Video Games
I've really become more of a gamer than I have in the past these past few months. Whether it be because of my sudden interest in gaming videos on Youtube or what, but I played some truly magical games last year. However, of all the games I played, there are two that struck me as the best games I have ever played. Yes, even better than Shadow of the Colossus, a game that I have loved for years. The games I'm talking about are Journey and The Walking Dead. Both games were initially only available via online stores, but the popularity of the games led to them being released on disc.
I first found Journey when I was looking at demos on the Playstation Store. It was highly rated and, after I played it, I realized that I needed to get this game somehow. When I finally bought it and played it for the first time, I discovered what I really loved about it: it truly reminded me of Shadow of the Colossus. There is absolutely no dialogue in this game; the only sounds heard in the game are the sound effects, the music, and the little sounds your character makes. The settings are just beautifully made, especially the snow and the "underwater" levels. However, the moment that brought a smile to my face was the first time I ran into another player. It was on the second desert area and I was wondering why my screen had a bright white section in one of the corners. Upon further review, I discovered another cloaked figure, and we started "talking" back and forth. It was truly an experience that I had never had before. We helped each other with a couple puzzles but, when I had to take a break for a minute, I came back to discover my partner gone. I was actually kind of sad about it, as I had become alone again. Overall, this game was just a beautiful masterpiece, one that I will play for years to come.
However, as breathtaking as Journey was, my game of the year was The Walking Dead. Made by TellTale Games, it was initially released in episodes, much like the TV show. When the game first came out, I was still getting into my The Walking Dead phase. By the time I bought the disc version of the game, I was in the midst of my new obsession. In short, The Walking Dead is now my new favorite video game. Just like the TV series, it is more character driven than zombie driven. To me, that is what made this game so fantastic. For the first time, I really felt like the main character, in this case Lee. Also, I got to see the outcome of my choices, whether they be good or bad. A couple of times, I made decisions based off what I would do, which typically was the better way to go, but a couple of times, my emotions got in the way, leading me to make more irrational decisions. No matter what my decisions were, however, the final episode got me. And, boy, did it get me good. I'm not going to lie; I cried at least three times during the finale. I still think about the finale on occasion. However, I have not played through the game, though I would like to soon.
Movies
This was a very strong year for movies. Between The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spider-Man (just to name a few), comic lovers had their fill of their heroes. I saw a lot of films I had never seen before; to name a few: The Hunger Games, The Raven, Grave Encounters, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, and Paranormal Activity 4. However, out of all of those films, my absolute favorite of the year was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Up until two weeks ago, I was ready to pronounce The Dark Knight Rises as my favorite film of the year. However, The Hobbit blew me away. It wasn't until I saw the film that I realized how much I missed Middle Earth. It was good to see the old gang again, especially Gandalf. I absolutely loved Martin Freeman as Bilbo, as well as Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. For me, the whole last half hour or so, basically when Bilbo meets Gollum for the first time on, is the best part. The riddle/lake scene was my second favorite scene; my favorite scene being the beginning with older Bilbo and Frodo. Even better yet, there are still two more Hobbit films to come this year and next. At the end of it all, The Hobbit trilogy might rival The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the better trilogy.
So, if I were to rank my favorite films of 2012, they would be in this order:
- The Hobbit
- The Dark Knight Rises
- The Avengers
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- The Hunger Games
Music
Not a lot of new music came out for me this year, though what I got was really good stuff. Obviously, there was the huge hit Gangnam Style, which is way too catchy and addictive to not include on any 2012 wrap up. Though I only got a couple CDs this year (yeah, I still buy CDs mostly because my car has no MP3 jack), what I got were good stuff. I downloaded three soundtracks and bought one on CD, all of which were great listens. I downloaded the OSTs to Journey, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Hobbit, while the one I bought was to The Dark Knight Rises. Another CD I bought was the newest release from one of my favorite bands, the ska band Reel Big Fish. They put out their newest album Candy Coated Fury, their first original record in a couple years. However, the album I was most excited for (okay, second most; more on that in a few) was Red from Taylor Swift. I've been a closet TSwift fan for a while and this year is when it really hit off. So, yes, I am a guy who, when Red came out, went out to Target and bought the special edition. I have little to no shame in admitting that. The album I was most excited about didn't come out. It got delayed because the bandleader is a perfectionist and never finished the album in an reasonable amount of time to have it released on the announced date. The band and record in question would be Streetlight Manifesto's The Hands That Thieve and Toh Kay's The Hand That Thieves. They were supposed to be out on Election Day, but about two weeks before the release date, leadman Tomas Kalnoky (Toh Kay) announced that they albums were being delayed until January 2013. Though I was distraught having to wait even longer for new original music from my favorite band, I knew that it was going to be worth the wait. Sure, it is a bit aggravating that they haven't released any new, original material since 2007, but I know that this album is going to be amazing. If you haven't heard their music before, check them out. They truly are a group of extremely talented musicians.
