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Character Fan Art Feature! Feral Kid – Mad Max 2

Leonie
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Character Fan Art Feature! Feral Kid – Mad Max 2

Soooo… Yes… For my first fan art feature I chose Feral Kid! Well I lie… I actually chose Mad Max but then I came across the first piece of artwork I am going to show in this article and freaked!!! I just had to search out more Feral Kid! It wasn’t a very frugal search if I am honest. I found very little pieces when it came to Feral Kid, even less that stood out for me. So it was a challenge finding five that I liked, never mind my top five!

After spending all afternoon putting variant’s of “Mad Max Feral Kid/ Mad Max Boomerang Kid” in DeviantArt and Google! Shall we see what we found? 

First off I would like to show you the cute little piece of artwork that made me move from Mad Max to Feral Kid in a blizzard of squee’s. 

the_feral_kid_by_raultrevino-d4unudn

I thought this captured Feral Kid perfectly! Everything down to his clothing, to his expression, to the blood dripping from his boomerang! This is titled “The Feral Kid” by raultrevino on DeviantArt! The Feral Kid, though he only plays a small part in the films, was just a great addition to the second film, he was one fearless little bad ass and this piece of artwork shows him perfectly as that, but also shows his soft, chubby kid side! 

So moving on to Feral Kids soft side, Mad Max wins him over with a little wind up musical instrument, which is shown in a unique way in this next piece of art. 

boomerang_kid_by_sumeyyekesgin-d4nhiuk

sumeyyekesgin ‘s piece of artwork entitled “Boomerang Kid” is a emotive and meaningful piece of art which basically sums up what Mad Max gives to him, the music is this wondrous thing in Feral Kid’s otherwise difficult life and it is Mad Max who allows him to experience the music. It allows us to remember that Feral Kid is still a child… A lethal child… But a child none the less!

Following the comic book theme here is the next piece of art, Feral Kid isn’t the focal point of this piece but its awesome demanded that I share!

mad_max_by_brandonpalas-d6b05hr

“MAD MAX” by BrandonPalas is an awesome action shot of both Max and Feral Boy in action! The expressions are brilliant!

The next is a symbolic piece, which I find quite sweet.

Road_Warrior_by_peacefreak99

I love the quote that goes along with “Road Warrior” by peacefreak99 “I had this image burned into my mind even before I rewatched The Road Warrior. After rewatching it, I remembered why. As a kid, I could identify w/ the child that used this weapon of death.”

And finally I am going to end on something a little different! But I still class this as a form of art!

IMG_6616

This beauty was made by  after he watched the film and the full article can be found here; http://thatcherworks.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/cast-aluminum-boomerang.html 

SO! Question is, do any of you have any favourite characters you would like me to hunt down awesome fan art for? Because if not I will carry on doing more obscure characters! That’s a threat! 

It’s Official: The Hateful Eight is Cancelled!

David Rose
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It’s Official: The Hateful Eight is Cancelled!

Quentin Tarantino has cancelled The Hateful Eight after the script was leaked just a few days after the proposed western’s announcement, citing the “betrayal” as the reason for the project’s end.

In a statement for Miramax released on Miramax’s own website, he condemns the “fucking agents” that betrayed his trust, further adding that: “I give it out to six people and if I can’t trust them to that degree, then I have no desire to make it.” He further adds that he will publish the script in some as-yet unspecified form, but it seems that the massive speculation regarding the cast outside of Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern.

The situation seems to be that he gave the script to the three actors, who of course poured through it with their agents, but one of them (and Tarantino insists it’s not Tim Roth) let slip to the rest of Hollywood, which may well make him the biggest villain in this entire spectacle and why we can’t have nice things.

I sure do hope that million dollar exclusive scoop was worth it!

It is a blow to Tarantino fans, given how amazing his last western, Django Unchained was. But at the same time an angry Quentin is usually a very imaginative Quentin, so watch this space to see what he makes out of spite. After all, he even says. “I’ll move on to the next thing. I’ve got ten more where that came from.”

Given Quentin’s past record, that may be less of a boast than it sounds…

Isometrics: Twitterfall, Authorship and the Double Edged Power of the Fan Response

David Rose
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Isometrics: Twitterfall, Authorship and the Double Edged Power of the Fan Response

So Titanfall has opted for a 12-player cap for its multiplayer, which has players up in arms before the game is even complete. Are they right? Isometrics takes a look at the strange power of the crowd response throughout the ages.

