My Review of The Doctor Who Christmas Special 2012December 25, 2012 by

Doctor Who: The Snowman

The Review

                So another Christmas has come and as any Whovian knows it's time for another Christmas Special.  Like all my other Doctor Who episode reviews this will have spoilers so as a note if you haven't watched the episode. I highly suggest you stay away from this. If you have by all means read on.  I'm going to try to highlight as many scenes as I can but I will miss some in the process so I'm going to try and get all the most detailed parts of the episode.  I will try only to roughly summerize the points and go more into a review which is a little different so for those who regularly keep up with my Doctor Who reviews please I would enjoy your feedback is this format a little better or worse. I'm still new to episode reviews and I'm trying to get a form that works for me so please feedback is appreciated, rude feedback however is not so keep that in mind.

The episode starts off in a usual fashion by having a vague introduction to the setting. A boy in self isolation talking to a snowman.  Nothing particularly catchy about this part for me, but the next part (50 years later) was rather interesting where Clara the new companion notices a snowman that wasn't there a second ago.  When she asks a nearby stranger about it, guess who?  Yeah and oddly enough the Doctor seems to not care which is very uncharacteristic of him.  This got my attention and then Clara's fast talking, witty, and confidant personality really added to the scene.  The Doctor seems to be avoiding things and just leaves in a carriage to which she just happens to appear from the top of the carriage.  Loved the entrance, and loved how she just ran into the Doctor and her curiosity made her follow him.  Overall not the best introduction, but nowhere near terrible as it did its job and made me curious.  Now I know this isn't significant to some people, but I want to talk about the new title sequence.  Loved all the space scenes and such but what really got me was they finally put a picture of the Doctor's face in it which hasn't been seen since the 7th Doctor which really made me remember the old episodes.

The episode gets really humorous with the next scene with the Doctor and the Sontaran.  First of all the Sontaran is in a suit.  After a long conversation the Doctor is about to erase Clara's memory with the worm but is unable to by snowmen.  To prevent Clara from being helpless against them if they show up again he is forced to leave her memory alone and leave to which she follows.  I loved how the Doctor hides the Tardis in a cloud and then uses an invisible staircase to get to it.  She finds the Tardis but leaves for now.  I like how this scene has comedic relief and establishes that the Doctor has clearly been there for some time now.

We later find Clara watching over some children who explain about nightmares. Clara notices that while the ice is gone the pond is still frozen. I like how she puts the pieces together using how the snowmen use thoughts to form and the general surroundings to figure out something is not right about that pond.  It really shows she is a clever companion. I like how she is immediately starting to impress me with every scene showing a cunning instinct and a bold character.

The next really major scene is when the Silurian overhears Clara talking about the Doctor and decides to interrogate her.   One rule every answer has to be one word. This was interesting and the scene really showed how she is able to think fast while under pressure.  It is also interesting to see how the Silurian says the Doctor doesn't help anymore. She describes him just like characters in the classic series describe the Timelord race. I don't know if this was intentional but it really made it seem like the Doctor was becoming more understanding to why the Timelords watched but never interfered. Then the Silurian says if Clara is to ask for help she can only do so with one word. The scene skips to a phonecall with the Doctor and the Silurian and uses the one word,  Pond.  Nice use of a double reference to Amy Pond as well as the focal point of the mystery the pond from before.

The Doctor then goes to Dr. Simian, the boy from before, and posses as Sherlock Holmes.  Wow talk about a real attention grabber.  I never expected a Sherlock Holmes reference. The Doctor walks in and starts acting like Sherlock but gets all his hunches about people wrong. This of course was to be funny and then investigates the mysterious snow and figures out the said pond Clara brought up has a dead body in it which makes him realize that they are using that to make a snow/human hybrid. Personally the scene is just a point of information type scene but what made it awesome was the Sherlock references.

The Doctor goes and investigates the pond and runs into Clara which eventually ends up with an ice woman coming after them and you can slowly see the Doctor becoming less and less cold towards those around him. Yes while I know that sounds like a pun I believe the episode was meant for this pun to be a recurring theme.  The Doctor leaves to figure out the mess and Clara follows and kisses him. I did not see that coming but really makes Clara seem more and more interesting especially with how outspoken she is. This soon leads to a chase scene which has Clara and the Doctor on the roof and she is able to figure out the Doctor's plan which was another clever moment of Clara's which I loved.  You see her analyze all the details and really think things through which for me was an amazing scene.

