Crazed Critic's top 5 best games of 2015

I thought that even though we're coming to the end of another year that was more turbulent and riddled with controversy for gaming that I'd make something of an attempt to look at what, in my eyes, are the top 5 best video and computer games of the year.  The criteria is simple for this list in that a game's standing on the list depends mostly on how much I personally enjoyed it with perhaps some variation depending on how much innovation said games bought to the video game market and industry and how much they brought to their own series'.

Fortunately there were allot of good AAA big-name releases as well as smaller indie titles this year so despite all the controversy about games like Battlefront and Hatred, how disappointing The Order 1886 was or how shit the new Alone in the Dark game was, there are more than enough games to pick for this list.  I decided to limit this list to a top 5 to avoid any rambling but I really do think that despite all the controversies and big disappointments, this was a great year for gaming overall particularly for small releases.

So without all ado, I hope you lot had as much fun gaming this year as I did and have an absolutely stellar 2016!  SO! LETS PARTAY!

Number 5 - Super Mario Maker (released September 10th)

Image Source: www.nintendo.co.uk

OK so out of all the games on this list that brought something new to the table in their respective series I'd have to say that the absolute winner on this account would be Nintendo's Super Mario Maker.  Out of the three major companies in gaming of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, Nintendo are probably the ones with the biggest monopoly on their intellectual properties and gaming series.  This arguably has sometimes resulted in a loss of third-party oversight and outside advice and influence which some say has damaged Nintendo's longevity particularly in the hardware department.  Not so much with the software and games of course and definitely less so during the silver age of gaming (1991-2005) when Nintendo released some stellar games like the Banjo & Kazooie  games (1998-2008), 007 Goldeneye (1997) or the Metroid Prime series (2002-2009).  Therefore, it seems a very admirable and refreshing move from Nintendo to create a game around one of their three biggest series the main aspect of which is user-created content.  A game made for gamers who can then make the Mario game they themselves specifically wanted.

Image Source: en.wikipedia.org

This is arguably a lazy thing to do on the part of a big-name gaming company like Nintendo but out of themselves, Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo have really had the most community interaction into their video games with their customer call ins and letters throughout the late 1980s and 1990s being a cornerstone of the kind of gaming culture that Nintendo promoted.  With the ceasing of production of the legendary magazine Nintendo Power a few years ago (1988-2012) this is probably the best move Nintendo have made in the better part of half a decade in order to move themselves closer to their fans in order to create a stronger commercial link and potentially drive their revenue to untold levels.  Even if all that rambling isn't true though, Super Mario Maker is an excellent little building tool that allows players to create and upload their dream Super Mario levels and potentially teach them something useful about game design that they may not have known about before.  If you like building, are trying to get into game design or simply like making absolute batshit insane bollocks in video games then I strongly suggest this little gem.

Number 4 - Rocket League (Released July 7)

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Originally I wasn't actually going to get Rocket League because despite the well-founded popularity of this one I thought that the price, even during sales, was a bit high for how much content and modes there are in this mental rocket-powered car take on football.  Despite all that, when one of my closest friends got the PC version of this for me over Steam I was pleasantly surprised as I frantically drove and blasted my way through a smaller-scale but more high-intensity take on the formula that FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer have been trying to perfect for years now.  Admittedly there is a bit more gamer involvement in this one than in either of those aforementioned games and while the content is a bit limited and the physics a bit of a piss-take sometimes this is arguably one of the most benefiting aspects of Rocket League.

Image Source: www.g2a.com

The developers of this game seem to have made it subversively clear that their main aim was to make a game with refined gameplay rather than an abundance of content which I can respect to a degree.  I do prefer my games to have some nice extra content and extra modes to extend the replayability but with its floaty yet comprehensible physics and remarkably simple gameplay as well as extensive aesthetic customisation on your car, the simplicity of this game can easily become its greatest factor towards its longevity.  Maybe some might criticise the game for how much limited content there is on offer here but regardless, this doesn't really matter too much when you fly 100 meters through the air in a bone-white and blood-red SUV in order to make a game-winning goal in the last 10 seconds of a match.  Maybe the developers could lower the price by about five quid but I'd still say this one's a gem, even more so if they actually lower the price at some point.

Number 3 - Fallout 4 (Released November 10)

Image Source: www.ibtimes.com

I'll be perfectly honest, aside from a few parts of Fallout: New Vegas (2010) I never really liked the Fallout series (1997-present) all that much. I never felt like the user interface was at all user-friendly or that there was much point to exploring the universe of the game that I was in to a major degree.  Perhaps this is someone who has had a far greater affinity for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (2002) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) in terms of Bethesda RPG's and the fact that there was simply just more wonder and batshit insanity on offer in the Elder Scrolls series (1994-present).  This in turn makes me feel a bit weird when I say that Fallout 4 is my favourite Bethesda RPG so far considering that it has less batshit insanity than most Bethesda games to come before it.  

