Be Blood' which is a good thing.

     However, despite really enjoying my time with Infinite, I think it could have been even better. The problem I have with the game is this: you are presented at the start with an extremely rich setting, and exposed to themes of religion and racism. Interesting quotes are displayed prominently in the environments; "what is Columbia if not another arc for another time?" And people yell at you to "go back to the Sodom from which you came!" After a few hours of being exposed to these ideas and messages, I was incredibly interested to see where the story went. The game reminded me at this point of HBO's Carnivale and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, a show and a film that both took place in the early 20th century that dealt with religious themes and have in my opinion some of the best stories ever told in their respective mediums. I was thrilled that Bioshock Infinite seemed to be following in the footsteps of these masterpieces.

     Yet as the game progresses, the focus is pulled from the themes of religion and racism, and instead is placed on... multiverse theories and quantum physics. Yea. It turns out that these are the narrative elements which Bioshock Infinite hangs its hat on. While the second half of Infinite that focuses on these elements is really interesting and full of cool moments, I can't help but feel that the narrative would have been more meaningful and memorable if it had focused on the aspects of Columbia that make it so strange and enthralling. The character of Comstock is not explored on any meaningful level, yes you can make some inferences about him once you learn that he is Booker later in life from an alternate universe, but you only learn tidbits about how and why Columbia was formed. Why does Comstock consider the world below Sodom, and Columbia an arc? How did he become racist and a proponent of slavery? How did he convince a huge number of people to come live in his city in the sky? We can assume perhaps that his experience fighting aboriginals in the battle of Wounded Knee and exposure to the Boxer Rebellion painted his picture of the world below, but these are things that could have been much more fleshed out.

    We are given glimpses of some very interesting themes and ideas that are swept aside to make way for a complex and convoluted but hardly deep or meaningful science fiction tale. Racism, religion and slavery take a back seat in the narrative to quantum physics and somewhat gimmicky plot twists. Singularity, a game that borrowed heavily from Bioshock and was not aspiring to provide a fresh and exciting video game narrative had many of the same story elements as Infinite; they really aren't as novel or exciting as some people seem to believe.

     These twists and ideas are interesting in and of themselves in the context of Columbia, but they are poorly explained, and have you mulling the ending over not because it questions accepted ideas surrounding the three aforementioned themes but because it is cryptic in its presentation of the ideas. Would people consider the ending brilliant if it was told more plainly and was easier to figure out? Probably not, people like the fact that they need to put the pieces together so that everything makes sense. The final 'twist' is something of a narrative low blow and does not add any richness to the story, and you are left trying to figure out how a low-key guy who doesn't seem to like attention turned into the religious fanatic-come-quantum physicist that Comstock is. Maybe they will flesh that out with DLC, which would a even less appetising possibility.

     Perhaps I am not being realistic in my hopes that developers will challenge directly more mature and adult themes such as racism and religion. Rockstar has in a few games hinted at some interesting ideas like the struggles of immigrants in America with GTA IV, racism against aboriginals in Red Dead Redemption and the class divide in Sal Palo with Max Payne 3. Will there ever come a time when these issues are tackled head on in main stream games, or will they forever be relegated to thematic backdrops while more conventional video game story tropes take center stage?

The first few hours of Bioshock Infinite hinted at something of great narrative significance and depth which I hope one day will make it into mainstream games. Sadly it didn't quite deliver on that potential. 

So Trials Evolution Gold has finally arrived on the PC. I was a big fan of this series back when it was on the PC, and I was really looking forward to a fun, straightforward game like Trials to distract me from end of semester stress. I bought it on Tuesday planning to have it pre-loaded and ready to go for its release date, which is today (the 21st of march). I was initially dismayed to find it was published by Ubisoft and used Uplay alongside Steam. I didn't have many problems with the service when playing the Assassin's Creed games so I wasn't overly concerned, and was then surprised to find I could already play Trials. Apparently there had been an open beta for those who pre-ordered, and they were letting people play the beta until the game released.