 Titanfall

Welcome to Isometrics, a gilded gaze at the somewhat larval literary world of video games. After a look at the issue of the player, and whether the player, the game or indeed the author of a given text is in charge of the players actions during a game play experience; it is perhaps fitting that we should look at the other end of the spectrum. Let us discuss authorship in what is not only a collaborative artistic medium but also one that is affected by the audience far more than most, both in the individual’s experience and in the creation of the work.

The general prevailing view, both legally and in literary circles, is that a literary work has a particular author. This is the case even in collaborative media such as film and television, where there are – by necessity – a large amount of people involved doing specific tasks to ensure the work is completed. A single creative vision unifies these disparate elements and thus creates a work (Generally in film, that role is given to the director, in some rare cases the screenwriter).

This principle is at the core of the Auteur, and is a theory somewhat vital to the critical process since it allows certain implicit political, thematic or personal views to be sourced back to this singular vision, as opposed to a crowd of different crew members, each with different values, races, creeds, genders, socio-economic views and so on. Pauline Kael characterises the Auteur theory’s purpose as “[i]nterior meaning… extrapolated from the tension between a director’s personality and his material…”

It is by no means a flawless theory, with criticism generally questioning precisely why one specific person gets all the credit (eg. “Why does the director get the full credit for a creative work, when the idea often comes through the screenwriters, and most of the actual work is done by a massive cast and crew?”), when all the other crew could potentially offer their own complimentary or subversive voice through the roles they have in the creative process. This got to the point that David Kipen coined the term Schrieber theory to describe the screenwriter as the person in control of the creative process, thus proving once and for all that literary critics hide behind foreign language and pointlessly verbose syntax in order to hide very basic ideas…wait!

Anyway, the process of determining “authorship” is a little more complex in video games, given how even the auteur would not be entirely in control of their own narrative, but this will take a whole article of its own to untangle. Instead we are going to talk about jet boots and giant robots, in that intriguing spectacle called Titanfall.

Titanfall, the most literary of spectacles!
Titanfall, the most literary of spectacles!

What is interesting about the Titanfall story isn’t just what the game is (it’s not going to be any literary gem, but man will it be awesome!), but the huge fan reaction to announcements regarding it. In particular, the hugely negative reaction towards the announcement that the game will primarily be a six person vs six person team conflict, with AI soldiers around and of course the giant Titan machines, causing a battle on three levels.

This from a game design standpoint is interesting because it will be one of the first massive blockbuster titles to adapt elements of the incredibly popular MOBA genre, which in theory should add tactics, balance and a degree of business not often seen in shooters because of the often widely divergent skill levels of players. Potentially, in any case.

The reaction was odd mostly because it seemed to lay the assumption that the reason for this decision was purely technical, that all of the potential gameplay opportunities laid above could not possibly apply to a big budget first person shooter. What probably also stirred the pot was the exclusivity deal Respawn Entertainment has with Microsoft to make the game an Xbox One exclusive, thus giving the fans of the competing Playstation 4 a very large stick to beat Xbox fans with, in scenes reminiscent of a South Park episode.

What interests me about this whole affair is how much press it has gotten, and the potential power of the collective, which could in all possibility force a change in games, not just in terms of mechanics but also potentially in other areas, such as the case with the ever controversial Mass Effect 3.

Mass Effect is a game that in so many ways is perfect critical material. It manages to find that sweet spot, crafting a grand narrative but giving enough leeway that the player controlled Commander Shepherd feels genuinely like a part of the universe, the only catch being that everyone from high ranking officials to intimate lovers will call you by your last name. The player’s decisions also mattered in both big and small ways, some that even transcended one game and became important in the subsequent sequels. Yet despite having this player input there was a great story behind it, one that could be traced back at least in theory to the vision of Casey Hudson.

It is a flawed masterpiece, one that will likely end up receiving an Isometrics article of its own soon enough. The major point of the series is that it is about choices, and choices affect how the game is played at a number of levels, to the point that certain fights can be avoided and certain missions skipped if diplomacy is taken at the right time. With that level of control over their individual narrative, it is natural to see why the ending of Mass Effect 3 annoyed people so, well, massively.

