2023 In Review - Movies

Along with TV shows, this year was a pretty good year for me with movies. I have a lifetime of all-time classics that I've never seen, and I managed to cross a few of those movies off my list this year. Here's every movie that I (can remember that I) watched in 2023, ranked!

#1 - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

I waited a while to watch this movie, making sure I found just the right time and place, and the payoff was tremendous. Chris Pine was exactly the right stereotypical snarky party leader that you find in all the best D&D groups, and each other character fit their role to a T. The villains were dastardly, the side characters were fun, the action was tense, and the story made sense. My one note would be that in the Dungeons & Dragons movie, I would've liked the dragon to be a little more terrifying, but that's a small note. I loved, loved, loved this movie.

#2 - The Fifth Element

What the hell took me so long to watch this movie? It's sci-fi and Bruce Willis, what more could you want. The themes are great, the action is great, and the comedy is top-tier. But Mila Jovovich as Leeloo was easily the highlight of the film. So many memorable quotes, large and small, and with an insane combination of cuteness and sexiness. This was definitely one of the highlights of my classic catch-up efforts. "Moooolti-pass."

#3 - Dune

The first half of this movie was absolutely mesmerizing. The grand scale, the machinations of different great houses as they vie for power in this distant corner of space. Politics, intrigue, violence, Oscar Isaac, I loved it so much. The last hour or so was a little more focused on characters I was less interested in, and a story that was a little more spiritual, and didn't really resonate the same. But overall, still a tremendous movie.

#4 - The Nice Guys

I saw a clip from this movie a dozen times on Netflix before I finally watched it, and I loved the clip every single time. I don't know why it takes me so long to decide to watch movies. Just a time commitment thing I guess. Anyways, this movie was a lot of fun! Russell Crowe is fantastic, and Ryan Gosling complements him perfectly (although he gets added to the long list of actors who can't really portray a drunk person). The end of the movie got freaking insane, and lost me a bit, but the characters were great, and I would definitely recommend this film to anyone.

#5 - Blade Runner 2049

I imagine I had a pretty rare experience with these two movies, watching 2049 just a few months after watching the original Blade Runner for the first time. You can really see the differences in picture quality, but they do a good job of recapturing the essence of the original film. I hemmed and hawed between these two films; I liked them both, but I think the supporting cast and story are stronger in 2049, so this one gets the nod above the original."

#6 - Blade Runner

Seriously, this was the first time I ever saw Blade Runner. There are a few all-time classics that I still haven't seen, but we can chalk this one off the list. I liked it a lot, but I think even more than the actual movie, I absolutely loved the idea of the movie. The setting, the concepts, the moral questions, it was all just awesome to think about. The actual journey of Decker as he tracks down replicants was great as well, though I thought the antagonist was a little more murdery than he needed to be; I like when a villain pushes you to question, are they really a villain?

#7 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

SPOILER ALERT. I can't really talk about my feelings about this movie without giving some mild spoilers. I loved the time they spent on Spider-Gwen, though Miles' story didn't really grab me the same way. Far too much of the movie was spent on an extended chase scene that led into the final scene. That final scene was fantastic, and I was super excited by the cliffhanger...right up until I realized it was a cliffhanger. It's disappointing to watch a fun movie and find out you were only watching half of a fun movie.

#8 - Violent Night

This movie was sold to me as ""Die Hard with Santa."" That is a fully correct description of the movie. It's got a full complement of over-the-top action lines and ridiculous holiday-themed fights, and David Harbour does a fantastic job portraying jolly old Saint Nicholas. John Leguizamo as a villain was a little too silly for me, which says something when it's a movie with Santa literally fighting kidnappers. But it was fun, entertaining, and self-aware.

#9 - Bullet Train

Bullet Train was an odd little movie. I enjoyed the brother assassins, and their creative use of Thomas the Tank Engine as a way to classify people. And Brad Pitt's semi-hapless character was a fun protagonist. The final 'bad guy' was a little too over the top (which is saying a lot, coming from me), but the many confrontations on the train itself were interesting, and the action was good. Overall a fun time.

#10 - Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3

It was a perfectly fine movie. It had a lot of solid jokes, good action, and decent music (though a cut below the previous two iterations in all of those regards). But the biggest problem I had with this movie was that it felt soooo heavy-handed with the emotional beats. After the fifth fake-out almost death, you begin to feel kind of manipulated. And Adam Warlock was a wholly unnecessary character, despite it being a fine performance.

#11 - Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Jonathan Majors absolutely owned this movie, and it's a shame (but completely understandable) that his off-screen behavior is going to prevent him from being in any future Marvel properties. I liked the zany quantum realm characters, though I feel like the movie suffered a bit from spreading its story too thin. The Wasp could've been completely removed from this movie and you wouldn't notice a difference. Hopefully future Ant-Man stories zoom back in on the fun characters and smaller scale stories that made the first movie one of my favorite superhero films.

#12 - John Wick

I finally caught John Wick on a random Thursday night this year (it might not have been a Thursday, it was you know, a metaphor or whatever, a 'royal' Thursday). The movie was about what I expected: big time violent, tons of guns, a whole mess of bad guys getting their just desserts. I don't know that it hit me the way that it seemed to hit a lot of other people, though. Taken was much more of a revelation for me when it comes to hyper-violent action movies. But hey, maybe the John Wick sequels will be less of a disaster than the Taken sequels were.

#13 - Starship Troopers

This felt like two different movies. Half of it was a cheesy, over-the-top action movie, with appropriate surprise deaths and swarming monsters. The other half was a scathing indictment of blind patriotism and government/military overreach. I did really enjoy having to wrestle with the uncomfortable dynamic of fighting a ruthless enemy, and how the protagonists used unspeakable tactics to fight them. It really leans on that idea that there's no such thing as an honorable war. It's just war.

#14 - Terminal

This is a tough movie to rank. Margot Robbie does a phenomenal job portraying her character, an ambitious femme fatale assassin, and Simon Pegg is brilliant as well, playing a man with a mysterious terminal illness. The other characters are decent; Mike Myers as a weirdo janitor is kind of charming. I really enjoyed so so much of the movie, but the ending was just all over the place. It was going for something dramatic and shocking, and I guess it was both of those things, but personally it just kind of landed with a thud. But damn, can Margot Robbie act.

#15 - The Thing

Nick has been pestering me to watch this movie for decades (he hasn't been pestering me, he just mentioned it a few times), so this year I finally gave it a go. The special effects are...well, you don't have to worry about being freaked out about a realistic looking monster. But the story itself was good, the acting was good, and the tension is very real. I wouldn't put it on the same level as Alien, Jaws, or Jurassic Park, but it's a solid thriller.

#16 - Jurassic World: Dominion

Look, nobody is going to confuse Dominion for the original Jurassic Park. Honestly, none of the sequels come close to the original, and that's okay. This one continued to stretch the bounds of incredulity, but it did so with a full embrace of nostalgia, bringing back a bunch of the original cast. And the movie knew what it was. It only took itself as seriously as was reasonable, and embraced its role as a kooky adventure movie for longtime Jurassic Park fans. It wasn't anything special or amazing, but it was a good little capstone to the Jurassic Park experience.

#17 - Nobody

I wasn't sure that Bob Odenkirk was leading man material until I saw Better Call Saul, but he was fucking tremendous in that show, which to me was even better than Breaking Bad. I know that's sacreligious to say, but a guy gets to have opinions. This movie was no Better Call Saul, though it had some fun action, good gags, and the guys you wanted to die for the most part did die. In a year where I watched John Wick for the first time, this one falls a few slots behind that, but it was still good.

#18 - The Marvels

I went into this movie hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. It had some problems, and I still don't know if they know how to write for Captain Marvel, but there were a lot of fun moments, the action was pretty good, and I left the theater feeling pleased at the experience overall. That's not a sure thing these days with Marvel, so I'll take it.

#19 - Dragonslayer

I was expecting the movie to be a lot cheesier than it was, but it was actually fairly mature and thoughtful. It's got some great dramatic dialogue, which is always a plus in my book, and while a lot of the dragon effects were very dated, the movie didn't rely so much on the actual dragon; much more of it was focused on the *threat* of the dragon, the anticipation, the expectation. The protagonist was kind of a whiny little shit, so that docks it a few points, but it was a fun watch, a nice classic adventure movie.

