Lego, Growing Up, and a lot of RPGs: A Review of 2014

If you spent a lot of time watching the news this year, then you might be like me in thinking that 2014 was a pretty awful year. With Ebola rife in western Africa, rebels in eastern Ukraine, the rise of Islamic State, and some incredibly tragic incidents involving planes and ferries, 2014 will probably go down in the history books as quite frankly one of the worst years in the history of everything. Everything, except pop culture. Despite the world being a terribly bleak place to live right now going into 2015, the ways to escape our dreary reality this year were quite spectacular. Some of the most refreshing video games to come out in a long time came out this year. And if you were a film buff, you were treated to some truly awesome movies. To make it more fun, I managed to capture some of it along the way with this blog which is now a year old... for those you who care about that sort of thing. In the same vein as the first post on this blog; which was also a year in review post, I will be highlighting what I believe to be the best of this year in some slightly unconventional categories. If you have no idea what that might entail, you can read the previously mentioned post here.

Best Picture

Winner: Boyhood

Ok, so maybe we're starting with something a little more conventional this year. But as I said in my review of this masterpiece, it's a fantastic film and I cannot sing its praises enough. Watching Boyhood was an amazing experience (getting to participate in a QA with Ellar Coltrane after watching was the cherry on top :) ), and like I alluded to in my review, I imagine that this is what it's like to understand that you're watching history being made. A film that has a perfect score on Metacritic (which is rare), I truly hope that in the upcoming award season it gets the accolades it deserves. I have to also point out that this film has been placed first on several high profile (read: far more legit) film critics lists for top films of the year.

Runner Up: Imitation Game

A well done and witty film about a personal hero of mine, this was another great film. Not to mention that the cast is perfect. It's in theatres now if you haven't seen it.

Most Awesome Movie

Winner: Lego Movie

Pardon the pun, but everything (about this film) is awesome. Also apologies for using the word awesome too much in this blurb. This category was tough, what with Guardians of The Galaxy being so great, How Train Your Dragon 2 being as good as the original, and even the ending of the flawed Hobbit Trilogy being a film that I could watch again and again. But the attention to detail is awesome, the dialogue is awesome, and the plot is (wait for it) awesome. With all the throw away lines and another perfect cast of both good guys and villains, the Lego Movie is movie that was both hilarious and inspiring. A rare film that feels actually original, something that seems harder and harder to come by these days. Truly awesome.

Awesome count: 6

Runner Up: Guardians of The Galaxy

(sorry The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies)

Showing that Marvel doesn't need the Avengers to be successful, this great summer blockbuster shares a lot in common with the Lego Movie in it's combination of humour and heart. Also as I said in my review, it's great soundtrack was one that I played for weeks after.

Best RPG

Winner: Transistor

Picking a winner for category is practically impossible, simply due to the fact that the number of great "RPGs" this year is crazy. If you're wondering why I put RPG in quotes, it's because you can throw Pokemon and Borderlands into this category, despite not following normal genre conventions. Also there are a number of RPGs that aren't being considered because I haven't played them yet, such as Child of Light and Dragon Age: Inquistion. But as I explained in my review of Transistor, its world, atmosphere, characters, story, and of course soundtrack are all so fresh and fun that I wish it wasn't over all too soon. Another great game by Supergiant Games, they really out did themselves.

Runner Up: South Park: The Stick of Truth

I was tempted to give the runner up spot to Bravely Default despite the mediocre second half, but no other game had me laughing more and wanting more. It's a shame that we probably won't see another game like this one, but it's ok. Because South Park: The Stick of Truth combines some simple and fun gameplay mechanics with an amazingly fun world.

Best Non-RPG

Winner: Super Smash Bros for 3DS/Wii U

I don't think I need to explain myself here... it's Super Smash Bros.

Runner up: None

Biggest Disappointment

Winner: Sherlock series 3, episode 3

Compared to how much I loved the first two episodes in the third series, the third episode while not terrible was fairly disappointing. Sherlock's equivalent of flipping the table didn't feel like a satisfying conclusion. And while I'm excited for the mystery of Moriarty's "return", the fact that they have to use him again makes it feel like they can't enter new territory. Of course we're being told that future Sherlock will be "heart-breaking", so like the masochist that I am I more than ready (and super excited) for what is coming.

Runner Up: Newsroom season 3

The entire thing is a disappointment, except any part with Sloan or Don because they are the best characters on the whole bloody show.

Best Indie Album

Winner: The Bleachers- Strange Desires

The debut album of The Bleachers, Strange Desires was a wonderful album. At first I worried that the only song that would be worth listening to would be I Wanna Get Better. But Rollercoaster and Wake Me are equally great tracks, if not better than the first single of the album. The entire album is a treat and yet another great start for a relatively new indie band.

Runner Up: Arcade Fire- Reflektor

I'm aware that the album came out last year, but I saw them on tour in Toronto this year... one of the best shows I've ever been to. Joan of Arc is my personal favourite of this album.

Best Video Game Soundtrack

Winner: Bravely Default 

While I sing and hum the fantastic soundtrack of Transistor, Bravely Default's beautiful ballads and scores are exquisite. That and I'm a sucker for symphonic rock/metal. Seriously the battle theme and character themes are a pure pleasure to listen to

Runner Up: Transistor

Came in at very close second, it's the only game where there's a button so you can hum the soundtrack in-game. That's just how good it is.