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In actuality, I was a little disappointed about how there seemed to be somewhat less variation in the mission objectives here as compared to the previous Fallout games and I would be stupid to be reticent to mention the botched dialogue system in this game.  While it certainly isn't the worst ever, the humour that can come from it is a bit clunky sometimes and the streamlined nature of the dialogue wheel in Fallout 4 seems a little too much like a bastardised version of the same system used in the Mass Effect series (2008-present).  Not only this but I also felt that the graphics were very spotty in some areas but considering that each Bethesda RPG is a massive build for whichever era of games that they're made in, I never really consider this to be a massive criticism of these Bethesda RPG's as they're all usually big undertakings with years upon years of design, scaling and programming. Regardless, this does seem to be a diamond in the rough as the voice acting and gameplay are second to none with the voice acting being possibly the best of any game released this year while the multiple storylines that you can follow all have truly magnificent faction-specific storylines.  On top of this, the sheer number of repeating sub-quests and minor storylines are staggering so there is a definite positive to exploration here especially given the presence of secret caches of weapons and power armour all over the place.

Image Source: www.gamespot.com

Ultimately, this is far more of a multi-person, adventure-based shooter than a regular Bethesda RPG but perhaps that's why I've stayed up until the early hours of the morning playing this on a housemate's PS4.  I wasn't able to get a PC version for myself but judging by screenshots, the graphics do seem to be best on that format.  Maybe this might not be the most well-balanced or varied game Bethesda have ever made but out of the ones they have done so far its easily my favourite.  Oh and if you're like me, you'll waste hours of your life constructing buildings and modding weapons and armour, mark my words.

Number 2 - Undertale (Released September 15)

Image Source: undertale.com

When I said in the intro to this list that this was a great year for indie games I was thinking in particular mind of the absolute gem of a multi-genre indie title Undertale by game developer Toby Fox.  Mr Fox apparently made this entire game about 90% by himself and you while he did do so, you certainly wouldn't think that just judging by how much variation, design, humour, care and attention has gone into this little game that has blown up into a full on internet phenomenon.  Much like Portal (2007), Undertale came into the video game market under an unassuming guise but with enough controlled confidence and disciplined yet unique design aspects it has ended up becoming one of the most popular digital downloads of the entire year.

Image Source: steamed.kotaku.com

With the game's varied gameplay and seemingly limitless humour this isn't really hard to see why.  Some certain lines from different moral paths in the game yielding varying versions of cold, sweaty dread or warm-hearted laughter.  Speaking of which, when a morality system is implemented in a game I usually find it a bit tacked on as games are removed from reality so morality can arguably play no part in the gameplay.  Through a simple act of killing or sparing your enemies after you've beaten them, you can greatly alter the route that the game takes and what the final boss might be and in this department there is a crazy amount of variation.  On top of this I must say that the gameplay is a bit hard to pin down because at times its a Zelda-style adventure game while at others its like a bullet hell shooter.  At times its kind of like a traditional pen & paper RPG while at others it seems more like a game like Papers Please (2013) that is designed more than anything to challenge your reactions and code of ethics.

Image Source; www.pcgamer.com

Whether you like intensity or are simply some sort of meta-thinker who likes looking at moral situations from a distant disposition then I would recommend this one strongly either way as each playthrough is only about 6 hours max and is pretty cheap so I'd definitely give this a thumbs up.

Number 1 - World of Warships (Released September 17)

Image Source: www.warhistoryonline.com

Considering that many of the videos on my YouTube channel are centred around shooting games, World of Tanks (2010) in particular, It may seem unsurprising, especially to my close friends that I call World of Warships the best game of the year.  To be honest though, I almost put Fallout 4 or Undertale at number 1 considering that I've comparatively played them both longer and how much fun I had with them but when, at the end of the day, the deciding factor is simply how much fun I have with a game, I have to give the award to World of Warships.  Coming from a labour of love between Wargaming and Lesta Studio, World of Warships largely uses the same interface and design as World of Tanks albeit with a game designed around naval rather than armoured ground combat from the Second World War and early Cold War eras.  Many argued that the biggest new battle-arena MMO of the year would be Obsidian Entertainment's Armoured Warfare and while that game is certainly well designed, it really just seems to be more of the same as was seen with World of Tanks but set in a modern combat zone and removed from the clunky charm that makes World of Tanks one of my top three favourite games of all time.

Image Source: www.gamespot.com

Does World of Warships surpass it's landlubber cousin?  It may do for allot of people but not for me.  This is still easily the best game of the year for me through and is probably in my top fifteen or ten favourite games of all time now and I'm sure that standing will only go up as Wargaming add in more ships and navies.  However, the tutorials are a bit shit here and the user interface isn't exactly the friendliest and I'm quite annoyed that they haven't added in the Royal Navy yet not to mention the RN's main representative at this point in the game is the admittedly brutal Tier VII ship the HMS Warspite.  

