Best Of 2013

Having been listening to the GiantBombcast this week and last, I have been reminded that I haven't done a 'Best of' for 2013 yet. Basically, I haven't created my lists for Best Videogames or Best Films of the year.

I don't do Best Albums/Singles because, quite frankly I don't really actively follow musicians or musical acts anymore. I'll track down a track I've heard on TV or on the radio, or I'll check out albums from artists I used to like, but beyond that, I don't have a vested interest in music to that extent so there won't be a Best Of for that medium.

I'll be reminding myself of the Films and Games that actually came out in 2013 because it's so easy to forgot those that were released in the obscure early months of the year (particularly for films, as January is the Oscar nominees month...), and within the next day or two, I hope to compile my final lists. I don't think I've actually played ten games this year, as was the case last year, but I'll give it a go!

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

A film of two halves, in some ways. Not in terms of structure, but in terms of what's actually funny.

The dialogue, at times, is really funny. Alan's asides are perhaps the best thing in the TV series, and again, they're really good here. But it feels like everything else is poor. For what it's worth, I can't stand Colm Meaney, but I think his character is just badly written. I know he's central to the plot (obviously) but I think he's actually useless in a comedic sense.

There's another aspect of Partridge that generally hinders the material for me, and this extends across the whole franchise. It always feels like it's produced in a vacuum, something which obviously reflects Alan's own archaic lifestyle and personality, but for some reason it just feels very one-dimensional and isolated. 

All in all, it's a way to pass the time, and if you're a fan of Alan (which I am, a lot) then it's certainly worth watching. I preferred The Trip for what it actually achieves, in terms of post-I'm Alan Partridge work, but the film is okay.

6.5/10

No idea what's happening with the colouring on this one, but it seems to be a one-off!

Modern Family

When I was first recommended Modern Family, I assumed it was nothing more than a generic, Network friendly sitcom with predictable laughter cues, inoffensive dialogue and a schmaltzy conclusion to each episode.

Only one of those was correct.

A first-time viewer of Modern Family would be right in thinking the show was indeed all of the above. It has a gloss to it, a certain polish that only seems to accompany big-budget Primetime Network programmes, and when you realise this particular production was owned by 20th Century Fox, you immediately understand why it looks the way it does.

But arguably Modern Family's greatest asset is its ability to disguise itself as a by the numbers entry, whereas underneath the surface lies a fantastic ensemble cast, a group of characters that bounce off one another with veritable ease, and in amongst that family of comic actors lives arguably the best comedy character on television.

Phil Dunphy, played by Ty Burrell (of Dawn of the Dead remake fame), is a masterfully idiotic character who manages to encompass a level of humiliation and clown-like aloofness which places him on-par with the likes of Homer Simpson. Whilst many saw Hal from Malcolm in the Middle (brought to life by Bryan Cranston) as the real-life Homer, Phil manages to seemingly best him in every department, other than the former being more willing to go all out for physical gags.

Whilst the rest of the characters work so well with each other, and quite literally create this sense of hysteria, calamity and silliness that only a fictional family could, Phil stands tall. His look to camera as he accidentally angers his wife (Julie Bown, of 'Ed' fame), his constantly tripping up the stairs, never seemingly learn from his previous mistakes, his awkward yet wholesome relationship with his unnervingly frisky father. It's in his delivery that Ty Burrell really comes into his own as Mr Dunphy. His sheepish and almost childlike enthusiasm when boasting to the camera about his worklife, his kids and wife all demonstrate his ability, but arguably his greatest moment was when he received an iPad on his Birthday. Words can't do justice to that particular episode (Game Changer, season 1 episode 19), so I'll let you see for yourself.

Enjoy.

Boardwalk Empire

Seeing as Boardwalk Empire has just finished its fourth season, now seems like a good time to actually discuss it. I don't think I've mentioned it or covered it on here before.

Basically, the HBO show covers the start of Prohibition, and the fallout. It stars Steve Buscemi as the lead character, Nucky Thompson, though others such as Stephen Graham (of This is England fame) also appear, Graham playing the infamous Al Capone.