Mass Effect 3, for the uninitiated is built around one final do-or-die conflict with the reapers, and the entire first 90% of the game is built around forming alliances, meeting old friends and buying so very many DLC packs trying to get every advantage possible when fighting beings as godlike and barely stoppable as the Reapers.

Gargantuan Spoilers ahead, if you wish to avoid them, don’t read anything between the bold sentences!

Extended Spoilers for Extended Cuts
Extended Spoilers for Extended Cuts

The ending of Mass Effect 3, however, throws that all out of the window, as all choices lead to an incredibly odd climax which even includes a strange ghostly starchild and a lot of very truncated dialogue which offered three somewhat nebulous endings, none of which entirely lived up to the pre-release suggestions that every choice would matter. It got to the point that both the US Better Business Bureau and the UK’s Advertisement Standards Agency got involved (though in the ASA’s case only to reject claims that the game had been mis-sold), as well as huge internet campaigns were set up to try and change the ending. These eventually led to the creation of the Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut free Downloadable Content, which extended the endings, and added a fourth hidden one, where you can get that cathartic revenge on the starchild, if you feel the level of anger as the fans seemed to.

This has always left me, as a literary critic, with a dilemma. Are narratives, like any other part of the game play experience, an iterative component to be updated, fixed and upgraded when appropriate, or does the auteur theory override this and thus make the changing of the ending by fan demand unethical. It should be pointed out that allegedly, both the lead designer and lead writer, Casey Hudson and Mac Williams, chose the ending irrespective of peer review, and there is a sense that this is the ultimate extension of their philosophy of the role of technology in society. The interpretation that man may need to make an unpalatable choice with technological advances, whether that is to control them, to meld with them or to destroy them, but the nature of how Shepherd made it to this final choice, as well as the sheer scale of the choice may explain the deliberate sense of confusion.

In the end, they are artists, writers and creators, should they be forced, either legally or under the weight of fan demand to change the game’s ending because of fan demand? Or is this question moot because the problem was not necessarily with the ending sequence but with its execution, and by fixing that, as the extended cut did, the game was closer to the intent to the auteur, not further away.

It’s a very tricky question, one that isn’t entirely answerable unless we hear more confirmable tell-all accounts than the one provided by Patrick Weekes on Penny Arcade’s forums. (link: http://www.gamesthirst.com/2012/03/22/mass-effect-3-writer-distance-himself-from-game-ending-blames-casey-hudson/).

Okay, you can come back now!

The problem is that it is a question with increasing relevance given the rise in the “paid beta tester” market, where players get a discount (most of the time) and a chance to directly affect a game’s development while the game is still rapidly changing and evolving. Given the solicited nature of the fan response, this is an even greyer area for authorial intent, which can in the case of some games turn the game into an even more collaborative work.

In the end, it all depends on the auteur though, and given that practically all games are collaborative anyway, this should in an ideal world change nothing.

Whether we live in an ideal gaming world is up to you.

Do you value the auteur as much as literary critics seem to? What do you think of Titanfall or the Mass Effect 3 controversy? What are you experience with Steam Early Access or paid beta games in general? Please leave a comment below, leave a message on the Geek Pride facebook page and message abuse to me on Twitter (@HuggyDave). Thanks for reading!

Mike N’ Nick’s Gentlemanly Chats ep 5: They Call Me Sonic

The_Dark_Mike
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Mike N’ Nick’s Gentlemanly Chats ep 5: They Call Me Sonic

Bonjour, you sexy bunch of ragamuffins.

Happy #Talkietuesday everyone, here’s another slice of fried gold, in which we talk about Mr Needlemouse at length.

 

Also Starring  our mutual friend and long time listener, Chris Bateman, who is as close to Batman as I’m ever going to get. Have a period of 7 days, everyone.

Click Here

 

Pompeii Trailer

Cristina Bogdan
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Pompeii Trailer

It seems like 2014 is the year of the return to ancient times. The story of Pompeii, with a romantic twist, is being brought to life again, this time in a movie starring Kit Harrington, Carrie-Ann Moss, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Keifer Sutherland, to name but a few.

