ThespianHunter's Top 10 Shenanigans 2012

Hello and welcome to ThespianHunter Blog. Where I chat shit about games, films, table top games and a whole bunch of useless crap we call entertainment. congratulations to everyone. We've done it! We've lived another year, a year that will be forever remembered as the year we didn't die, Britain didn't do shit in the Olympics and K-pop reached the western world. As is custom of this time of year, its time to shoe horn out as many Top 10 videos and posts as physically possible. But lets do this one with a difference. Cause this is my 5th post on Blogger and my magical number 10 post ever, ever, ever I thought it would be good to do a bunch of different Top 10 lists. So like the darling buds of may, lets climb every mountain and get to the good stuff. (feel free to read each sub heading in the style of Igor)

Thespian Hunter's Top 10 Games of 2012!!  

Number 10: SSX! 

I have a passion for snow boarding games. They're a lovely mix of the sandbox trick do-ers, like the skateboarding games that are shunted out every year, and racing game. Whilst still not having a story driven experience that I was looking for SSX nailed all the right categories and made its way in my top 10. This not only has brilliant game play and challenges to set against your friends but it also has an amazing sound track. If you're into this kinda thing, you probably already have it, if your curious, go grab it.

Number 9: Tribes Ascend  

Now whilst I was forced to play this game at a low graphical setting there's no doubting that this game looks and feels fantastic. I've sunk a lot of hours into this game early this year and has a whale of a time. It's skiing mechanic and its projectile, time based weapons work out for some brilliantly fast paced and intense game play. Just a shame that newly released weapons are way to powerful when they were first released. Still a fun game which I enjoyed.

Number 8: The Walking Dead

I have a confession to make. I've only played episode 1 and 2 but watched the others. And oh my LORD is this good. For a point and click game it pulls you right in and jumbles you around and you feel good about the entire thing. I nearly shat myself at some of the jump scares in this game and I returned to my key board wanting to be scared again. A Brilliant story, worthy of the walking dead licence. 

Number 7: Planet Side 2

Now, my computer struggles with playing this game and is incredibly slow the majority of the time. However I have had some countless accounts of fun watching and playing this game. The battles are on such an epic scale you find it difficult not to squeal a little when you see thousands of dudes Vs thousands of dudes Vs thousands of dudes. The game (on better computers than mine) looks fantastic and deserves a place on the list

Number 6: Dragon's Dogma 

Ah! This little gem. I'll firstly get the bad out of the way. Firstly lack of fast traveling is a pain in the ass and the class progression sucks ass. OK, that that's out the way, lets get to all the good. Fantastic enemy design, brilliantly simple combat mechanics as well as brilliant combat in general and a beautiful game world. That's only to name a few. As I said before what a gem. And I'm still playing it to this day and probably will into early next year as well. 

Number 5: FTL

 Now this was a tricky one, This nearly got the 6th place spot however in all honesty this game is number 6 for a big reason. This may just spark more brilliant games like this. With Dragon's Dogma RPG's have been made for years and if anything It's been calling back to the games that came before it. In FTL's case its a game that will be compared to others in its genre. This rogue-like strategic game puts you in the thick of it and is really fucking unforgiving. But it brings you back, every time, without fail. There's nothing better than shouting "Mr. Hyde, Power Up the FTL.... ENGAGE!" This game truly deserves its place.

Number 4: Assassins Creed 3

Now some of you may recall my review where a shouted at how disappointing the single player was and how brilliant the multiplayer was. It seems I may have been a LITTLE harsh. I stick to EVERYTHING that I said about the game and I know I dislike it. But I can't explain why I keep playing it. It suffers from "same game again" disorder that may games in our current climate suffer from but the combat is really, really good. I find myself just running through the streets of New York battering the shit out of any guard that I see and I get enjoyment out of it. Furthermore the Multi-player, which I dedicated an entire review to, has moreover kept me hooked to a good game. The game is good, but it could have been better.

Number 3: Mass Effect 3 

Oh yes, clench you're anus's feel the bewilderment take over you, haters of the God Child... There's a reason this is not number 1 or 2... Very simply put FUCK THE ENDING. The ending, even with its extended free DLC is awful and plants a shit stain upon all other games in the series. However the game play is fantastic, the story up to that point is without flaw (mostly). Though that's not why this is in my Top 3. The reason being the game play. the game play is without a doubt the best in a 3rd person shooter I've played in quite a while. It builds upon the combat from Mass Effect 2 and improves on it in bucket loads. The Multiplayer is fun and engaging and with all the free DLC offered with it, its worth your time and entertaining to play. Let this be a lesson, we play games for game play firstly, the game play was good and the story it borrowed upon from the other games allowed it to reach the top 3. HOWEVER. have a good ending otherwise you'll be renown for failing to make a game of the year.

