Video Game of the Year - 2011

Ok so going to post a couple of "... of the Year" posts - starting with Video Games. Arguably my biggest past time in 2011, there's been a lot of good games. I own a PS3 but have played some of the Xbox exclusives and read-up on the games I've not played. I'm not a game reviewer and don't have the money to go out and buy every console and game available. 

I'm going to narrow it down to 5 contenders:

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)

As a Playstation man (and big action man) I'm a huge Uncharted fanboy, having loved all three games and excited for the series handheld debut coming to PSVita when it launches on these waters next Feb. Drake's Deception is a masterpiece, as was it's predecessor Among Thieves, but I found myself not getting into it as much as I wanted (probably because I'd been obsessed with another game - more on that later). 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

RPGs and fantasy games aren't really my thing, but Skyrim was impressive. Though, there's no way I (or surely any of the gaming professionals) can give that Game of the Year for all it's issues on PS3. If a game cannot run properly it shouldn't have been released unless the problem could have been fixed within a couple of weeks release (which it wasn't). The issue effects around 70% of users, which is completely unacceptable.

Portal 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

Portal 2 was interesting. A bit different to most games, I enjoyed the puzzles and levels even though they did get a bit repetitive and could have done with a bit more story to it. It was a very smart game, filled with humour and a great ending. 

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

Skyward Sword was probably the only game worth owning a Wii for this year. It was a pathetic year for the Wii, with Nintendo focusing on boosting the 3DS' sales and working toward the Wii U.

Batman: Arkham City (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)

However, for me, it has to be Batman: Arkham City. It stopped me fully emercing myself into Uncharted 3 and other games like Assassin's Creed: Revelations. There were flaws, but it captured Batman perfectly as well as his enemies and the (restricted) world of Gotham City. I wasn't overly happy with the story and some of the enemies I was most looking forward to such as Two-Face, Penguin and Hugo Strange weren't as prominent as expected. But none the less, once I'd finished the story mode I then went on to the challenge mode. Still not content I've now gone on to the Robin and Nightwing DLC. And there's more DLC to come including Catwoman missions. The game has also got me in to comics - another new obsession. Individually it probably isn't a better game than Uncharted 3, but I just became so involved in it that I don't think I can give it to anything else. 

So there it is, Batman: Arkham City, my game of the year.

Some individual awards:

PS3 Game of the Year - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Xbox 360 Game of the Year - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Wii Game of the Year - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

PC Game of the Year - Batman: Arkham City

Action Game of the Year - Batman: Arkham City

Role-playing Game of the Year - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Sports Game of the Year - FIFA 12

FPS Game of the Year - Bulletstorm

Multiplayer Game of the Year -Battlefield 3

Downloadable Game of the Year - Limbo

UPDATE: Turning 22...

On Saturday I turn 22. They say it's all downhill from here, though I think it's all downhill from the day after your 21st party (especially with that hangover - oh god THAT hangover). It's been a strange year - stress from trying to finish uni, more stress from trying to find a "proper" job and even more stress from trying to move my band forward. Pretty stressful, but at the same time, I have regular income and a roof over my head. That'll do nicely (for now anyway, haha).

Tonight, or last night as it is at the time of writing, I met up with my bandmates Robi and Iain. The band is on a "break", while we try to sort out lives out so we can afford to be in a band. It's expensive these days don't you know! 

But it was good seeing them again. It was good to talk about the band's future and it's left me feeling excited and wanting more. I think once we get our stuff together, it'll all happen quite quickly. However, things very rarely go to plan - here's hoping the tide is changing (excuse the pun).

Hurricane Bawbag

Hurricane Bawbag. Got to love it. A title for a storm (not a hurricane) that is uniquely Scottish, filled with Scottish identity. To me, the Hurricane Bawbag phenomenon (can I call it that? I think I will...) doesn't highlight global warming or the coming of what many religious nuts believe is an apocalypse in 2012. No, it highlights the power of the Internet and, more importantly, social networking.

The last time I remember a storm as bad as HB was almost 13 years ago. It was Boxing Day, a few days short of a month after my parents and I moved into our new home. We had gone out to dinner with my Grandma to celebrate my Dad's birthday, but sadly our dinner table conversation kept being interupted by loud whistles of powerful winds and treacherous rain beating down on the restaurant. Upon leaving, I remember feeling like Michael Jackson from The Earth Song video (4:14 onwards - which at the time I thought was pretty cool actually) trying to get into the taxi. 

Anyway, the point of this is, the term Bawbag is not new, and someone could easily have made the same joke to their friends 13 years ago during the previously mentioned storm, only for it to remain as a personal joke. Nowadays, one person says it on Facebook, their friends say it, their friends' friends say it, and next thing it is one of the most talked about topics on the world wide web. 

Incredible, it really is. Also, let's look at the trampoline video, which yesterday was filling up my Facebook news feed. I'm sure whoever posted it originally would have thought it as something funny just to show his friends, never expecting it to get 600,000 views on YouTube and make national news. There's also been so many 'remixes' of Trampoline, these are two of my favourites featuring two famous cartoons -The Family Guy remix / The Simpson's remix.

Social networking is taking over, and will soon be running our lives (if it's not already). At least there's some who are having a bit of fun with it.

So, it's been a while...

....6 days short of 3 months to be exact. I'd love to say I've been busy being busy, but that's not quite true - I've been busy quitting things it appears.

In the almost quarter of a year since I last posted, I have left my position at Pulse Community Radio as my heart wasn't in it anymore sadly. If I'm honest, it hasn't been for a while so the time is right to move. Hence the title change.

And to add insult to injury my band, Aspen Tide, have decided to go on a break. There's a lot of issues for this, mainly the fact we have been a member (drummer) down since June. There's also been some issues with money and living arrangements, that have made it so hard to be in a band.

But, it's not just us that are having this problem, I am sad to say. Just this week in fact a great band from England, Franscesqa, have called it a day. There are countless other unsigned and indie bands that have made this decision (some will be sadly missed, others couldn't go soon enough) but this is quite a worrying sign to me.

If you people can't afford to get into the music industry unless they have a Simon Cowell like figure as their financial backbone then it's removing a lot of great potential musical talent from an industry that has already had most of it's talent sucked out of over the years. It really breaks my heart that the economy is in such a state that people, like myself and my peers from school and university, are unable to follow their dreams - while the fat cats in goverment, etc. are able to feed their bank accounts with our taxes (don't ever get me started on those bankers and their bonuses).

However, if there's one thing I am it's determined. Hopefully in a couple of months (February/March perhaps) Aspen Tide will regroup, find that fourth member and go on to record the EP we have been desperate to since the summer. And from there? Who knows, maybe we'll hit it big and go on tour with Biffy Clyro, maybe we'll be right back in this position.