video games

My 2018 Game of the Year is…

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What criteria do you use when determining your Game of the Year? Is it the game you played the most? The game with the best story? The game you spent hundreds of hours mastering every nuance of? For me, many factors are at play, including those just mentioned. But the one defining thread between all of them is the sense of lingering impact they gave me in the moment and beyond. In many cases, those games still have an active presence in my mind and heart and aren’t going away.

Mass Effect 2 might have had to share the spotlight with Super Street Fighter IV in 2010 when I used semantics to try and give both the nod in their own way, but I still remember the former fondly as being one of the single greatest adventures I ever embarked on in a game, while the latter was a phenomenal fighter that served as a turning point for my fighting game career. Skyrim was the consensus pick in 2011, but I don’t regret honouring Catherine instead. The latter still holds a special place in my heart for its novel gameplay and a mature story about infidelity; a subject almost never covered in games. Overwatch is a fantastic shooter that has made a resurgence in my life in recent months, but in 2016, Pokemon Go was the easy Game of the Year choice for me based on how much the game shifted my in-game and real life. I don’t write about the game much now, but I still play Pokemon Go every day with a fervour to catch ’em all.

In 2018, there were a number of games that excelled in many different ways. But when I think about this one particular title, it ultimately stood above the pack for the profound impression it left on me. Long after playing it, I still think about the joy I felt in the moment, as well as the message it conveyed through its experience. My Game of the Year in 2018 is…

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Boss Rush: Episode 12 – 2018 Game of the Year Spectacular!

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And the winner is…! Mat, Jon, Kris, Rachel, Jason, and I share our game of the year picks! We also talk about the games we’ve been playing, which include Gris, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Cattails, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider! Also, the pairs of siblings battle it out for the Boss Rush tag team titles in a hilarious game that tests their respective bonds to one another!

As a bonus, here’s Jason’s full video with his Game of the Year pick, honourable mentions, and his pick for 2018 game of 2019!

Kris & Rachel – www.doublexjump.com
Mat – www.biffbampop.com
Jon – @hotfiya
Jason – www.downstab.com

DropMix Review

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Always at the forefront of music and rhythm games, Harmonix teams up with Hasbro for DropMix. This innovative card game aims to give you unprecedented control over music, allowing you to mix-and-match bits of different songs in order to create intricate mashups and mixes without any prerequisite skill in music. Beyond its free-form mixing mode, DropMix comes equipped with multiple game modes that provide structure to the experience.

Does its music-mixing tech work as advertised? Do its modes of play add value to the experience? And should you take the plunge for DropMix and its expansions?

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Church of San Juan

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Lara and Jonah find themselves deep underground as Shadow of the Tomb Raider takes a religious turn. I really should have paid more attention to the pamphlet or paid more attention in church to solve these Jesus-related puzzles!

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Prison Break

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Lara’s friend Unuratu needs a hand getting out of captivity. Let’s save her! Also, the fight only gets crazier – and more personal – in this Shadow of the Tomb Raider stream!

Want to watch me live? Follow me @ twitch.tv/inthirdperson!

Buy Shadow of the Tomb Raider Now From Amazon.com

Games I’m Excited For in 2019

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Another exciting year of gaming lies ahead! With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One at a mature point in their lifespan, and rumors of their successors looming, this could be the last hurrah for our current gen hardware. Also, with the Nintendo Switch just having gotten Pokemon and Super Smash Bros., where does the platform go from here?

Lots of questions to be answered in the days to come. For now though, here’s a handful of games that I’m looking forward to playing this year!

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider – The Box of Ix Chel

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In this Shadow of the Tomb Raider let’s play, Lara delves deep into the Hidden City in order to get the Box of Ix Chel. But is she able to get there first before Trinity?! Also, join me and my viewers as we talk about the Tomb Raider franchise as a whole, Pokemon Go, the Far Cry series, and more!

Want to watch me live? Subscribe on Twitch @inthirdperson!

Buy Shadow of the Tomb Raider Now From Amazon.com

Celeste – “Resurrections” Cover by Katherine Cordova

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Part of what make’s the Celeste experience so special is its music. Blending 8-bit chip tune sounds and melodies with acoustic instruments and complex composition makes for a soundtrack that is lush, beautiful, and evocative, all while perfectly setting the tone for the action.