We then come to a full view of the new Tardis interior which is probably the best one yet for me.  It was just amazing.  Clara looks around and the Doctor basically tells her I know what you're about to say. Which of course hints that she will say something different and her saying "it's smaller on the outside" becomes predictable which I didn't care for. I loved the quote but I just didn't like that it was so easily predicted.  This scene leads to the Doctor giving Clara a Tardis key.  You can see the Doctor is finally realizing that he is who he is and no matter how sad and bitter his life becomes he can't change who he is.  I liked that and then Clara gets pulled to the ground which severely injures her.

The Doctor goes back to Dr. Simian and offers a piece of the ice woman from before. They need it for the DNA to make more of her.  It reveals that the ice is nothing more than a mirror of Dr. Simian and so the Doctor opens the case he offered to him but instead of a piece of the Ice woman it turns out to be the worm from before and it takes away decades of Dr. Simian's memory, but the snow is still there for some reason and tries to go after the Doctor, but Clara and the others far away start crying which creates a powerful surge of emotion which basically solves the problem. I thought it was a bit too quickly solved myself, but I liked how it had the theme of bringing people together.  I figured she would wind up surviving but she winds up dying.  This really confused me because we all know she is the new companion how is she dead.

We find the final scene at her grave and the Doctor realizes she is the same girl Oswin from Asylum of the Daleks and that leaves two questions.  How is the Doctor going to find her, and how is it that she died in two different places and times.  The ending was just very perplexing and clearly hints the next half of the season will slowly reveal secrets about Clara/Oswin.  I'm left without a clue myself which is exactly how I like a Doctor Who episode to end with me having no idea what will happen next.

Overall is it my favorite Christmas Special not quite, but I still really enjoyed it.  I liked how it showed the Doctor being bitter to the point of walking away from who he is only for the cries of help to lure him back making him realize that he is the man who makes people better, and always will be.  The enemy was a bit rushed at times, but that's because the theme was introducing Clara and a recovering Doctor.  Loved the new Tardis interior, and the perplexing ending.

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My top 15 Doctor Who Christmas Special Moments December 22, 2012 by

So with the newest Doctor Who Christmas Special coming up I figured I'd make a list of what I thought to be the top moments in those episodes. Now fair warning this blog is one big spoiler so if you are not caught up on your Christmas specials and don't want parts of them ruined best to avoid this list. So on this list first is the series name Doctor Who, then the episode title then in quotations is a little saying that best summarizes the scene.


15.Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion  "Don't you think she looks tired?"

At the end of this episode Harriet Jones orders an attack on the ship that the Doctor has just ordered to leave. The battle was over but she wanted to make sure it never happened again so she destroyed it.   An enraged Doctor confronted her and said with 6 words he can end her reign as prime minster then went to her assistant and said "Don't you think she looks tired?" This little conversation was just absolutely clever the Doctor taking advantage of Harriet idolizing him and using that to make it seem like he said some sort of powerful secret which would drive her to paranoia and thus make her unable to perform at her best.  Yes I did count the words myself it was exactly 6.  While they were just simply words she gave them that much power because of what she thought of the speaker so while words themselves are not powerful on their own the speaker is.

14. Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned:  "What?"

At the beginning of the episode the spaceship "Titanic" crashed into the Tardis.  What was amusing was how many different times the Doctor said what and in about 5 or 6 different ways.  With one word over and over again he made a statement of curiosity, surprise, and one seemed like he was shouting at the ship.  Then with the crank of a Tardis mechanism he repaired the Tardis and decided to take a look.

13.  Doctor Who: The End of Time Part 2  "The Regeneration"

This was just a powerful scene in itself because you can tell the Doctor is resisting his regeneration being the longest regeneration in Doctor Who history.  He held it back long enough to say goodbye to all his companions during his life.  It was a bit of a going away party that rewarded the expert Whovians who were familiar with all the references made in this part.  For example did anyone catch the song being played at the bar where he said goodbye to Captain Jack. If not why don't you re-watch "Daleks in Manhattan."  Then there was the regeneration itself which was amazing. The fire exploding everywhere to the point of even damaging the Tardis and the music was just as dynamic. There is only one reason why this scene failed to land the top 10. Because the Doctor said "I don't want to go." Horrible just a horrible line for the Doctor. Yes I know he was reluctant to regenerate but it is a very uncharacteristic trait of the Doctor to leave like a coward.

12. Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride   "Find someone"

A quote from Donna at the end of the episode where she explains the Doctor needs to find someone. When he resists she explains that it's to stop him.  The reference she is refering to shows up later in the countdown but what she is meaning is the Doctor doesn't know when to stop when he has to use violence to protect people. To explain because the Doctor shows emotion quite often. The Doctor is typically grounded by humans to where he understands what is needed to be done, but when to draw the line.  When he is away from humans for awhile that line moves further and further in the path of violence. Donna saw a form of this and tried to convince the Doctor to prevent it from happening again.

11. Doctor Who: The Next Doctor "Not once has he ever been thanked"

At the end of this episode Jackson Lake stands up and proclaims how the Doctor has saved a lot of people before but has never been thanked. He moves the town to applaud the Doctor for his heroism.  This I saw was a Christmas miracle for the Doctor a man who acts to protect the people he cares about and yet when the time comes for recognition he is gone, but he didn't get the chance to do so this time. Before he could leave Jackson Lake was there knowing what would happen next if he didn't do anything and thanked the Doctor as loud as he could. It was a very touching scene.

10. Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion   "Who am I?"

As the Doctor emerges from the Tardis in this episode he is asked who he is. He doesn't know at this point and starts ranting on everything he could be.  Is he smart, a fighter, a coward he asks himself all of these things and then finds a great big button.  Just the humor in such a deep conversation ended by a button and he had a Dee Dee moment from Dexter's Laboratory and wondered what the button does and presses it.

9.  Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol "Marilyn get your coat"

The references to Marilyn Monroe was humorous in itself but how it was done made it better. He was trying to leave to avoid getting married to her but couldn't get his companions to stop kissing enough to leave. A frustrated Doctor storms off stating "Marilyn get your coat." Not a complicated scene but one that provided an excellent balance of humor especially with Matt Smith's facial expressions showing a lot more of what he was thinking than his statements.

8. Doctor Who: The End of Time part 2 "I know what I'd be without you"

Around the beginning of this episode the Doctor is trapped and talking to the Master and the Doctor tries to convince the Master to stop his reign of terror and instead join him.  This scene was powerful for one reason and that was because the two already had a very powerful bond.  The Master is more than just an enemy to the Doctor he is kind of like a companion. They traveled together, fought together, and know more about each other than anyone else so the Doctor tries to befriend the Master and you can see how the Master contemplates it.  This shows how the bond is both ways not just another act of kindness from the Doctor to a random enemy.  If only the Master listened, but he gets distracted by his own ambition and refuses the Doctor.

7. Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned   "I am the Doctor"

At the middle of this episode the Titanic is damaged and falling and the survivors are scared so the Doctor in his typical style takes control and tries to help. Someone then asks a stupid question of who put the Doctor in charge. The Doctor turns around and tells them that he is a timelord and rants about who he is and what he is going to do in a very organized format.  The way he does his speech motivates the survivors into following him and makes this scene one to remember.

6. Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion   "It's a fighting hand!"

In the Doctor's battle at the end of the episode his hand is cut off by a sword but he was in the first few hours of his regeneration so he grows a new one.  Somehow this triggers him to know who he is and he is able to grab his blade and win the battle. He then tries to spare the life of his enemy but when he turns his back he tries to strike and fails.  This scene is interesting because it not only shows a little more about regeneration it also shows how the 10th doctor differs from the 9th.  The 9th wouldn't have shown mercy where as the 10th was willing to give the enemy one chance to surrender immediately establishing the 10th as his own identity.

5. Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride  "I warned you, you did this."

In typical Doctor fashion he gives his enemy a chance to surrender and not make him resort to violence. The enemy simply laughed at him and tried to attack but the Doctor easily disables the enemy.  He then tells the enemy that he is from Galifry which strikes absolute fear into her.  He then takes three bombs and throws them up and destroys everything killing her race.  As the fire rises the Doctor looks with an expression on his face that shows he hates what he is doing, and yet also has no remorse for who he is doing it to.  In this scene we see what could have been the state of mind the Doctor was in when he did what he did to end the Time War to end the existence of the Daleks and the Time Lords so overall this scene really dived into the Doctor's brutality and only by Donna stopping him did he leave.

