Apocalypse POW!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Triptych: Booker, Catch!

"Bioshock Infinite" by Ron Guyatt

"Vigors" by Kyla Covert

"The Adventures of DeWitt" by Moysche Designs

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Showcase: Custom Atari-Era Activation Action Figures by Dan Polydoris

"Pitfall Harry"

"Officer Kelly"

"Short-Order Sam"

"Roderick Hero"

"Frostbite Bailey"

[Chicago Toy Collector]

Triptych: The Party God

"Adventure Time" by Logan Faerber

"Rockwell Time" (t-shirt) by Joshua Ketchen

"The Party God" (t-shirt) by Beast Pop

Triptych: Creepy Crawlies

"My Neighbor Oogie" (t-shirt) by Ratigan

"Noche de los Muertos" (t-shirt) by Samiel

"Skellington Sweater" (t-shirt) by Busted Tees

Triptych: Decepticons!

"As You Command!" (t-shirt) by Nik Holmes

"Blue Mixtape 1984-1986" (t-shirt) Ryan Astle

"Devastator" by ta2nb

Monday, January 20, 2014

2013 was a notable year in gaming in many ways. It represents a sort of Year Zero with the release of the PS4 and the XBox One (and the Wii U, which came out at the tail end of 2012), and at the same time represents the last full year that the previous console generation would reign supreme. While I have no doubt that the PS3 will continue to see releases in 2014 before the PS4 really takes hold, and neither the PS4 or the XBox One launched with anything that could be considered a ‘game of the year’, it’s only a matter of time at this point. 2013 was the pinnacle of one generation and the birth year of another.

More than anything else, though, the reigning theme of the year seems to have been that of disappointment. LucasArts was shuttered by Disney, with over a hundred employees being laid off and games in development like Star Wars 1313 being cancelled. The Android-based Ouya console, after raising millions on Kickstarter, was released and then… failed to make much of an impression. SimCity - which looked incredible in screenshots and trailers - suffered from such a troubled launch and unprepared servers that even multiple patches have failed to make it playable. GTA Online fared no better. There was the whole Aliens: Colonial Marines debacle. The Wii U and the Vita have failed to find their footing. I still don’t know what to make of the 2DS.

And there were some huge, huge games released: Assassin’s Creed IV, Grand Theft Auto V, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4. I don’t play these games (I lack both the time and the interest), so I have little to no opinion on them. Same with games like Animal Crossing and Pokemon X\Y: major sellers on the 3DS that I am just not in the demographic for. Nevertheless, even I can’t deny the fact that the 3DS took the lead with releases like these, not to mention a solid showing of other supporting titles from Nintendo. The Wii U may be floundering, but Nintendo has made something of the 3DS as of 2013, and I commend them for it.

Below are the thirteen games that didn’t disappoint me, but may or may not have been big sellers. These are the games that I invested hours in, that I enjoyed the most, that did something new and interesting and did it well, or that just appealed to me more than the typical fare this year.

(Please bear in mind that I do not currently own a PS3, which skews this list slightly. I have briefly played The Last of Us and Ni No Kuni, both games that have ended up on other critics’ best of 2013 lists, but I haven’t played either of them enough to justify their inclusion here. Since I play mostly on either a PC or a 3DS, only games released for those platforms will be represented below).

Hit the jump to see the full list.

Bleargh.

Sorry for the downtime, folks. I've been sick the last couple of weeks and it's been all I can do just to drag myself to work every day, let alone find the time and energy to update here.

I'll be back in top fetter in no time at all, and things should pick up.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Showcase: Matt Ferguson's Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Series

"Doctor #1: William"

"Doctor #2: Patrick"

"Doctor #3: Jon"

"Doctor #4: Tom"

"Doctor #5: Peter"

"Doctor #6: Colin"

"Doctor #7: Sylvester"

"Doctor #8: Paul"

"The War Doctor"

"Doctor #9: Christopher"

"Doctor #10: David"

"Doctor #11: Matt"

In anticipation of the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, I've been reading Marc Hearn's "Doctor Who: The Vault - Treasures From The First 50 Years" - which, by the way, is an absolutely outstanding coffee-table book, packed with tons of anecdotes and ephemera from the last half-century - and I've garnered a certain perspective on, and appreciation for, all of the actors who have played The Doctor since the show's inception. While I have seen at least one episode per Doctor in my time, my knowledge of the earlier years of the show is far from exhaustive, and the book provides excellent insight into the people who made Doctor Who happen, both in front of and behind the camera, for all its many decades.

Matt Ferguson's 50th Anniversary tribute to the Doctors does a great job of capturing each one's personality and style, from William Hartnell to Matt Smith (You'll also note that the background for each is inspired by the opening credits for that Doctor.) It just feels like a great, dignified summation of a show that has run (more or less) for five decades and been the proving ground for more than a few larger-than-life personalities.

Here's to another fifty years, Doctor!

[Matt Ferguson at Bottleneck]