     I spent a bunch of time playing the game on Tuesday and Wednesday on my desktop, finishing the beginner, easy and medium tracks and amassing about 120 medals. The game had some performance problems; stuttering whenever the frame rate dropped below 60 and awful screen tearing that forces you to use Vsync. The day one patch didn't fix this either, and even though it doesn't look all that great, the game still stutters and runs poorly on my powerful gaming PC. Despite this I have been greatly enjoying the game.

     I decided to try installing the game on my laptop because it seems like the kind of game I can mess around with for short periods of time when I need a break from studying or essay writing. I installed the game and booted it up, only to find that my save games hadn't carried over from my desktop. I found the save game file on my desktop, copied it onto a USB key and transferred it to my laptop. Still my progress did not carry over. I figured Uplay was probably the cause of my frustrations, so I started looking around in the settings. I noticed that cloud synchronization had defaulted to 'on' for my laptop, but 'off' for my desktop. I turned it on for my desktop, hoping it would ask me if I wanted to upload the files from my desktop onto the steam cloud so my progress synced. Instead, it overwrote the progress from my desktop with the progress from my laptop... which is no progress at all. Four hours of play time lost in an instant, thanks to a broken service that never should have existed.

I've always disliked Ubisoft as a PC publisher, they predictably delay PC games and bundle them with terrible DRM, loads of bugs and performance issues. After repeatedly accusing PC gamers of pirating their games 95% of the time, they recently said they wanted to improve their relations with PC gamers. Well Ubisoft, if you want to rebuild the bridge that you burnt so eagerly and vigorously over the past several years, purge Uplay from existence, optimize and bug test your games, and maybe then we will stop pirating your products.

Trials Evolution is a great game. I encourage anyone who reads this to steer clear. 

As indicated by my best games of 2012 blog a couple months ago, my favorite game of 2012 was actually the mod 'Dayz' for Arma II Combined Operations. Recently I have been playing another mod that isn't quite as big of a deviation from the base game as Dayz, 'Wasteland.' Wasteland is sort of like a mix of Minecraft, Dayz and well Arma II. Basically there are three 'factions' you can join when loading into the game. Two of the factions are like traditional teams, but the third faction is 'independent' which means everyone on this team can either group up amongst themselves or simply go it alone, killing anything and everyone (including independents).

A bit like Dayz you initially spawn at a random location with just a pistol, map and compass. However instead of loot spawning in Dayz-style, the server will randomly spawn vehicles in towns and they will contain weapons. There are also weapon-crates which can be found. If you choose to side with Blufor or Opfor, you can spawn on any town that has team-members and no enemies. If you choose to play on the independent team, you can go it alone or make a private group. The idea of Wasteland is to build bases, complete objectives, compile weapons and vehicles and launch attacks on enemy bases.

Base building is a key component of Wasteland. Base parts, such as sand bags, walls and bunkers are scattered around the map, mostly in towns. These structures can be placed into vehicles, driven to your base, and moved into place. Once there, the object can be 'locked' so that no one can move it apart from you. Weapons caches can be moved and locked in similar fashion.

The group of guys I've been playing with recorded some of our endeavors, here is a video of our group building and defending a base (I am Mr. Gorbachev in these videos):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_m0BE1K1Og

Once you have a base and some basic weapons, you can try and tackle some of the objectives. There are main objectives and side objectives that pop up every 10 minutes or so. Usually these involve a vehicles such as a tank or helicopter in primary objectives or a special vehicle such as a SUV with a machine gun or a weapons crate in side objectives being dropped at a random location on the map. The vehicle will be defended by a handful of AI soldiers, but you will also need to contend with enemy soldiers going for the objective at the same time. To make things even more stressful, the vehicles will usually be in poor conditions, and you will need to refuel and repair them before you can drive to safety.

Once you have some decent weapons and vehicles, you can try and mount assaults on enemy bases. These are in my experience some of the most exciting moments of the game as you co-ordinate with your group and come up with strategies to clear the enemies out of their base. If the base is not in a town, people can only spawn in if there is a spawn beacon which can be destroyed.