4. Doctor Who: The End of Time Part 2 "Choose your enemy wisely"

The Doctor has a gun which in itself is a shock but now he is faced with a choice either shoot the Master, or shoot Rassilon who comes with several other timelords.  The Doctor is switching enemies and just the sound of the gun when the Doctor turns makes the scene that much more intense.  The way this scene is done it lures the audience to believe he can either shoot the Master to disable the gate that leads the other Timelords to earth, or shoot Rassilon who is the leader of the Timelords.  For really knowledgeable Whovians you'll remember he is the immortal Timelord that appeared in the Five Doctors. Then the Doctor says something to the Master "Get out of the way" which the Master moves and the Doctor shoots a console which disables the link. There is more to this scene though than that. There is also the mysterious woman who seems to have some sort of connection to the Doctor which seems to give the Doctor grief when he looks at the Timelords as they are sent back to the void.  Rassilon then tries to take the Doctor with him.  The Doctor just accepts it which is the only part of the scene I didn't like. One Rassilon was not the one who knocked four times, and two the Doctor could've gotten out of the way. Luckily the Master steps in and saves the Doctor which really makes for an interesting scene but I've given enough spoilers about it so I'll move on.

3. Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol  "Ghost of Christmas Past"

The Doctor finds a recording of Sardick and shows it to his older self.  The Doctor then goes back in time to that recording and alters the events trying to change the man Sardick is.  One of the things that made this scene interesting was the use of the psychic paper. The Doctor claims to be a responsible adult and even the paper couldn't make it believable.  To which the Doctor proclaims, "finally a lie to big." I personally found that to be hilarious considering how often he relied on that item.  The second and one of the most interesting ideas used in a Christmas special was how the present quickly changed.  When the Doctor started tampering in the past you can see how Sardick is remembering an entirely different event and the actor did a great job at portraying confusion, uncertainty, and even fear as his life was changed not only before his eyes but in his mind as well.  However, if you pay enough attention you'll see other changes were made.  For example did anyone notice after the Doctor said "bowties are cool" that the present Sardick's tie changed from a regular to a bow tie?  Little things like that happened throughout the entire scene.

2. Doctor Who: The End of Time part 2  "The Four Knocks"

This was just after Rassilon and the other Timelords were sent back into the void the Doctor is happy to still be alive thinking he somehow avoided death.  Then the prophecy of four knocks happens and when the Doctor looks I believe nearly everyone in the audience said, or thought. No not Wilfred.  Yes Wilfred is stuck in a small glass chamber and is unable to get out.  The problem is the room is about to flood with radiation and will kill whoever is inside.  The way the room works is one person goes in to free the person currently inside.  The Doctor has to make a choice either save himself, or die saving Wilfred.  You can see he is really fighting the choice his desire to live, and his desire to save Wilfred.  He finally makes the choice to save him and when he comes out the look on his face says it all. It was so dark and solemn.  What made this scene so well was we saw the Doctor really show how painful the choice was and how this scene was the result of shock and awe revealing the one who resulted in his death was the man who most wanted to save him.

1. Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol    "The Ghost of Christmas Future"

This has to be possibly the biggest twist I've ever seen in a Doctor Who Christmas Special.  The Doctor is clearly about to show Sardick his future and everyone is expecting him to somehow take Sardick to the future and show he'll die alone.  Even Sardick himself expects it and rants about he doesn't care and when he demands Doctor to show him his future. The Doctor replies "I am." Sardick moves to reveal his younger self in the room which was something not many people would have expected to happen. When younger Sardick believes his older self to be his dad it makes the present Sardick see the error of his ways.  What makes this scene interesting is not only the plot twist but also just how powerful the tones, words, and actions of the characters were.  Everything was just the right balance of emotion to make this scene convey the idea it was trying to show.  Now I know a lot of fans probably wondered how could the two Sardicks come in contact with each other and not cause a rip in time.  I'll answer that it's Christmas ok so drop it.


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Top 13 Video Game characters of 2012December 18, 2012 by

My top Video Game Characters of 2012

Now just as a note some characters returned in sequels from games prior to 2012. While they are included on this list only their performances in the games they were in this year will be counted.