#20 - Venom: Let There Be Carnage

From the first time I ever saw Venom as a kid, on TV or in a comic book or most likely as an action figure, he was just the coolest-looking character around. The first Tom Hardy Venom movie was a lot of fun; the symbiote looked cool, the internal monologue was a funny device, the fights were exciting, and the bad guy made sense. This one was a little bit more of a mess, both visually and narratively. I'll tell you what though: Michelle Williams in a Venom suit was an absolute win.

#21 - Super Mario Brothers: The Movie

This movie was...fine. It wasn't offensive, it wasn't poorly made, it wasn't poorly voiced. But I just could not bring myself to care about any character. The best moment in the whole movie was the opening battle between the penguin kingdom and Bowser's army.

#22 - Black Panther 2

This movie had maybe an impossible job. It was charged with saying goodbye to both T'Challa and Chadwick Boseman. It also had to follow up on one of the most lauded superhero movies of all time and elevate a new Black Panther, and do all of this in an environment that's becoming less and less patient for superhero movies. I think the movie sort of collapsed under the weight of itself, between all those responsibilities, and the various characters it tried to give space for. It was too long, too wide, and not deep enough.

#23 - The Host

One of the previews for this movie cited Jaws as an inspiration or comparison, and for those of you who know me, you know Jaws is one of my favorite all-time movies. This movie...is not Jaws. It's a fine enough monster movie, with some surprises and thrills. Nothing special, though, not worth a recommendation.

#24 - 21

I started this movie sometime in like 2015, back when I liked gambling and had illusions of figuring out ways to 'beat the system.' It didn't grab me at all back then, but eventually I saw it on Netflix and gave it another go. And...well, it didn't really grab me this time either, but I did finally watch it. I found I didn't really sympathize with the protagonist, which made me not really invested in his plight. And Kevin Spacey's character is just kind of a butt. Cross it off the list though.

2023 In Review - TV Shows

This past year was also a big-time year when it comes to finally watching some of those long-recommended TV shows and movies you've all been incredulous to find out I haven't watched (stay tuned for the movies post later this week). I finally watched a bunch of shows I've been "meaning to get around to," in addition to my inevitable rewatches of longtime favorites like Justified and The Office. I've got a bunch more shows still to watch, and if I were smart, I'd start a draft of a post like this now, so I don't have to scramble at the end of the year and try to remember what I watched.

If I were smart, that's exactly what I'd do. Anyways, here we go!

#1 - The Sandman - Season 1

This show was one I've meant to watch forever, but I finally got the motivation to get into it because of a co-watcher. And I owe that person my deepest gratitude; what was I waiting for? The show has the proper balance between macabre, playful, and absurd. Season 2 is expected sometime in 2024, and when it drops, I can promise you I won't be waiting a full year to watch it this time.

#2 - Bonding - Season 1

Funny, quirky, and heartfelt. The episodes are very short, so if you're not careful, you'll watch the whole thing in one sitting. Which is great, it's fun, but you'll be sad it's over.

#3 - The Mandalorian - Season 3

I actually loved this season of the Mandalorian. There were some kinks (not those kind, pervert), specifically with some of the dialogue, but overall I found it really entertaining. And I gotta say, I'm a Bo-Katan stan. Am I using that word correctly? Stan? I'm not as into Grogu as the rest of...well, everyone, but the Star Wars bounty hunting and Mandalorian aspect of things check all the boxes for me. The finale was a lot of fun, big action, and without spoiling details, I was delighted to see two big name story pieces get put away once and for all.

#4 - Cowboy Bebop (live action)

I remember when this show came out, and I remember how the internet reacted with such vitriol and judgment, about how the show was different from the original anime in one way or another. I watched the first few episodes of the original series, and while I enjoyed it well enough, I wasn't drawn in. But for me, the live action version has just the right balance of hilarious ridiculousness and more mature themes. And the character of Faye Valentine in the live action version is just absolutely perfect. It's a shame that all those internet people got the show cut down in its prime.

#5 - Brooklyn 99 - Seasons 1-5

This is another show that falls into that category of, "I really should've known that I would love this show." I enjoy workplace comedies, I like law enforcement as a framework, and I absolutely love the cast of this show (RIP Andre Braugher). Unsurprisingly, I've really enjoyed what I've watched so far, and I'm looking forward to closing out the show in the near future.

#6 - The Bear - Seasons 1-2

I love a cooking show, and this is that, a little bit. But it's more so a show about work, about anxiety, about grief, about relationships, about struggle. It's a heavy, deep show, and also a cooking show here and there. It struck a great balance between humor and stress, it felt very real in that regard. Even when life is awful, it's funny sometimes.

#7 - Invincible - Season 2, Part 1

This was a really solid four episodes of television. It's been a while since the first season of Invincible, and it was great to see the show return, and pick up right where things left off at the end of season 1. I found Rex Splode a little more tedious this time around, but hopefully that was just a fleeting thing; the rest of the returning characters still have me engaged. I'm not wild about the split season deal, but these days you take what you get, I guess.

#8 - Rick & Morty Season 1

I've been told for years that I would like Rick & Morty, that it's got a particular sort of humor that fits my own. And one season in, I heartily agree. There are a few heavy-handed jokes here and there, but for the most part it's a lot of conversational, situational humor, and that's my wheelhouse.

#9 - Loki - Season 2

Through five episodes, this would've been towards the bottom of the list of shows I watched in 2023. It felt directionless and tedious, and it felt like they really wasted the character of Sylvie after making her relationship with Loki such a beautiful part of the first season. But that finale, holy shit. It's as if they took all the good stuff from the season and jammed it into one episode. That one episode alone brings the whole show up several notches.

#10 - Battlestar Galactica - Season 1-2

A show I've meant to watch for years, decades even, I finally started it this year. Of course, I started it just two weeks before it got removed from Peacock, but what I watched during that time was quite good. I don't find the characters as endearing as those on most Star Trek shows, but I believe that's partly intentional; this gritty environment fosters people with sour attitudes and adaptive morals. There's no Captain America in this crew.

#11 - Jury Duty - Season 1

This was a really fun show. The premise was really funny, a faux reality show with a totally fabricated court case, and only one person who wasn't in on it. And they executed it well, created a bunch of really fun scenarios, and the guinea pig ended up being a really sweet guy who unwittingly played his role perfectly.

#12 - Ahsoka - Season 1

Ahsoka was an interesting television-watching experience for me. I came into the show very worried that, having not watched Clone Wars or Rebels, I was going to be in the dark about important story beats. Then I watched the first two episodes, and I was literally blown away. It was a Jedi detective show, with space ships and lightsaber battles, and holy mother of Luke, I was sold. And thennn, the story moved towards Sabine's efforts to find Ezra, a Rebels character who meant literally nothing to me, and the threat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, another character I had almost no prior knowledge about. The references to Clone Wars and Rebels continued, and I did my best to follow along using context clues, but by the end of the show, I was a little disillusioned. I did like Thrawn a lot though; I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.

#13 - Bodies

There are a lot of pieces to like in this show. The acting is top notch, and there's one storyline that really sings. The rest are okay, but the show incorporates time travel, and even in shows and movies I like, I get twisted up about time travel shenanigans. Because of course, it never truly makes sense. Still, there's enough I enjoyed about the show that I would still recommend it.

#14 - Secret Invasion

I don't think I'm alone in having had high hopes for this show. I've come around to Winter Soldier over the years, so the idea of Marvel doing a spy show had some real exciting potential. The current characters were great, and the incoming cast was super strong, several fresh faces with some serious acting chops. And then the show was...blah. It was boring, heavy-handed, sloppy, and just not that much fun, which is almost unthinkable for a Marvel property. The few good Olivia Coleman moments were overshadowed by a frustratingly simple antagonist, clunky dialogue, and some inexplicable narrative choices.

#15 - Justified: City Primeval

What a colossal disappointment. Justified is one of my favorite shows of all time, but this spinoff was a total letdown. You get a few Raylan moments, but overall it just does not capture any of the magic of the original, owing in large part to a poorly constructed main villain. It's crazy that Boyd Holbrook is the primary antagonist in the bookends of my list; his character was fantastic in the Sandman, and an absolute drag in City Primeval.

