Who is that on my desk?

Today, I figured I would do a quick fun post about my desk.  Most of my desk is home to some of my favorite video game characters, where pretty much each resident their right now has their own story of how they got there.  I don't have much room to display a ton of my figures from all realms of pop culture, but I make sure to allow my favorites to stand out.  For each entry, I will use pictures of the characters in their respective games so you can easily identify each, but just for reference refer to the following picture as I talk about each. So without further ado....

These are all of the current residents who proudly stand next to my computer.  There aren't many, but they reflect a lot of my taste in video games.  In no particular order, here are some brief stories about who you see above and how they got to my desk.

Elizabeth & Songbird (BioShock Infinite) - If you have read my post here prior to this one, then you would know BioShock Infinite was one of my favorite games of 2013, while BioShock is one of my favorite video game series in general, so it is safe to say of everything, BioShock has the biggest presence on my desk.  In the game, Songbird was one of the main antagonists, whom began to stalk you after you rescue Elizabeth from its 24/7 watch.  The Songbird on my desk is a deluxe statue that came with the collector's edition of BioShock Infinite.  Because it is one of my all-time favorite game series, I am willing to spend extra money as opposed to other games.  

Elizabeth was a figure released at mass retail, made by a company known for many figures of various famous characters from games, TV, movies, and music (NECA Toys).  They promised Booker, also from BioShock Infinite for release later this year, so it is a pretty safe bet that when I can get my hands on him, he will be joining everyone on my desk as well.

Big Daddy (BioShock) - Also on my desk is another antagonist from the BioShock series, the Big Daddy.  The Big Daddy was one of the bad guys faced very frequently in the first and second BioShock games.  Once again, the figure of it you see on my desk is another product of NECA Toys.  This one I got for my birthday a few years back, and what makes it even more special aside from that is that the figure has LED lights built into his helmet that can glow much like how they did in the game.  There are multiple colors built in as well to reflect the changes in the Big Daddy's mood, much like in the game where they were normally yellow, but changed to red when confronted.

Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) - Last year's Tomb Raider reboot was another game I had talked about in my prior blog on my favorite games from 2013.  Despite not being a huge fan of the series prior to this game, I took a chance and got the collector's edition because it came with a deluxe figure of Lara (whom in my original picture posted at the start of this stands right next to the Big Daddy) and to get this edition of the game it was only an extra $20 as opposed to the standard copy price of $60, so I figured why not?  The figure is very detailed and highly poseable.  I wound up loving the game too, so I am proud to display this incarnation of a more realistic Lara Croft on my desk.

My Fave 5 - Games of 2013

I'm back with another edition of my fave 5, this time covering what I thought were some of the best video games last year had to offer.  Again, these will be in no particular order.  Also, I will be including an "Honorable Mentions" section at the end, simply because a lot of good games came out last year that I got to play, making it very tough to pick 5 that standout above the rest.

Tomb Raider - This may sound crazy, but I was never a fan of Lara Croft and her archaeological exploits.  That all changed last year when Square Enix/Eidos released what they felt was the next appropriate step for one of the most recognizable women in gaming - a reboot/origin story.  It's something we see a lot nowadays all over various forms of media to the point where it can grow stale, but stand out if done right, as was the case here.  The busty Lara known more for her looks than skills is gone, replaced by a more believable vulnerable woman forced to adapt to survive after a boat she is on crashes at an unknown island.  While it is worth noting that the Uncharted series clearly inspired the direction of this reboot (ironic given Tomb Raider was the inspiration for that and now everything has come full circle), this game shouldn't be knocked for it, because when you look to one of the best video game series' to date for inspiration, all it can do is help your cause.

I also would like to say I loved this game so much that I own 2 copies of it.  I got it when it originally came out for PS3, and recently for Xbox One when it was rereleased with all post release content and updated visuals for the newest systems.  Any version of this game is fine, but if you can play it on Xbox One or PS4, do that as opposed to last gen systems.  This game shows how Lara becomes the Tomb Raider we all knew prior to this game.  It makes Lara a more down to earth character as opposed to some guy's fantasy, and I am hoping this is the first of a fresh new direction for the Tomb Raider series.

BioShock Infinite - I love BioShock.  The original stands as one of my all-time favorite games.  So when I found out the studio behind that one (and not the questionable 2010 sequel) was at the helm of a totally new adventure set in a new BioShock realm, saying I was excited is an understatement.  If anyone could top one of my all-time favorite video games, it would be the studio that made it in the first place, and that is exactly what they did.  The underwater city of Rapture and its creepy denizens were gone in favor of a new city in the sky, Columbia, and plenty of characters that actually got a lot of screen time (something the original BioShock lacked).  Some of the most breathtaking moments in this game involve travelling the skyrails where you can get a magnificent view of everything around you.  While the plot towards the later half can lose you (it deals with jumping to and from alternate realities and how at a particular significant moment in time they can all converge in one place) that doesn't mean that you should write this game off.  Its compelling characters and incredibly detailed set pieces are worth checking out alone.

South Park: The Stick Of Truth Review

It has been quite some time since I wrote a video game review.  Today, I finally break that long bout of silence as I look back at the first console game I got through this year.

South Park: The Stick of Truth was first revealed by Game Informer back in 2012.  Originally THQ was publishing it, but when they went belly up, South Park had to be shopped around, forcing it to be delayed from its originally planned Fall 2013 release.  Once Ubisoft stepped up to the plate, the game suffered a few more delays to maximize the quality of the game until it finally saw a retail release last month.

Let me start by seeing this is NOT your average crappy tie-in license game.  South Park masterminds, Matt Stone & Trey Parker actively participated in this game's development going as far as providing Obsidian with assets used to create the show, aided in the creation of its plot, recorded all of the dialogue for the characters they are known for, and much much more.  This was not a situation of "let's sign our IP over to a game developer, let them make whatever they want, and collect the money" situation.  It was far from it.  It was a labor of love meant to create the "definitive" South Park video game, something Matt, Trey, Obsidian, & Ubisoft went above and beyond in achieving as you will soon read.

South Park has been around for almost 20 years.  If you are not familiar with the show, it is a cartoon about 4 fourth grade boys that live in a Colorado mountain town and get into all kinds of crazy situations.  Despite being a cartoon, it is not meant for kids at all as the humor can be very adult in a lot of cases.  Over the years, South Park has grown to become more of a topical humor cartoon as well, poking fun at recent happenings in pop culture.  For example, just last season poked fun at the Edward Snowden NSA leaks, the George Zimmerman trial controversy, Miley Cyrus, the Xbox One/PS4 launches, and Kanye West & Kim Kardashian (all people and things in the spotlight last year).