Here is a video of our group raiding an enemy base: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLFyQBzsofo

Wasteland isn't quite as intense as Dayz since you know everyone outside of your group is hostile, but there is no shortage of tension and excitement to be had in this mod. Dayz gave me great appreciation for the gunplay and PvP of Arma II, and it really shines in Wasteland. 

Since there aren't many games coming out in January and I've worked my way through most of my back-log from 2012, I decided to give a couple of games a second chance, namely Battlefield 3 and Dark Souls. Returning to one of these games caused a great deal of frustration and a subsequent uninstall, while the other has me at least partially change my mind about the game.

Despite the continuous stream of hate coming from me in the past, the game that has me changing my mind is Dark Souls. I previously bashed it for the lock-on system and camera in confined spaces, as well as the bosses being in small arenas and glitchyness of the movement and combat. While some of these complaints I still think are valid, I have started enjoying the game quite a bit. I stopped playing a few months ago after beating Queelag in the bottom of blight town because I had grown weary of constantly re-treating the same areas in order to progress. One evening for whatever reason I felt the urge to continue, and I figured that since I hadn't played in a while, I should try and be slow and cautious. Turns out being slow and cautious is the trick to success, and I have had a much easier time progressing through the game. I'm sure playing a bunch of Chivarly: Medieval Warfare has also helped with my combat skills. I tackled the moonlight butterfly after Queelag and killed it on my first go, then took out the Stray-daemon, a bit tougher but still got it on my third try, and have killed countless mini-bosses. I then fought my way through Sens Fortress, killed the Iron Golem in a few tries (mostly failed due to rolling off the platform, still hate the lock-on system) and have started exploring Anor Londo

Even though I died a lot in Sens Fortress, I haven't been getting frustrated. Each time I seem to make it a bit further and discover something that will make the next go a bit easier. The slow, careful approach is ultimately the faster one funnily enough, and I'm finding progressing through the game in this deliberate way quite rewarding. I'm still annoyed with the way the lock-on system, camera angles and movement mechanics interact with the narrow bridges and swinging axes in Sens Fortress, but it's not ruining the experience. I wouldn't say I'm in love with the game, but I think at least I am able now to appreciate it as something a bit different, and I can understand why some people love it so much. After so much time being angry at DS and having a grudge against it, looking forward to playing more is an odd but welcome sensation.

As for Battlefield 3, I picked up the Aftermath DLC after hearing a lot of praise for it, and didn't enjoy the relatively brief time I had with it. The map layouts seemed overly chaotic, with the ruined buildings conducive to campers. Trying to use tanks resulted in being destroyed by infantry hidden in the various nooks and crannies, and teamwork was as minimal as ever in the games I played. BF3 has some great mechanics, but I just can't come to terms with the anarchic nature of the matches. It strikes a remarkable balance between that of dullness and frustration. I hope to god EA add VOIP and commanders in BF4, otherwise I don't think I'll even get it at this point.

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Unnecessary mini-BF3 rant over, I'd like to talk about another multiplayer game that seems custom made for me. Natural Selection 2 is the game in question, and it plays like a combination of Starcraft 2 and Left 4 Dead 2. That means it is a combination of asymmetrical first-person competitive multiplayer and real-time strategy. An unlikely combination, but one that Unknown Worlds absolutely nailed. The level of teamwork in this game is fantastic, some of the best I've seen with only Left 4 Dead 2 being comparable. The community is great, most people use mics and constantly communicate. A good strategy from the commander who plays the game like a RTS is as important as good reflexes, and it's incredibly rewarding to see a risky or unusual strategy pay off in the end. I'm really excited about indie developers making games like this and Chivalry Medieval Warfare that aren't concerned with fitting into a pre-existing market or genre, for genre-blending or unique games are often the most interesting.

For my full thoughts on Natural Selection 2, check out my Review at New Game Network, and while you are there, have a gander at our recently posted Game of the Year awards.

The number of releases coming in February and March is pretty incredible, so hopefully a few of those games turn out to be winners.