2023 In Review - Video Games

So as many of you know, I play games at my own pace. That usually means that A) I acquire games and don't play them, and B) I neither acquire nor play big time releases until they've been out for a while. This year was an exception in both regards, to an extent. I didn't acquire nearly as many games as I have in the past, and those I did acquire, I was more likely to play. And, I ended up picking up three different games right around their full release date: Diablo IV, Baldur's Gate 3, and Starfield.

I also spent more time on my Steam Deck this year, trying out some of the many random games I've accumulated through my love of a gaming bundle. In the end, my best guess is that I played 20 new games in 2023. What did I think of these games?

Well, let's rank them and find out!

#1 - Baldur's Gate 3

I've played a ton of role-playing games over the years. I've played hundreds of hours of D&D over the years as well. Baldur's Gate 3 arguably does both of those experiences as well as anybody could hope. Decades after playing games like Curse of the Azure Bonds and Dark Sun: Shattered Lands (both legends in their own rights), BG3 captures that same beautiful combination of exploration, adventure, growth, and challenge. This was deservedly my most played game in 2023, and I expect it'll be right up there in 2024 as well. Now, who wants to play coop?

#2 - Raft

Raft is an interesting game. I really enjoy a lot of the experience; there's a certain satisfaction from collecting goods, putting them to work, researching new technology to do a more effective job at collecting goods, and so on and so on with that cycle. But I'm not totally sure that the gaming experience is like, meaningful. Still, it's a low-stress way to hang out with friends, and that's worth something on its own, even if I'm being tricked into chasing dopamine bursts every time I kill a pufferfish.

#3 - Risk of Rain 2

I'm only like 90% sure that I started playing this game in 2023, but I've decided to include it regardless. I was a huge fan of the first Risk of Rain game, played the hell out of it, never got amazing but still enjoyed it from start to finish. It was always good for a quick cooperative multiplayer game too, the sort of thing you could jump in and out of on a whim. RoR 2 goes from 2D to 3D, but actually does a good job of keeping the same essence of the original game, which is no small task. The last fight is a little more chaotic, and a bit less forgiving, but it's still very fun. And I dare say the different characters feel more unique and interesting for the most part. An excellent follow-up to an excellent original.

#4 - Diablo IV

The story in Diablo IV was absolutely tremendous. I haven't finished it yet, but everything about Lilith is compelling, much more so than the primary villains in previous games. And Diablo IV felt truly fresh, whereas Diablo III felt awfully similar to Diablo II. And bonus points to Blizzard for avoiding a disastrous repeat of Diablo III's launch.

#5 - Starfield

I was so hyped for this game that I blogged for the first time in like, years. I wanted so desperately to have a whole Mandalorian/Firefly type experience, and I convinced myself with the pre-release materials that that was what I was going to get. But it wasn't that at all. We got the same mild-mannered NPCs that previous Bethesda games have offered, space travel is essentially just fast travel, and space combat feels incredibly clunky. Plus I can't even figure out how to become a megacorporation. I enjoy the non-ship combat, and I'm open to finding expansions and mods that improve the experience, but so far it's been a big disappointment.

#6 - Alien: Isolation

Still early in my gameplay, but so far the game has a lot of potential. I'm not usually one for horror-style games, but I'm a sucker for established IP, and famous monsters draw me in even more. I can only rate this on what I've played so far though, which has been pretty simple and straightforward.

#7 - 80s Overdrive

There are a lot of pixel-graphic games out there that lean on old tropes and established nostalgia, but this one hit me just the right way at just the right time. The gameplay is fun, the music is great, and progression feels earned. One of the most pleasant surprises among my many "I'll try this random game on the Steam Deck" choices from 2023.

#8 - Moonlighter

I grew up on Recettear. I've played and replayed Recettear (and am currently doing so again). You, Moonlighter, are no Recettear. It's actually still pretty fun, but adding meticulous inventory management to the hybrid adventurer/shopkeeper base is not an improvement.

#9 - Red Dead Redemption

I bought the original RDR something like 10 years ago. I got a whole Game of the Year edition, including something called Undead Nightmare, which I have yet to play. But I played the base game a bit, and it definitely has the feel of GTA in the wild west, which is what they were going for, no doubt. The game didn't feel particularly dated, which was a plus for a ten year old AAA game. But I didn't feel drawn in by the story, and the few sandbox opportunities I came across didn't suck me in either. I may go back to it at some point, but I got RDR 2 for Christmas; I'm much more interested in the broader, newer, fancier option.

#10 - Suriving the Aftermath

I played this game exactly one time in 2023, for 2-3 hours. Chip and I both acquired the game for free from Epic, and we were both feeling kind of low energy, so we decided to play solo games independently. It was pretty relaxing, mildly interesting. I could see playing it some more, but the fact that I haven't played it since that night might be telling.

#11 - Out There Somewhere

This is a quirky little game, and it was very hard to rank. At its core, it's got the guts of something cool: limited but interesting mechanics, with the potential for a lot of different ways to deploy them. But the game was so short that it was a bit of a letdown to finish it. If a sequel comes out, one that promises to expand on the premise and have a more robust and extensive experience, I'd be interested.

#12 - Dead Island 2

I can't tell if the game is kind of boring, or if I'm just supremely bad at it. There is, of course, the potential that both are true. I'm hopeful to get a chance to try out the cooperative mode this year, maybe that'll add some fun to the experience.

#13 - Splendor

This is simply the video game version of a board game I enjoy. It's an effective representation of the board game, and it translates pretty well to the digital medium.

#14 - Little Racers STREET

Little Racers STREET is essentially a modern twist on RC Pro-Am, the old Nintendo game, but it's got none of the charm. It's perfectly fine, but I found it very forgettable.

#15 - Turbo Golf Racing

I only played the tutorial and a couple of single-player levels. It seems like it could be a fun game to play with other people, but that opportunity hasn't presented itself as of yet. So for now, it's just kind of a weird little driving game that I'm pretty bad at.

#16 - Marvel's Avengers

I've been interested in this game since it came out, so when it dipped to $5 this year, it was an easy pickup. But a long tutorial and ungodly load times kept me from spending much time actually playing the game. I might play it again sometime, but the motivation isn't there.

#17 - The Political Machine 2016

I played a couple games of this, and I feel like I got everything I was going to get out of it. It was fun enough for a quick dip, but I was hoping for a little more of a simulation experience, and not quite so much of a board game experience.

#18 - I, Zombie

It's an interesting little puzzle game, but as the difficulty increases, it becomes less rewarding and just more frustrating. I'd compare it to herding cats professionally.

#19 - Hero of the Kingdom

I can't say for sure that it's a game. So far, it seems to be basically just follow the directions and click where you're instructed to click. I didn't get terribly far in the game, and I don't expect to.

#20 - Ultionus: A Tale of Petty Revenge

You remember how there were some old NES games where you walked pretty slowly, and jumped pretty slowly, and just everything went really slowly? This game is kind of like that. I'm sure that people who've gotten good at the game find it more compelling, but the gameplay was just a non-starter for me.

Four Things I Hope I Experience In Starfield

(This post was started in August; I lost direction for a while, and obviously we've got some new information, a la the actual gameplay, but I wanted to get this finished and posted. Who knows, maybe I'll do a follow-up and we'll investigate how well Starfield measured up to my hopes!)

The year 2023 might go down as one of the most hype-saturated years in recent memory. As I've mentioned several times to my gaming friends of late, I hardly ever pre-order games, or pick up games at release. But so far this year I've already pre-ordered Diablo IV, and then purchased Baldur's Gate 3 right as it left early access (verdict so far: Diablo IV was okay, Baldur's Gate 3 was tremendous). And while I don't own a Nintendo Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was a massive release as well.

But arguably the most hyped title is still yet to drop: Starfield. Starfield is the newest release by Bethesda Game Studios, the company that brought us The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, a game that's featured prominently on any list of "Best Games of All Time" that you can find. I've got 320+ hours of time in Skyrim, and honestly, it could've been a lot higher if I didn't get so overwhelmed with mod options while trying to turn the game dirty.

Unlike the medieval fantasy setting of Skyrim however, Starfield takes place among the stars. Instead of imagining ways to incorporate Tryndamere from League of Legends into my Skyrim game (mission accomplished, by the way), Starfield invites inspirations from the great science fiction media of the past fifty years: Star Wars, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, Halo, and on and on. And the features that are purported to be available in Starfield sure *sound* like they're going to be an incredible amount of fun.

