My GOTY's since 2004. (Note: Like my mind, these tend to change)

2004- Unreal Tournament 2004
2005- Nothing.
2006- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
2007- Crysis
2008- LittleBigPlanet
2009- Assassin's Creed II
2010- Just Cause 2
2011- Batman: Arkham City
2012- The Walking Dead

• 11Feb 13

  Remember my last blog? (Plus some incoherent ramblings from yours truly!)

  Remember my last blog? Where I said The Dark Knight Rises was well-written?

  I take that back. Upon re-watching it, there were too many little plot-holes that stuck out. Like, a lot.

  But hey, let's keep things positive. Since my last blog in July, many things have happened. Well, not really. I'm still an unemployed bum, and I'm still playing games. One thing that swooped in an surprised me was The Walking Dead. I nabbed it during one of the Steam sales (I honestly don't remember which one ), and I loved every damn second of it. I even named it GOTY over the Ubisoft twins (Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed III), and even to this day, the very thought of it brings a smile to my face, as well as a tear.

  And in movie-related stuff, there were two films in the latter half of last year that really stuck out to me. I am talking about the twenty-third adventure of the world's most famous spy, and the first part of a long awaited adaptation. I am of course talking about Skyfall and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. And don't worry, I'll use spoiler tags where neseccary.

  I would consider Skyfall to be my third favourite Bond film (behind the ever-fantastic Casino Royale and the criminally-underrated Licence to Kill). I thought they finally found the perfect balance between classic Bond shenanigans and the more realistic "modern" Bond. The plot was different from the usual "Evil guy who desires world domination fires stolen nuclear missiles in all directions" plot, and I appreciated that. And the callbacks to previous Bond movies triggered a total nerd breakbown. And speaking of nerdgasms...

  The Hobbit.

  

  I loved this beyond description. Yes, I'm a bit of a Tolkien nut. And yes, The Lord of the Rings trilogy ranks among my favourite films of all time (with TFotR coming out at the top). Quite simply, I think Peter Jackson did a brilliant job adapting the novel. I would have liked it if they could squeeze it all into one film, but the idea of turning it into a trilogy doesn't bother me since it only leads to the story being fleshed out more (and obviously more $$$ for the creators.)

  But yes, hobbits. Martin Freeman totally blew away my expectations, and the returning cast are just as excellent as always (I'm looking at you, Andy Serkis). There are so many things I liked about the movie, but there was one partiular part I adored:

  ***SPOILER***

  The Troll scene. This is possibly the most memorable segment of the novel, and I honestly feel that the movie did it better. The dwarves storming out of the bushes was such an awesome shot, and I couldn't think of a better way to screenify it.

  I could go on for ages, but I reckon you all get the point. (And by the way, if you're still reading at this point, then good job! ) That all said, I agree with some of the criticsism of the movie being too long. Not all of it though. In fact, there's only a few parts that felt drawn out to me:

  ***SPOILER***

  -The prologue with Frodo (mainly because it used lines straight from TLoTR novel, which felt somewhat awkward.)

  -Radagast running about.

  -The mountain giants. (This could have been reserved for the inevitable extended cut, thus making everyone happy.)

  And another thing I feel like voicing my opinion on is a certain animated series by Matt Groening that is very dear to my heart. The Simpsons! No wait... the other one. Futurella.

  Futurama's seventh production season made it's debut last year and I liked it. I feel though, that it's starting to lose it's edge slightly. In spite of there not being a single episode that I consided bad from the 13-episode batch, I felt it lacked a real kicker. A real Roswell That Ends Well or The Late Philip J. Fry. The lack of a vomit-inducing turd like Bender's Game or Neutopia is welcome though. With 13 episodes airing later this year, it's fate remains to be seen.

  Anyway, that's enough from me. There aren't really any games or movies coming out in the near future that hold my interest, so it might be a while before you hear from me again.

  So long, friends!

  *UnrealLegend crawls back into semi-lurkdom

  • Posted Feb 11, 2013 1:00 am GMT
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• 22Jul 12

  Update on my extremely fascinating life.

  It's been quite a long time since I made my last blog post, so I thought I might pop in.

  I saw The Dark Knight Rises a couple of days ago, and thought it was excellent. Very well written and a nice ending to the story. Probably not quite as good as TDK, but I think I'll make that decision upon a second viewing rather than judging now.

  Over the year I've been almost exclusively playing TF2 and Minecraft. I may have occasionally turned on the consoles for an hour or two, but they've really been gathering dust more than anything. Steam has taken hold of me.

