2018, it’s been one of those years. I’ve moved twice– wait a minute, this sounds familiar…
“2017, it’s been one of those years. I’ve moved house twice, helped my Dad move, took a break from Out of Lives to sort things out, struggled with some other stuff, done some serious job hunting that’s led only to disappointment thus far and all of that has taken place against a backdrop of some truly awful world events and generally depressing news in the wider world.” – Me, in my 2017 Yearly Review.
Huh; I guess 2018 didn’t improve as much as I’d hoped it would! I have indeed moved twice again this year. I’ve become single after 3 years. Worst of all, I haven’t done as much for Out of Lives as I’d like. All of this has taken place against a backdrop of some truly depressing news at home and across the world. I’m beginning to think there’s a pattern here…
Thankfully, much like last year, the entertainment industry has stepped into this dark abyss and gave us some things to enjoy! It’s been a good year on that front across Gaming, Films and TV. So here are my favourites from the year, plus some honourable mentions at the end.
Gaming
Sony’s PlayStation’s Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS4). Is it the best game that came out this year? No; God of War takes that crown just as it did at The Game Awards. However, Spider-Man is my favourite game of the year. It’s simply impossible for me to not enjoy myself playing it. The traversal that the developers have implemented is just incredible. Web-swinging through Manhattan is Spidey’s USP, and doing it in this beautifully realised version is just joyous. There’s room for improvements in the sequel, in terms of the open-world design this game is not innovative at all. The criticisms levelled at it for being repetitive and boring are ones I understand whilst not personally finding that to be the case. It’s inarguable that if a sequel relies on the same design outline it’ll be disappointing. I’m sure it won’t be though, Insomniac are an excellent developer and the team there is clearly passionate about Spider-Man so I’m willing to bet they’ll only improve things if they get to make another. In the meantime though, I’ll be visiting Manhattan regularly to check in on the web-head.
Film
Avengers: Infinity War. Could it be anything else? 10 years & 18 films have led to the events in Infinity War. A film where the Avengers and our other heroes aren’t really the stars. Thanos, so long teased as the real villain, rips through the entire Cinematic Universe as we know it, a testament to the strength of will he possesses. He is going to achieve what he believes is necessary and that is it; it’s admirable even though what he intends is so horrible. A truly remarkable feat that Marvel has achieved over the years, one that everyone else (DC) has struggled trying to replicate after seeing its success. Watching Thanos battle our heroes was incredible and I’m so glad that End Game (yes; it is 2 words actually!) isn’t too far away.
TV
I got the opportunity to review My Hero Academia: Two Heroes for the site not long ago. Which, considering I’m a latecomer on the MHA hype train is quite fortunate for me. Season 3 of the show aired earlier this year and it was only then that I started to watch it. I went back to the very first episode and caught up. I’m so glad I did because it is an incredible series. I mention in my review that it has become one of the most popular anime series in the world and for good reason. It’s worth giving a try. It’s rare that a series has such amazing animation all the way through it, there is almost always dips in quality due to the insane schedules and tight budgets anime is usually produced under. I don’t know what wizardry Bones Inc. uses to side-step this but it is working as the show always looks incredible. Fortunately it has an outstanding story and the characters to match it.
Honourable Mentions
As always with lists like this, some stuff inevitably misses out. So here’s a few of things that didn’t quite make the cut, in no particular order; Deadpool 2, God of War, the Elis James & John Robins Podcast & the Do Go On Podcast.
Quite simply, 2018 hasn’t ended too well for me on a personal level, though I feel I’ve turned a bit of a corner in recent weeks. Hopefully 2019 will be better; plus there’s plenty to look forward to on the entertainment front. More on that later…
