Happy New Year: 2024 Review!
Greetings, welcome to the last blog update of 2024! This will be a memorable year for me as I had an enjoyable holiday cruise near the start of it, I finally become a permanent member of staff in the middle and got the keys to a house of my own by the end of it. Of course, 2024 will always be significant after the passing of my old companion Treacle and I’d like to say thanks for your nice comments about her in my previous update. As always, I have thought over my personal picks of entertainment from the last 12 months and I’ve listed them below. Feel free to write your own highlights in the comments that you particularly enjoyed this year as those are always interesting to read over.
Television Show of the Year: Archer
A popular animated comedy series that ran from 2009 all the way to 2023, ‘Archer’ follows the adventures of the titular hero Sterling Archer, who is a charismatic and narcissistic spy, as he jets all across the globe in daring missions. I believe the show deserves to be recognised for the numerous years it kept me entertained although it unarguably became a little stale and repetitive towards the end of its run. The jokes may have been all too easy to foresee after a while and catchphrases became overused but ‘Archer’ finished strong and wasn’t afraid to dedicate whole seasons to trying something different by delving into different genres.
Book of the Year: A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole’s ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ is regarded as an American literary classic and the enduring allure around it is partially due to the late author being unappreciated during his time. Even though I think the book dragged on for too long for my liking, I understand why people enjoyed it so much and especially why notable comedians hold it in such high regard. The main character of Ignatius J. Reilly is very unique and his attitude is amusing, particularly as the reader is introduced to him. There is a lot of comedy to be had with the sloppy Ignatius with his obsessive hatred for the modern world and his admiration for the medieval ways.
Game of the Year: Phasmophobia
‘Phasmophobia’ is a co-operative game from 2020 in which players work together to investigate a haunted location and towards the goal of correctly determining which type of spirit they are hunting. A single player or a team of players do this by collecting numerous pieces of evidence that will be applicable to only one type of ghost and they must avoid being killed in the process lest they lose the match as well as their hard earned equipment. A well-crafted, atmospheric and terrifying game in its early stages, this became a very popular title upon its release and dominated the Steam rankings for some time.
Film of the Year: The Holdovers
Funny, touching and bound to be a celebrated Christmas classic in the years to come, 2023’s ‘The Holdovers’ is a throwback to the early 1970s and is set in an all-male boarding school in a wintry New England. It follows Paul Hunham, a classics teacher who is equally disliked by both his lacklustre students and his academic peers, as he is forced to look after a small number of pupils who are unable to return home for Christmas. This number of holdovers dwindles down to just one boy called Angus and the plot slowly humanizes Hunham as his relationship with the student and cafeteria manager, Mary, blossoms.
That is all for 2024! I’ll be back to blogging again in 2025 and I’m currently on schedule to reach the 400th blog update which should be published on the site towards the end of the year. Additionally, I’ll be ramping up my literary efforts on Write Wise after a more relaxed year this time around and I already have the some of the stories in mind that I want to write over the next several months. I also intend to be indulging in more books and playing more video games next year as that is something I haven’t done as much as I would have liked to in previous years. Have a happy New Year and I hope 2025 proves to be a great one for you!
Quote of the Day
Here's something I bet you didn't know. Your uniform, festive as it is, is historically inaccurate. Saint Nicholas of Myra was actually a fourth-century Greek Bishop from what is now Turkey. So, uh, a robe and sandals would be closer to the mark. Yeah, but I guess that would be impractical given the weather and all the silly but lucrative mythology about Santa and elves and reindeer and chimneys and whatnot.
Paul Hunham
The Holdovers
Merry Christmas 2024!
Greetings, Christmas Eve is here and I’d like to wish you all the best for tomorrow as per my usual tradition. Before I do, I have a personal update that I felt was only right to note on the blogs. Treacle, my ginger and white cat of 14 years, was put to sleep yesterday after a sudden and unexpected illness with no possibility of a recovery. I find it hard to believe she has passed on as she seemed as bright and affectionate as ever only a few days ago.