Number 2: X-Com Enemy unknown

Some of you may not know that I'm a huge fan of this series. I've spent hundreds of hours playing previous X-Com games and they have a special place in my heart. This newest addition is no different. With its fantastic squad turn based strategy mechanics and its fun to play in environments as well and engaging and challenging AI this game deserves the number 2 place. The only down side being that Multi-player is glitchy as hell and there are a handful of bugs here and there which induce the occasional fits of rage. With that a side this game is a must have.

Number 1: Far Cry 3.

THIS GAME HAS MANY FLAWS! Just wanted to say that first. It was a total scrap for the first place spot but Far Cry 3 pulled ahead at the last minute. It's another case of different elements jelling together to make a brilliant combination of awesomeness which ya' just cant put down. However, the single player is too easy, there's no doubt about it. The reasons you die are ether you wanting to kill yourself cause someone got lucky and detected you or you get killed due to an obvious mistake on your own part. The inventory and crafting systems are garbage and the map maker tools have a learning curve that makes EVE online look like a casual game. However with all that said this game is till brilliant. With each mission you become more engaged, with each kill you gleefully smile, the story is engaging and shines light upon the human condition  and the in game world is stunning. If that wasn't enough the multiplayer is a barrel of LOL's and there's the map maker to lead for the potential of many, many hours of enjoyment. My game of the year.

So that was my Top 10 games of 2012. Honorable mentions go towards those who deserve them... and remember this was MY top 10, Like what you like, don't like what you don't. Just don't dictate what people should or shouldn't like. But what about my Top 10 games of all time? Are you curious of what games I call the greatest of all time? Yeah? Well read bellow and you'll find out.

ThespianHunter's Top 10 Games of All Time

Number 10: Supreme Commander and Age of Mythology

I know what you're asking... "But all mighty ThespianHunter, why have you put 2 games on the number 10 spot?" well my followers. I just cant pick between them. On the one hand we have Age of Mythology, a game from the legendary series of games the Age of Empires, a game with gripping strategy and interesting and creative units as well as a decent campaign and multiplayer. Then on the other hand..... a game with gripping strategy and creative units as well as decent campaign and multiplayer. You see my conundrum. I like both of these equally. They're both fantastic at what they do and have entertained me for hours. If I had to split them up I would maybe give Age of Mythology the number 11 spot, but that's something I just can not do. FANTASTIC GAMES.

Number 9: Warcraft 3

I would be doing myself a dis-justice if I didn't put this on my list however it wasn't just the game itself which made me love it (in fact, it was where I got my "SilentMasicar" from, the gamertag I had for many, many years) but my love was also down to the modding scene. It had everything from DOTA to a Pokemon game. A zombie survival game to even a game where you dodge sheep. It was this combination that led me to spending most of my early teenage years with this game. It also paved the way for the most played MMO to date. 

Number 8: The Elder Scrolls Morrowind/ Oblivion / Skyrim

Although at times the combat can be a bit on the dodgy side. These games still take the number 8 slot. Oblivion was my favorite of the series followed closely but Skyrim and oh my have I sunk a lot of time into these games. They're very fun, the worlds are a joy to explore and the story is by far one of the video game greats, and the music? Oh my the glorious music. If elements of it were better it would have made it higher, but alas.

Number 7: The Dawn of War games (Dawn of War 1 all expansion packs and Dawn of War 2 all expansion packs) 

You could have predicted that these would make their way onto my list. The managed to rekindle my love for Warhammer 40K as well as pay me countless hours of entertainment... My least favorite of the series (Dawn of War Chaos Rising) still counts over 14 hours of game play. I shudder to think what my hour count for Dawn of War Soulstorm is. Regardless these are fantastic strategy games and although Dawn of War 2 took away the base building, it's still a really fun game to play. I recommend these games to anyone.. even though the a thousand Baneblades thing was a bit OTT.

Number 6: Heroes Of Might and Magic (III and V)

One of the all time greats. These games have always been installed on my computer and I always come back to them. They're fantastically well made and engaging. The designs are second to none and frankly the amount of time I've spent playing these games beggars belief. If you like turn based strategy games GET THESE!

