Best of 2011

The Introduction

With a tradition I started last year (in a perhaps less organized fashion), I aim to write about my favourite things of the year that has passed, as a new year is beginning. A chance to reflect on what I enjoyed the most out of the many things I played, watched, listened to and read. I know that my opinions matter very little in the grand scheme of things, but some may find it interesting to know what I enjoyed and why, however the main reason for writing this is to force myself to look back and actually process what it was I actually played and watched over the year.

Finding time to watch, listen and play all of the things that come out during the year is a challenge, fitting it in between sleep and work, between household chores and downtime, but I do well to experience a wide array of activities, including playing pretty much any game that I become interested in, and I listen to music any time I'm not watching something, so its always easy to stay on top of it.

There is a lot to cover and it's difficult to remember everything at the end of the year, especially things that I may have experienced way back in January or February, but I'll try my best here.

Gaming

Video games are one of the most important things to me, which could be seen as sad to some, or completely normal to others. They're a hobby, a passion, a collection and a comfort. I love getting lost in a world, becoming addicted to a gameplay system, collecting things and making progress. These are things that draw me to games, and things that I will always enjoy. It's difficult to look back on the year and remember which games stood out, as so many games have come and gone, been played, been ignored, some not even from 2011. I played many games that didn't come out during the year, so they're not eligible to be selected as my top three, however I'm not sure if that matters, because the games that stand out to me the most all did come out this year, and they are the following:

The Top 3 Games

Portal 2

The decision to purchase Portal 2 came quickly and unexpectedly, mainly due to my school friends mentioning it and piquing my interest. I had loved the first Portal, and heard great things about the sequel, so it wasn't hard to convince me to pick it up. The game featured the same style puzzles, only expanded with new abilities and new puzzles based on those additions. On top of that, the humour was still there, as was the superb ability to create a rich and believable, absorbing atmosphere. It was very easy to get lost in that world, to forget the world around you and simply exist in those rooms, in that facility.

At the time I was just ending my World of Warcraft career, so it freed up more time for me to play console games, something that seemed odd at the time, but perhaps made the game feel even more special than it already would have. Right off the bat the game sucks you in and impresses you with how they manipulate the world around you, and the character and voice acting is spot on and so enjoyable. I played the game almost straight through, without getting side-tracked or distracted by other games. While there were a few difficult puzzles, I generally didn't have too many problems, and the flow of the game was very well paced.

Batman: Arkham City

Another sequel on the list, Batman: Arkham City is the follow up to last year's Arkham Asylum, which was one of my top three games from last year. Naturally, my expectations were high, hoping for another amazing game to play.

The basically took the existing systems and settings and expanded them into a large city to play around in, with a huge cast of characters, side missions and collectables. Gliding, using the tools available and fighting moves all felt great and natural. The city was crafted in a way that made it feel alive, it was dark, wide open, filled with things to do, places to see, stuff to explore.

I played the game nightly for weeks, and it was really easy to get in to, and very enjoyable. I became very addicted to the game, trying to find all the collectables and challenges I could, and it sucked me in for quite a few weeks. It was a great game, and continued the tradition of awesome created by the Arkham games.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

This being my favourite game of the year is as big surprise to me as any, and boy was it a surprise to me. The story of how I actually came to own and play the game is somewhat amusing and involves dental work, lots of drugs and basically just doing what my friends told me. I went to the release of the game with two friends after major dental work, high on all kinds of pain killers and medication and anti-anxiety drugs, and my friend had pre-ordered two copies, so he suggested I just buy one of them so he wouldn't lose the money, and even though I had never been able to get in to any of the Elder Scroll games (Morrowind or Oblivion), I just said “okay” and picked up the game, along with a 600 page text-book like strategy guide.

I put in the game with no expectations of liking it, but I was kind of in a haze and didn't know what was going to happen, and I ended up loving it right away, and it eventually sucked up more of my time than any other game this year. I've easily put about 100 hours in to the game, playing as a sneak archer assassin. The fact that my school friends were into the game just as much as I was helped become obsessed with it even more, constantly talking about our adventures and experiences, it only fed into the desire to play even more. It was only until recently that I started playing less, I played the game almost daily for a long while.