There are various film stars in the show - not necessarily A list, but it's a start - and this is a recurring theme as Hollywood actors make the transition from the big screen to the silver screen, realising the rising interest in basic and premium cable shows from the US, as well as a select few Primetime UK shows.

What needs to be said of Boardwalk Empire, if you've endured the first couple of slow-burning seasons, is that the character development has now reached a point where the show genuinely has ten or so characters, upon which any number of storylines can be forged. In terms of US TV dramas, its strength in depth (to use a terrible football cliché) is unmatched.

The cinematography is up there with the likes of Breaking Bad - you'd hope so, given the supposed budget - and its all-round narrative, albeit sometimes directionless, constantly creates scenes of genuine intrigue, tension and serious drama.

Without giving too much away, the season four finale had two notable story arcs, both involving characters the audience had grown to love and invest their time in. Those two story arcs ended in opposing fashion, and has had many Internet writers feeling somewhat betrayed by the show's creators for forcing such a heartbreaking ending on its fans.

But sometimes that's what quality drama is about. In order to truly feel a part of a show such as Boardwalk Empire, you have to take the good with the bad. You have to invest yourself, your emotions, and your time. And although the viewing figures don't match up - The Walking Dead attracts roughly eight times as many viewers - it's a show which has been consistently well-written from day one, has created memorable and universally loved characters, and will hopefully be remembered, long after it ends.

2013: Films of the Year so far

Although I haven't done any updates since the Ryan Davis entry, I was reminded tonight that I've seen some films worth watching (and recommending) this year, from the Oscars season in January, up til October (thus far).

The following is a list of films from 2013 that I feel are worth watching, though I believe Rundskopp may be a 2012 release, though that doesn't mean it's not worth watching by any means:

Rundskopp
In the House
Intouchable
The Sessions
The Way Way Back
The Conjuring
Disconnect
Mud
What Maisie Knew

Intouchable is actually a 2011 film that had a 2012 release on DVD, but it's arguably the best (foreign, at least) film I've seen of recent times, so it's going on the list too.

Also worth mentioning, although I may have written about them on here before, are Teddy Bear and Michael, recent films but I'm unsure of their original release dates.

Ryan Davis 1979 - 2013

I don't do obituaries or memorials, but last week Ryan Davis, co-founder of Giantbomb and former Gamespot writer, passed away having only married his then-fiancé Anna mere days earlier.

Ryan Davis was not just a games reviewer (in fact towards the end of his life, Ryan veered away from actually writing about games and instead set about doing his best to organise the day in day out activities on Giantbomb.com, a site which he and Jeff Gerstmann had lovingly created together in a bid to show the Internet how games journalism should be done.

Why this is such a big deal for me is because I followed the Giantbomb crew in some way shape or form on a daily basis. Be it through their tweets, their content on Giantbomb or various other random yet entertaining ways, I basically followed (and still follow) their everyday activities, as well as their 'professional' movements on a daily basis. Giantbomb has basically become a facet of my life. I hear about various American traditions and events through their weekly podcasts, and heard what the individual members of their team got up to each weekend. As any Giantbomb member will attest, once you'd heard a few of their Bombcasts, you felt like a part of a small but faithful community. Which is why losing Ryan, who was essentially the Father of the group, is so tough.

Ryan would host their videos at events such as e3 and PAX, he'd head up their Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday shows, he'd host the Bombcast, he'd host a lot of the hilarious quicklooks, and he was basically the Hostess with the Mostess. In short, Ryan made Giantbomb what it was, and his chemistry with the rest of the group (especially Jeff) was magical. As someone on the forums recently posted, you'd tune in to hear them talk about toasters if they were doing such a thing. They made anything and everything interesting, and so losing the cog of the process will change everything.

So yeah, it's going to be different.

RIP Ryan Davis.

Bioshock Infinite Review

Bioshock Infinite

I've been finding it very difficult to review this game, for a number of reasons.