All of this hype, all the discussion, and the ideas I've had over the past few years of watching sci-fi TV shows and movies, it's got me super excited for this game to come out. And there are a few specific experiences I'm hoping to have as I play through Starfield. Let's chat about them!

I Hope I Fall In Love with My Ship

One of the tropes of any good space adventure is that somebody is gonna fall in love with their ship. They'll talk to the ship as if it's a person, coaxing the ship through tough times, pleading for help, "just one more time and I'll never take you for granted again." While I don't expect to anthropomorphize my ship in this game necessarily, I want to get emotionally attached to my ship.

Whether it's Han Solo whispering encouragement to the Millennium Falcon or Captain Jack Sparrow's refusal to acknowledge Barbossa's command of the Black Pearl, some vessels become more than just a useful tool to transport people and cargo from A to B. They become indelible parts of the fabric of an adventure, and a window into the way their captains treat the people they love. Han is willing to let the Falcon be put in harm's way, as long as someone (usually himself, occasionally Lando) is looking out for her.

So what do we have to look forward to in Starfield? Well, the customization options look to be extensive, with more than a dozen components and considerations, each of them impacting not only the look of the vessel, but how it functions in the world. Early indications are that ship customization is something that becomes more prominent deeper in the game, after you've accumulated some wealth. Does this mean that we'll have tens or maybe even hundreds of hours to get attached to an early model of our ship, to the point that we become reluctant to make wholesale changes? As anyone can attest who watched me stream Grand Theft Auto and stick with my black and orange armored delivery van despite acquiring tanks, hoverbikes, and rocket cars, I goddamn hope so.

I Hope I Run Away, and Have Fun Doing It

The second of two ship-based hopes for this game, this one is less about the emotional beats related to a long-term relationship with my ship, and more about the strategy of staying alive. I've been playing a lot of Baldur's Gate 3 recently, and while I'm loving it to the depths of my soul, there's one thing that adventure and role-playing games very rarely are able to capture: choosing to escape. There are plenty of situations in Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and Assassin's Creed games where you encounter a set piece whose solution is to run away. But it's extremely rare to find a game that truly encourages you to see discretion as the better part of valor.

But this deprives players of unique and cinematic opportunities like those we've seen in popular culture. The aforementioned Millennium Falcon made its hay by running away from Imperial pursuers on multiple occasions. Thor:Ragnarok sees Heimdall working to help Asgard's people escape Hela's clutches, rather than facing off against her in what would no doubt be an epic clash. The entirety of Jurassic Park is built on seeing something you can't beat in a fight and getting the hell out of there.

I want to find myself confronted with impossible battles, ones that I have to work hard to escape. I absolutely love Skyrim. But there's very little nuance in trying to avoid a dragon or other dicey encounter. You basically run in one direction as fast as you can, pop potions when you need, and hope you're fast enough to make them lose interest. Space combat in Starfield looks far more complex. I'm hoping that, with speed and maneuverability being key factors in building your ship, evasive action becomes something meaningful in the gameplay. I look forward to deciding to high-tail it, and live to see another day.

I Hope I Feel Compelled to Do Bad Things

Listen, deep space is no place for the faint of heart. And it's also a place that you would expect to attract the most morally bankrupt sorts of folks you can imagine.

I spend most of my gaming time acting appropriately, heroically. My Baldur's Gate 3 experience so far has been about what you would expect: protecting refugees, standing up to bullies, rescuing damsels. Basically, if Captain America had a tiefling fantasy counterpart, that's who I'm playing in BG3. And that's a ton of fun!

But sometimes, you just wanna be the worst. You want to rebel against the system, you want to find angles to exploit, you want to maybe, maybe lose your temper and blast somebody who's giving you a hard time.

In Elder Scrolls games, this sort of behavior became problematic. You'd get caught doing a little crime in one town, and you'd incur a massive bounty. So your option became to either pay the outrageous penalty, serve some jail time, or reload your game because you lose your temper and resist arrest and murder the whole goddamn town...

...ahem.

I would like to see this game do a better job of accommodating moderate criminality. The far reaches of the galaxy should be places where a bit of bad behavior can get lost in the deep emptiness of space. Planet-specific bounties would be a small part of that, sure, but I'd like to see something more robust than just a segmenting of accountability. I'd also like to see a broader set of options for bad behavior. Smuggling, fraud, digital theft, give me some new age crimes for this intergalactic adventure!

I Hope I Lose A Companion, and It Fucking Hurts

My standard modus operandi in games like these is to leave any companions at home, "saving" them for a moment of dire need. But I never really get to the "dire need" moment, and in the end I just have some followers who never see the light of day. Is this a flaw in my own personal gameplay habits, a result of my aversion to expending resources, and a fairly common happenstance among gamers, who I know match my tendency to hoard and hold and end the game with twelve hundred potions? Yes, I'm sure it is.

But that doesn't mean it's all my fault!

I'd like to find the benefits of companions to be pronounced, both with combat and storytelling. I'd like the teamwork to be noticeable; let me and my companion become a well-oiled machine, a Cap and Bucky (or, if the aforementioned criminality works out, Joker and Harley) for this new interstellar environment. I want to feel compelled to bring a companion along on my adventures.

And then I want them to die.

Now, I don't mean that I want to lose companions in meaningless situations where they keep walking over the same pit of acid because the AI pathing system is flawed (BALDUR'S GATE I'M LOOKING AT YOU). I want to be in a pitched battle where success is not guaranteed, and my companion goes out in a blaze of glory. And I want to care that that happened. I want companions to feel powerful, meaningful, and vulnerable. I want a fight to go sideways once in a while, and for that to occasionally (but not always) end up with someone not making it out alive.

I'm looking for very rare cinematic sacrifices to be a part of my gaming experience, but not just in cutscene situations. I want it to happen out in the world. Heck, if you want to give companions specific lines for their dying moments, I'll eat that shit up.

I'm hopeful that Starfield ends up being the sort of Mandalorian-type adventure game that I've been hungry for. I want to have a cool ship, assemble a dynamic crew, and find myself narrowly eluding death, occasionally to the detriment of that dynamic crew. We'll find out!

Top 500 Songs - Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick

Stevie Wonder is one of the greatest performers in American history. His musical library is tremendous, and has tunes that appeal to all sorts of audiences. I think this list is one that has probably fluctuated the most for me over the years, with Part-Time Lover, Superstition, and Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours all spending time in the #1 spot. After seeing High Fidelity twenty or thirty times though, there hasn't really been another contender for the top of the list.

I added USA for Africa and Dionne Warwick to this post because they were short list, and both of their lists were topped by songs featuring Stevie Wonder.

Stevie Wonder

1. I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)
2. Uptight (Everything's Alright)
3. Living for the City
4. Superstition
5. Part-Time Lover
6. I Wish
7. Sir Duke
8. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
9. Higher Ground
10. For Once in My Life
11. You Are the Sunshine of My Life
12. Isn't She Lovely
13. My Cherie Amour

USA for Africa

1. We Are the World

Dionne Warwick

1. That's What Friends Are For
2. Then Came You

Top 500 Songs - Allman Brothers Band, Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald

Long before I knew who the Allman Brothers Band was, one of their songs resonated deeply with me. Field of Dreams was one of a few movies that I remember distinctly from my childhood, and the song Jessica features prominently during a traveling period in the film. Then at some point in high school, I began to become more familiar with music in general, and learned about the band as a whole. Though none of their music ever surpassed Jessica, it turns out the Allman Brothers had put together quite the library of great tunes.

Let's ride!

Allman Brothers Band

1. Jessica
2. Midnight Rider
3. Melissa
4. Ramblin' Man
5. Whipping Post
6. Little Martha

Sometime in my early adulthood, I discovered a series of online videos called Yacht Rock (full series visible here on YouTube). That reignited my appreciation for the Doobie Brothers, a band I was aware of as a kid, but didn't really listen to.

A cool thing about the Doobie Brothers is that they had two distinct eras: one before Michael McDonald joined, and one after. The songs will be combined into a single list for our purposes, though. Combining all songs into one list is the whole point, after all. And we'll throw Michael McDonald's tunes in at the end of the list as well.