Pompeii-2014-Movie-poster-top-upcoming-movies-2014

While the tale of the city covered in lava, following the eruption of the Vesuvius has been known for over a thousand years, we’re promised an epic tale that will blow us away. Milo (Kit Harrington), a slave that has become one of the best gladiators in the city must fight to find his loved one in a sea of ash and fire as the world as he knows it is shaken to the ground. The trailer looked impressive and it made me curious as to how exactly they plan to have the story play out. I cringe to think they might end up doing just your run of the mill romantic flick (which the poster and the trailer might suggest), despite having one of the world’s worst tragedy of its time to draw from. Only time will tell. The movie premieres on February the 21st in the USA, though by the looks of things most countries will have to wait until later in the spring to see it.

Adventure Time presents: Card Wars – for real!!

Bevan Clatworthy
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Adventure Time presents: Card Wars – for real!!

Hot on the heels of Mike Orvis blowing our mind via his theory on the why OOO is Ooo, some mathematical news has floated it’s way to the top of the tabletop gaming pond. Publisher Cryptozoic (famous for the DC Deckbuilder amongst other games) have announced the release of a Trading Card Game based on Card Wars, the card game loved by Jake in the Adventure Time episode of the same name.

I do not play such games … with Jake.

Details are sketchy at the moment, with this blurb on boardgamegeek.com being the only source of real information

“Card Wars is the most epic card game ever found in the Land of Ooo, or anywhere for that matter! In the Adventure Time episode “Card Wars”, Jake begs Finn to play his favorite trading card game. Finn accepts, despite warnings from Beemo on how very competitive Jake can be while playing the game. Finn and Jake battle against each other to decide who will be the Dweeb and who will be the Cool Guy.

Now fans can play the actual Card Wars game, with all of the action taking place in four combat lanes. Jake’s corn-themed deck features creatures from the episode such as the powerful Husker Knights, the intimidating Legion of Earlings, the heroic Archer Dan and many more! Finn’s “Blue Plains” deck features creatures from the episode such as the wise Ancient Scholar, the aptly named Cool Dog, and the most fearsome critter of all – The Pig!

Each turn, a player has two Action Points to spend on Creatures, Spells, and Locations, and cards cost between 0 and 2 Action Points to play. When you summon a Creature, you choose which lane you want to place it in; some Creatures have FLOOP abilities that allow you to use their special abilities. When you attack with a Creature down a lane, you might find an opposing Creature, or you might get to deal your damage straight to your opponent’s Hit Points. Reduce your opponent’s Hit Points from 25 to 0 and you’re the Cool Guy (and you win the game)!

Each Starter Set has a pair of different forty-card decks and is ready to play right out of the box. Mix the decks together to come up with your own righteous combos!

Card Wars is a collectible trading card style game. Be on the lookout for future add-on packs to add to your collection!”

A quick scoot around the Cryptozoic websites reveealed very little else, apart for a company comment along the lines of “Things will be revealed soon!”, with some speculation about news at the end of January.

I just hope Cryptozoic can pull this off, since their titles have a reputation of being a bit hit-and-miss in the quality department. But let me tell you, I can’t wait to Floop the Pig!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXMSeyj4bAY

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Board Game

GuruMel
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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Board Game

This is the official board game to accompany last years movie, but with such a wealth of Tolkien games already in circulation is it worth the effort?

The presentation is great: the box shows nice artwork with all the movie characters, the board is sturdy and shiny, but gives the first indication of the games simplicity (if the 6+ age guideline hadn’t tipped you off already). Inside we find 6 decks of cards, 3 of them mini-cards. All are well designed and produced to a high quality, as is expected with a movie tie-in game like this. There is a bag of small copper figurines for the players, but most of the box is taken up with the 4 large challenge characters – the antagonists in the game that each player much defeat. We have a warg rider, a stone troll, the goblin king and two orcs. Each is a silver plastic figure standing about 2” tall. They are very impressive!

DSC_0334

The game itself is a very simple roll and move, with the added extra of combat cards, but in fact these do not contribute a great deal to the game, as all the characters and bosses have such similar stats. It is a very simple game, clearly aimed at a younger or more mainstream audience. It is not a gamers game.

The cards are collected as you move around the board and help you boost your stats in the boss fights against the “Challenge Characters.” After the first few combats it is very easy to determine which cards you will need to be able to win in a boss fight, and it does become a simple matter of collecting cards, rolling dice and top trumps. The maths involved may be good for kids, but there really is very little required in terms of tactics, planning or cooperation.