13. N

N from Pokemon Black and White 2 starts of my list of top characters of the year. Yeah I know not a character anyone would have expected to be on my list but I have good reason for picking him.  We often find that characters in Pokemon have little dialogue and often has little to no significance other than as a part of the game. For me N raised the bar for characters in the Pokemon handheld games.  He was the first character that questioned the philosophy of catching and raising pokemon to battle one another.  You can see how he is tormented by the idea of pokemon fighting constantly for people and finds it to be a cruel existence for them, and yet he strives to understand why Pokemon have such loyalty to those who command them to fight.  We also see N come to a form of self realization of his past and his ideas after beating the elite four. Honestly I can't say much about this without spoilers so I will end saying that N being so vastly more complicated than any other character in the Pokemon handhelds makes him start off my list.

12. Pit

Next  on my list is Pit from Kid Icarus Uprising the angel with wings but without the ability to fly.  What made him land my list is how his dialogue was very humorous with ridiculous quotes that weren't overdone.  While he is simplistic and sometimes naive when needed to be he is bold, self sacrificing, and yet still a bit clumsy.

11. Achilles

Another character from Assassin's Creed 3 he actually lands the list for the exact opposite reason that Haytham is on it.  Achilles often sounds like he is in pain but tries to hide it and also is very patient.  Having some of his biggest mistakes pointed out to him by Connor and yet he manages to bear the pain without lashing out is one of his best characteristics.  He also seems tormented and more on why is revealed in the homestead missions and yet he does a great job at hiding the things that cause him the most grief, and yet while he hides from it in some ways he also embraces it. The fact that he is so calm and yet in so much pain and manages to make that combination work so well is why he lands number 10 on my list.

10. Alvis

Alvis is a character you only play as once in Xenoblade Chronicles and is a very interesting character.  He often is found lost in thought and off to himself with gives him a mysterious feel which lasts up to the final moments of the game.  He seems to know everyone and knows the thoughts and futures of most of the people around him and yet doesn't say much about it just stays off to himself. What really made me like this character was two reasons. The first I mentioned how he is mysterious.  A lot of characters in gaming try to hide a lot of secrets but either the secret turns out to be not so interesting, or predictable. With Alvis his secrets have neither of these two flaws he manages to hide his true identity, and when it is revealed it is actually very interesting and unique.  The second reason is that he is seemingly invincible. I know how in the game when you play as him he actually can't die, but overall his characteristics made him seem like he was untouchable which only added to the mystery behind him which made me want to play the game more to find out what was so special about him. This is why he earns a spot on my list.


9. Garrus

Garrus from Mass Effect 3 was one of the characters that really stood out for me. While out of the playable characters Thane is my personal favorite Garrus really stood out in the newest version of the series.  You really saw a lot more emotion and resolve from him compared to the previous games as well as his personality really shown. In the previous games I felt like while he was a character I liked he was easy to miss as well, but in Mass Effect 3 a lot of his dialogue really stood out especially the scene where him and Shepard are shooting cans preparing for the end. That was a really stand out moment for me with Garrus.

8. General Asthar

This character from The Last Story earns a spot on my list because of one single moment. He was a great character overall but there was one moment that made me just look at this character and be blown away.  This was the moment when he tests Zael in his final test of becoming a knight by a dual between the two of them.  The two warriors locked in combat where Asthar is telling Zael to come at him with the intent to kill. The scenes in the mist of the fight where it shows that Asthar is taking Zael to his limit show the true depths of his character, his resolve, his wisdom, and his strength all are on display in just minutes and the way his character really shined in such a single moment is something I have rarely seen period in any form of media.  I literally type this and think of that moment and feel like I just have to play that game again it was so much fun.


7. Claptrap

Claptrap is a returning character from the Borderlands series and got character of the year at the VGA awards. His sarcasm and ridiculous lines made him unpredictable and incredibly entertaining to listen to.  The way he acted always added to the parts of the game he was in. It's hard to really discuss why Claptrap is such an enjoyable character because his personality is hard to put into words you just listen to him and immediately understand why he is recognized the way he is.

