It has been a good year for music, I think. Plenty of albums were released over the year and I listened to a very slight fraction of them. Here is my top 10 list of those albums I listened to and liked and my favorite song from each:

10. Kavinsky - Outrun

Spawned from the mind of French DJ, Vincent Belorgey, Kavinsky is actually a character itself. The story goes that a man died in a fiery car crash in his Testarossa in 1986. Now he is back from the dead to exact revenge by playing beautiful synths? Something like that. All I know for certain is that Outrun is an amazing throwback 80's synth album. I usually live or die by vocals in music, but this album is mostly devoid of any lyrics, and I still can't help but get lost in those bumpin' synths.

As for my favorite song, it's obviously Nightcall, which you'll recognize from the movie Drive.

9. Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

It actually took a few listens to liken up to this one. I have enjoyed QotSA stuff prior to this album, but I wasn't familiar with them until a few years ago, so this was the first album from them that I had to anticipate. It's also not the best work from QotSA, though. It does, however, still quite rock. QotSA is probably my favorite straight up rock band going these days.

My favorite from the album was obvious from the instant I heard it, The Vampyre of Time and Memory.

8. Lorde - Pure Heroine

Man, what a debut. And she's only 16?! Fuck, what am I doing with my life. Well, listening to a damn lot of Lorde, that's what. Lorde is the stage name for New Zealander (that's not what they call people from New Zealand, is it?) Ella Yelich-O'Conner. And she is probably the best thing to happen with mainstream female pop in a long time. The lyrics on Pure Heroine are dark and meaningful and satirical, but the songs still have poppy/catchy choruses. Couple this with the low, hard hitting bass drums and synth that backs each track and Lorde's beautiful voice, and you have an amazing pop album on your hands. Really excited to see what she comes up with next.

My favorite track from the album is one that actually grew on me over time, Glory and Gore.

7. Born Ruffians - Birthmarks

I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of this little pop/rock band, cause I hadn't even known of them until like a month ago. I wanna say Spotify recommended a song, and I gave them a shot. Then I listened to it again and again and decided to actually listen to their now third album, Birthmarks, which was released this year. Yeah, I like it. Not every track is amazing (some are pretty forgettable). But of the ones I like, I really, really like them. It's standard pop/rock formula, but the songs are so catchy and I really love the frontman's voice. One that came out of absolutely nowhere and now is one of the best albums of the year.

My favorite track is different from every other track on the album, and has this distinct 50's rock vibe in it's chorus (the ohh-ahhs in the background). I always see myself coming back to this little track called Cold Pop.

6. Kanye West - Yeezus

Now I know, fuck Kanye West. He is an asshole. But god damn does he know how to make a fantastic rap album. Now, this is a very controversial album among the public, however. When it comes to my friends, you either love it or absolutely hate it. Obviously, I love it. Kanye throws away the regular beats that you'll hear from every other rap song, and instead goes with hard hitting synths and drums. Every song hits hard. And yes Kanye still knows how to rap, and he raps well here, but it's the instrumentation and the samples that keep me coming back. My god the samples.

Sampling is used so effectively in this album, especially in the song Bound 2, which also happens to be my favorite song from the album (God, this music video is so bad but so good and James Franco and Seth Rogan is just... yeah. I love it)

5. Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Was not expecting this one in the slightest. I have tried listening to Arcade Fire's previous albums and could never get into them, but when I first heard the song Reflektor, I sorta already knew this one would be a different case. I actually felt hyped for the album and I fell in love with the album after just the first listen. It is a bit of a weird album genre-wise. Each song sounds different from the last. Some songs are punk-y, some hard rock, some are even disco. It's an odd album stylistically, but it works.

My favorite song from the album has one of the catchiest choruses of the year and I cannot get it out of my head after I listen to it, Joan of Arc.

(this is the only album version of the song I could find on youtube)

4. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

Now, just like Reflektor above it, RAM actually mixes some genres throughout the length of the album and gets pretty out there genre-wise when compared to previous Daft Punk outings. The hit song from the album, Get Lucky (which was my song of summer 2013), is a straight up disco song featuring the vocal talent of Pharell and includes one of 70's disco's biggest players, Nile Rodgers. Some songs, though, still sound like regular ol' electronic-fueled Daft Punk songs like Motherboard or Contact. It's an odd album for Daft Punk, but I'm so glad they went ahead and took this direction with RAM. There's the two songs featuring Pharell's voice talents are so catchy and will make you want to get down with yo bad self. And then there's the chill, build-up electronic songs like Giorgio By Moroder that are so good you cannot help but get lost in it's sounds.

Giorgio By Moroder also happens to be my favorite song off of the album. Listen to that sweet, sweet voice of Giorgio Moroder narrating while you drift away to a land of electronics and beautiful, beautiful synths.