  And speaking of Steam, of course I've been taking advantage of the current sale (supposedly the "Summer Sale", even though it's quite the opposite of summer down here.) Anyway, I've gotten:

  -Skyrim

  -Max Payne 3

  -Left 4 Dead 2

  -Mirror's Edge

  -Bastion

  I tried to enjoy Skyrim, but of course it bugged out 13 hours in and rendered an essential door impossible to pass through. Great. I'll probably pick the game up again pretty soon and do the other quest lines, but right now I'm a little too pissed off with the game to be bothered.

  I booted up up Max Payne 3 and played it for a few hours. Man, this game is good. The controls are a bit fiddly (on one mission I accidentally jumped off a building 4 times in a row ) but the gunplay is so satisfying and the writing is also pretty good. It seems to like to make me feel like I'm on drugs.

  The other three games I have yet to install, however I did mess around with the Frying Pan that L4D2 owners receive for TF2. The thing is obnoxiously loud, making it the ultimate annoyance.

  Anyway, there's my first blog post of the year. I might try and post more often. I seem to have gotten out of the habit.

  • Posted Jul 22, 2012 6:29 pm GMT
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• 12Dec 11

  My top 25 Futurama episodes

  Many people on this sight would know that I'm a huge fan of Futurama (the avatar and sig probably gives that away ), so I thought it would be about time to do a top-25 episodes list.

  25.

  "The Lesser of Two Evils" (Season 2)

  

  This memorable episode introduced Flexo, arobotidentical to Bender save for the metal goatee. Fry is convinced that Flexo is "the evil Bender", and tries to expose him. This episode seems to be quite influential; it even inspired Roll Call threads on the GS AU board.

  24.

  "Space Pilot 3000" (Season 1)

  

  The very first episode of Futurama, "Space Pilot 3000" begins with a memorable introduction that to this day remains a highlight of the series. It also features a few great characters that don't make many appearances outside this episode, such as Mr. Panucci and Leela's ex-boss, Ipgee.

  23.

  "Bender Gets Made" (Season 2)

  

  A shamefully underrated episode, "Bender Gets Made" introduces the Robot Mafia, and that reason alone is enough to secure it a position in the top 25. Clamp-Clamp KABAMP!

  22.

  "Parasites Lost" (Season 3)

  

  This episode tends to appear in many top 5 lists, and rightly so. The episode's content (Going into Fry's body to extract parasites) is wacky and bizzare; on of the things that Futurama does best. It also the episode that really kicks off the popular theme of Fry and Leela's relationship, but since that isn't really my cup of tea, I won't go into that.

  21.

  "Law and Oracle" (Season 6)

  

  The basic plot of this episode sounds rather bad on paper; Fry becoming a police officer. However, it was managed to be pulled off quite sucessfully. It was given a sci-fi twist to make it relevant to the 31st century, and made great use of URL, the smooth robot cop.

  20.

  "Amazon Woman in the Mood" (Season 3)

  

  This bizzare episode carries many memorable quotes and Brannigan shenanigans. The politically incorrect jokes work perfectly on the planet inhabited by giant women. However, what makes this episode stand out is the fantastic restaurant scene.

  19.

  "War is the H-Word" (Season 2)

  

  Another Brannigan cl@ssic, this episode is set in a war zone. Seeing the impractical weapons used in the 31st century, as well as the Star Wars-like training they perform, make this quite a funny episode. Lastly, the out-of-character lines from Kif are quite unexpected, and downright hilarious. "Mix these mixed nuts, I see two almonds touching!"

  18.

  "Hell is Other Robots" (Season 1)

  

  This episode introduced one of the most memorable minor characters on the show; the Robot Devil. This episode also proves that when a musical is done right, it can make the episode fantastic. Thankfully, the Robot Devil's first appearance was not his last.

  17.

  "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" (Season 3)

  

  This episode invloves everyone on Earth, except for Fry, becoming insanely stupid, thanks to a race of floating brains. This kind of absurdity is what makes the show so brilliant, and the writing in this episode is top notch.

  16.

  "Time Keeps on Slipping" (Season 3)

  

  Time travel is cool, but what could be cooler than uncontrollable time travel that skips forward randomly, leaving everyone with no memory of what happened during the skip? Nothing, that's what. Also, it involves mutant-atomic-supermonster basketball players. 'Nuff said.

  15.

  "A Flight to Remember" (Season 1)

  

  This episode is a parody of the Titanic, and it does quite a fantastic job of it. There are several subplots in the episode, one of which introduces Amy's parents, who are a rather strange couple. Easily the best episode of Season 1.

  14.

  "Overclockwise" (Season 6)

  

  A farily recent episode, "Overclockwise" involves Bender becoming superintelligent after being overclocked. Aside from having an awesome basic concept, one thing in particular makes this episode unique. The most annoying character on the show, Cubert, was actually very well used here, and actually made the episode better.