6. Calista

Calista from The Last Story was a character that I honestly wouldn't think to put on a list of top characters from a first impression of her, but as I got further and further into the game I found myself respecting her character more and more.  She became one of the characters I liked having around the most because there was a lot of development to her character. She is a very bold character who handles herself well under pressure and also is very eager to prove she is not a helpless princess.  She is not someone who immediately falls hopelessly in love but has an affection that grows as the game progresses. Finally in a hard to explain way she is a character that is just easy to like.   She has an innocent way of approaching things but is not afraid to defend what she believes in .

5. Jade Curtis

Jade from the remake of Tales of the Abyss stood out among all the others because of his wit.  He was incredibly sarcastic in most situations and seemed to be calm about everything while quickly finding solutions to problems.  He is a brilliant man who revolutionized a field of study in the game, but also possesses many dark secrets that not only make him mysterious but also makes him more deadly then what his attitude would suggest.

4. Zael

Zael from The Last Story makes the list because of his internal and external conflicts. While of course there is a war going on that he has to fight in because of his special power, he also deals with the conflict of becoming a knight to live a life above that of a mercenary. Upon trying to realize his dream he becomes conflicted because it seems as though his dream was not as flashy and glorious as he believed it to be. Another conflict he has is his feelings for Calista which affects many of his decisions as he tries to protect her, but is unaware how to do so.  Going through all this struggle and how he handled it is the reason he makes it so high up on my list. Also reference back to Astar for more details as the same scene that made me like him also adds to my enjoyment of Zael as a character.

3. Haytham Kenway

Haytham from Assassin's Creed 3 just screams mess with me I dare you. He always seems to be so calm and yet with every word he says he can intimidate as well.  He is a very outspoken character that stays true to his beliefs and really doesn't care who gets in his way to achieving them.  He is bold to the point of arrogance often using force to get what he wants more so than persuasion and steatlh.  Haytham's ability to sound so calm and yet so terrifying combined with his dynamic personality made him stand out so much that he is number 3 on my list.

2. . Dunban

Dunban is one of the playable characters in Xenoblade Chronicles and in my opinion one the more level headed members of your playable characters.  He usually has a calm attitude and analysis a situation even though when needed he isn't afraid to charge in and hack and slash.  Dunban's witty and smooth way of approaching situations was one of the main reasons he landed this list.  Another one is the fact that he sacrifices the ability to use one of his arms to save his allies, and even after that can still fight giant robots and monsters.  He also shows great maturity compared to the other characters often acting like a father role to the group mentoring and guiding characters like Shulk as they grow and become stronger.


1. Dagran


Dagran from the Last Story makes the top spot on my list because of just how well developed his character was.  A lot is revealed about his childhood in such a short time revealing he was a child left alone till he found Zael and dreamt of being a Knight.  He also carries a memento sword with him at all times as a reminder of his childhood with Zael and a physical reminder of his goal.  He manages to hide a lot about his character till near the end of the game, but during that time he assumes a leadership role often keeping calm in a situation. It is later revealed that many of his actions that at first seemed bold turned out to be acts of deception which is something that also makes his character stand out being able to make his actions look so drastically different from what his true intent was.  Dagran the tormented man who hides his pain but keeps an unwavering resolve that he would bring down an entire nation just for revenge and yet keep it so well hidden is why he is the top character for my list.


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My Top 10 Games of 2012December 16, 2012 by

So like a lot of people I've decided to make some yearend lists. I'm going to try and make a few before January 1st so I'll start with my top list of games that came out in 2012.


10. New Super Mario Brothers 2

To be honest the only reason this game made the list is because I did not play a whole lot of games that came out this year.  I'm very selective about the games I get new and as a nintendo fan I had high hopes for this one; however, while this game is good and true to the Mario style I found it seriously lacking.


9. Kid Icarus Uprising:

I don't think this game will be on a lot of top lists for people but it claims the number 9 spot for me because of its fast paced style of gaming that always keeps a gamer alert.  Literally if you play at a high enough difficulty a single blink could cause you to lose.  Not only that, but the level of customization possible for your character is outstanding. Not only are there a lot of weapons, but each weapon has completely different abilities even if it's the same weapon twice.  Then there is the power up customization which functions exactly like the power ups for the Megaman Battle Network Transmission series for any Megaman fans out there.  Finally there is the dialogue. A lot of references are made to other nintendo games such as Donkey Kong, Metroid, and Mr. Game and Watch.  One tip don't play this game on mute.