TV
This was the first fall season where I did not have Smallville to look forward to. I have to say, it was a little weird to go into the fall season not having Smallville to amp me up. Thankfully, I had another show to fill the void: The Walking Dead. 2012 was the year of The Walking Dead for me, as I started my new obsession for it towards the middle of the year. That included catching up on the entire TV series. It has now become my favorite TV series. Also, Warehouse 13 continued kick major butt, as it had its strongest season yet. Another show I started watching this year is New Girl. Yes, I, a 20 going on 21 year old male, likes watching New Girl. Other shows that I've kept up with are Tosh.O, Brickleberry (which is a very un-PC show), The Soup, Chopped, and Total Darkness, just to name a few that come to mind.
Comics
Well, what can I say about 2012 in the realm of comics? I'm pretty sure "crazy" sums it up pretty well. We had Zero Month, Avengers Vs. X-Men, Marvel NOW!, "Death in the Family", the "death" of Peter Parker (again), as well as other crazy stuff. Personally, I tried out a lot more comics this year than I have in past years and, though my wallet and parents don't like me spending a lot of money on comics, I've had a blast exposing myself to characters I haven't read before. Especially when Marvel NOW! kicked off, I jumped on a lot of new books, some possibly for the long term, some for an arc to arc basis. 2012 was a year of change for Marvel while DC continued to establish the New 52 even further as the second year started. For me personally, 2012 was a year of great stories, lots of Spider-Man goodness, my introduction to a lot of new Marvel books, discovering that I actually like the X-Men, thanks to Bendis and Immonen, and how great The Walking Dead really is.
It was hard to hash out a list of my favorite comics of the year,
but here is the list of my top 5 favorite comics of the year.
- Batman
The best book on the shelves without a doubt. The stories that Team Batman have been telling have been masterful, from the conclusion of the "Court of Owls" storyline to the current epic "Death of the Family". Batman #13, the first chapter of DotF, actually might be the finest comic I have ever read. Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and the rest of Team Batman own this book and I'm so excited to see how DotF concludes. - Daredevil
When this book launched in 2011, I never saw myself enjoying the book as much as I am today. I was initially interested in the art by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin. However, I'm now in for the long run. Mark Waid has made me love Matt Murdock, no matter what hell he is put through. - Amazing Spider-Man
Though Peter Parker's journey ended (for now), it was one heck of a year for my favorite hero. He gained and lost a side kick, took on not one, but two Hobgoblins, took on the Lizard and Morbius, went into space, met Miles Morales, and saved the world. Sure, he passed on (again, for now), but he went down a hero, fighting to wits end against one of his worst enemies. - Captain America
Without a doubt, this books is my favorite Marvel NOW! books (so far). Rick Remender has put Cap in a foreign land and forced him to survive. With art by John Romita, Jr., this book is one of my favorite looking books, as JR Jr. gets to draw crazy monsters. This is such a fun book and I'm happy I decided to check it out. - Ultimate Spider-ManThe story of Miles Morales continued and there was some gooooood stuff thrown his way. From meeting 616 Peter Parker to finally obtaining his webs, Miles has had a good year. You know, minus the fact that he was thrown into war for the first time and got stranded from home. And that his Uncle Aaron died. But you know, the future looks bright for young Mr. Morales, so he has that going for him.Fantastic FourYes, I'm cheating and putting one more book in my Top 5. See this as 5B to Ultimate Spider-Man's 5A. I've always been a FF fan, but I've never really read the book because Hickman built up such a daunting run, I never got into the book. When it was announced that Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley were taking over the book, I decided to check it out and I've really enjoyed it so far.