Doobie Brothers

1. What a Fool Believes
2. Minute by Minute
3. Long Train Runnin'
4. China Grove
5. It Keeps You Runnin'
6. Jesus Is Just Alright
7. Listen to the Music
8. Black Water
9. Takin' It to the Streets

Michael McDonald

1. Living for the City
2. I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)
3. Into the Mystic

Top 500 Songs - Aerosmith

Aerosmith is a band that I've liked for roughly a million years. There was a period in high school and college when liking them became uncool, coinciding with their Nine Lives album and their prominence on the Armageddon soundtrack, but the joke was on high school cool kids; Aerosmith found themselves redeemed with Dream On's featured spot in Miracle.

The reality, of course, is that Aerosmith just rocked the whole time.

Aerosmith

1. Dream On
2. Rag Doll
3. Last Child
4. Sweet Emotion
5. Draw the Line
6. Come Together
7. Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
8. Love in an Elevator
9. Train Kept A Rollin
10. Janie's Got a Gun
11. The Other Side
12. Livin' on the Edge
13. Eat the Rich
14. Cryin'
15. Amazing
16. Crazy
17. Pink
18. Full Circle
19. Taste of India
20. What It Takes
21. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
22. Fallen Angels
23. Same Old Song And Dance

Top 500 Songs - Pearl Jam/Soundgarden

Now then, where was I? Ah yes, top 500 songs. Today's lists are from Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, a couple of bands featured in my middle and high school years. Looking over Pearl Jam specifically, it's interesting to see how my tastes have evolved over the years. Early on, Better Man would've been one of my favorite Pearl Jam tunes, and now it only barely cracks the list.

Also, look at those titles for Pearl Jam's songs. They're all 1-2 words, except for that one mammoth title at the top.

Pearl Jam

1. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
2. Alive
3. Black
4. Animal
5. Daughter
6. Jeremy
7. Leash
8. Dissident
9. Even Flow
10. Corduroy
11. Better Man

Soundgarden

1. Fell On Black Days
2. My Wave
3. Spoonman
4. Burden In My Hand

Chris Cornell

1. Sunshower

Temple Of The Dog

1. Hunger Strike

Top 500 Songs - Dave Matthews Band

This was always going to be the hardest of my band lists, because I like so many of DMB's songs, and have liked them so differently over the years. But here goes, an effort at my "all-time favorite" Dave Matthews Band songs (as well as a bonus list of just Dave Matthews songs).

It was close, but we've got a new #1 song! This one has a strong chance of finishing the whole list as #1 overall. I also made some tweaks to the list, as I'll continue to do over time, I'm sure.

Dave Matthews Band

1. Bartender
2. Mercy
3. Ants Marching
4. Jimi Thing
5. Stay (Wasting Time)
6. Lie In Our Graves
7. All Along the Watchtower
8. Two Step
9. Minarets
10. Say Goodbye
11. #36
12. The Dreaming Tree
13. JTR
14. Grey Street
15. The Best of What's Around
16. #41
17. Crush
18. Don't Drink the Water
19. What Would You Say
20. Typical Situation
21. Warehouse
22. Pig
23. Seek Up
24. Rhyme & Reason
25. The Last Stop
26. Digging a Ditch
27. Pay for What You Get
28. Cry Freedom
29. Tripping Billies
30. Dancing Nancies
31. Proudest Monkey
32. So Right
33. Granny
34. Where Are You Going
35. Rapunzel
36. Drive In, Drive Out
37. Help Myself
38. Too Much
39. Stand Up (For It)
40. Recently
41. Let You Down
42. So Much to Say
43. I'll Back You Up
44. Halloween
45. Lover Lay Down

Dave Matthews (no band)

1. So Damn Lucky
2. Gravedigger

Top 500 Songs - Billy Ocean, Dire Straits, The Pointer Sisters

Sorry for such a long delay between posts, work has been kicking my nuts. Back to work!...like, the other work. This work. You know what I mean.


Billy Ocean

1. Caribbean Queen
2. Suddenly

Dire Straits

1. Money for Nothing
2. Brothers In Arms
3. Sultans of Swing
4. Down to the Waterline
5. Telegraph Road
6. Walk of Life

The Pointer Sisters

1. Neutron Dance
2. Fire
3. Jump
4. Slow Hand
5. I'm So Excited

Bonus Songs

1. Florence + The Machine - Shake It Out
2. Jefferson Starship - Jane
3. Breaking Benjamin - Blow Me Away
4. Firefall - Strange Way
5. Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, P!nk - Lady Marmalade
6. Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' With Disaster
7. The Black Keys - Your Touch

Top 500 Songs - Mike & The Mechanics, Mr. Mister, Starship, Tears For Fears, Wang Chung

I finally figured out a way to format the titles of these posts, only took like a month! Here's some lists for some 80s bands. And, one of them is a new overall #1 song!

All of these songs have been integrated, as well as the Journey songs from last time, so we're up to date.

Mike & The Mechanics

1. Silent Running
2. Living Years
3. All I Need Is A Miracle

Mr. Mister

1. Kyrie
2. Broken Wings

Starship

1. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
2. We Built This City
3. Sara

Tears For Fears

1. Break It Down Again
2. Shout
3. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
4. Elemental
5. Power

Wang Chung

1. Everybody Have Fun Tonight
2. Dance Hall Days

Bonus Songs

1. John Parr - St. Elmo's Fire
2. Glenn Frey - The Heat Is On
3. Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night

Top 10 Journey Songs, Bonus Songs

As an homage to my college days, I've decided to make my first big list out of songs by Journey. This big load of tunes gave me a real sense of how challenging it's going to be when this list gets huge. So I think I'm going to have two different sorts of content in these posts: lists and integrations.

Lists will be like what I've posted so far, the ranked list of songs by a particular artist. Integrations will be done after I put together a list, but I'm not ready to incorporate it into the big list. Eventually the band will get sorted into the big list, and I'll add a note to list post indicating that it's taken place.

I'm also going to occasionally include one-hit wonder type songs, just noted in one list together. Of course some of them won't be true "one-hit wonders;" more so, they'll be individual songs that are the only song by the artist that I like/know. Elvis Costello has lots of songs, he just happens to only have one that I really like. We'll call them Bonus Songs. See below for an example.

Top 10 Journey Songs (not yet integrated)

1. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
2. Ask the Lonely
3. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
4. Don't Stop Believin'
5. Any Way You Want It
6. Faithfully
7. Be Good to Yourself
8. I'll Be Alright Without You
9. Open Arms
10. Wheel in the Sky

Bonus Songs (integrated)

1. The Droge and Summers Band - Two of the Lucky Ones
2. Panic! At The Disco - Nine in the Afternoon
3. thenewno2 - Crazy Tuesday
4. EMF - Unbelievable
5. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
6. Elvis Costello - Alison
7. Snow - Informer
8. Lucas - Lucas with the Lid Off

The First Top X Lists for the Project - Top 3 Songs by MGMT, Top 2 Songs by The J. Geils Band

So it took me some time to get going, but I've finally put together the first Top X List for my massive project. MGMT is a fun little band that I've always wanted to listen to more of, but never got around to. But they had three big songs, and all three might make my final top 500.

1. MGMT - Electric Feel
2. MGMT - Kids
3. MGMT - Time to Pretend

And to show how this will all work, I'm also going to add in my favorite songs by the J. Geils Band:

1. The J. Geils Band - Freeze-Frame
2. The J. Geils Band - Centerfold

Now look over on the sidebar and you can see how these two lists interact. And I'm going to do my best to not second-guess my rankings through the whole process...good luck to me lol.

The Biggest Project Ever

I have a new idea, something to get me thinking more, listening to more music, and making blog posts more frequently, though with not probably a ton of writing.

The idea is to make a list of my top 500 favorite songs.

"But Joe, why would that involve a bunch of blog posts?" Good question. I'm not going to do like all the websites do these days, make you click through 500 times to see each individual song in a ranked list. That's annoying as hell.

No, my idea is to create the list organically as I make blog posts. So, the idea is to segment out categories of music. For example, a blog post might be Top 4 Weezer Songs or Top 31 Dave Matthews Band songs (yeah, there could definitely be that many in my top 500). So, I'd post those songs, and then update an as-yet-uncreated sidebar, mixing those songs into the running list.

You'll get the hang of it when you start to see it in action.

WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Results

Sometimes it's silly to go away from the odds, apparently.

Asuka and Shinsuke Nakamura were the victors of their respective Royal Rumbles, which is nice enough, though ultimately a little too predictable for my taste. The Rumble matches were good, but the other matches were pretty disappointing in my opinion.

