Happy New Year: 2015 Review - Falcon's Blog

Happy New Year: 2015 Review

Greetings, this is the last blog update of 2015 and as usual I will be awarding my favourite titles from various mediums with my personal ‘game/book/television show/film of the year award’. Like previous years, the medium doesn’t have to be created or released in 2015 but I have to have played, read, watched or otherwise experienced them during this year.

Television show of the year: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Unlike previous years I didn’t review a single television series on my blog in 2015. As a result I had to select something that I haven’t previously referenced in relation to the blog and so I picked Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Brotherhood is an anime adaptation of the manga and unlike the original anime from 2003, Brotherhood is meant to be a more faithful account of the source material. It is set in the fictional nation of Amestris, in a world where alchemy is able to transform objects under the guidance of a knowledgeable alchemist. Two boys by the name of Edward and Alphonse Elric decide to use their alchemic skills to bring their dead mother back to life through human transmutation. The attempt is a failure, causing Ed to lose a leg and Al his body in the process. Edward manages to bond his brother’s soul to a suit of armour in exchange for his own right arm. After the event, the oldest brother receives a robotic arm and leg from his childhood friend as well as a skilled engineer, Winry. Edward then joins the State military as an alchemist under the direction of Colonel Roy Mustang. The two Elric brothers set out on a quest to return to their own original bodies that they had lost in the transmutation ordeal. The show is an entertaining watch, full of original, fun characters and has an incredible score as well which really adds to the overall atmosphere.

Game of the Year: The Walking Dead Season Two

The second season of the Walking Dead is following in the steps of the original series as it was also awarded the game of the year in 2014. I have grown fond of Telltale’s titles and the Walking Dead franchise is one of my favourites of their works. The player is reunited with an older but still lovable Clementine after the death of Lee and the various fates that befell the original cast. Shortly after Omid is killed off in the introduction, Clementine and Christa are attacked by a band of scavengers which leads to Clementine being separated. The isolated girl, now the controllable protagonist, wonders through the area on the lookout for Christa but is injured by a hungry and aggressive dog. A weary Clementine is found by two survivors named Pete and Luke. Clementine must convince them that she wasn’t bit by a zombie to receive the medical attention she requires and to join the community in the cabin.

Happy New Year 2015-2016!

Book of the year: Lonesome Dove

Lonesome Dove is a book written by Larry McMurtry and was published in 1985. While it is the first novel to be written chronologically, it is actually the third book in the series. I really enjoyed the first three and am hoping that the fourth story, the streets of Laredo, will keep up the high standard in the conclusive arc. Lonesome Dove follows the adventures of retired Texas Rangers Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae. The story has several strains that keep intermingling as different characters continually cross each other’s paths but it mainly follows the journey of McCrae and Call as they, along with several other characters, drive cattle from Lonesome Dove in Texas to Montana.

Film of the year: Jurassic World

Jurassic World was released in 2015 and serves as the fourth movie in the series. It is easily my second favourite out of the lot, just behind the original 1993 hit. It stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard alongside others including some who were reprising their characters from Jurassic Park. Jurassic World is set two decades after the events of the first movie in which a new park has successfully been opened on Isla Nublar. However, customers are growing bored of the sights which then prompts the Masrani Global Corporation to create a new genetically modified dinosaur. As usual, the security system of the park proves to be unable to prevent a dinosaur break out and it is up to Owen Grady as well as his four trained velociraptors to save the day. I look forward to the sequel which is planned to be released in 2018.

That is it for this year’s blog entries. I hope you have enjoyed 2015 as much as I have. I believe that 2016 will prove to be an even better year in which I will return in with my review of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Have a happy New Year!

Quote of the Day

Hey. Did I ever tell you about the time when I wooed the beautiful Princess of Saturn?

Cornelius Barrow

Frontier Planet: Winter Tales

Written by Falcon, Thursday 31 December 2015

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Falcon  9 year(s) ago (108 months)

Thanks for the comments! I look forward to what 2016 will bring and hope that it will be even better than 2015.

 
Brisingr  9 year(s) ago (108 months)

Nice list, Happy new year!

Can't really argue with any of your selections all excellent. Hopefully 2016 will prove to be just as good.

 
Joh  9 year(s) ago (108 months)

Nice article! 2015 was definitely a good year for games and movies. Telltale's The Walking Dead games were brilliant and I look forward to future instalments. Jurassic World was also a lot of fun, but I think my favourite movie of the year would probably be The Martian, although there were a lot of great releases this year.

As for games, probably my favourite release of this year would have to be Grand Theft Auto V. (It released on consoles in 2013 but the PC version came out this year.) Other honourable mentions in games releases would be Life is Strange and Fallout 4 which were both exceptionally good as well.

Happy New Year everybody!

 
Aaron  9 year(s) ago (108 months)

Nice list and happy new year!

I also loved the Walking Dead and really enjoyed Jurassic World. Some of my own personal highlights in 2015 include: Mad Max, Soma, Mad Men and The Martian. It's been a very good year for films, here's hoping 2016 matches up.