She first arrived at my doorstep way back in 2010 and I have a very prominent memory of sitting bored stiff at my desk in Lurgan College watching the clock tick down impatiently as I wanted to go home and play with the cute new kitten that had turned up the day before. She always liked to play and be made a fuss of even in her older years but she would be sure to let you know, in the blink of an eye, when she had had enough by scratching or biting after a verbal warning. In fact, one much more serious attack split my lip and I had to be stitched up by hospital staff. We made up very shortly after then with me being extra cautious of her for a day or two.
She was as sweet as she was fiery and would often purr loudly as she climbed in my bed when I was trying to change the sheets. She liked hiding underneath them and the bed would have to be made around her. When visiting my parent’s house, I would always go and greet Treacle first as she lounged about on sofas and was often taking a nap in sunny rays. Even hours after she passed, I kept expecting to see her looking in the house or hearing her tip tapping her way around. With Treacle’s passing, the Murray household is without a feline friend for the first time in decades as there has always been a cat in the house for as long as I have lived. She will be dearly missed by myself and the rest of the family.
While my Christmas will have a lingering feeling that something is amiss this year, I hope you have a great day tomorrow and get whatever is on your lists. I will wrap up the year with one more blog update on 31st December but until then have a very merry Christmas!
Quote of the Day
Merry Christmas? Bah. Humbug!
Ebenezer Scrooge
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Phasmophobia
Greetings, ‘Phasmophobia’ is a 4 player co-operative horror game that launched in 2020 although a brave single player is also able to play solo if they so wish. It was created by Kinetic Games who are a small independent video games studio based in the United Kingdom. They do not appear to have produced anything else of note according to their website and associated wikis nor does there seem to be any other upcoming projects unrelated to this game. As can be gleamed from the name of the game, it focuses around phantoms. The player is a ghost hunter and is tasked with determining which type of spirit is haunting a location during an investigation and to avoid being killed by the apparition in the process. ‘Phasmophobia’ became a very popular game around its launch due to numerous Twitch users and Youtubers streaming their terrified reactions, causing it to be the best selling game on Steam in October and November of 2020.
As of December 2024, there are 24 ghost types that the players have to whittle down to just one by collecting 3 categories of evidence on default mode. The difficulty can be increased which lowers the amount of evidence in the game and therefore makes identification even harder. While certain types of ghosts may share some of the same evidence with others, only one will have a specific combination of the 3 traits. The evidence is gathered through using various ghost hunting items. For instance, an Electromagnetic Field Reader will reveal if a ghost is in a nearby area by flashing over a range of readings while a ghost writing book can be written in by various spirits provided the player isn’t present during the action. Players can also make use of their headsets to speak to other players via an in game radio and with the ghost directly when using a spirit box.
A photo camera is one of the most valuable pieces of equipment in the game as the player can take pictures of paranormal instances including dirty water in a sink, otherworldly prints in salt and photographic proof of the phantom itself. Other items, such as a crucifixes, can impact the match in other ways including delaying hunting. Hunting is when a ghost is capable of killing players who are unable to escape the house. All players enter the level with a 100% sanity rating but this can be dragged down in various ways such as using cursed items, which can help track down the target, or by a lack of light in the room. A lower level of sanity means that spirits are more likely to perform numerous actions including engaging in hunting. Sanity is monitored in the starting location of the van which is a secure zone and serves as the focal point for reviewing equipment including live video camera feed.
There are 13 maps at present which consists of 8 small maps, 3 intermediate and 2 large ones. They cover various locations including residential houses, farmhouses, a school and a psychiatric hospital. I generally found the smaller and medium maps to be the most enjoyable as the bigger maps can be so extensive that it is hard to find just the ghost never mind the evidence it leaves behind. While more maps may be added in the future, it is interesting to note that a previous one known as ‘The Asylum’ was removed by Kinetic Games. The first few rounds of playing ‘Phasmophobia’ was a great experience as everything was so fresh and unknown with a genuinely creepy atmosphere having been built up. After playing it for a while, the mechanics become obvious and the fear it managed to initially induce is very much lessened. Saying that, I still have a soft spot for ‘Phasmophobia’ and I consider it to be one of the best co-operative games I’ve ever played.
Plot=6/10
Characters=5/10
Graphics=8/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
When I was young, folks used to talk about you. Said as how you knew things. Said if a man had been wronged, he could come to you and you'd call upon this thing in that man's name, and that man, he'd be avenged.
Ed Harley
Pumpkinhead