Image Source: forum.worldofwarships.eu

Like I said, this isn't the most new-player-freindly game released this year but its more than capable of delivering what you want from a MMO battle-arena game and will surely give you a bit of more insight into Wargaming's other titles and perhaps even MMO-battle-arenas if you've never played one before.  All in all, while I said before that this was a rough gaming year I do hope that these games on this list will bring joy and happiness to gamers around the world for years to come.  Certainly not the grammar in the community chat of World of Warships though because its fucking diabolical.

Hope you had an amazing 2015 and see you all in 2016, take care!

My YouTube channel; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmq7KX4Qc46VGhYzWqQfOg

Ted 'R's Top Tens #7: Top ten favourite Star Wars games

Merry Christmas people!  Before I get into this list I just thought that I'd give a bit of late festive cheer and wish you all a great new year and hope you had a great Christmas and if you don't celebrate it then at least that you all had an amazing December and end of the year.  I thought as well that with the recent release of the FPS mass-success Star Wars Battlefront which reboots the classic multi-person shooter series in an FPS format and the film Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (the latter of which you lot know I've already reviewed) not to mention the announcement of the production of Star Wars Episode VIII I would guess you're all Star Wars weary.

But you know what I say to all that?  Fuck it.  I know that Star Wars is getting a bit of extreme coverage and talking about at the moment so people will probably be getting tired of it at this point if it isn't their sort of thing but with how much of a huge year this was for Star Wars I thought it appropriate to touch off the year with a top ten list of my favourite Star Wars games.

Admittedly some Star Wars games can be pretty shite like Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2 (2004) or Shadows of the Empire (1996) but for the most part I think they are pretty good or at least try to do something inventive and enjoyable with the tried and tested Star Wars formula.  Speaking to the point, Star Wars is so tried and tested in its story and universe and is so open that the franchise is open to having any number of genres being made out of it in the video game world.  So without further ado, lets get into this varied fruit salad of a top ten and count down what, in my opinion, are some of the most admirably and passionately made games I've ever played.

Number 10 - Star Wars Jedi Starfighter (2002)

Image Source: www.emuparadise.me

OK so this one is easily the weakest game on the list (which is why its at only number 10 you fucking simpletons) but even in the scene of free-flying combat flight simulators created in the late-1990s and early-2000s many of course which were Star Wars games.  Jedi Starfighter easily outpaces its 2001 predecessor Star Wars Starfighter not only by having a much fairer rate of difficulty progression in the single-player campaign and bonus missions but also having notably more varied space ships with which to blast about the place in.

The story isn't really much to write home about but that's never really been the main emphasis with the Star Wars flight-sims I find.  To be honest this fits as your attention is drawn to the mad manoeuvres you can pull of with different starfighters from across Star Wars canon.  Jedi Starfighter manages to have at least a moderately investing story with a wide variation of objectives in each single-player mission and some bonus levels that offer truly gripping action scenarios.  True, the game's story is somewhat limited by being linked to the film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) which many would argue is one of the weaker Star Wars features especially in the story department.  Thankfully if this would turn you off then I can gladly say that the plot from the film takes the back seat to a sometimes harrowing plot about a team of jedi and pirate mercenaries desperately trying to stop a separatist general's plot to destroy the republic clone army with a biological super-WMD.

Add to this the varied starfighters and gameplay albeit with less of a sense of adventure of previous starfighter games and yet you still have a highly compelling flight-combat simulator that I would highly recommend to anyone into this genre and who owns a PS 2.

Number 9 - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

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Despite how varied the ventures of the Star Wars franchise have been into the many realms of video game genres its ventures into fighting games have been very few and far between and very small on commercial success.  Probably the most prominent Star Wars fighting game aside from this one is Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi (1997) which has been reviled by many as both one of the worst licensed and fighting games of all time.  Fortunately, while the tie-in game to the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) is no Tekken 5 (2004) or Super Street Fighter II (1993) its still a nicely balanced fighting game with a small but varied character roster and some of the most satisfying uses of a lightsaber I've ever had in a video game.

Like I said though, this isn't one of the greatest fighting games ever made but the small size applied to wide variation of play-styles in the character roster helped to make this feel like something of an unappreciated gem in the over-saturated scene of fighting games in the mid-2000s.  To be fair, there are characters that feel somewhat overpowered in duel mode (Old Obi-Wan and General Greivous I'm looking at you two) but the lightsaber combat in all its simple fluidity more than makes up for this.  Admittedly, performing elegant lightsaber clashes with button pressing on the PS2 controller may not account for the most apparent and immediately immersive lightsaber combat but its certainly better than the alternative found in motion controls such as in Star Wars Kinect (2012).

As for the story it isn't too much to write home about.  You play through alternative scenes from the actual movie from different perspectives as either Obi-Wan Kenobi or Anakin Skywalker (thankfully with his whining and emo hair fringe toned down considerably) and with two different endings and a reasonably lengthened campaign at 17 missions you feel like you get your moneys worth.  Definitely not as good as many fighting games out there but a decent one and a great Star Wars experience all the same.