WWE Title Handicap Match: A.J. Styles (c) versus Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

More referee screwiness? We haven't had enough of that already? I get that they wanted to start the build for Styles/Nakamura right away, but after SmackDown this week, we know that there'll be a title shot at Fastlane between Styles and either Owens or Zayn. So there's still plenty of "unknown" heading into Wrestlemania season.

Would've been cool to see how they handled the co-champion idea, but again, predictability wins out.

My prediction: A.J. Styles via pinfall over Sami Zayn

Result: A.J. Styles via pinfall over Kevin Owens

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable

This one was a shocker, for a number of reasons. First, the match wasn't all that great, which is surprising with the people involved. And second, I really did believe that the Usos would lose their tag titles after Jey's arrest for driving drunk.

Why even have this match if Benjamin and Gable lose here? It makes them look weak, and doesn't prop up the Usos at all. I think they would've been way better off pushing Bobby Roode's match from the pre-show to the main show and giving it some more time to breathe, and maybe dropping Luke Harper vs. Bo Dallas or something into the pre-show. Anything else would've been an improvement.

My prediction: Shelton Benjamin via pinfall over Jey Uso
Result: Uso #1 via pinfall over Shelton Benjamin

Men's Royal Rumble Match

Like I said, it was cool Nakamura won, even if it was pretty predictable. Honestly, I would've kind of liked to see what Philly did if Roman Reigns eliminated Nakamura to end the Rumble. But of course, that would've set up the Elimination Chamber as a match for the Universal title, and you know Brock Lesnar can't wrestle more than 8 times a year. You don't want to burn three of those matches by April.

Overall the match was pretty good, I thought they actually did a better job than they've done in years of capturing the old school style of people doing a lot of punching and struggling in corners, rather than the obnoxious "ABC enters the ring, does his finisher four times, everyone lays around the ring waiting for the next guy."

Hilariously, I find myself already imagining what we might see out of next year's Royal Rumble. I'm like an addict.

My predictions
Longest time in match: The Miz
Final four competitors: The Miz, Roman Reigns, John Cena, Rusev
Winner: John Cena

Results
Longest time in match: Finn Balor
Final four competitors: Roman Reigns, John Cena, Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

RAW Tag Team Championship Match - Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan (c) vs. Sheamus and Cesaro

Pretty predictable result, though I didn't expect Jordan to be basically a no-show. I'm interested to see how the RAW tag division evolves over the next couple months. It could go up, or it could go way down.

My prediction: Sheamus via pinfall over Rollins
Result: Sheamus via pinfall over Rollins

Universal Title Triple Threat Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane

Really crappy match. Even the big spots weren't interesting or impressive. Completely predictable, and despite their intentions, it doesn't preserve Braun's strength. He's lost three different Universal title matches at this point. He deserves to be set aside for someone else.

My prediction: Brock Lesnar via pinfall over Kane
Result: Brock Lesnar via pinfall over Kane

Women's Royal Rumble Match

I gotta say, I was impressed by the women in this match. A few of the legends showed a little bit of age, but honestly, almost everybody looked to be in good shape and very capable of handling themselves. The eliminations weren't any more obvious than the men's match, which is all you can ask for.

Asuka is obviously very popular right now, and her winning makes plenty of sense. I loved her confrontation with Ember Moon; those two have fantastic chemistry, and there's so much character in the ring when they're facing off. I'm also glad that Ember got an Eclipse off before getting eliminated; non-NXT fans need to see that move.

My Predictions
Longest time in match: Sasha Banks
Final four competitors: Nikki Cross, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella
Winner: Becky Lynch

Results
Longest time in match: Sasha Banks
Final four competitors: Sasha Banks, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Asuka
Winner: Asuka

Afterword/Summary

The whole Rhonda Rousey moment didn't mean anything to me; I'm not a UFC fan, and star-power doesn't do much for me when it comes to wrestling. The word is that Rousey will be a full-time wrestler, but this was already an important event for the future of women's wrestling. I'm not sure you needed to double down after the women's Royal Rumble with Rousey.

Overall, I thought it was just an okay event. The two Rumble matches were very good, but the other matches were mostly garbage. It's a stark contrast to last year's Royal Rumble which had an incredible WWE Title match between John Cena and A.J. Styles, and a very, very good Universal Title match between Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns.

Ah well. Hopefully Elimination Chamber gives us some magic. See you then!

WWE Royal Rumble 2018 Predictions

Ahh, the Rumble. From the first time I ever saw it, it's been my favorite wrestling pay-per-view. The drama is fantastic, the matches are always full of action, and since like 1998, you get to hear 30 entrance songs in one match, which is basically the whole reason I watch wrestling in the first place.

After watching NXT Takeover Philadelphia tonight (which was fantastic as usual), I'm ready to make predictions for what will no doubt be a disappointment top-to-bottom in this year's WWE Royal Rumble. The Rumble match itself has a lot of possible stuff to predict, so I'll use some of the scoresheet categories from one of my favorite podcasts, What's Wrong With Wrestling.

Here we go!

RAW Tag Team Championship Match - Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan (c) vs. Sheamus and Cesaro

In-ring, these guys are all really accomplished performers. Sheamus is probably the weakest of the four, but even he can put on a good match, and the rest are exceptional entertainers in the ring. I'm looking forward to the match, even though the build-up has been ho-hum.

I'd be surprised if this match ended clean, but I think in order to set up Wrestlemania season, you need the tag team titles on a true "tag team." Maybe that happens later, but since I do expect Rollins and Jordan to lose the titles between now and March, I'll just predict it here.

My prediction: Sheamus via pinfall over Rollins

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable

I think with the XFL's recent announcement and how Vince McMahon is selling it as a family-oriented product, and how the WWE has been PG-rated content for a while, the WWE is probably pretty pissed at Jey Uso for his DWI arrest. The most frequent punishment for misbehavior is to have the performer's on-air character get time off, but you can't do that if the Usos are tag team champions.

So, naturally, that means Benjamin and Gable ought to win this match. It's also like their tenth try at the titles, so for the love of god, let's get them the titles. It can also set up a really awkward backstage segment later in the night where Gable runs up to Jordan and says, "Dude, look! I won the tag titles!...oh...right...sorry dude..."

My prediction: Shelton Benjamin via pinfall over Jey Uso

Universal Title Triple Threat Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane

I would looooove if they found a way to give Kane the Universal title here, but there's really just no chance of that. The most likely result is that Kane takes the fall for Lesnar, with the second-most-likely result being Strowman pinning Kane for the title. The chances of the WWE putting Kane over on either of the other two guys is infinitesimal.

I think Lesnar is most likely to retain the title through Wrestlemania, since it looks like their plan all year has been to set up Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar at Mania. It's possible there's some roundabout adjustments, where Lesnar loses to Strowman, then Strowman loses it to Lesnar or Reigns at Elimination Chamber, meaning you can still have Lesnar and Reigns fight for the title as the main event.

Still, most likely result is most likely.

My prediction: Brock Lesnar via pinfall over Kane

WWE Title Handicap Match: A.J. Styles (c) versus Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

What a weird match. The insanity of trying to figure out what would happen if Sami and Kevin win makes me wish that happens. If it happens, SmackDown will be a must-see event, which to me is a great reason to do that. But I think usually stuff like this is an indicator of some haphazard planning, with the knowledge that they'll just have the champion retain so they don't have to figure out what happens in the weird circumstance.

So I expect Styles to pull out the win.

My prediction: A.J. Styles via pinfall over Sami Zayn

Women's Royal Rumble Match

I expect it to not be nearly as good as a men's Royal Rumble, just based on the logistics of smaller people having more trouble going over the top rope with natural movement. So I think we'll get a lot of the women sort of noticeably "throwing themselves" over the top rope. Still, there are enough good workers that the actual in-ring competition should be fun.

The smart money is on Asuka, as it seems like everything is setting up for her to be in the premier women's match at Wrestlemania. But that's putting a lot of eggs into the basket of someone whose English is still unexceptional. I think the WWE is more interested in playing it safe here, and they'll go with one of the most reliable, well-liked, and talented women they've got under contract: Becky Lynch. Asuka can get screwed over by another competitor to set up her own rivalry moving forward.