Thanks to some early sales and kind people, I've had a chance since my last blog to finish or at least spend a good amount of time with every game from 2012 that I had an interest in playing. Some of these games I loved (Xcom, Natural Selection 2), some of them I didn't (Hitman), but I feel I can sum up my thoughts on the best and worst games of 2012. Overall the year wasn't great, with a number of games falling short of their potential, but a number of solid retail releases and some amazing mods kept me busy throughout the year.

Top 5 games (and mods)

5.

Dishonored - The story in Dishonored left much to be desired, and I'm sure some will criticize it for being too easy, but the flexibility of it's gameplay and the level of polish that accompanied it was second to none this year. Dunwall was a very compelling setting and learning about its history and current plight was highly engaging. I played through it once going stealthy and started another playthrough killing everything that moved, and I plan on finishing that playthrough and doing at least one more after that when I have time.

4.

Mass Effect 3 - Despite the shadow cast over this release by the controversial ending, the third game in this excellent series was in many ways the best. The combat was very good - some of the best cover-based shooter combat around in my eyes - and the story was very well paced and moved forward nicely despite the considerable length of the game. Playing through Mass Effect 3 was an absolute pleasure, and I just don't understand the people who think ten minutes at the end ruined the entire series. I started a second playthrough and got maybe a third of the way through before getting side tracked and I look forward to returning to it.

3.

Max Payne 3 - I had high expectations going into this game, and Rockstar did not disappoint. Not only did they deliver a stellar PC version of their vision of Mr. Max Payne, they also released what is in my eyes the best third person shooter of the generation, as Max Payne 1 and 2 were the best third person shooters of their time. I can understand how some people were put off by the incessant cutscenes and linearity, but I bought into Max's plight and new way of life bait line and hook. The action was simple yet super tight; some people criticized it for becoming a cover shooter, but I shoot-dodged my way through the entire game on normal and rarely became frustrated or stuck. The plot itself wasn't anything to special, but the setting of Sal Palo and the issues raised around the inequality of those in Sal Palo were very real and made for a very rich backdrop to the character study of Max Payne. I lapped up every bit of dialogue from this character, Mr. McCaffrey did an outstanding job as Max, and even though its structure was quite different from the old Remedy games, it still felt like a Max Payne game.

2.

Black Mesa - A few years ago I attempted to play Half-Life 1, I made it about a quarter of the way through but got stuck at one bit and never got back to it; part of me was waiting for Black Mesa. Playing through this game was a near religious experience, like with Half-Life 2, no single element made it stand out, but instead the incredible ambiance that was created by all of the different game mechanics and visuals working together in harmony. The level design and pacing is just top notch, with the updates to the gunplay and visuals really eliminating any feeling that I was playing a game made over a decade ago. The team behind this mod did a stand-up job, and it made me even more anxious about Valve's plans for the franchise moving into the future.

1.

Dayz - This mod came out of nowhere and took over my life for a couple of months back in June and July. I have never felt such strong emotions in a game as in Dayz, there were a few times when I actually stopped playing because I thought I might have a heart attack or something. Never before have I had such strong emotions tied to fictional locations in a game; at one point in my Dayz career, simply approaching certain locations would get my heard racing and give me sweaty palms. I will never forget my first visit to the North West airfield, or the time I crawled into Stary Sobor, legs broken and falling unconscious from blood loss, when someone I was playing with braved escaping a building surrounded by bandits to give me morphine and a blood transfusion. Even though the game is relatively simple, I played it for over 100 hours, because the unpredictability of the situations you get yourself into just makes it so compelling. I did burn out on it eventually, and I'm skeptical about whether or not the stand-alone will make things feel fresh once again, but I'm never going to forget the great times I had with Dayz.

Honorable Mentions

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare - GYAAAAaaaaaaAAAAAAaaaaAAAAAAA! FOR THE ORDERRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! YEAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHHHH!

Darksiders II - A great sequel to a underrated gem, Darksiders II is bigger, better and more varied than its predecessor. It has fun combat, loads of well designed dungeons filled with fun puzzles and bosses, as well as a really superb soundtrack.

