The Year of the Loot Box was the one that finally got me to set aside gaming as my main hobby. So gold-star to you, Games Industry. You managed to turn away a gamer who's been a fan since the 70's! Kudos!

The few games I did play were pretty good, I will admit. Mostly stuff bought for my new Switch console which I picked up about 4 months ago. Here's my truncated & mostly Loot Box free list of games I played and enjoyed in 2017 in no particular order!

• Injustice 2- This one did have a loot box style, but thankfully the monetization was mostly not too intrusive. Consider this one my last straw for that nonsense.
• XCOM 2: War of the Chosen- Always love the XCOM games. I put about 600 or so hours into this one this year alone. A definite A+
• Cuphead- Finally we got Cuphead this year and it was pretty great. Now if only I wasn't so crap at playing it!
• Halo Wars 2- That was this year, right? I played a bit of this, but the real gem was putting Halo Wars Definitive Edition in the package and letting me play it on PC. Worth playing if you haven't before, especially now that it's on Steam.
• Super Mario Odyssey- I don't know if it's the best Mario game in the last 20 years, but it's probably the one I've enjoyed the most since 64. Great game!
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild- The Zelda game that got me back into Zelda games. Not that any of them were bad or anything, but I hadn't really played much Zelda since Twilight Princess.
• Splatoon 2- More of the same? Yes, please!
• Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle- This one probably goes on a bit too long for it's own good, but it was REALLY fun for a while.
• Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (Switch)- It's mostly just the same fun game I already played on the WiiU, but it's Mario Kart and the formula still works for me.
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp- This one is really reaching, I know. And I can't say I love this half-measure version of AC. But I played it a bunch, so it makes the list I guess.
• EDIT: Overland- This small but ambitious game can be played on the Itch.io app(app?, "service"? whatever). It's a surprisingly difficult, quite engaging randomly generated monster outbreak scenario game. You move from camp to camp scavenging gas, helping (or leaving) survivors as your car's size permits, upgrading your car (or losing it if it's damaged), look there's just a lot going on with this game despite it's simple premise and gameplay loop. I highly recommend it! Here's a playlist I put up on YouTube where I got to the end (at the time, it's early access still in the vid).

With all the time and money I didn't spend on video games this year though, I did manage to rekindle my dormant but ever-present love of comic books. In the wake of the great Loot Boxing of the games industry I started making my way into the Local Comic Shop on Wednesdays and picking up a few issues here and there. Here's a few titles I'd recommend to anyone looking to read some good comics:

• Batman: White Knight- In this out of continuity "elseworld" style story, we see a Joker who manages to cure himself and a Batman with just a bit less self-control. Prone to violent outbursts to accomplish his goals, the world is just askew enough to make for a very entertaining and interesting look at well worn characters
• Mister Miracle- I'm as surprised as can be just how interesting this new version of the classic Jack Kirby character feels. It's compelling, heart warming, scary in places. Worth a look, even if you never cared for Kirby's "New Gods" stories.
• BUG! The adventures of Forager- This is what Mike Allred is working on right now. I don't love BUG! as a character, but damn do I love that guys art.
• DC Metal- The cure for "event fatigue". DC's Metal series has been silly, it's mostly something you'd expect to see on an album cover... and it's pretty great too. Worth checking out. It might be a bit difficult to jump in at this point if you haven't already, but TPB or HC collections will be out in a matter of months. Come learn about the dark Multiverse and the evil god Barbatos.
• Batman: Creature of the Night- This is a very different kind of Batman story. A bit melancholic at points, but the tale it tells is heart-breaking and satisfying.
• Gotham City Garage- Batman plus Mad Max with Supergirl as the audience POV character. Another out-of-continuity story doing fun things with characters you know and love already. A fun take on the DC universe.
• Bane: Conquest- The breaker of the Bat gets his own book and it's quite spectacular! Good art, fun story, and Bane is a character who gets more and more interesting the more time you spend with him.
• Mother Russia- This is a title from a little known company called Alternacomics. It's a zombie series (limited series) set in Russia. These guys print their books on newsprint paper and sell them for $1.50. Even if you hate the story (which I don't think you will), it's worth giving a chance. The art is really good and it's a fun read.
• The Chair- Another Alterna title, this is a horror series. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's being made into a film. Worth a look!