Longest time in match: Sasha Banks
Final four competitors: Nikki Cross, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella
Winner: Becky Lynch

Men's Royal Rumble Match

The big mamma jamma, the main event, the Royal Rumble. I have such high hopes, as always; hopefully they're not misplaced.

I'd love to be surprised by something amazing like Chris Jericho winning the Rumble, but I don't think that's likely. The most likely result, again, is something that works to set up one of the two matches built up so far for Wrestlemania: Styles v. Nakamura or Reigns v. Lesnar. That means the two most likely victors are Nakamura and Reigns.

I go back and forth on it. Nakamura has certainly put in his time and his losses, losing his title matches against Jinder Mahal. But Reigns is just so obviously going to be in the main event once again at Wrestlemania, he's just an easy pick.

I'm gonna go off the board, since I can't pick between those two guys, and pick a guy who could win any match, any night: John Cena. You can definitely work him into any main event feud, he's as popular as he's ever been, and he's taken some lumps this year. He could use a lift, and if he eliminates Roman to win, he'll even get some more cheers than usual.

Longest time in match: The Miz
Final four competitors: The Miz, Roman Reigns, John Cena, Rusev
Winner: John Cena

Please, please, please be a good show.

WWE Clash of Champions 2017 Results

Results time!

Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley

I didn't love the feel of this match, though the action was decent enough. My problem was there were too many points where I knew I was supposed to think that Mojo is some sort of monster, and he's just not. He's a pretty big guy who's obviously getting a push, but Zack Ryder is a former Intercontinental Champion. Ryder should be able to hang with anyone who isn't a true monster.

Anyways, Rawley with the win after a big punch.

My prediction: Rawley via pin
Result: Rawley via pin

United States Championship Match: Baron Corbin (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode

This was the match of the night in my book, and it wasn't really close. Ziggler is always brilliant, and Roode was good, but the story here to me was Corbin. His timing was really good, his moves were crisp, and the End of Days/Zig-Zag to finish the match was awesome. Who knows how long Ziggler will keep the title, but I was genuinely excited from start to finish.

My prediction: Corbin via pinfall on Ziggler
Result: Ziggler via pinfall on Corbin

Breezango vs. Bludgeon Brothers

Obvious squash is obvious.

My prediction: Bludgeon Brothers via pin
Result: Bludgeon Brothers via pin

Smackdown Women's Championship Lumberjack Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Natalya

I guess this match was chaotic? Really it was just sloppy all around. The roving gangs of women outside the ring ended up mostly looking way too fake, and the only decent moments were the dives by Naomi and Charlotte.

The funniest/worst part was when Natalya gave a promo after the match and turned heel...from heel. Ridiculous.

My prediction: Flair wins via pinfall
Result: Flair wins via submission

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable vs. Rusev and Aiden English

This match was alright, though I thought it still wasn't as good as it could've been. The New Day and The Usos have had some great matches, and adding the insanely over Rusev along with dynamite athletes in Gable and Benjamin, I thought the match could really be something special. I guess there's a point at which you have too many cooks though.

Those German suplexes that Chad Gable did near the end of the match were amazing. The one on Aiden English looked like it killed him, and the one on Big E was thunderous. I'm sold on these guys, let's get them a real tag-team name and give them the belts.

My prediction: Benjamin via pinfall on Rusev (for the inevitable boos)
Result: Uso #1 via pinfall on Gable

Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (with special referees Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan)

I hate to say it, but Daniel Bryan kind of ruined this match. No, ruined is too strong a word, because it was still alright. But I'm of the opinion that it could've been a lot better if Bryan was a better actor. The finish was muddy, as it ought to have been. A little more story advancement would've been cool, but that hasn't been WWE's mentality with PPVs for years.

Which is dumb, because that's how WCW overtook them. Superstars helped, but every WCW PPV from 1996-1999 left you with a question of, "Holy shit, what's gonna happen on Nitro??" Blah.

My prediction: Nakamura via pinfall on Zayn
Result: Zayn via pinfall on Orton

WWE Championship Match: A.J. Styles (c) vs. Jinder Mahal

This was by far Jinder's best match in WWE, at least that I've seen. He was crisp, violent, and other than his trunks (flesh brown? really?), he looked like a wrestler. Part of that is that A.J. Styles pretty much only puts on great matches, but it was also better than their previous title match in Manchester.

The match was good and the result was right. Not a bad main event.

My prediction: Styles via submission
Result: Styles via submission

Summary

The women's title match was terrible. Natalya is sluggish and clumsy, and the lumberjack gimmick didn't make up for that at all. The new girls need polish, Lana needs practice, and Tamina and Carmella need to be put in better situations. The tag matches were fine, as was Mojo vs. Zack. Jinder and AJ was good, and the triple threat match was great. All together, it was probably about a C+ event.

I really think the WWE does a poor job of tying pay-per-views to what's coming next. If you think about the big PPV moments, they were at least as much about storyline twists as they were about impressive matches. That's how you keep people coming back, how you capture your audience's attention.

I keep wishing they'll change, and they keep not changing. Who's more foolish?

PS: One last thing I want to say is that Boston came to play at Clash of Champions. The building was electric, and that can make a huge difference in how the event plays on TV. Well done, Boston.

WWE Clash of Champions 2017 Predictions

I'm looking over this card, and I'm not sure if I'm less tuned-in to what's going on in the wrestling universe than I had been, or if this pay-per-view is just a mish-mash of nonsense. Based on my expectations of the WWE, I would guess it's the latter. Still, could be some okay action at least. Let's get started.

Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley

I wonder if this would've seemed a cleaner storyline if Ryder hadn't gotten hurt. As it is, it feels kind of irrelevant, which is okay, and unexciting, which isn't. When a tag team breaks up violently, you want the split to generate some fun segments, surprising interferences, etc. This has been kind of a slapdash concoction that seems like it expects to get by just by following the standard formula.

I don't think this rivalry will go head-to-head for too much longer, so I expect this to be the culmination of the main storyline here. And I think Mojo wins that main storyline.

My prediction: Rawley via pin

Breezango vs. Bludgeon Brothers

I can't imagine how Breezango would win this fight. Maybe The Ascension interferes? Who knows. The smart pick is 2B, with for a tag title match at Royal Rumble.

My prediction: Bludgeon Brothers via pin

Smackdown Women's Championship Lumberjack Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Natalya

I'm kind of getting the sense that something is going to happen with this championship and the RAW women's title that prompts the implementation of a first-ever women's Royal Rumble. The call-ups of Ruby Riot(t) et. al., the return of Paige, Carmella still having the Money in the Bank briefcase, and the generally open nature of the RAW title picture makes me think that chaos is coming.

For this particular match, I expect things to break down early and often, and the whole scene to conclude in absolute disaster. I could see Carmella cashing in and then getting screwed out of winning the title by Becky Lynch, and then the resolution of the whole deal being related to the Royal Rumble.

My prediction: Flair wins via pinfall

United States Championship Match: Baron Corbin (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode

I actually kind of have high hopes for this match. Corbin had a great match against The Miz at Survivor Series, which I didn't expect at all from either of those two. Bobby Roode is tremendous in the ring, and Ziggler might be even better. If these guys all meet their potential, this could be a match-of-the-year possibility.

As far as what to expect? It seems like Ziggler is kind of an afterthought these days, so it'd be really shocking to put the belt on him. I get the impression that after dropping the briefcase, Corbin is still slotted for a long-ish run as US champion. Ziggler is probably in the match to take a fall, so I think Corbin will get the drop on Ziggler.

My prediction: Corbin via pinfall on Ziggler

Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (with special referees Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan)

This match kind of feels similar to the women's championship match, where a lot of folks are in one place and nothing will get resolved by this. Nakamura put over Jinder a couple times, and I think he's on track for a big match versus A.J. Styles at the Rumble, or more likely Wrestlemania. That means he needs some noteworthy wins, and I think this is one of them.

More than a winner or loser, I'm interested to see the ending of match. Hopefully the culmination is something interesting, something that sets things off for "Wrestlemania season."

My prediction: Nakamura via pinfall on Zayn

SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable vs. Rusev and Aiden English

Hmm.

So, this is a match where I could see a lot of different things happening, and that's good. But when I think more about it, I think the answer becomes a little clearer.

Rusev is over as hell right now with his whole Rusev Day gimmick, so he doesn't really need a win, and obviously neither does Aiden English.