Number 8 - Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (2005)

Image Source: lego.wikia.com

While none of the Star Wars films (with somewhat exception to episode VII) are not that dark, its kind of inevitable that, whatever franchise will be turned into a Lego game, that the tone will be lightened by being set in the kid-friendly world of these iconic plastic building blocks.  I suppose there is a bit of bias in putting this game on here because Lego was one of the central pop-culture pillars of my childhood and Star Wars is one of my top three film franchises of all time (alongside James Bond and the Marvel cinematic universe) but it still isn't as good as the games coming after it on this list.  The explanation is simple as I simply just enjoy those games a bit more but even still, this is one of the most user-friendly and expansive action/adventure games released in the mid-2000s.  And given the success of the Jak and Daxter and Rachet & Clank  series' around this time (2001-2013 and 2002-present respectively) that's saying allot.

Overall the action/adventure gameplay in this entry into the Lego games saga is quite simple but with the added dimension of lightsaber combat and no hokey voice-acting in sight it acts at least as a great intro for little kids or first-time gamers into the world of Star Wars and adventure games.  Like I said, arguably the biggest strength of this game is its open endedness to the gameplay coupled with the simple and user-friendly interface, menus and gameplay.  Nothing is too heavily expositioned or explained the fuck out of but the game explains everything just enough and primarily through character expression and gameplay, arguably just the way it should be for these kind of games.

This is easily one of the most underrated adventure games of the mid-2000s and a great game for little kids as its nice and light in tone and user-friendly but challenging enough that its still a fun experience and more than worth your money especially as it covers the plots and settings of all 3 of the prequel films.

Number 7 - Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (2002)

Image Source: starwars-funymas.rhcloud.com

OK so I'm not purposefully trying to repeat myself over and over again but I feel like I am unintentionally am doing so by saying that this is easily one of the most under-appreciated 3rd-person shooters and action/adventure titles of all time.  Again, its not the most refined out of these two genres but the way that Bounty Hunter smoothly melds together these two gameplay genres is nothing short of encore-worthy.  I never really got that into this game when it first came out as I was more preoccupied by the likes of the original Star Wars Battlefront and the aforementioned Jedi Starfighter which were released the same year and to a considerable degree overshadowed the fledgling 3rd-person shooter cousin of these two games.  

I was however introduced to this game with great gusto and enthusiasm by my best friend who to this day tells me that its either one of if not his very favourite video game of all time.  In all fairness I can see why as despite some clunky interfaces here and there and some spotty graphics, Bounty Hunter seamlessly merges intense tactical 3rd-person combat encompassing multiple weapons and gadgets with a sense of exploration and adventure seen not all that often in 3rd-person shooters of the time.  The gameplay here isn't as user-friendly as in the previous entries and is also considerably harder on a basic level but the difficulty for me is a highly rewarding factor of this gaming experience as we see famed and feared Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett make his way to the top of the bounty hunting food chain and gather together all of his iconic gadgets and weapons.

Add into this a suitably dark narrative and an interesting sense of moral ambiguity in the single player along with one of the most intense and terrifying video game final stages I've ever played.  Seriously, don't pass this one up.  Especially if you like intense final stages that make you shit yourself.

Number 6 - Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance (1999)

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Out of all the games on this list, X-Wing Alliance is probably the one I've played the least but is also one of the most varied and definitely the most expansive.  Coming out years before other space -flight/combat-free-flying-sims like Freelancer (2003), Darkstar One (2006) or Elite Dangerous (2014), Alliance defined itself by being possibly one of the most expansive and free-roaming games ever made up until that point and a cornerstone of the Star Wars X-Wing games starting way back in 1994 with Star Wars X-Wing.

All of the X-Wing sub-series feels expansive and free-roaming and were all years ahead of most other combat/flight-simulators of the mid to late-1990s.  They didn't bog themselves down too much with story like the Starfighter series did and instead focused on making the expansive world feel bigger with larger environs and more varied gameplay with each successive entry into the series.  In a way I feel that the release of Alliance in 1999 being the last one in the series is kind of sad because while the series as a whole was very culturally influential on flight-sims and other alternative adventure games, the games themselves were all very good flight-sims indeed.  Perhaps it was because, at the time, this was a niche market in the video-game industry or perhaps the X-Wing series couldn't compete with the growing popularity of a then-little-known series called Ace Combat (1992-present).

Either way and whatever this cause may be, I strongly recommend Alliance and the other X-Wing games if you're one for flight-sims and especially if you're not that into the more streamlined gameplay of something like Starfighter.

Number 5 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)

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Most gamers will undoubtedly heard of this one.  Released in 2003 to wide acclaim and applaud, Knights of the Old Republic is considered by many to not only be one of the best Star Wars games of all time but possibly one of the best RPG's of all time as well.  Its not hard to see why really as what was then becoming a genre about as stale as 10-year old Christmas cake covered in moulding flour was reinvigorated somewhat by the sheer scope, replayability and fascinating world, characters and dialogue that this legendary RPG had to offer.  Add to this a large amount of character customisation and specialisation and one of the best plot twists in video game history and you have a quintessential Star Wars gaming experience tied up in a neat little RPG package.  Is small the proper adjective though?  I feel that with how much dialogue, exploration and customisation there is on offer here that my choice of words is somewhat flawed.