3. Portugal. The Man - Evil Friends

Just like Arcade Fire, I never got too much into Portugal. The Man before their 2013 album. I instantly fell in love with this album though. It has to be that it was produced by Danger Mouse. Evil Friends still retains that Portugal. The Man sound and lyricism, but I feel this album is far more catchier and just better produced than previous Portugal. The Man albums. It's a fun, catchy album from beginning to end.

My favorite song from the album is a little anthem called Modern Jesus

2. Phoenix - Bankrupt!

I'm not all that big a fan of Phoenix. I really like a few of their songs from previous albums, but never cared for their albums as a whole. That is why I was so surprised by Bankrupt!. I think it's a synth-pop album at it's finest. It's catchy, dance-y and every song is just fun. I find myself singing along to every note and bobbing my head and bouncing my feet along to the beat. It's just a feel-good album that I cannot get enough of, even after listening to it dozens of times over the span of 8 months.

The song Drakkar Noir is a prime example of what I'm talking about with this album. I just love it from top to bottom (and may I recommend this amazing remix of the song

Trying To Be Cool by R. Kelly

?).

1. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

I went most of the year thinking Phoenix's Bankrupt! would end up being my favorite album of the year. I actually thought that up until a few days ago. I had listened to Modern Vampires of the City plenty of times over the year and absolutely loved it, but it wasn't until I bought the vinyl of it and played it over and over again that I really felt it deserved to be number 1 on this list. Of course it's catchy and has all of the standard indie pop/rock stylings, but it's how the album flows and it's lyricism that makes it stand out. Now, I'm no religious man, but even I can appreciate the religious undertones and lyrics of the album. Ezra Koenig really poured his heart and soul into this album, and it shows. It's a masterpiece.

My favorite song from the album was actually a song I hated the first half-dozen times I heard it. Diane Young is now one of my favorite songs of the year and god dammit I can't get it out of my head and I can't stop listening to it!

Well, there you have it folks. I hope you enjoyed my list and maybe even found a new song or band you like because of it. Let me know what you think about my list and most importantly, happy holidays!

So, you clicked on this blog for some reason. I'm not sure why you are so interested in my opinion, you creep. But it's cool. I like how you want to know my top games from the glorious year of twenty-twelve. I wouldn't have done this tonight, but moderator ThatFrood is forcing us to get these out by new years for the GB Community GOTY, and I thought "oh why not just do it now". So here goes!

(Also, I'm about done making this blog and I just noticed I'm putting these in order from 1-10 (1 being best, 10 being not as best) which is dumb of me. I don't feel like going back and switching it to descending order either. So it's just whatever. Deal with it.)

1. The Walking Dead

So this game has one hell of a story. I laughed, I cringed, I yelled, I even ultimately shed a tear. This is an experience to be had. The characters are seriously some of the best in any game ever. I actually cared about these people. It was like Clementine was my own daughter. I was going to keep her safe no matter what. Some episodes are better than others, but overall the game is fantastic. It's the best adventure game ever made, really. It's also my GOTY for 2012. I cannot wait for season 2.

2. Far Cry 3

This game is just pure adrenaline fun. Non-stop shenanigans at every turn. Whether you're setting a turtle on fire with a flamethrower, or jumping down from rooftops onto bad guys with your newly equipped Japanese Tanto sword, this game is just FUN. I have yet to finish the story (3/4th way through) and from what I've heard it doesn't really deliver in the long run. I do believe the game has a great set of memorable characters, though, of course Vaas being one of the best characters of 2012. When sandwiched in between two games with great narratives, you may think I care highly for story in games (which I do, Bioshock is my favorite game ever) and that I would dock it a few spots for it's shoddy story. This I won't do, though, because this game is the most fun I've had playing a game all year. Also, the competitive multiplayer is a pretty good Call of Duty-esque multiplayer suite and the co-op is okay as well if you're into that.

3. Journey (Spoilers?)

So, I went into UC3 thinking I should start it on the hard difficulty since I had already beaten UC2 on hard. Biggest fucking mistake.

There have been a multiple times where I've died over and over and over (I think my death count is almost at 200, and I haven't finished yet).

The worst part was the big room at the beginning of the ship level when you're supposed to sneak past, but I couldn't, so I activated the 20 waves of enemies. Then there is the part with the fire guys that teleport, the sandstorm part, and many horde-like areas in between. If I knew this game would be this unfair on hard, then I would've switched to normal a long time ago, but now I'm on chapter 22 and I've gone that far, so I've got to finish.

So, am I the only person who has a frustrating time with UC3 on hard difficulty, or do I just suck?

Come on down, folks, and read my Dead Island review! I will fix it up a bit tomorrow, but for now, I should go to sleep.

Please, share your thoughts.

Thanks to anyone that actually reads it!

I wrote a review for Catherine and would like someone to read it and tell me if it's good, bad, needs some work, etc.
Here is the review
Thanks for reading it if you do.
 
Edit:@Abyssfull: 
The other 7 reviews were horrible and nobody should ever see them.

Ok, maybe there isn't that many betas. Still, having two in the same week, that is a lot. The two I am talking about is, of course, the Uncharted 3 beta and the Journey public beta.  