Xcom - Enemy Unknown - Had Xcom been less buggy, It would have come in near the top of my top 5 list. The overall design is just awesome, with soldiers' deaths being so significant that with each turn you are begging the gods to land your 45% hit chance shot. Sadly the way line of sight works and the tendency of Aliens to shoot through walls makes it a rather frustrating and almost broken game at times.

Borderlands 2 - A fun and substantial sequel to one of the most addicting games I have ever played. BL 2 is incredibly funny and is in general a very well made game, it just doesn't do quite enough different from its predecessor to really stand out.

Far Cry 3 - A surprisingly slick sequel from Ubisoft, FC 3 has some great action in the form of a open world sandbox that allows for stealth as well as shootouts. The hunting system is great, and the island looks fantastic. I did experience some weirdness with enemy AI, detecting me through walls made of cloth and discovering my exact location under dubious circumstances. The story and the story missions also falter in the second half, although the excellent design of the world gives you so much to do outside of the story it's easy to ignore its short comings.

The Darkness II - I never played the first Darkness, but I really enjoyed the sequel. The action was excellent and it really makes you feel like a total beast going around eating people's hearts and slashing them with your crazy tentacles. The story was also quite awesome, forcing you to doubt the sanity of your character with some really great moments brought about by the amazing voice work of Jackie's Darkness. I really need to go back and play the first game.

The Walking Dead - A well told story with some good characterization and some really memorable moments, although the actual gameplay is rather minimal. Better than the TV show overall despite sagging somewhat in the last two chapters, this was probably the biggest surprise of 2012.

The Sh*t List

Assassins Creed 3 - A superbly crafted setting and great visuals and animations totally ruined by clumsy gameplay and a convoluted story with a broken economy system and ridiculously inconsistent difficulty.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted

YOU CRASHED

Dark Souls - I really wanted to like this game. The idea of a combat-focused action RPG with precise skill based combat and a big atmospheric world is extremely appealing to me. I really struggled to get used to the mechanics of gaining souls and slowly leveling up, but I originally became very frustrated with the bosses which trapped you in corners or stumbled you and took away control leaving you helpless. Around the second bell I finally came to accept the difficulty, design and the repeated death, but quickly realized once you take these things away, DS is a dull and repetitive game that takes place in rather empty feeling world with glitchy combat and a **** lock-on system.

Hitman: Absolution - I've never been a huge fan of Hitman, and wasn't upset about the new direction IO was taking the series in. What I am upset about is the ridiculous disguise system, terrible save system, and score meter in the top left corner that directly contradicts the game's informing you that you should play Absolution any way you want. Coming from Dishonored and Far Cry 3, the stealth mechanics feel contrived and clunky, and the god awful story doesn't do the game any favours.

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Despite these disappointing games, 2012 had enough games to keep me busy throughout the year. 2013 looks much more promising with games like Company of Heroes 2, Rome 2, Metro Last Light, Amnesia a Machine for Pigs and many others.

As the tide of fall releases is finally beginning to recede, I am merrily playing my way through the last few major releases of the year while planning on catching up on some of the game's I've missed (Xcom and Hitman) over the next month before classes start again in January. It worked out that I only have two final exams this semester so I actually have a bit of free time on my hands. It seems like I've been playing a new game every week or two for the past couple of months, and I want to talk about a good number of them, so strap in folks, this could be a long one.

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare - This must be the biggest surprise of the year for me. Chivalry is a kickstarted and greenlit first-person multiplayer Medieval combat game for those who don't know, and it's absolutely awesome. It was half-broken on launch with a bunch of terrible bugs and glitches, but these have been largely ironed out by the developers in patches. Chivalry is easily my favourite multiplayer game of the year; even though I liked mount and blade the combat always felt floaty and impersonal, while Chivalry just nails the weight and feel of swinging a big heavy melee weapon around. I think this is a game everyone should try since it's so utterly different, its fast paced, brutal, in-your-face and incredibly satisfying. If Dark Souls had combat like this on the PC, I would probably have loved it. Going from Chivalry's combat to some of the other games I'm going to talk about *cough AC3 cough* was incredibly difficult.