Just missing out on the list is a couple of great books: Captain Marvel, Smallville Season 11, Avengers Academy, Indestructible Hulk, Justice League, and Deadpool. Also, I would be amiss if I didn't add that I've really been enjoying The Walking Dead in comic form. I have every issue now, minus #104, thanks to the holidays. I finished compendium #1 before New Years and I'll be tackling #2 in a couple of days. And I still have a couple of Marvel NOW! titles coming out in the coming months.
Not only did I get introduced to new books and characters, but maybe most exciting was the introduction to new artists. Seeing as comics are a visual medium, being introduced to new artists is exciting, as you get to see different takes on characters you already know. Some of the new artists that I've grown to like/love last year were Olivier Coipel, Mike Allred, Becky Cloonan, David Marquez, Kenneth Rocafort, Dexter Soy, and Ryan Stegman. All of their different takes on characters, whether they be some of my favorites or new ones, were unique and awesome. Personally, the three that I'll be following closest will probably be David Marquez, Becky Cloonan, and most definitely Ryan Stegman.
Not only did I get introduced to new books and characters, but maybe most exciting was the introduction to new artists. Seeing as comics are a visual medium, being introduced to new artists is exciting, as you get to see different takes on characters you already know. Some of the new artists that I've grown to like/love last year were Olivier Coipel, Mike Allred, Becky Cloonan, David Marquez, Kenneth Rocafort, Dexter Soy, and Ryan Stegman. All of their different takes on characters, whether they be some of my favorites or new ones, were unique and awesome. Personally, the three that I'll be following closest will probably be David Marquez, Becky Cloonan, and most definitely Ryan Stegman.
2013
So, what am I looking forward to in the year 2013? Well, there is a lot of stuff to look forward to. In the theaters, I'm looking forward to The Man of Steel, the newest Superman film that looks really, really good. I'm also waiting on the edge of my seat for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second part of the Hobbit trilogy. Lastly, I'm looking forward to my annual Paranormal Activity fix, which will be coming, like it always does, in October.
Musically, the thing I'm looking forward to most is the release of the new Streetlight Manifesto/Toh Kay albums. I'd go into more detail on that, but I kinda already did earlier. So please refer to that for the music section.
I'm primed to be getting a good number of video games this year, something that has not happened in a long time. While some games are coming out relatively soon, like Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and God of War: Ascension, the games I'm looking forward to most either come out later in the year or don't have a release date yet. The game that I'm surprisingly pumped for and I believe will be my 2013 Game of the Year is The Last of Us, which is coming out in May by Naughty Dog (the same guys who did the Crash Bandicoot series). The other games I'm looking forward to, well, I'm not even sure when they are going to come out. Those games would be the necessary second season the The Walking Dead and a game I've been waiting for since, oh, about 2009: The Last Guardian, the spiritual sequel to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. I pray that this game finally sees the light of day in 2013.
Comics-wise, there is so much to be looking forward to. Off the top of my head, the two things I'm looking forward to would be the conclusion of "Death of the Family" in Batman and the beginning of Superior Spider-Man. Other stories I'm excited to read are "Venom Wars" over in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (the first chapter is phenomenal), the Riddler story in Batman, two new Scott Snyder books, The Wake and the unnamed but most likely Man of Steel with Jim Lee, discovering the mysterious threat in Daredevil, reading my second X-Men title (which was unheard of a couple years ago), and so much more.
Personally, I have some resolutions for the year 2013. Some more personal, some I'm happy to discuss. I would love to do better in school, make a good amount of money when I go back to work in the summer, and, probably the hardest one to achieve, find an artist for a possible comic book I would love to publish.
So, 2013 is shaping up to be a pretty good year, maybe even better than 2012. I hope that this year isn't filled with death and tragedy. There were too many last year and 2013 must be better than 2012. Hopefully, things will be much better in 2013 for everyone.
Thanks for reading!