The game features an enormous world to explore with unscripted encounters and events, so many quests, characters and things to see it can be overwhelming at times, but mostly just exciting. I originally had set a goal to get all of the achievements in the game, something that I'm more than halfway to, but eventually other games distracted me away, but I do plan on going back.

The game seems to capture the most addictive things in MMO's and apply it to a single player experience, something that I didn't think was possible.

Honourable Mentions

Maybe it's because the game didn't come out this year, or maybe it's because the game didn't quite click with me at the right time with the right circumstances, but the following games are worth mentioning as being significant to me in 2011. Disgaea 4, Alan Wake, Plants Vs. Zombies, Uncharted 1 and 2, Phantom Brave, Defense Grid and Limbo. These were games that I played through from start to finish this year (so far) and enjoyed a lot.

There are still some games that have come out this year that I haven't had a chance to play yet, or play all the way through yet, but I know I will enjoy, for example The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a lot of fun and would've probably made my top three if I had more time to play it, but I suppose it's destined to be an honourable mention for next year's post.

Music

As anyone that knows me knows, music is one of the most important things to me. I use it to reflect on my own feelings and emotions; use it to fuel my passions, anger, happiness, and rage… all of these things. It is my soul, my being, my life-force. Every year I listen to a combination of old and new, discover and rediscover older albums that I've listened to for years, or receive new albums from new and old artists' alike, experiencing new music all the time. There are always albums that stick out the most, and this year the following albums that stood out the most (that were released in 2011) are the following:

The Top 3 Albums

Undun by The Roots

While this is a recent addition to my library, it instantly became a favourite. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do, but something about it speaks to me on a different level. It's atmospheric, intense, personal, introspective and poetic. You can almost feel the emotion that's coming across through the lyrics and music. It's a powerful story, and the fact that it was inspired by a song by Sufjan Stevens (and Sufjan has the song on the album and has a producer credit) doesn't hurt at all.

We Do What We Want by Emery

This may not be my favourite Emery album but it stood out enough for me to listen to it around 80 times since it came out at the beginning of April. There are some really powerful songs on the album, songs that stood out, meant something to me and are some of the best writing Emery has done. “I'm Not Here For Rage, I'm Here For Revenge”, “Scissors” and “The Cheval Glass” are a few of those songs, the first being my favourite song on the album.

Major/Minor by Thrice

Thrice is one of my favourite bands and I eagerly waiting for this album to be released, having pre-ordered it a month or two ahead of time. Now when I say Thrice is one of my favourite bands, I mean I listen to them so much and so often and so many of their albums that it's kind of a way of life. Once the album came out, I listened to it a lot, both at home, at work, and on the way to work and on the way home. I loved it, and while it's not my favourite Thrice album of all time (that would be Beggars), it was great to listen to for that time, and lead right into going to see them live in Toronto.

Honourable Mentions

Obviously there was a lot more music in my life through the last year that I can talk about. Some of the stuff that I listened to a lot over the year that were released in 2011 were Bon Iver, a great album that adds a bit of complexity and band members to his repertoire. Radiohead's The King of Limbs got quite a bit of play time (along with the rest of their library), and the new Decemberists' album The King is Dead got some attention from me earlier in the year as well.

Throughout the year I listened to a lot of my regular stuff, my stand by, stuff I can rely on: Underoath's Disambiguation, Emery's Questions and In Shallow Sea's We Sail, Sufjan Steven's entire discography including rare or live tracks. This list would get way too long and way too boring if I keep going, I listen to music almost all day and all night.

Television

TV plays a pretty large role in my life, as it's one of the main comforts, and what I use for company, distraction and entertainment. I own a PVR and pretty much just record every single show I want to watch, and watch them at my discretion… generally at times when I'm consuming food, or when I want to write an entry or play my handheld games, it's nice to have something on in the room while I do so.