Number 5: Sid Mires Pirates

You know you simply love a game when you've got 4 different copies of it as back ups. I've always wanted to be a pirate sailing the ... 1 sea... and this game delivered. It's a truly brilliant game that entertains me to this day. How simply wonderful it is to plunder trade ships and sword fight like a pro!

Number 4: Star Wars Battlegrounds 

Done in the style of Age of Empire games, this little gem holds a very special place in my heart. featuring a bunch of factions from the movies. You can finally resolve who would win in a fight in glorious fashion whilst the AI cheats its way to victory at higher difficulties, played with friends I doubt you'll be able to pull yourself away from it for too long. accompanied by the classic star wars soundtrack this is easily one of my favorite games of all time. 

Number 3: Rome Total War

So, I may have had a series addiction to this at one point, but can you blame me? This game is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest strategy games of all time. with its intense battles and impressive for the time visuals. This game is just nothing short of a master piece. If you haven't played this GET. NOW.

Number 2: Fable- the last good game Lion Head made (NOT FABLE 2 or 3) 

The Gods and Demons you fear and worship are as nothing to me! Nothing will ever stop me! I AM a God"

That picture is of Jack Of Blades my favorite villain in video game history. Keith Wickham's voice acting is nothing short of amazing. The little screen time Jack has is made up for by how plane evil he is. He's the only villain I've actually wanted to murder time and time again yet at the same time, want to be like (in a video game sense) He's nothing short of legendary. However that's only a small part of why I love this game. Yes it's not very well balanced and It's relatively short, it's still even now my favorite story line in video game history. Even just writing this I want to play it again.... maybe something to show when the Youtube channel starts? who knows. The reason why this isn't number one? 3 reasons in fact. Reason number one is that fable 2 and 3 and terrible. Now before you cry out "but what about Mass Effect?" we're talking about a totally different kettle of fish with these disasters. Not only was the story nothing to do with the original epic but it  was just God darn awful (and to call them "Fable" games makes me want to stab myself with a spear in the colon.)  Reason number 2 is the plane and simple fact failing is an IMPOSSIBILITY. I don't mean the game is too easy or the hero is too powerful, I literally mean you cannot die. Who thought that would make an interesting game?.... I could spend an entire post talking about my problems with Fable 2 and 3 just know that Fable 1 is one of my favorite games of all time. The final reason is well, Number 1 is just too good.

Number 1: Black and White (Yes the other Good game Lion Head studios made)

Black and White.... What Isn't there to say about this game? It may be dated, it may by todays standards look like a pile of crap, it may feature only 4 voice actors (however in saying that you would think there was at the very least 20) though with all its flaws its still my favorite game of all time. In Black and White you play a God, born from a pure prayer. With the goal of ... what ever you want your goal to be. The over arching story is that the evil God Nemesis wants to be the only God and has set out to banish all the other Gods, including you. You must build followers and train your giant creature version of Jesus to conquer each world and ether spread love and peace or destruction and war. You can ether follow the quest line as soon as physically possible or you can take your time and cover the entire world in one giant village. Each person has their own daily routine, some do as you tell them, for example chopping wood, having sex with a prostitute, worshiping you for an hour and then going to bed. Some will just sit by a rock all day and talk about their day to day lives and up to seven thousand can be on screen at one time. entire villages can populate far more if you have the time to manage them. This game has so much to list them all would be insanity. I will list a few
Number 1. Throwing villagers off mountains and onto their homes in anger for them not worshiping you
Number 2. Setting fire to your own village
Number 3. poisoning your food supply and then when you followers beg for fresh food, only give them a single fish and wait for them to turn it into thousands of fish

Number 4. death via being eaten by lions  

Number 5: watching your creature do the moon walk
And many, many more. That's but a taster of why this game is my favorite of all time if that wasn't enough however... it also has multiplayer (which no longer has working servers but its easy enough to set up) so the fun can shared with your friends.

Then as Lion Head does, they brought out Black and White two which was awful... not Fable 3 awful, but still pretty bad.

So that concludes my Top 10 games of all time... I was asked by someone to do more Top 10's but ill save them for next time.
I hope you enjoyed reading these Top 10's if you have a positive or negative response let me know. Also let me know what your Top 10's are, will be interesting to know.

My names been ThespianHunter, I take way too much glee in throwing things off mountains... And I'll catch you next time.