As a very simple movie tie-in I was surprised that it is a straight ‘race to the finish’ competitive game with no element of cooperation at all. The most brief and basic viewing of the movie will show that it is about a group working together towards the same goal. The game captures none of this.

The wording of the cards is often quite ambiguous, and almost always is just flowery superfluous flavour text, ending with something like ‘miss a turn’ or ‘pick up a card’.

It’s not all bad though! Like I said, the game is very pretty, and does have enough to engage a wide range of players. Although this is not one for a group of experienced gamers, it could be a good game for a mixed age or ability group, or for a casual / drunken game night. It doesn’t require too much thought and is fairly quick to play. This could be a good gateway game to get people into ‘proper’ games, like Fantasy Flight’s Lord of the Rings – this is what I plan to do!

During play our criticisms weren’t about game mechanics or complexity – we did enjoy it and will likely play again. The problems we had while playing without analyzing were the oversimplification – it could be a much more tactical game. Biggest complaint was the shoddy playing pieces! It is very difficult to tell the player figures apart, as they are almost all the same height, same colour, and show a similar character wielding similar weapons. A lot of our game time was wasted correcting moves when someone had moved the wrong piece.

The first comment made when we set up the game was “Ahh, Ludo” and sadly that is the case, it is fancy Ludo with flavour text and pretty colours, but saying that, this likely won’t be a game that gathers dust at the back of the shelf. It is quick, fun and very accessible – enjoy it for what it is and don’t expect too much! I think, like a lot of games, you can make this as much fun as you want.

In summary, this is an enjoyable but very basic game, one to be brought out at Christmas with the family or when we have kids round before we start an evening of proper gaming.

I, Frankenstein Trailer

Cristina Bogdan
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I, Frankenstein Trailer

I don’t know about you, but the trailer for this new movie actually made me excited. It’s being produced by the same team that did Underworld and while not all of their instalments were worthy of the hype, it can’t be denied the first was quite brilliantly done. One can only hope that they will repeat their performance.
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It seems like having a new take on an old story is all the rage these days and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is no exception. With Aaron Eckhart as the monster (I did have a bit of a Hey, Harvey Dent! moment, I admit it) the movie – based on that alone – looks quite appealing. The man can act, that’s undeniable. Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto and many others complete the cast of the movie that promises an epic battle between more monsters like Victor Frankenstein’s creation, gargoyles and demons. The movie is based on the graphic novel with the same name by Kevin Grevioux and it’s set to open in theatres next week, on January the 29th.

Zombie Attack on NYC: Best Zombie Prank Ever

Becca Harper
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Zombie Attack on NYC: Best Zombie Prank Ever

Can zombies live amongst us? It is a discussion we have had on the Geek Pride Podcast and to cut a long story short we decided that zombies would probably be awarded rights and we’d all just have to a little more cautious in our everyday life.  This video from Lala Brown  also wanted to see what our reaction would be when faced with a zombie going around like it’s somekind of human.

The special effect make up is on par with The Walking Dead and the actors make very convincing zombies; it’s as real as it can be. The public reaction is entertaining with their response falling into one of three categories – flight, laugh or bemusement. Disappointingly not one member of the public picked up a heavy weapon and tried to cave the undead’s head in…unless of course they did and all that has been covered up by the makers because murder.

Those who ran away screaming are wise and completely did the right thing, you will initially survive the Zpocalypse, as for those who stood there laughing or confused; you’re zombie food, fools.

 

 

And the Geek Pride Game of the Year 2013 is…

Matt_Walklate
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And the Geek Pride Game of the Year 2013 is…

It’s safe to say that 2013 has been a very, very good year for gamers. We’ve seen a veritable smorgasbord of titles released this year, from action-heavy AAA works to masterpieces of storytelling and emotion, from the technical innovation of respected developers and the continued explosion of groundbreaking indie games.

But with so much choice; how on earth can we decide on a game of the year?  Well, luckily for us, we don’t have to settle for just one! Us gamers of the Geek Pride family have rubbed our respective chinny chin chins, reflected over the last year’s achievements, and each come up with our own personal Game of the Year. Take a read below for our choices, and see for yourself.