Either way, I've talked about this game before at length in reviews of other sci-fi games I've done not to mention my worst sequels top ten list where I lambasted Knights of the Old Republic's inbred and mentally challenged brother of a sequel released barely a year later with somehow worse graphics and gameplay variation.  But don't let that get you down. I highly recommend this one although people who may not be so into RPG's and are more partial to quicker games with friendlier interfaces like Lego Star Wars may not like this one all that much.  Not for everyone, but still a classic for me.

Number 4 - Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003)

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I could just call this 'banter central-the video game' for how many mental circumstances one might get into while playing this well-customisable multi-person lightsaber & shooting action game.  To pin Jedi Academy down to one genre is truly difficult as it is essentially a game glued together of bits of RPG, FPS, 3rd-person platformer and shooter, adventure and mod simulator.  This is arguably the greatest strength of Jedi Academy in that it merges together multiple genre aspects and factors and easily comes out as the best game in the Jedi Knight series (1995-2003).  You can have a massive number of varied action set-pieces and running battles with your mates on the games' highly-moddable multiplayer and explore and break the games' laws of logic in a crazy number of ways.  Add to this a straightforward and simple but still rewarding single-player campaign which itself allows you to create an in-depth customisation of a main character and you get a very replayable game with more customisation and modding opportunities than you can shake a double-bladed lightsaber at.

This is arguably the most simple game on the list at its core and at its most un-modded though so I can't really say too much about the multiplayer without repeating myself or about the singleplayer without spoiling it.  The campaign does however elevate itself by bringing back some characters from the previous Jedi Knight games like the ever-dickish and awful teacher Kyle Katarn (aka that useless face-beard-wearing dickhead who never helps me out the bastard).  This game may be a bit simple in places particularly with the force powers and might not be as refined as Knights of the Old Republic but with its great replayability, modding capability and longevity thanks to being immensely forward and backward-compatible I would not only recommend this to any action-game lover but would do so wether or not they have a computer from 2005 or 2015.  It's also very cheap on digital format from most online stores so if you only have a few quid to spare I'd still say to give it a shot or swing.

Number 3 - Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005)

Image Source: imwithgeek.com

I mentioned this game before as well on my top ten list of favourite FPS games as a simple but robust and immensely enjoyable and satisfying shooter in which lightsabers are ditched for clone war-era tactical squad-based combat.  Therefore I'll try and not ramble too much about this under-appreciated classic of an FPS which melds together squad-based single-player with fast-paced multiplayer to create a satisfying experience that I would recommend to most FPS fans.  

There are two major issues with this one that I deigned to mention in my top ten FPS list which is regards to the games' unlockables and multiplayer variation.  The secrets and unlockables are fun to find and achieve but feel all to easy to achieve and apart from some concept art and a half-decent music video, really aren't worth much.  There's also the issue of how the tactical-squad-based combat present in the single-player isn't present in the multi-player and that the game modes on multiplayer seem a bit copy and pasted from other popular multi-plauer FPS games of the time and even now.  However. this is made up for by the games' aforementioned solid gameplay along with its punchy gunplay, simple but satisfying melee combat, challenging and fast-paced combat and immersive settings throughout the planets of Kashykk and Geonosis as well as a Republic Acclamator-class war cruiser.

It might not be the best or most refined FPS or even Star Wars game of all time but like Jedi Academy. this classic is well-compatible and usually very cheap on digital format so I would definitely recommend it to someone who needs a quick but challenging distraction.

Number 2 - Star Wars: Empire at War (2006)

Image Source: www.macgamestore.com

Whereas 2001-2003 was the age of 3rd-person action platformers, 2005-6 seemed to be the age of RTS gems as within 2006 alone we were treated to two gems of RTS gameplay.  First was the World War II-set Company of Heroes and then came Star Wars: Empire at War.  Empire at War sets itself out among mid-2000s RTS gems by having alternative single-player modes and multiplayer far stronger than the single-player campaigns on offer here.  Now this isn't to say that the Rebel and Empire campaigns in the original game or the Zann Consortium campaign in the expansion pack Forces of Corruption (2006) are bad at all as all three are very varied in their mission objectives, are expansive and decently challenging but compared to the rest of the single-player content and multi-player content they just don't match.

The galactic conquest in single-player is, at least for me, a more satisfying experience than the single-player campaigns because while there isn't as much variation on the objectives, there is allot more freedom of movement within the parameters of each conquest setting which allows for much more freedom of choice in expanding your borders.  The galactic conquest mode has resurfaced in multiple Star Wars games in different formats but it, without a doubt, reaches its zenith of quality in Empire at War as you are let free to roam and savage the galaxy as you see fit.  As for the multiplayer, LAN is much stronger in the galactic conquest mode but it is immensely enjoyable if a little deadlock-prone to clash with your mates in single battles either on land or in space with a massive number of varied and unique units and turrets with which you can form a wide variety of mad strategies.