Uncharted 3 Beta

Journey Public Beta

THANKS FOR READING! (If you did)

So I've been thinking about getting move lately, and that is mostly because of this bundle for Socom 4. I was just wondering if it is really worth getting, though. I already have 3 games that include move support (LBP2, NBA2k11, and Killzone 3), and I think I would replay games I've already beaten that now support move (Heavy Rain, Resident Evil 5, and play through KZ3's campaign again). I'm still going to wait for the Socom 4 beta to really decide, but I just want to know if it would be worth buying in the future.

Top 15 most anticipated games of 2011.

These are the top 10 games that I'll will most definitely be playing this year and then some.

	1. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception With Uncharted 2 being my favorite game of 2009 and one of my favorite games of all time, I can't help but be excited for the next chapter in Nathan Drake's story.
	2. Batman: Arkham City OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait for this, and I hope that this will be a great last Joker project for Mark Hamill.
	3. Mass Effect 3 Mass Effect 2 was in my top 3 of 2010, and I can't wait to see Earth in the Mass Effect universe.
	4. L.A. Noire Red Dead was in my top 3 of last year, and GTA 4 was one of my favorites of 2008, so I love basically anything from R*, and though I know barely anything about this, I think it sounds amazing.
	5. Dead Space 2 This will most likely be my first 2011 game purchase actually, and I can't wait. The demo is amazing, and the multiplayer looks kinda neat.
	6. Killzone 3 I love Killzone 2 and it looks like Killzone 3 is just going to be even better. I can't wait.
	7. Rage This looks like a more dark Boderlands, and that is all I need to know.
	8. LittleBigPlanet 2 This is the first big PS3 exclusive game that will be coming out this year, and I cannot wait. I've seen some of the early reviews and it sounds promising. I will be holding out on this for a while, though, because I want there to be many user created levels when I end up getting it.
	9. Portal 2 I love Valve and Portal is one of my favorites from them, so this is a game I can't wait for.
	10. Bulletstorm This game is exactly what it sounds like. A storm of bullets... plus blood. Lots of blood.
	11. Metal Gear Solid: Rising I really hope this comes out this year. The E3 trailer looks amazing and I can't wait to chop up soldiers into 50 pieces, literally.
	12. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds The lineup of characters for this game sounds great, maybe a little dissapointing (Where is Barry Burton!?!?!?), but I still can't wait to beat up my friends in this.
	13. Mortal Kombat I'm not a big fighter genre fan, but I have always loved the Mortal Kombat series, and it looks like they took the gore and made it more.... gory.
	14. Resident Evil: Revelations Though this may not come out this year, and I might not even get a 3DS this year, I really am interested in this because I love RE, and it looks like they are actually going back to making it scary and dark. Also, I'm pretty sure that the enemies are zombies and not crazy infected Africans or Spanish people, which is a plus.
	15. Duke Nukem Forever Everyone who is anyone knows that Duke Nukem is here to just kick ass and chew bubblegum, and he is all out of gum. I love Duke.

Best gamea of 2010 List-o-rama!

2010 is over everybody, and there were many great games.
 
Here is my list.

	1. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood I love this game. I am yet to finish the campaign, but this is even a better game than the second, and there wasn't and Uncharted game in 2010, so this is my definite game of the year. Oh, and the multiplayer is great, too.
	2. Red Dead Redemption I went 7 months thinking this would be my game of the year, but Assassin's Creed came and took that thought and blew it's brains out, but that doesn't mean I don't love this game. I really love this game. The ending might be the best ending in any game I've ever played. The gameplay is some of R*'s finest, and Undead Nightmare is one of the best DLC's ever. It's what I've always wanted, and open world zombie game, and it's made by the best open world game studio that I know of. Great game.
	3. Mass Effect 2 I hated the first Mass Effect, but this game is amazing. This game's storytelling, the mainstreamed gameplay, and the amazing set of characters make it one of the best of the year. I can't wait to see what happens in the third.
	4. Fallout: New Vegas Despite its many flaws and bugs, I still think it is better than Fallout 3, and that game is amazing.
	5. Rock Band 3 The Power of Love.
	6. Super Meat Boy I fucking hate and fucking love this game at the same time. Mostly love, though.
	7. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 One of my favorite FPS's in the last few years. The campaign is lengthy and funny, and the multiplayer has such a large scale, and has possibly the best sniping in any game I've played, and I love sniping.
	8. Call of Duty: Black Ops The multiplayer is great like always, and the singleplayer may be my favorite of the series. Oh, and zombies is back. Dead Ops is fantastic,too.
	9. NHL 11 A sports game in my top ten. I didn't expect it, but I love this game, the gameplay is just so perfect and..... I want to play more right now.
	10. Heavy Rain The gameplay isn't perfect, and it can be a bit slow at times, but the story just grabbed me, tied me to a chair, didn't let me go until I finished it, and god, it has a really crazy twist.