Worst Blogger Ever

Winner: Yours Truly

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to try and update this blog more regularly. It's hard to do when you have several other things going on in your life. But this project is one that; despite it's lack of regular updates, I've enjoyed doing over the last year. I hope that 2015 will be an even better year in more ways than one, and I plan on being the best blogger... I can be. After all let's not get too ahead of ourselves here.

Happy New Year Everyone! Let's make 2015 a great one.


Bonus: Best TV Show that I still need to finish

Winner: Fargo

I know how it ends, I just need to watch it. But I keep getting distracted.

We All Become One: Transistor Review

It's been three years since Bastion was released. It not only changed the way we look at indie games, it made Supergiant Games a household name in an industry dominated by multimillion dollar publishers and studios. Everything about Bastion was so meticulously well-done, from the gameplay and enigmatic story, to the wondrous art and music; not to mention the dulcet tones of Logan Cunningham. A testament to games as art and the ability of independent developers, Bastion serves a standard that all of Supergiant's future games will be judged by.

Which as it stands is Transistor's greatest problem, It's the follow up act of a fantastic opening number. But like it's big brother, Red's adventure in Cloudbank is an equally stellar performance.

Hello World

When you first load up Transistor, you aren't given a prologue, you aren't even given a start screen, you're thrown right into the world Cloudbank in it's final moments as the Process, the enemies of the game; start to turn the thriving metropolis from alive and colourful to sterile and monochrome. You play as the singer Red, who after being attacked by the Process and the Camarata, the administrators of Cloudbank; has had her voice taken from her. You wield the transistor, a digital great sword that not only gives Red the ability to fight the Process, but also serves as the games narrator (again by Logan Cunningham) as it contains the Trace (essentially the soul) of someone close to Red, but isn't initially apparent who.

In fact, apart from the exposition from your speaking sword and some lines spoken by other characters towards the end, Almost all of the big pieces of the story aren't given to the player, but only told as the player explores and experiments. While some might find this as a confusing and poor narrative, I personally enjoy figuring out what's going on from virtually nothing. It's dark, mysterious, and you know that nothing is as it seems. Transistor doesn't want to tell you a story, it wants you make sense of all the data and build the big picture yourself. There will always be some pieces missing though, no matter how much you explore. This is slightly disappointing, but hardly enough to spoil the atmosphere.

Wait your Turn()

Similar to Bastion's gameplay, controlling Red is viewed from an angled fixed camera as she travels through Cloudbank's various alleys and streets fighting the various monsters who oppose her. The very first battle introduces the game as a action RPG a la Diablo, but immediately you're introduced to the game's twist, the Turn() system. This allows Red to execute a sequence of moves and actions planned in advance and then executed as time is stopped for your enemies. It's a refreshing take on turn based RPGs and allows for varied and creative gameplay. As you collect more abilities through additional traces, the ability to customize your skill set is simple, yet incredibly robust and satisfying. Using abilities as either offensive, upgrades, or passive abilities allows for a lot of flexibility, even if some abilities really only have a specific use. You also get access to a practice area and bonus levels called tests to truly become versed in the different powers you have and what best suits your play style.

But just because you're given a lot of power at your disposal, doesn't mean that your enemies are chumps. They evolve as you progress and the battles become more like puzzles than combat, with the player relying on careful strategy that can make or break a battle, especially towards the end. Even the game's unique way of punishing a player or the ability to make your enemies harder on purpose for more experience allows the player to truly tailor the game to their liking, making Transistor one of the best RPGs in a long time, and we've had some crazy good RPGs this year.

Artificial Art

It goes without saying that Transistor is beautiful to look at, but what makes the world truly come alive is the seamless integration of cyberpunk with a modern urban atmosphere. The world and characters are beautifully detailed, as is to be expected of Supergiant Games' Jen Zee. But because of its blend of the organic and inorganic, Transistor's world is that much more beautiful and real, which in turn makes it even more sad to watch as it is processed by... well, the Process. Words really can't do the art of this game justice.

Hum Along

As Red is a singer, you'd think that music would play an important role in Transistor. It certainly does, but not in an obvious way (as is expected). There isn't any specific gameplay mechanic involving singing or music, but the beautifully composed score and the subtle nuances of both the game's soundtrack and sound effects make Transistor a truly complete experience. An amazing detail that I can never get enough of is that when you switch from realtime combat to the planning mode of Turn(), the music switches to a hummed version of whatever is playing... hummed by Red herself. We understand this is her planning, the thoughts in her head if you will. That little touch is such a nice feature I just want to take an extra turn just to hear that lovely hummed melody.

Sign Out

There are going to be a lot of you who aren't going to like Transistor as much as I did, especially when in many ways it isn't as good as it's older sibling. The game is rushed in places and feels over all too soon, even for only 20 bucks. But I think that's what makes this experience such a wonderful one. It's short and sweet, better to be over too soon than drag on too long. But more importantly, it's game that once again pushes the limits of what games can be. I can't wait to see what Supergiant comes out with next, and I'm hoping it's a hat trick and just as amazing as the last two games have been.

Rating 9.5/10