Not only is Bioshock (the original game) one of my favourite games of all time, and arguably one of the best action games ever, it provided core gamers with a gameworld which may never be bested. Rapture was a world in which people chose to lead a different life in the hope that they could somehow fulfill their dreams and their ambitions. It was a society in which its leader, Andrew Ryan, wanted to bring a new form of socialism to his people, in a world which was modelled upon the mythical Greek world of Atlantis, a city underwater.

Whenever I'm asked to explain just what was so special about Rapture, I basically freeze up. Simply because it's so difficult to pinpoint any one reason as to why it's so damn special. Its audio logs gave the player a sense of what had been. A sense of a world that had tried its best to create perfect reality, but had in fact created a highly flawed perception of what they thought an ideal society should be like. The eeriness of the empty leaky corridors, the groan of a nearby Big Daddy. The very concept of Splicers - citizens of Rapture, who felt the need to abuse themselves and enchance their genetics in order to live a life that would otherwise be impossible - was just creepy.

Anyway, this review is not about Bioshock, nor indeed its much maligned sequel, oddly enough called Bioshock 2. A game which almost perfected the basic controls of the first, had a vastly improved ending, and provided a further emotional tweak to its main narrative. Many hated it for being more of what we'd already seen, though those same people praised the DLC content. For me, it was simply more gametime in the greatest gameworld I had ever experienced.

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For those of you who don't know what Bioshock Infinite is about, you'll have to look it up on Wikipedia, as I'm utterly useless at explaining something as complex and convoluted as the backstory to Columbia.

All I will say is that it is a city that lives in the clouds. Literally. And it's set in 1912. And no, there is no reference to Titanic (as far as I noticed).

The gameplay mechanics of Infinite have changed since the original Bioshock games. Weapons are still there, and it seems there are more of them. However, plasmids have gone, instead replaced by Vigors. Same sort of thing, basically. Arguably the most annoying omission is Incinerate, which was massively useful, but Infinite provides many interesting combinations of the new Vigors, and at times they can be fun to use, however I essentially went through the game using three at most. Maybe I just didn't do it properly, but I didn't really feel the need to use more.

Without rambling on about the game's narrative, and indeed spoiling anything, all I wanted to say about Bioshock Infinite was how lazy it felt at times, from a design perspective. Enemy fights in the latter stages of the game seemed like an onslaught of a mishmash of the game's enemy types, and one particular fight at the end was quite literally that. Despite the game's aesthetic - which at times varied from lush oranges and light browns, greens, blues and whites, to grim dark interiors - the way in which the enemies were placed in front of you felt like the developers had run out of ideas. The Handyman in particular was one enemy who could chase you forever, and deal almost fatal damage, and could only be defeated if you aimed at his heart, a smallish area on his frame. Although the area wasn't small, to be able to get into position in order to avoid any damage from him, and to be able to actually aim at that area, you had to expose yourself to a huge amount of damage. Although the relief of finally beating him - and he pops up about three times in the entire game - there was absolutely no joy or excitement in having to defend yourself against him.

The most important part of any Bioshock game is, arguably, its ending. And Infinite really does blow your mind, when you finally sit down for the final few cutscenes. Without spoiling anything, it's safe to say that long-time Bioshock fans will have had a "Holy shit" moment minutes from the end, and beyond that, I'm nowhere near qualified to even attempt explaining what the ending tells us. 

Having scanned the web for summaries and supposed theories, it still remains an intricate and complex web of connections, scientific theories, and mechanics which I simply cannot get my head around. Which leads me to congratulate Ken Levine for creating a game which on the surface seemed like a fairly straightforward Bioshock game, albeit set in the clouds, but is in fact a vast set of layers that even the Internet still hasn't quite unmasked as of yet.

In short, Bioshock Infinite is certainly worth buying, and for those seeking an intelligent and well-written game in among a sea of generic FPSs, sports titles and "MINI GAMES" should look no further.

8/10