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Bit.Trip Run!

This is another game that I’ve had for a while, but don’t think I included it here. It’s the iOS version of Runner 2, a game that I really loved playing on the PS3. It of course translates perfectly on the iPad, and so if you’ve never experienced it, this is a great way to play it. Rhythm running fun with beautiful aesthetics.

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80 Days

I got this game when it originally came out, which was quite a while ago, but noticed that I didn’t include it here and so wanted to rectify that. It’s an awesome game – in fact it’s one of my favorite games of the year – and if you don’t already have it you should get it.

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Papers, Please

I’ve had this game for a long time on Mac, but even though I did quite enjoy it when I first got it, as is the usual path for me when it comes to games on PC, I just didn’t keep up with it. I was so happy to see it come out on iOS recently, and it really is great to be playing it on iPad – the touch controls and portrait-oriented interface work even better than on a computer with mouse I feel. Glad to finally be experiencing this game fully.

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Debaser Uncategorized

Infinity Blade III

As much as I can appreciate the graphical prowess of the Infinity Blade games, they don’t really grab me – although I do remember quite enjoying the first one for a while when it first came out. I grabbed Infinity Blade III the other day because it was on sale for a buck, and was curious to see if it really is the graphical showstopper that people kept describing it as. Well, it sure is that. The graphics here kinda make your eyes bleed, and it really is amazing what they manage to get out of an iPad – and this is even on an old iPad 3 like mine. I don’t imagine I’ll be playing it a lot – the in-game currency system kinda turns me off, and after a while I just don’t find it that fun to be slashing my fingers on a screen like that. But I was happy to check it out.

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Pandemic

I bought the iOS version of this very popular board game a few months ago, but for some reason just never got around to playing it. One thing I’ve discovered over the years is that although I am happy to see so many physical board games get translated to iOS, I also don’t end up enjoying playing these games on mobile like I do on an actual physical board, with my friends beside me. For me, board gaming is as much a social thing as it is a game playing thing, and so it’s just not the kind of thing that I really want to be doing on mobile, alone. But I did give this a spin the other day, and I did have fun. The best thing to come out of these digital versions is that it’s usually a great way to learn how to play the game (instead of having to read through an instructional manual), and since they tend to be pretty cheap, it’s a good way to sample a game, before you decide whether you want to spend the $50+ on the physical version. 

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The Banner Saga

As included on my list of favorite games of the year, The Banner Saga is indeed a fantastic game, but I’m especially happy to be playing it now on iPad. As much as I loved it before, I make no secret of the fact that I don’t really like playing games on my laptop, and so it didn’t get as much of my attention as it deserved. Playing it on iPad is a joy, and although it’s not as smooth as could be on my aging iPad 3, it’s definitely still playable. 

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Media

Favorite Media of 2014

In what has become an annual tradition – I’ve done it for the past 4 years, although those posts are now all lost to the ether due to my big server shutdown of 2014 – I like to end the year with a big post that goes through my favorite media of the year. This is a HIGHLY subjective list, it’s a list of the stuff that I really liked from the stuff that I experienced – and I of course do not experience everything that comes out. I do it more as an exercise for myself, as I enjoy looking back at what I took in throughout the year, and to have a think at what brought me the most joy. The way I do it is that I narrow it down to a top 5 – that I list in alphabetical order – and then I add in a few honorable mentions. I usually forget to include some things, and so I sometimes go in and update this post if something I really liked comes to mind.

Favorite Games (Consoles)
I try to keep these lists filled with media that came out in 2014, and for games it’s always a tough one since I tend to buy a lot of stuff when it goes on sale, which means in the early part of the year I played a lot of stuff that actually came out in 2013 (and I still do). One of my favorite gaming experiences of the year was playing Wind Waker HD, and Super Mario 3D World was a close second (I got my Wii U in January). For each game, I indicate the platform I played it on.

  • Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)
  • Broken Age (Mac)
  • Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)
  • Fantasy Life (3DS)
  • Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

Honorable Mentions: Azure Striker Gunvolt (3DS), Banner Saga (Mac), Costume Quest 2 (PS4), Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition (PS4), Hyrule Warriors (Wii U), Luftrausers (Vita), Pushmo World (Wii U), Rayman Legends (Vita), Rogue Legacy (Vita), Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball (3DS), Shovel Knight (Wii U), Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within (PS4), Stick It to the Man (PS4), Super Smash Bros. (Wii U/3DS), Super Time Force (360), TowerFall Ascension (PS4), Transistor (PS4), TxK (Vita)

Favorite Games (Mobile)
Over the years, I sometimes have a separate category for mobile games (that I pretty much all play on iPad, as I’m not really a big iPhone gamer) and sometimes I don’t (like last year), but this year I felt there was a lot to highlight. Sure, some of these are multi-platform, but this is how I experienced them.

  • Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series
  • Monument Valley
  • Tales from the Borderlands
  • The Sailor’s Dream
  • The Wolf Among Us

Honorable Mentions: 80 Days, Deep Under the Sky, FTL: Faster Than Light, Hearthstone, Hitman GO, Joe Danger Infinity, Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf, Out There, Papers, Please, République, Star Wars: Commander, Threes

Favorite TV
This year I started binging more and more on seasons instead of watching stuff weekly, and there are still series that are on my watch list (like Boardwalk Empire, Fargo, and a few more). I’d also like to highlight Amnesia Fortnight 2014, a documentary video series that followed Double Fine Productions’ 2-week game jam, that aired on YouTube.

  • Arrow
  • Game of Thrones
  • Mad Men
  • Monday Night War
  • True Detective

Honorable Mentions: Black MirrorConstantine, Gotham, Halt and Catch Fire, House of Cards, Louie, Orange Is the New Black, Over the Garden Wall, Rick and Morty, Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, Shameless, Star Wars: Rebels, The Flash, The Walking Dead, Top Gear

Favorite Movies
This is a tough one too in terms of really covering the year, since being in Japan, I don’t really get to see a lot of the stuff that comes out in the latter part of the year until the following year. So keeping that in mind, here’s what I most enjoyed this year. Also, I can honestly say that Jodorowsky’s Dune was my absolute favorite film of the year. I’m also noticing that I slowed down in my movie watching this past year, and there’s still a lot I’m looking forward to watching.

  • Automata
  • Edge of Tomorrow
  • Enemy
  • Jodorowsky’s Dune
  • The Zero Theorem

Honorable Mentions: Appleseed Alpha, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, SnowpiercerThe Grand Budapest Hotel

Favorite Music
In past year I would have a separate category for tracks and albums, but since I stopped doing my Codex podcast, I don’t really keep track of the songs that really stand out for me, as I tend to listen to albums as a whole. Also, I don’t include these because they are made up of old material, but some of my favorite releases this past year also includes The Pixies’ Doolittle 25: B-sides, Peel Sessions, and Demos (with the “Demo 1” version of “Wave of Mutilation” being a particular standout) and Fugazi’s First Demos.

  • Intro Bonito (Kero Kero Bonito)
  • Michael (Les Sins)
  • Our Love (Caribou)
  • Pom Pom (Ariel Pink)
  • St. Vincent (St. Vincent)

Honorable Mentions: Atlas (Real Estate), Brill Bruisers (The New Pornographers), Here and Nowhere Else (Cloud Nothings), It’s Album Time (Todd Terje), Lese Majesty (Shabazz Palaces), LP1 (FKA Twigs), Morning Phase (Beck), Nikki Nack (Tune-Yards), Rips (Ex Hex), Sylvan Esso (Sylvan Esso), Syro (Aphex Twin), You’re Dead (Flying Lotus)

Favorite Comics
Even though I read a ton of comics throughout the year, I always very much look forward to all of the year-end “best of” lists that come out, as I constantly find tons of stuff I missed that I want to read, especially when it comes to graphics novels.

  • Black Science
  • Deadly Class
  • Harley Quinn
  • Alex + Ada
  • The Multiversity

Honorable Mentions: Andre the Giant: The Life and the Legend, Avengers/New Avengers, Futures End, Gotham Academy, Hawkeye, Injustice: Gods Among UsJustice League 3000, Low, Moon Knight (1-6), Seconds, Sex Criminals, Stray Bullets: Killers, Supreme: Blue Rose, The Fade Out, Velvet, Zero

Favorite Podcasts
This is the first time I include a list of favorite podcasts, and I figure it’s about time since listening to these is something I spend so much time on.

  • 8-4 PLAY
  • CAGcast
  • Canadaland
  • Pop Culture Happy Hour
  • Serial

Honorable Mentions: All Songs Considered, DLC, Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews, WTF with Marc Maron

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Debaser Uncategorized

The Colbert Report

I haven’t watched a full episode of The Colbert Report in years, but I did want to watch the final episode, and it was definitely a nice – and appropriately wacky – sendoff. Even though I didn’t watch it week-by-week, I would still get a taste here and there through online clips, and I was glad that it existed. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles guiding a talk show as himself, and not as the “Colbert” character he’s always played.

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Black Mirror

With all the buzz this UK series has been getting of late – a new special just aired – I decided to finally check it out, and I’m sure glad I did. I just watched the very first episode (there are 2 seasons of 3 episodes each, plus the new special) and it was definitely captivating. As everyone has been describing it, it’s a sort of Twilight Zone-inspired anthology, but the first episode is entirely based in reality (i.e. this could happen). Can’t wait to watch the rest.

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Ascension

I’ve only watched the first episode of this 3-part mini-series that aired last week on Syfy, and it’s surprisingly really interesting (so far). The setup is really neat – the US sends out a spaceship in the 60s, on a 100-year voyage to a new world, and a crime happens 50 years in. Without spoiling anything, the end of the first episode just kinda flips the switch on everything. Looking forward to watching the rest, and I’m glad to see Syfy focusing on sci-fi again (they’ve recently announced a lot of new series).