As a big RTS nut I can't recommend this one enough.  Not only is this my second favourite Star Wars game but I would easily say that its my 3rd or 4th favourite RTS of all time as well.  Any accolades given to this gem when it was released are very well deserved and despite a somewhat tiring single-player campaign and weak extra content I would give any other RTS enthusiast the thumbs up on this classic.

Number 1 - Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005)

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When the 2015 FPS reboot of the Battlefront series (2002-2005) came out and was well optimized, beautiful to look at and had great gunplay but ultimately boiled down to one of the most generic and standard FPS games released over the last few years you can imagine, with the fact that Star Wars: Battlefront II is my favourite Star Wars game that I was more than a bit disappointed.  Regardless, I respect the idea of moving the series in a direction it hadn't gone before because creating something new to a series even if it turns out to be a failure is about the bravest thing a developer can do.

It does bring back nostalgic memories however of when this much-awaited sequel to the 2002 classic Star Wars: Battlefront came out and blew the roofs and heads off of action-shooter fans and set itself out to be, arguably, the best game of 2005.  Not only is this my favourite Star Wars game but its easily one of my top 10 favourite games of all time seamlessly sewing together interchangeable 1st and 3rd-person shooting with multiple set soldier sets for each army in the game, content for both the Clone War and original trilogy and multiple types of turrets, unlockable heroes and vehicles not to mention the, in my eyes somewhat over-hated space battle mode,  This might not be the most graphically impressive game of all, time and certainly not on this list (that award would have to go to Lego Star Wars or Republic Commando) but with decent graphics for the PS2 era and a large variety of maps and settings you also feel like that this is a fun game to explore and run around in as well as shoot up the place.

There are some cons to this classic like how somewhat clunky the heroes V villains mode is or how some heroes on certain battle maps are a bit overpowered (Darth Vader on the Tantive IV I'm looking at you) and the space battles are a little bit copy/paste.  But this is still one of those games that has just enough charm, design pros and gameplay panache and variation to outweigh the cons so much so that you have, in my personal opinion, THE quintessential Star Wars gaming experience.

Sorry if this was a bit late and if my upload schedule was a bit lax recently but I hope you all have a great new year and am looking forward to seeing you all in 2016!

My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmq7KX4Qc46VGhYzWqQfOg/videos

New film review #19: Star Wars Episode VII: The force awakens

Image source: www.thewrap.com

Short version of review: Star Wars Episode 7 is not only one of the best mainstream blockbusters of the last couple of years but is also a promising start to the new star wars trilogy despite some considerable flaws.  If you're a fan of the star wars films or even just big blockbusters I'd say go see it but be prepared for some shoddy dialogue and internal-universe inconsistencies.

Long version of review:

So yeah, as you probably summarised by the 10 millionth review released about the latest instalment into this vaunted franchise at this point, Star Wars Episode 7 is one of the best big releases of the year and is well worth seeing for both the Star Wars loyalists and the movie-going majority.  This isn't of course to say that this is the best film of the year period as even I would say that in terms of intra-universe consistency, Star Wars 7 was outdone earlier in the year by smaller scale action films and the likes of Ant-Man which itself, while having a much smaller scale than most Marvel movies, had a consistent narrative and internal logic in comparison to Star Wars 7.

Usually I would try and make a film review by approaching whatever pros and cons come to mind first but with this film I have to approach it as if it were an essay topic by making a brief synopsis of the subtext then going on to have a crack a deciphering from both my own opinion and objective film-making whether this film is worth seeing or not.

So the plot; It's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) but with a female as the main lead and one of the main characters being black while the new villains are a cagey rehash of older ones from the earlier days of the series.  And Really, this is probably the biggest problem with The Force Awakens in that when he strove to create a film that would appeal to the older lifelong fans of the series, J.J.Abram ended up creating a film that was much more of an homage than an actual film experience or continuing sequel, an aspect to many reboots or long-awaited sequels that have severely limited or even killed their respective films (see Terminator Genesis released earlier this year).  This entry into the series manages to elevate itself above most of the adverse effects of this aspect of the film by easily being the darkest star wars film to date and having one stand out moment around the time of the final battle.  You guys'll know what it is when it comes, trust your uncle Ted on this mmm'kay?  Really though I feel that this is the biggest problem with the film, by creating a homage to the older part of the franchise, ol JJ has ended up missing out on moving the overall narrative of the series forwards in as meaningful way as possible which isn't to say that the narrative is all bad as we'll get to in a bit.

Image source: www.hypable.com

Now irregardless of Mr Abram's previous works with the likes of the Star Trek reboots (2009 & 2014) this isn't certainly the worst he could've done and while I think a more experienced director would've done a much better job it can't be denied that Mr Abram has a notable passion for these big-name franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek. Of course one of the biggest criticisms that is levelled at Abram when he tackles big name properties like this is that he'll go much more out of his way to making an homage rather than a genuine continuation of the overall narrative of the series he's working on.  I really hope that they get some other directors into direct the next few Star Wars films not out of spite against ol Abram but primarily to get a bit more experience in the directors seat and some more varying directing styles into the lifeblood of the next few films.  Still, irregardless of his previous missteps, and there are many, I think Abram did what he could on this one despite an occasionally spotty script. 

