danielpholt

Papo & Yo Urgh this game. Maybe it was because I played it to completion in one sitting, but fuck this game pissed me off. I was actually delighted to have it finished and off my to-do list. There's a nice story in here; but its message is totally muted by the frustrating mechanics and bland platforming. Even the puzzle's aren't all that interesting. Shadow Warrior 2013's Bulletstorm? With swords and shit. Trine Didn't seem as long as its sequel, but I still had a good time. That being said, if they lost some of the combat, I wouldn't be disappointed.

Red Dead Redemption Mass Effect Probably the first 360 game I bought after I 'returned to gaming', whilst I don't think its as good a game as ME2, it had much more fun with it. The Witcher 2 Loved this game, so much that I've played it through to completion twice inside 15 months. Can't wait for the 3rd game in the series, and I'm waiting on the rest of the books to receive a translation. A good one preferably.

Hearthstone. I originally played it a few months back during the Beta roll-out, and whilst I did have fun I found myself not wanting to start it up again. Card games aren't usually my thing, but this is super easy to get into, doesn't seem to require me to spend months constructing the perfect deck, and the games aren't too long. I think that ultimately, i'll spend most of my time playing the iPad version when it finally becomes available, but for now I'm officially on the Hearthstone train.

I don't want to say I hate Banished, because there's clearly something there that attracted me to it; but 2 hours in and I've already past the point of giving a hoot about the game. I'll probably never play it again (unless you guy's can persuade me otherwise). I'm not just having any fun with it. I'd start a new game, create some houses for my little dudes and dudettes, then within 2 minutes (on 1x speed) they'd managed to eat our stockpile of food.

The hockey gets interesting today. Sweden v Slovenia Finland v Russia USA v Czech Canada v Latvia Bolded my winners. As enjoyable as I've found watching Slovenia consistently beat the odds, I can't see them getting the better of the Swedes today. Finland will take Russia to OT, but an Ovechkin OT winner will end their Olympics. The Czechs will keep it close against the US, but inevitably, the US will find a way to score (Kessel no doubt), and Canada will find a way to beat Latvia in the most unconvincing way possible.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Anyone that says this movie isn't awesome is either stupid, or lying. It's hilarious from start to finish. And to top it all off, the end makes my eyes get a little...watery.

12 Years A Slave T'was a bit good wasn't it?

Some really nice weapon designs though. I just wish the dialogue wasn't so unforgivably clunky.

Quick question, has anyone actually made any paper craft models yet? I'd love to give it a go in the future.

TRANCE I think it was good..? I'll probably go back and re-watch it at some point in order to make sense of the plot (also, Rosario Dawson in the nuddy). In all honesty though, the film felt like it was trying to keep the truth from me for as long as possible, and whilst that's okay in some films, it didn't work here as I found the big reveal to be a little tame. Rosario though. Daaang girl!

http://youtu.be/oe4afdB8zZM Sorry Ethan

The Crash Reel Documentary that follows the story of Kevin Pierce, a Snowboarder who suffers a life threatening injury in the run up to the Vancouver Olympics. It charts his rise in the sport, and the aftermath of the accident that nearly took his life. It also touches on his rivalry with friend Shaun White, as well as other tragic accidents from the world of extreme sports. Inspiring, touching, beautifully shot. It might be one of my top films of the year. I went in expecting a documetary about cool snowboarders, I left having watched something that truly left a mark.

Cook, Serve, Delicious. Picked it up during the Steam sale and its been a total surprise to me. I believe I heard it mentioned on GiantBomb at some point, but that aside I'd never heard of it. I've put a little over two hours in so far, and I'm very much enjoying it, and I'm considering picking up the iPad version.

I love deciding between things I love! GAMEOFTEHYEAR Metro Last Light Well if you're going to make me pick a favourite, i guess this is it. It builds upon the good aspects of 2033, the atmospheric,claustrophobic nature of underground Moscow, the fantastic visuals and interesting game play mechanics, and improves what the original got wrong. Tense, thrilling and different enough to stand out from the crowd, its my favourite game of the year. 1st Runner Up Tearaway This was an absolute joy to play. The art style and aesthetic are beautifully realised, the story is sweet and surprisingly touching at times, and whilst the 'Platforming' is a little basic, it more than makes up for it by introducing new and interesting ways to interact with the world inside the game. Joint 1st Runner Up Gunpoint I didn't spend too much time with this game, but I can confidently say its one of my more memorable games of the year. The little time i did spend (i completed it btw) with the game was pretty much perfect. I just wish it was longer..

There's a lot to be found in the viral campaign for the movie. A whole lot of unsanswered questions aparently popped up in it. Kinda like that whole Cloverfield thing. :\ -- Prisoners. I get a lot of flack for loving this movie, but as a fan of flicks like this (esp. Zodiac), I found myself completely drawn in and not let go until the credits had finished rolling. Deakins is a god among cinematographers. Didn't Prisoners get received pretty well? I know I certainly plan on watching.

Avengers aside, I'd probably have Thor 2 as my favourite Marvel movie. That being said, I struggle to rate the series above a 'yeah it was okay' sort of grade.

You aren't alone. Despite owning a copy of 360, I've never actually played this.

I'd like to say a super-giant thank you to Thursday Next, who has blown me away with his generosity. I received copies of ... AND!! (when it is released). To say i'm grateful would be an understatement. I'm absolutely amazed by this. Thanks again buddy.

Yeah..that wasn't me that gifted that to you. I did gift something to my target already though...I've PM'd you. CONTROVERSY!!!!

You've got my respect. I really enjoyed my time with the game, but when i finally beat the end game boss, i was happy to call it quits. I just didn't enjoy the combat enough to warrant a second play-through, and some battles flat out left me fuming. It's not that i don't enjoy a difficult game, but at times i felt like the bad guy's had an unfair advantage for the sake of having an unfair advantage (namely the dimension switching stuff). That being said, i can see why you'd want to go through again. The stuff it does well, it does really well. I love the PS3/Vita save transfer/cross-buy too.

I think i'm in the same boat. 80% of my gaming is done on the PC, with the Wii U, 3DS and Vita picking up the slack. Most of the games that are available on PS3/4 are available on my preferred platform (PC); yet i can't shake this feeling of wanting the new shiny thing in the PS4. Killzone might be fun to play with my brother and work friend, but aside from that i'm not sure there's anything that interests me for a good while. The Witness is a ps4 exclusive right? Or is that a timed-exclusive?

The Hunt. Mads Mikkelsen plays a teacher (?) who's falsly accused of exposing himself, and abusing the children under his care. The film isn't afraid of its troubling subject matter, and whilst i did find certain aspects of the film a little infuriating (the way the other adults handled the accusation for a start), the plot is gripping and does a great job of showing just how much damage one lie can cause. Mikkelsen is superb, the writing is fantastic and (as-per) for a film set in this location, it looks great. One of my favourites of 2013 no doubt.

£3 on amazon. Why not?