My favourite song of the bunch is “Resurrections”, the track played during the 2nd level of the game. Its melancholy vibe that builds into a panic is one I haven’t stopped listening to long after I set the game aside. The song is particularly effective at being my soundtrack to the moments where I find myself “in my feelings“, as Drake would say. In fact, it’s quickly skyrocketed towards the top of my all-time favourite video game songs list, and may someday reside at the very top. [Note to self, make an all-time favourite video game songs list]

Recently, I discovered this cover of the song performed by Katherine Cordova. Stripping away the synthesizers and downbeat drums, she performs the song with just the piano and still makes it feel just as haunting as the original. I can’t stop listening to this, so I thought I’d share!

Buy the Celeste Soundtrack Now From Amazon.com

10 Years of In Third Person: 25 More Things About Me as a Gamer

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10 years ago, I introduced myself through a list of 25 Things About Me as a Gamer. As of today, with over 2,000 posts in the chamber, you probably already know way more about me as a gamer than you care to take in. But if you’re just tuning in, or if you want a Coles notes update to how I’ve grown since I wrote the first list, here you go!

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Celebrating 10 Years of In Third Person

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In 2009, I created this blog. Though it has – and always will be – a place for me to vent my personal thoughts and feelings about video games, board games, and other nerdy pursuits, I never saw it coming to this point. From running for a decade, to expanding to video and streaming, to having my content reach as many people as it has the world over, to making a number of new friends along the way, it’s been quite the adventure.

This is the 10-year anniversary of the site, so let’s celebrate! Throughout the year, I’ll be reflecting on the decade that was, providing updates to past topics and speculating on the future of the site. Starting tomorrow, I’ll have the long awaited sequel to 25 Things About Me as a Gamer, though with over 2,000 posts about gaming here, it might be stuff you already know. Nevertheless, come back for that and more as we celebrate a decade of In Third Person!

Before I go, a few shout outs to special people who have helped out throughout this journey.

My wife Steff – Thank you for being there for me during all of this. You’ve always supported me being involved with my hobbies and I hope I can be as supportive and helpful to you in your hobbies!

Randy – Thank you for being my brother and lifelong gaming buddy. Besides a lifetime of gaming memories, I always appreciate your appearances on my stream and I’ll always appreciate you carrying the night shift during the Extra Life 2018 marathon!

Jason – We met through our respective blogs years ago and have become friends and podcast partners ever since. You’ve always been great to talk to about games, and I really should have hopped on the Overwatch bandwagon with you years ago. Meeting you and Laura in Vegas will always be a highlight, and maybe someday we’ll meet up again IRL! Also, congrats to you and Laura on your engagement!

Mat– Lost touch after college, but reunited to start the Recurring Bosscast with Jason and I a few years ago. Now on Boss Rush, it’s always awesome talking with you about games, and we really should get us, Liza, Jon, and Steff together again for a board game night! Working on an online Codenames night for us all, but let’s get an in-person get-together in the calendar soon! Bark!

JJ – We met through Splitkick, but our friendship goes well beyond video games at this point. Thank you for being a great friend and I look forward to the day when you’re ready to make your triumphant return to Boss Rush! And if you choose not to, we’ll keep chatting on other avenues as we always do.

Jon – RBD original. I probably should have brought you in during the Recurring Bosscast days, but it’s awesome to have you now as part of the Boss Rush crew! Thank you for being a part of the Extra Life marathon and helping raise money for the kids. We’ll take down Mat & Jascha in NHL someday!

Kris & Rachel  – Though we only connected during the latter half of 2018, you’ve made a tremendously positive impact on my life ever since. Over the course of numerous written posts, live streams, mutually-beneficial tech support chats, Disney shaming, and other shenanigans on-and-off-the-record, it’s been awesome to see our friendship grow. Looking forward to seeing where we’ll go and what we’ll create in 2019! #teamkris #teamrachel #freeunclericky #moreofahat

The whole Splitkick crew: Jim, Todd, Adam, Aaron, Ben, David, Dan, and any one else I may have missed – thank you guys for bringing me into your fold. You made me feel like a part of the family. You edited my work with a great level of scrutiny, which pushed me to be the best version of myself. Thank you for the opportunity to start my own show with Jason and Mat. Jim and Todd, I still watch Short Attention Gamer every chance I get! Wishing everyone all the best!

Everyone that’s ever followed my work, regardless of platform – Thank you for your ongoing support! Truly appreciate you having enough of an interest in my work to follow along. I understand it can be really hard to follow at times when I binge on making content for just one fighting game for six months, or when I decide to only write about board games for two years, so it means a lot knowing that you’re there with me through it all.

Anyone who has ever given my content a chance – Thank you for giving me a shot!

Cheers to everyone for a decade of In Third Person. Let’s make the next decade even better!