In fact, I'd have to say this is the other main criticism with the film in that the dialogue and plot points come and go at points without any meaning but at other times mark themselves out as some of the finest film scenes of the year.  The dialogue more than the scenes feels like it suffered from a lack of oversight as the pseudo-romantic banter between John Boyega's Finn and Daisy Ridley's Rey falls almost as hard as the reception to the Star Wars Holiday Special (1978, don't watch that one unless you like watching perverted wookies, a make-up smothered Mark Hamill stare into the camera and a heroin and coke-high Carrie Fisher sing).  To be fair though, most of the dialogue between these two stand-out actors is reasonably identifiable.  Note I said actors there though because while the dialogue in this film is mostly passable or tepid, the acting and passion that the actors all deliver their lines with, even the lacklustre villains, is second to none.  While he's well into his 70s in this film, Harrison Ford still delivers even the cheesiest and worst-written of his lines as Han Solo with all the cool and sarcastic wit that he did back in the late 1970s and truly makes this old smuggler the stand-out character that he always was.  Carrie Fisher, C3-P0 and R2-D2 also make stand-out appearances although I will be honest that I was filled with dread when I saw threepio again as he's easily one of my least favourite characters in the series aside from Jar Jar Binks and pre-teen Anakin Skywalker from the Phantom Menace (1999).

And that's all I can say negatively about the film before straying dangerously into spoiler territory so I'll tie all that off with the criticism that the villains, while okay enough and certainly evil on a massive scale, just don't have the same impact that the galactic empire did despite having an even larger space laser than either of the two death stars.  Also, I must mention that the military size of the First Order seems really inconsistent as one minute you're seeing thousands of storm troopers lined up defending the main villain's base and the next they're sending out barely a squadron of tie fighters or even a single company of storm-troopers.  A minor criticism but one that will certainly burrow under your skin a little bit if you really look at it.

So onto the pros and there are certainly many!  I kind of feel like this film is a bag of revels chocolates in that some parts are good, others tepid and some mediocre but not devaluing from the overall experience.  One part that I did think was truly transcendent above the shite in this film was the acting performances from Boyega as Finn (a former storm-trooper turned renegade who is pulled in with the new republic) and Ridley as Rey (a scavenger from the planet Jakku striving to make a living in a very hostile world and who may have more to her than initially obvious).  I can never deny a good bit of territorial bias but it is good to see two actors who are not only British like myself but also like myself are from London. making it big with two great performances in arguably one of the greatest film franchises of all time.  Like I said above, Boyega and Ridley have to work with some genuinely poor dialogue especially in the pseudo-romantic sections but thankfully their interactions are more about relying on each other to survive (hopefully that'll continue into the later films) their chemistry feels genuine despite the pants script they're given to work with.  Like Ford, Fisher and even Chewbacca, these two young hopefuls make as best as they can do with a shoddy script and give off two of my favourite performances of this year.  Certainly not on the level of course with performances like Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972) or Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan (1998) .  However, these two young hopefuls are two actors who I'll certainly be rooting for in the future to put out stand-out performances such as these and make it big.

Image source: www.starwars.com

Despite what I also said about the inconsistencies with the villains and their military in this film I also have to say that the action scenes are great as they always have been throughout the series.  Aside from the fact that all of the lightsaber battles (excluding the last one) are a bit lacklustre, the bigger scale battles are all great and definitely showcase not only the star wars universe's capacity for allowing for big scale battles to act as an insulation to the narrative but also for Abram's ability to direct big scale action as seen in the two Star Trek reboots.  The X-wing v Tie fighter battles, while feeling somewhat copy and pasted from A New Hope are still great and with the added edge of violence and darkness, the conflict and combat situations now have a new visceral punch to the as compared to the previous films in the franchise.  On top of this, while the planet killing weapon the First Order have is a straight up copy of the two death stars, it is still a technological and planetary marvel being a base and laser built into the being of  a literal planet making it much larger than the two original space stations before it.  Considering that this weapon also has the power to destroy multiple planets at once it also has a far greater threat and fear factor to me personally than the original two death stars did albeit with the fact that it seems to lack the same level of defensive lasers that the two death stars even had individually.  Irregardless of this, the action is great and if you don't care too much for story or are just looking for a simple action flick then this is certainly the film for you although having some great acting performances and at least three stand-out scenes doesn't hurt either.

I will say before I give my conclusion that the greatest strengths of this film come through when the motivations and emotions of characters are shown through actions and not words and there are two distinctive scenes where this happens with Rey.  One of them being a defining character revelation midway through the film and the other coming right at the very end.  Keep a lookout and you'll see what I mean.  It just goes to show that while some things are best explained by dialogue, for something like Star Wars it might just be better to rely more so on the acting chops of the new generation of actors being brought into the franchise to explain through action rather than through words.  I'm not saying that they should never talk through because that would be a bit weird.