The New Day has done most of what they can with the titles, at least for the time being. I think the WWE would be better off mixing them up some more. All three of those guys put on exceptional matches.

So it's down to The Usos retaining or Benjamin and Gable winning. Either team should theoretically get run over by Harper and Rowen down the line, but I saw the Natural Disasters lose multiple times to Money Inc., so not everything is "monsters win."

If Jason Jordan was still with Gable, I'd lean on the Usos, but I think Shelton Benjamin brings the clout of the team up a notch, and a notch is all it will take. Plus remember how awesome Team Angle was? Maybe we can get some of that flavor back, with these two looking primed to turn heel any day now.

My prediction: Benjamin via pinfall on Rusev (for the inevitable boos)

WWE Championship Match: A.J. Styles (c) vs. Jinder Mahal

This seems like too easy an answer, right? The easy answer is for the Singh Brothers to pretend to be allied with Styles, side with Jinder again, but still come up short. Styles is a great guy to have as champion because you have a really great shot at a great main event for each of your pay-per-views.

I think this formula is simple enough even the WWE will understand it. This is a company that generally knows how to put a great champion on top. Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Stone Cold, Triple H, Kurt Angle, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, CM Punk, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, these are all guys who can tell a story in the ring, and most of them are excellent, impressive wrestlers. Styles fits the bill there as well.

So, like I said, I'm going with Styles retaining.

My prediction: Styles via submission

The last SmackDown-only PPV was Hell in a Cell, which I really enjoyed. So the bar is high, hopefully they meet it. See you next week for a recap!

Survivor Series

Hey everyone, sorry about not getting predictions or recaps up for Survivor Series. I was fighting a miserable cold and honestly it completely just slipped my mind. We'll get back on the wagon for Clash of Champions.

GoodPointJoe's Top 5 Gaming Bundle Sites

Seven years ago, my friend Anthony brought to my attention a promotion called The Humble Indie Bundle. It was a collection of games from small-time developers that I had mostly never heard of, and the proceeds would be split between the developers and a couple of charities. This of course spiked a conversation about the concept of charity and whether anyone could be truly charitable, but dmore importantly, it started my journey into bundle-shopping.

That first bundle included six games: Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD, Penumbra: Overture, Samorost 2, and World of Goo. In what would set the tone for my next seven years (plus) on Steam, I have only played two of those games (stay tuned to find out which!...just kidding, World of Goo and Gish), but I was hooked on bundles.

Since then, some bundle sites have come and gone. Indie Royale always had some really interesting games, but their prices tended to be higher than most of the other sites. Blink Bundle had great bundles, but seemed unable to keep their business model afloat.

But plenty of sites are still chugging along, offering multiple games at a minimal price. So, in the interest of continuing my tradition of doing a Top 5 list about anything, here are my Top 5 Gaming Bundle Sites.

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5. Indie Gala

https://www.indiegala.com/

Now don't get me wrong. Indie Gala is far from a perfect bundle site. In fact, if you said that you knew about Indie Gala and hated Indie Gala, I wouldn't fault you. Indie Gala puts out a lot of crummy bundles, sometimes even bundles without a single game that really deserve more attention.

BUT.

They generate a shit ton of bundles. And while a lot of them can be junky, they also occasionally put out a really solid set of games. Or, they'll put a gem in a bundle, and it makes you end up checking out a few games you might not have normally given a second thought. They do a good job of persisting in one of the most useful purposes of bundling games, which is to jointly benefit from the games' individual popularities.

Some Favorites from Indie Gala:

• Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition
• Jolly Rover
• Zombie Driver HD

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4. Go Go Bundle

https://gogobundle.com/

Go Go Bundle is an interesting site. They don't make any claims about the quality of the games they provide, they just promise a cheap set of games. The big difference for Go Go Bundle is that they offer a reduced price if you buy larger quantities of the bundle.

This might not seem useful if you're just a person who plays games, but if you're a person who plays games and streams them on Twitch, this can be very handy. The amount of discount you can receive on bulk bundle purchases is substantial; usually you can pick up 50 bundles for $20. This equates out to anywhere from 300-500 Steam keys, each of which you can use as a giveaway on your stream.

Sometimes the games are shovelware, sometimes they aren't. But most Twitch viewers who are turned on by giveaways don't mind if it's a no-name, unexceptional game. Intentionally or unintentionally, Go Go Bundle is helping Twitch streamers add another layer of fun to their broadcasts.

Some Favorites from Go Go Bundle

• 12 Labours of Hercules II: The Cretan Bull
• 12 Labours of Hercules III: Girl Power

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3. Bundle Stars / Fanatical

https://www.fanatical.com/en/

Bundle Stars recently rebranded itself, and the site is now named Fanatical. I haven't delved too deeply to see what's changed, but at first blush, it seems to have the same types of deals and bundles as it always did.

Bundle Stars had frequent bundles of varying quality, but overall I'd say the games they offer are of a higher quality than Indie Gala or Go Go Bundle. Additionally, they sometimes have excellent deals on individual games. I was able to scoop up the complete Shadow of Mordor pack for a mere $3.00 a couple months ago, and while I still haven't played the game, I know it'll be good when I do.

Overall, I like the games, the interface, and the overall vibe of Bundle Stars/Fanatical. While it's a little trite to say, it really does feel like a site that's been developed by gamers, for gamers.

Some Favorites from BundleStars / Fanatical

• Hoard: Complete Pack
• Pixel Puzzles
• Pixel Puzzles 2
• Trapped Dead

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2. Groupees

https://groupees.com

Groupees has this one weakness that keeps them from ranking higher on my list: the games aren't that good. While Groupees doesn't have noticeably worse games than a site like Indie Gala, nor do they have games that seem to be any better. They have their fair share of shovelware, and it's not often that they post a bundle with any sort of surprisingly good game. So why is Groupees one of my favorite bundle sites?

Music!

While many Humble Bundles and some of the other bundles include game soundtracks as part of their content, Groupees regularly includes actual music albums in their bundles. In fact, some bundles have only music, no games. And while lots of the music is conventional rock or hip-hop, a lot of the music feels like video game music. There are chiptunes (think original NES music), orchestral themes, electronic songs, and all other sorts.

Groupees also dives into comics as much as any other gaming bundle site other than maybe Humble Bundle, giving you some more media to consume. Groupees also offers you the option of contributing a portion of your payment to charity, if you're into that sort of thing.

Some Favorites from Groupees

• 8-Bit Adventures: The Forgotten Journey
• Party of Sin
• Payday 2 - Clover Character Pack (to troll Chip)
• Assorted chiptune albums

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1. Humble Bundle

https://www.humblebundle.com

Ahh, the Humble Bundle. The founder of the feast. The one who started it all. There's no question that Humble Bundle remains the biggest name in bundled games, and deservedly so. They frequently have high-quality games available, uncommonly bundled games, and interesting partnerships. And because a portion of their proceeds go to charity, they'll always be looked upon favorably.

Are they perfect? No, of course not. The Humble Monthly Bundle has been sort of hit-or-miss; I subscribed for a month and wasn't really impressed with my results. And unfortunately, most (or all?) of their mobile bundles have been for Android only; my iPhone sits unattended by Humble Bundle.

Still, when it comes to quality and variety, you can't beat the Humble Bundle. I'm tuned in every Tuesday to see what they've got brewing, and when they partner up with organizations like Awesome Games Done Quick, they've got my full attention.

My list below is by no means exhaustive. HB has provided me with a load of great games.

Some Favorites from Humble Bundle

• And Yet It Moves
• The Binding of Isaac
• BIT.TRIP.RUNNER
• Braid
• Defender's Quest: Valley of the Forgotten
• Dungeon Defenders
• Dungeons of Dredmor
• FTL: Faster Than Light
• Organ Trail
• Super Meat Boy

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Summary

The Humble Bundle has provided me with far more gaming entertainment than any other bundle site. In fact, I'd say that Humble Bundle rates behind only Steam and Blizzard in terms of the number of delivering enjoyable content to me. And Steam is cheating, since they're basically the hub through which half of my gaming goes.

But they're by no means the only game in town. I'm interested to see if Fanatical pushes out new and interesting ways to drop content, and if I ever get my Twitch stream going again, I'm sure I'll dabble into Go Go Bundle. And of course, every time Groupees releases a bundle full of chiptunes, they've got a customer in me.