 

The Last Of Us – Matt Walklate

goty2

Have you ever had a dream that was so profound, or realistic that it stuck with you for days after waking? It’s difficult to concisely put into words how The Last of Us affected me, but what I can say is that after finishing it for the first time, that feeling is still with me now; weeks later. I could explain in detail how deeply the characters of Joel and (especially) Ellie affected me, how moved I was with the story, or even how not only is this the first game in my 25+ years of gaming to ever made me cry, that it still has when I replayed it for the second time, too. But all that’s not necessary (or within the word limit).

After playing Bioshock Infinite I was confident there was little that could best its emotionally written, character driven tale, especially considering the deep empathy I found myself experiencing for its father-daughter paradigm (one that TLOU, I was glad to see, explored much deeper). So when I received The Last Of Us I expected nothing more than an equally good game. How very wrong I was. I finished it in a matter of days, and since then I’ve tried to play other games, but now nothing compares; nothing can stop me thinking about it. I’m seriously worried that The Last Of Us has ruined gaming for me. And I don’t even care.

It’s even a winner from a technical standpoint. After all, one of the reasons why the characterisation is so astounding is because the voice acting is second to none, and the facial animations especially do a pitch perfect job of showing, not telling, each character’s inner thoughts and emotions. The mix in gameplay between stealth action, combat and survival works wonderfully, with suspense, desperation and unnerving yet necessary brutality in equal measure.

When I started playing it, I expected I would have to make a choice between The Last Of Us and Bioshock infinite for my Game Of The Year. What I found was not just my favourite game of 2013; I found is my single favourite game of all time. It may not be perfect but to me its characters, their relationships and struggles, and bonds that are forged and broken, all combine to form what is to me, simply the closest to perfection games can get.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds – Hani Fearon

 goty1

2013 was the year for explosive TV, disappointing cinema and a new chapter in the console war. There were also some great game releases throughout the year, particularly those breathing new life into well-established series. Highlights for me included the rather beautiful Bioshock Infinite and the highly anticipated GTA V.

However, it’s with little surprise that I announce my Game of the Year to be 3DS exclusive The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. As the seventeenth game in the series, A Link Between Worlds is without a doubt one of the most impressive installments of recent years. Set in the same world as the 1991 A Link to the Past, this is the first original title for the 3DS and it’s definitely the first 3D game to actually impress me. With this and the release of Pokémon X and Y a month previous, to me, towards the end of 2013 saw Nintendo finally return back to the game as a contender. Maybe something to take our minds off the Wii U disaster.

A Link Between Worlds has it all. The graphics are quite simply stunning and the 3D element feels rather smooth rather than headache inducing. The dungeon system has had quite the revamp as well, allowing players to tackle the dungeons in their own order through the assistance of Ravio, an odd little character that lodges in Link’s house selling items needed for different locations. One of the game’s new features is Link’s new found ability to transform himself into a 2D drawing, a fitting feature for technology focusing on 3D game play. This brings a whole new element to dungeons and offers plenty of new puzzles, somewhat increasing the difficulty level at the same time. Now when tackling a dungeon, the player needs to think about how to move through walls and floors using Link’s new power, whilst taking care not to drain his power meter. Considering the game is set in the same Hyrule as A Link to the Past, this offers seasoned Zelda fans something extra.

Enough gushing over the game now, I need to give the other writers a shot. If you haven’t given The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds some of your time yet, I urge you to do so. Without a doubt one of the best Zelda games in recent years, it’s definitely one of the top games of 2013.

Tomb Raider – David Rose

 goty3

The Game of the Year is meant to discuss the absolute best of the best in a given year, and with 2013 as strong a year as it has been for novel, imaginative and thoroughly brilliant games, the race for the best is closer than ever. So why then, have I chosen a game riddled with controversy, a few flaws and the recipient of good but not glowing reviews?

Well, this year I have simply not been as surprised and wowed by a game as much as the reboot of Tomb Raider. Despite some technical problems. the gameplay is a whole lot of fun and it manages to get a good balance of atmosphere, gameplay and story that other games simply didn’t provide. Speaking of the story, it was really well written, scripted and surprisingly enough got it all right with Lara’s characterisation.

As flawed as the game is, those problems for me simply didn’t matter for the time I invested into the game’s universe.

As well, on a more personal level, Tomb Raider was the game I really engaged with most as a critic, and inspired me enough to eventually get me into reviewing. So this is the game to blame for my being here, and is there a more glowing endorsement than that?