Image source: comicbook.com

In conclusion, despite the many problems with The Force Awakens, it is still easily one of the best big-name blockbusters of the last couple of years and one of my favourite films of this year alone.  Despite having internal inconsistencies, lacklustre villains and a variety of shitty dialogue it also delivers with some excellent action segments, great individual acting and a few stand-out scenes that do well to prop up the narrative of the oncoming new trilogy.  I would say that it's an improvement on the prequels and while it certainly is better than episode 1 and 2, The Force Awakens is only around the same level as episodes 3 and 6 and is certainly not on the same level as episodes 4 and 5. I like all of the main star wars movies to a degree (even despite how much I've slagged off Episode 2, it still has some of the best action in any sci fi movie ever, just ignore the pants story and characters) and I'm happy to say that while The Force Awakens isn't as good as it could've been, it is still worth seeing considering all that I've just said.

So until next time, enjoy whatever you're watching, take care and may the force be with you.

Cinematography/camera-work: 8.75/10

Acting: 9.5/10

Story/plot/ writing: 5/10

Action/set-pieces/key moments; 9/10

Directing, lighting and music: 7.25/10

OVERALL RATING: 39.5/50

Venue that I saw this movie at: Peckhamplex (The Peckhamplex is the premier cinema venue in the South East London area of Peckham and while not particularly large overall it has a few screens that are large enough to provide a great cinema going experience.  This becomes more prominent considering that John Boyega himself is from Peckham)

Uncle Ted's recipes #1: Belgian winter beef stew

Ok so its been like what?  A year or two since I did a post about food?  Admittedly I originally made this blog with the primary aim of game and film reveiws and lists but this is still my favourite subject alongside millitary history, video games, action films and microwaveable popcorn.  Discussing and scratching together recipies is one part of my lifeblood and I'll be dammned if I'm never to share any of them with you.  The format of this post and any subsequent ones like it will be considerably more methodical than other posts I've made before as I'll take you guys not only through what steps and ingredients you'll need for each recipe but what order they must come in and what utensils you'll need as well as what recommendations I would make for how and what you might eat with said dishes.

So without any further dues lets get into warming the cockles of your heart this december with some tasty ass stew!  (Don't worry, actual anus isn't an ingredient here).

Ingredients (serves 3-5)
250-440ml belgian ale
4 x large carrots
3-4 x shallots
3-4 x large potatoes
400g tinned butter beans
1 x large courgette 
250g-350g brussel sprouts (optional because let's face it, these things are quite the aquired taste)
350g-500g diced casserole beef or 300g-400g lentils if you're a vegitarian
400g chopped tinned tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2-3 x bay leaves
1/2 a handful of corriander
2 x handfuls of thyme
3-4 x pinches each of salt & pepper
vegetable or sunflower oil (for cooking the ingredients)

 Cooking utensils
1 large metal pot with a lid
1 cutting board
1 large cutting knife 
2 collanders and/or sieves 
bowls with spoons for eating
a ladel for dishing up
1 wooden spoon

Cooking method (preperation time 20-30 mins, cooking time 1-2 hours)

Step 1: place the pot ontop of the cooker with about two to four sloshes of oil and DON'T turn on until you've prepared the vegetables.

Step 2: dice up the courgette and potatoes and slice up the carrots into reasonably small chunks but not too small so that the stew can be quite chunky. Then place these vegetables into the collanders/sieves and wash them with cold water for a short bit each.

Step 3: Turn the cooker onto a medium heat and prepare the shallots first by peeling them but keeping the stem end intact.  Slice the shallots into halves then cut into halves and then slice each half lengthways up to the root end and then dice up from side to side then place the diced up shallots into the pot with a couple of shakes of salt.  Simmer for 10 mins and then add in the rest of the fresh vegetables, stir, place the lid back on then stew while sometimes stirring for about 20 mins.

Step 4: add in the tinned butter beans into the mix along with the ale, tinned tomatoes and beef along with the tomato puree and rest of the seasoning after washing the herbs quickly in cold water and stripping the thyme and corriander from their stems.  Then place the lid back on and let the stew simmer for roughly 1.5-2 hours so that the meat has time to tenderise, soften and absorb more of the flavours.  Of course if one is making the vegetarian version then this shouldn't take too long and you can just simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serving suggestions

After dishing up the stew into the available bowls you could easily eat the dish as it is considering how chunky and filling it is with the amount of beans and potatoes there are.

However, if you do fancy spicing up your dinner I'd suggest serving the stew with either a small amount of brown rice or a thyme and sea salt foccacio bread from the bakery section of your local supermarket.  Another nice thing to have with this dish would be suet or traditional English dumplings into the stew itself.

Hopefully this has been a helpful recipe for a simple winter dish for you guys and if you've enjoyed it as much as I have making it please let us know if you'd like to make any more (tbh I may do some more in the future but maybe let me know what type of stuff you'd like me to make then upload to you guys).

In any case, eat well and I'll see you lot next time!