  13.

  "Insane in the Mainframe" (Season 3)

  

  This episode is set in a robot asylum, and introduces Roberto, who is arguably the best character on the show. His shear craziness and mental instability make this episode very entertaining to watch.

  12.

  "Brannigan, Begin Again" (Season 2)

  

  Zapp Brannigan and his assistant Kif are fired from the DOOP army and are employed by Planet Express. The plot isn't what makes this episode great, it's the ridiculously golden lines that come out of Zapp's mouth. This episode is, without a doubt, the most quotable one in the series. "If I don't survive, tell my wife... hello."

  11.

  "Jurassic Bark" (Season 4)

  

  This episode is about Fry's past, and uses flashbacks to tell a simple, yet effective story. This episode is famous for being surprisingly sad, which for a cartoon, is an impressive feat.

  10.

  "The Prisoner of Benda" (Season 6)

  

  This is the kind of episode that takes nerdiness to the extreme. It uses the science-fiction cliche of mind-switching, and takes it to the extreme, creating a highly entertaining plot with a resolution that is so absurdly complex, yet makes absolute sense.

  9.

  "The Farnsworth Parabox" (Season 4)

  

  Seeing characters interact with themselvesnever fails to be amusing, which is why an episode about entering a paralell universe is such a good idea. The Professor is my favourite character, and this episode really brings out the best of him. "Getting the brain out was the easy part. The hard part was getting the brain out!"

  8.

  "Love and Rocket" (Season 4)

  

  This episode sounds rather chessy on paper. It's about Bender beginning an awkward romance with the Ship, and getting sick of "her" almost immediately. But the more a watch this episode, the more I like it. The disturbing Bear "Hospital", the shelfish attitude of Bender, everything in this episode comes together in an awesome package. And no-one could be happier unless it was Valentines day. What, it was? HOORAY!

  7.

  "Cold Warriors" (Season 6)

  

  Often, I feel like I'm the only one who really likes this episode. It takes the clever idea of everyone freaking out over a common cold like it's the black plague, and turns it into a very funny episode. This episode also uses flashbacks to tell an interesting story, which is good, because it means we get to see more of Fry's ignorant parents.

  6.

  "The Luck of the Fryrish" (Season 3)

  

  Yet another episode about Fry's past, this one is similar to "Jurassic Bark" in that it has a surprisingly emotional ending. But unlike that episode, "The Luck of the Fryrish" is uplifting rather than depressing. this episode is also great because of the unusual family that Fry has; his sport-obsessed mother, and his ultra-patriotic father are both fnny characters that are seldom used.

  5.

  "The Devil's Hands ae Idle Playthings" (Season 4)

  

  For a long time, this was thought to be the very last episode of Futurama, ever. "The Devil's Hands" is the very last episode of the original run, and is a bloody fantastic episode. Once again, the Robot Devil comes along and makes the episode even better. From the epic opera to the constant discussion of what defines "irony", this was a fantastic tempory end to the series.

  4.

  "Roswell that Ends Well" (Season 3)

  

  This episode is clever, complex, hilarious, and mildly disturbing. The crew go back in time and discover that they are the aliens who crashed at Roswell in 1947. However, one particular event makes the entire series quite confusing; Fry accidentlly killing his Grandfather, and then getting his Grandmother pregnant. That's right, Fry is his own grandfather, and this well-written episode reserves the right to be one of the most popular episodes in the series.

  3.

  "The Late Philip J. Fry" (Season 6)

  

  After a line of slightly disappointing episodes at the beginning of Season 6, "The Late Philip J. Fry" came along. Not only is it without a doubt the best episode of the new run, but also one of the best of the entire series. It's basically about Fry promising to not be late for his date with Leela, but then accidentally going 7000 years into the future using the Professor's time machine. I won't spoil any more of it, but every moment of the episode is pure gold. This episode also reminds me why I don't use IGN... (7.5?!?! )

  2.

  "Future Stock" (Season 3)

  

  This fantastic episode is similar to "Brannigan, Begin Again" in that it has so many hilarious quotes. Too many to count in fact. And it's all thanks to Steve Castle, otherwise known as "That guy" or the "80's guy", who makes every single scene memorable. "Anyone here who's a sheep is fired. Who's a sheep?"

  1.

  "The Why of Fry" (Season 4)

  

  My all-time favourite episode of Futurama, is "The Why of Fry." It's a hilarious sequel to "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" and involves everything I could possibly want in an episode of Futurama: crazy sci-fi, floating brains that want to destroy the universe, time travel, shippiness, and a revelation that states why Fry actually came to the future. It will take quite a lot to top this episode!

  • Posted Dec 12, 2011 4:32 pm GMT
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