Zeke’s 2013 Year in Review – Gaming

Zeke’s 2013 Year in Review – Gaming

2013 had a ton of amazing games that came out. Whether you are a fan of consoles, PCs, or a quick cellphone experience, there was something for everyone!

2013 Console/PC Game of the Year – Bioshock Infinite

It was a close tie between Bioshock Infinite and The Last of Us, but given that you can play Bioshock Infinite on just about anything you can put in your hands, it got the nod. A great story, amazing characters, and fresh graphics gave this an edge on just about everything else on the market. Bioshock Infinite also took a drastic turn away from the settings found in prior Bioshock installments, and to me it was a breath of fresh air. To top if all off, Elizabeth is absolutely adorable, and she gave a fresh new twist on the escort genre, reminding me a lot of Alex Vance from Half Life 2 Episode 2. If you haven’t had a chance, definitely pick up this amazing title.

2013 Mobile Game of the Year – Flow

Flow is a simple puzzle game, where you connect different colored dots to each other, but with 2 caveats: you can’t cross the streams, and you have to use every single space given to you. It sounds simple, but it’s much more difficult than you’d expect. I’ve killed hours on this game, and they are always releasing more and more content and levels, including the interesting Bridges mode. Definitely give this game a try!

2013 Handheld of the Year – Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

For most of the year, I was sure that Pokemon X & Y would win this one, but once I got A Link Between Worlds in my hands, I was hooked. This game gripping from start to finish. It gave a great new twist on the typical Zelda franchise items system, and the dungeons and bosses were nostalgic yet fresh. This has leapfrogged over A Link to the Past as my favorite game in long and storied Zelda franchise, and it’s definitely worth picking up.
That wraps up Gaming! I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane into the year 2013!

Zeke’s 2013 Year in Review – Music

Zeke’s 2013 Year in Review – Music

I’m far from a music junkie. While others are out there discovery new bands and albums, I’m marathoning Flogging Molly and Beastie Boys. So unlike last year, this year I didn’t discover QUITE as much as before. But there was still a lot going on in music, so let’s get started!

2013 Song of the Year – Let It Go (Frozen Soundtrack)

Sorry, but I couldn’t not pick this. Frozen was far and away my favorite movie, and this song went a long way to making it have the impact that it did on me. This song shows the feelings and emotions that go through the mind of someone who has spent their entire life hiding just who they truly are. It’s something that I related to, and it was such a powerful song. I felt myself not only humming it out, but belting it out as well…when I was sure that there weren’t any prying ears around to hear my tone-deaf voice. This was was just pure magic, and for me, there’s no song that matched it in 2013.

2013 Album of the Year – Daft Punk: Random Access Memories

While it may not be the best album from Daft Punk, Random Access Memories was catchy, fun, and quite enjoyable. There were a lot of great songs in 2013, and a ton of amazing albums (including the Frozen soundtrack, which almost made this list, if not for the fact that I didn’t need to gush aout Frozen any more than I already have). This album is definitely worth a listen. And you’ll find yourself humming Get Lucky for days.
Come back tomorrow, when I’ll discuss Gaming! What’s my Game of the Year? Tune in to find out!

Zeke’s 2013 Year in Review – Movies and Television

Zeke’s 2013 Year in Review – Movies and Television

Last year I did a year in review, and this year I almost forgot to do it! It’s a few weeks late, but I’ve found myself with a bit of time on my hands, so it’s once again time to look back fondly on the year 2013, and examine the best that it had to offer! Today we shall be looking at Movies and Television!

2013 Movie of the Year – Frozen

If last year you told me that my favorite movie from 2013 was a Disney movie, I probably would have laughed. And if you told me that said movie would cause me to get countless songs stuck in my head, causea princess to potential uproot Ariel as my favorite, and be seen in theaters multiple times, I would have called you crazy. But no doubt, Frozen was my absolute favorite movie this past year. It had everything you would want in a movie: great character development, characters you cared about and cheered for, compelling story, shocking twists, an amazing soundtrack…it had it all. If you haven’t seen this movie you really need to step it up and make it out to see it. Frozen broke a lot of age-old Disney molds, and the fact that it has become my favorite Disney movie by-far is a testament to it’s success.

2013 TV Series of the Year – Game of Thrones

I have a sad confession. I did not watch the first two seaons of Game of Thrones. One of the biggest reasons was because I’m lazy and didn’t pirate it, since I didn’t have HBO. But when Kerby got a job at Comcast, thus gaining us access to HBO, I was able to marathon it the weekend of the premier, just it time to catch Season 3 and be up to speed. And I was completely blown away. It was an insanely mind blowing experience. I was ashamed that I hadn’t watched it up until now. Season 3 had a ton of twists and turns in a series that already was well known for coming out of left field (for those who haven’t read the books, of course). The mere fact that two of my most hated characters made me like them, mostly out of pity, and don’t even get me started on the Red Wedding. Wow. I can’t wait until Season 4, and I hope everyone out that has had a chance to watch this amazing piece of television history.

2013 Episode of the Year – Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor

Is it any surprise? The 50th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who was simply spectacular. I’ve watched it at least 5 times since it aired, including twice the day it came out (so that Kerby and his girl could see it). It had just about everything you could ask for (outside of Eccelston coming back). 10 and 11 worked amazingly together, and John Hurt was commanding in his role as The War Doctor. To top it all off, The Night of the Doctor, a short prequel webisode, brought back Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor, and it was so great to see him once again take over the screen. The story was twisty and turny (or would that be Wibbly Wobbly?) as one might expect from a Moffat written Doctor Who episode, but the added time it was given made it all flow out so well. From start to finish I was grinning from cheek to cheek. This was the Doctor Who I had been demanding for months, and it was very satisfying.
Well, that’s all for today. Tune in tomorrow when I’ll be discussing Music, and reveal my Song and Album of the year!