Gone Home – Ben Fee

goty4

I’m so bored. Bored of fetch quests and first kills, finish lines and Fifas. In a market where the call of duty is almost deafening and such outdated concepts such as story and character are fast being felled to make way for gimmicks and familiarity, how can any of us help but be bored stiff by the almost ubiquitous lack of innovation and originality stinking up the place?

There is, however, a light in this metaphorical darkness – a rise in the indie game scene has lead to a new wave of interesting and capable titles that are giving even some of the triple-A behemoths a run for their precious, precious money. This year, the game that typified this movement best and therefore gains my vote for Game Of The Year is Gone Home.

Gone Home is best approached from a position of unfamiliarity so I won’t take that from you by going into particular detail. In a nutshell, you experience an evening in the life of a young woman recently returned from travelling, arriving at her parents home to find the lights off and the house deserted. The game utilises a first-person perspective to allow the player to explore the building and read the various memos, notes and ephemera left behind by that most fascinating and mysterious creature of all –the  human being. What follows is a moving if somewhat voyeuristic trip into the lives of her estranged family, culminating in the most human moment I have ever experienced in a virtual world. Leave your guns, swords and other toys; go home and I promise you will be bored no longer.

Saints Row IV – Leonie Briggs

When your stress levels are high and your days have been un-amusing and full of people whose sense of humour seems to have taken a long walk off of a short peer; one game I found to be very therapeutic was Saints Row IV. The story line, though not really an emotional rollercoaster like Tomb Raider and The Last of Us were, was easy going and all kinds of good fun.

I knew within the first five minutes I would love this game. You start off as the current president of the United States when the world is attacked by aliens. After fighting Overlord Zinyak you wake up as a character in a 50’s tv show no less, where you have to eat pancakes and greet your neighbors. Things do get a tad bit more serious after this though, as you discover that Earth has been destroyed and you are in fact inside Zinyaks version of the Matrix.

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What ensues then is just this crazy adventure with awesome superpowers, dubstep and plenty of laughs along the way. Some of the side quests are a little repetitive but for me never get boring because the joy of battle, especially after you upgrade your abilities, setting fire to and exploding enemies is just soooo fulfilling and joyous.

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The Penetrator (Dildo bat) has been upgraded to a Tentacle Bat that makes a good ol’ squishy noise as you run around (which is basically the story line of any half decent hentai). There are guns that inflate people, laser/ Star Trek-esque guns and anti-gravity guns all make the game much more fun than your average shooter.

The main selling point, and my final point, for this game for me was the dubstep gun! I just… The concept of it is just beyond words. Whoever game up with this deserves a medal! I currently have mine set to classical! It is so damn satisfying exploding people with rays of classical music!!!

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Bonus Points – DLC Of The Year – KRIEGGG!!! – Leonie Briggs

My favourite game of all time is Borderlands and Borderlands 2. Now I know neither of these games came out in 2013 BUT… A certain piece of DLC came out this year that I felt definitely needed a mention. The most epic and schizophrenic piece of DLC EVER!!! The character it introduced us to has to be, hands down, the best character I have ever come across in the game!

He is just full of muscle bound awesome; a buzz axe wielding bad ass! His name is Krieg! NIPPLE SALADS! *cough*

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His character is very immersive and requires a lot of throwing yourself head first into fights with a mighty battle roar and without a care for your health bar or impending death. I chose to follow the ‘Mania’ skill set which is very aptly named. When you reach the end of this skill tree you can basically constantly rampage in battle and your rampages are damn strong, every bit of damage you take helps your skill charge up quicker and if you couple this with melee increasing equipment you can take enemies out in one or two hits and certain boss battles become an absolute heart pumping thrill!

All in all, there isn’t much you can say about Krieg unless you have experienced his play style. Its is just so… just so… ghjgahsfdfhgf. That’s the only way you can express the feeling of playing this character. It is just a meat fuelled journey of pure rage and blood.

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If you haven’t got this DLC, then I suggest you buy it, if you haven’t got the game, then I suggest you buy the game and then promptly buy the DLC.

So there you have it; the Geek Pride 2013 Game of The Year Showcase! Disagree with our choices? Have another personal favourite? Please get in touch and let us know! After all, for every game on this list there were two or three that missed the top spot by a hair’s breadth, so let us know your thoughts below.

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