8. Pokemon Conquest

As a strategy game fan is it no surprize that one found its way onto my list. Pokemon Conquest has a feel similar to my favorite series Fire Emblem.  Where it is a turn based strategy game where the Pokemon can move so far and each use a move. It can be up to a 6 versus 6 match until the other team is out of Pokemon. What makes this, in my opinion, the best pokemon spin off is the fact that it does a great job at adding a unique element of crossing over with characters such as Nobunaga. I will admit first time I saw this game I thought it looked weird, but I became more and more interested with the video footage.  Using Pokemon to take over nations is interesting it felt like a cross between Pokemon, Fire Emblem, and Risk (the board game).

7. Borderlands 2

This is the only game on the list that I haven't beaten I just played it with a friend but I've played a lot of the first game and seeing the characters return with the vast amount of weapons, new powers, and a new area to explore it brings back the fun that the original Borderlands provided as well as new add on material which makes this game stand apart from its predecessor.

6. Tales of the Abyss 3DS remake

While the game itself came out years ago the remake came out earlier this year and I loved this game. The thing that made me like it so much was the level of detail that went into the story.  I felt like everything was hashed out to every last detail. The gameplay is the same as any other tales game for anyone who is familiar with the series. Also it is 40 hours long for the main story plus another game's worth for the side stuff. The character development was incredible I loved almost all the characters with Jade being my personal favorite.  Overall the details in this game probably made me a little pickier when it comes to game plot development.

5. . Mass Effect 3

I got into Mass Effect earlier this year and while I don't think 3 was the best in the series it was a great game all the same.  A lot of referencing back to the earlier games as well as actions from those games directly effecting the game play.  What really made me like the game was seeing a world come together based on my actions in previous games. Those actions felt more significant when I saw the results in this game.  Also don't forget the wide variety of options you can use for dialogue with commander Shepard as well as the side missions and a reasonably fluent combat controls. I did have a little trouble with the crouching as I would run and crouch without meaning to actually crouch.  Now here is probably where I will get some negativity to this blog. I did not hate the ending. I'm not saying I loved it; however, it was interesting and different and I felt like it was a solid end. (Yes I can hear some of you saying "How can you like the ending")


4. Assassin's Creed 3

So we finally get to see a new Assassin and he is boring. Yeah I loved the game, but Connor was so robotic that I found myself enjoying just about every other character more than him.  The gameplay is the same massively fun game that the earlier games provide with some interesting new weapons such as the Rope Dart. This made me think of Scorpion from Mortal Kombat when using it. The plot was different focusing more on Desmond than the earlier games. Overall it was a good game I just felt like Connor's character was lacking after having such a great character like Ezio.

3. Pokemon Black 2

Easily one of the best Pokemon games of all time this is the first ever Pokemon sequel and it lives up to that title. Having a completely new story arc but with a lot of tying back to the previous game and the more attentive fans will even see how the landscape itself is different in areas you've visited before.  Overall this game is high on my list because first of all it's the same fun of Pokemon as the series has always provided but with new twists that make the game stand out on it's on compared to the entire series.

2. Xenoblade Chronicles

The level of detail that went into this game was just amazing. 60 hours to beat the main story, yeah I'm not exaggerating 60 hours.  This game is very lengthy and detailed and full of plot twists that actually makes the game hard to predict. Most games I can figure out where they are going and even figure out a lot of the twists. This one stumped me pretty good a few times which is interesting considering the main character can see visions of the future. The gameplay is pretty good, but it does get a little dry so it makes the game a little hard to play for long periods of time if you play for awhile without a cut scene.

1. The Last Story

The Last Story takes the top spot on my list because it just absolutly blew my mind. While the game is only about 20 hours long what they do in that amount of time is just incredible.  This game is fast paced and quickly changing environment makes this game hard to put down.  There was a lot of character development in this game that made me really connected to each and every one of them. This game focuses on a romance and normally I don't care about that sort of thing in a game, but even I found myself wanting to see Zael and Calista together which shows how much the characters really stood out for me.  The story doesn't have a dry moment in it period there is always something going on and the gameplay is one that involves a quick reaction time as well as strategy. One of the best blends of action and strategy gaming I've ever seen.


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