The Walking Dead - My dislike of the TV show (the first two seasons anyways, 3 is legit) had me totally ignoring this game. Finally the unanimous love being showered upon it got through to me and I picked it up around the time episode 3 came out for 15 dollars. It turned out to be a better written and more interesting story than the one of the TV show (again for the first two seasons at least), with episodes 2 and 3 being of particular awesomeness. I've never been a big player of Adventure games, but I had a great time with The Walking Dead, and look forward to season 2 of the game.

Dishonored - Even though this game fell fairly flat in terms of its plot and characters, the superb gameplay and setting more than saved it. It has been a while since I've played such a polished AAA game at launch, apparently some people had issues with glitchy guard AI, but I had no problems with it. The stealth is very smooth and exciting, while the various deadly tools and abilities you are given makes for some great action. Its maybe a bit too easy on Normal difficulty, but if you turn up the difficulty and turn off some of the player assists, it becomes much more challenging and engrossing. One of the best games of the year for me, highly recommended.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted - My first major disappointment of the fall, Criterion tried to make a mash-up of Burnout: Paradise and their version of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, and the result was surprisingly mediocre. The singleplayer was short with a wacky car unlock system, the slow motion crash-cam was annoying as hell and triggered way too easily, and the multiplayer encourages you to crash into other players to 'take them down' which again initiates another slow-motion crash cam. The driving mechanics are good and the game looks fantastic, but it has a handful of problems that make is incredibly frustrating and annoying.

Various cheap steam games - Hotline Miami was the first I picked up, it has some solid twitch-action that was brought down by bugs. The highlight of this game is the absolutely stellar soundtrack which is probably one of the best I've ever heard in a game, as well as the crazy atmosphere of a 1980's cocaine-fueled murder spree the game propagates.

Mark of the Ninja is a stealth game with some really good ideas and tight controls, but I'll be damned if the save system didn't ruin it for me. On one level you are required to remain undetected for a minute or so while a door slowly opens and guards and dogs patrol the area. I failed my first attempt, and the game respawned me for some reason in a hiding place right beside a dog and multiple guards. I simply couldn't succeed from this position, so I quit the game. When I restarted the game later on, a huge chunk of my progress through the game had been lost, maybe three levels worth, along with my motivation to finish it, which is a shame because it is solid.

Assassins Creed 3 - at the start of the 2012, this game looked to be one of the best of the year. It failed miserably in most regards, I've never been a huge fan of AC games due to their cumbersome and awkward gameplay, and AC 3 is no different. Only it doesn't play to its few meagre strengths, instead forcing you into broken action sequences. Cities are awful due to the number of redcoats; do anything slightly suspicious and you start a chase with half the loyalist army following you around. The frontier was a bit better, but the hunting was pointless, as was the whole economy, since the combat is already so easy with the basic gear. The stealth is absolutely awful, the story starts well but becomes muddled later on, and Connor isn't much of a leading man. The only two good points are the visuals, which are amazing on the PC, and the naval battles, which are surprisingly fun.

Far Cry 3 - I was one of the 7 people that actually liked Far Cry 2 due to its diagetic HUD, immersive qualities and varied setting, but I wasn't really paying a lot of attention to its sequel. Turns out its one of the best shooters of the year, with great open world design and very solid gameplay. I'm about 10 hours into it, just about to leave the North island, and so far it has been quite good. The AI can sometimes be a bit odd when trying to be sneaky, and the story missions have varied wildly in quality, but the open world and its activities all jive together very well. The randomness of the NPC's and wildlife is very stalker-esque, and the hunting, crafting and exploration aspects are handled very well. I with it had taken the diagetic elements from Far Cry 2 in regards to the map and what not, and I still feel the Savannah is a more interesting setting than a random tropical island, but in every other regard, Far Cry 3 is a better game than its predecessor.

That's pretty much everything I wanted to cover, not that anyone has actually read this far through my ramblings. In a month or so once I've caught up on all of the games I want to play I'll post a 'top games of 2012' blog, expect to see more love for mods than retail releases. I hope you all two of you that read this have a good December.