Obviously this leads to having the TV on a lot of the time, and there are certain shows I use as filler… shows I enjoy but generally save for times when I may not be paying complete attention, but there are other shows that I record and look forward to all week, shows I get excited about and make a routine out of. Shows where I make popcorn, turn up the volume, turn off the lights, sit back and enjoy.

The Top 3 Shows

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

It may be cheating by picking Jimmy Fallon as one of my favourite shows of the year because it's not a typical show… it doesn't have seasons, or story arches or characters, but it's something that plays a large role in my day to day life, and something I find a lot of comfort in.

Every week day (so long as my PVR records it) I sit down and watch Jimmy Fallon sometime in the evening, either with dinner or before bed and it's a routine that I really value.

The writing has only been getting better and better, and there are jokes and skits that send me into an uncontrollable laughing fit, especially banter between Higgins and Jimmy. You would think that the guest would determine the quality of the show, but it's actually the monologue, sketches and Jimmy's games that prove to be the most entertaining.

I look forward to watching Jimmy almost more than any other show, and it's on five days a week, so it kind of works out to be awesome!

Game of Thrones

I didn't know much about this show before it started airing but I knew it was a respected fantasy story among nerds, and it was on HBO, so it had a pretty high chance of being good. Much like all HBO Sunday shows, watching it turned into quite the ritual, where Monday I would come home from school, have a really nice spring time lunch and watch Game of Thrones. It was always exciting to sit down and watch it, to see what was next, and where it would go (having never read the books).

Boardwalk Empire

Boardwalk Empire, another HBO Sunday show, quickly became my favourite show to watch. My favourite part of the show had to be the storyline following Jimmy and all that's involved in that, but the entire thing is a fun, entertaining and enjoyable experience.

Out of everything during the week, I always looked forward to Sunday nights when I could sit down in the dark, make a bowl of popcorn and get into the show.

Things of Note

There were a few things of note that occurred in 2011, some that were good, some that were bad, but worthy of note none-the-less.

Michelle moved out and I started living alone and experiencing day to day life alone, which has been an adjustment. Cooking for one person, shopping for one, not sharing chores, or shows, or movies, it's a big change; it's an interesting change, and while there are times of loneliness, I think I am dealing with the change well. I know that Michelle is better off, as it only took her a month or so to move on, and that's better than trapping someone in a dead end indefinitely. Living alone has been one of the biggest changes of the year by far, and it has it's significant positives and negatives.

Work has gone through many changes this year, the biggest being losing our chef, having a few months of three of us running the place, and then getting a new chef. It started with the unexpected departure of our then chef, without warning, notice or any instruction on what to do other than the expectation that things will run as smoothly and as they did before. This all began as I was heading back to school, and our lack of staff caused me to have to work an insane amount of hours. After struggling but succeeding through all of that, eventually a new chef was hired, and it has worked out wonderfully. Changes have been made, things are easier, of better quality and more respectable. Work is better than ever, and I don't mind being there… a delightful change.

I made it through another two semesters of school, something which was a big accomplishment. I may not have done as well as the first two semesters due to the amount of hours I was putting in at work, but I still managed to pass with respectable grades and I'm still alive. While I am off for a semester now, I plan on going back in June in full force, trying my best to get back into the groove of things, and get some really high marks. The way things are at work right now, I should be able to take the time I need to do it, to make things work.

What's Next

I obviously can't tell what's in store for this coming year, but I do have goals, and resolutions and things I want to accomplish. I want to continue to get better at my job, to continue to be creative and to be proud of the things I create there. To work as an example to others, to not be lazy and to take pride in the things I do.

I want to go back to school in June and kick ass… not stay home more than I actually go, but go all the time, pay attention, study, do well… do everything I need to do in order to get top marks. I don't want to feel distracted or apathetic about school work. I don't want to forget about deadlines or give in to procrastination.

I want to get a hold of my mental issues and become a stronger, calmer and relaxed person. I don't want little tiny things trigger giant waves in my mental health. If this means trying to go back to a doctor, trying medication again, or simply finding peace on my own, it's something I want to work on.

Oh, and maybe meet a girl that gives me butterflies in my stomach, that'd be nice.