Originally published December 2018

At last! We've reached the end of a truly overwhelming year filled with drama and stress over real-world events and an ever-increasingly hostile political climate. Thankfully, this is a website that doesn't focus on those sorts of things and instead focuses on the entertaining, educational, and distracting mediums that provide us a reprieve from such serious matters. This year, I've played some great video games, watched some great movies, found some great new and old music, and listened to a ton of podcasts. However, there have been some duds among the diamonds as well. So, with the end of the year finally upon us, it's time to continue the tradition of summarizing what I consider to be the best and worst games, movies, etc. that I've experienced this year. This, of course, means that the items featured on this list are not limited to what was released this year, just what I experienced. Without further ado...

The Best Video Games I Played in 2018

Winner: Dragon Ball FighterZ (REVIEW)

There has not been another game this year that captivated me more as a player and as a spectator than Dragon Ball FighterZ. Much like how Injustice 2 grabbed my attention and held it for so long last year, DBFZ has had a grip on my attention since it came out in January, which is impressive, to say the least. Learning combos and different team combinations was exciting and fun for me, especially considering that I've never been the biggest fan of tag-based fighting games in the past. It re-ignited my nostalgia for the cheesy anime source material and made me appreciate all the effort the developers put into making so many references and dramatic touches to the game to make it stand out in a big way. Dragon Ball FighterZ is, undoubtedly, a big success for the developer as it was the biggest game at the EVO Fighting Game Tournament this year. Almost a year since it came out, the game has stayed relevant with its DLC characters and dedicated fans who put on weekly tournaments in their region that continue to be exciting and captivating to watch. It's December, and I've only just hit the first two weeks in a row that I have not played this game for at least an hour.

Yakuza Kiwami (REVIEW)

I always wanted to try the Yakuza games, but I'm glad I've waited for the Yakuza Renaissance. The adventures of the lovable idiot, Kazama Kiryu, and the flirtatious advances of tough love by Goro Majima provided me with some of my favorite moments in a video game this year. There's a ton of content in this game that can keep you busy between all the street brawls and story beats. Play some great mini-games, beat up some punks, then relax with some karaoke before continuing the intriguing mystery that is the Yakuza plotline. Yakuza Kiwami was a blast to play through and I'm excited to dive into the sequels.

HITMAN 2 (REVIEW)

HITMAN was my favorite game from 2016 and ensured that I would be a Hitman fan from then on. While the franchise looked like it might not survive the financial turmoil of last year, I was relieved and excited to see that its sequel would be released in 2018. It's more of the same, but I'm not complaining because that last game was so good, I was practically drooling for anything new in the Hitman universe. Now that it's finally out, I'm savoring every moment and making my way through the old and new content into the new year.

Monster Hunter World

MonsterHunter-Screenshot-2018-03-06-23-29-43-1024x576.png — Image: Capcom

Like Yakuza, the Monster Hunter franchise was one that I always had curiosity for, but never got the chance to try until this year. Monster Hunter World, while obtuse in some areas, is still all that I could have hoped for from the series. It was an absolute blast playing when it first came out. It's a shame it had to compete with so many other good games for my time this year. Had I been allowed to focus and obsess over this game, this may have been my game of the year.

The Worst Video Games I Played in 2018

It's been a year of minimal disappointments when it comes to video games. I haven't made any regrettable purchases lately. I've had some slightly disappointing frustrations with Bloodborne that I need to get over, and the grind of Darkest Dungeon is unforgiving, but I still am optimistic about completing them someday. These were minor frustrations, but neither worthy of much scorn. Hurrah for not being bummed out by too many video games this year! Except...

The Last of Us: Remastered (REVIEW)

Uh-oh. If the internet ever finds this website, I will be shunned like a celebrity with a Twitter account for putting the "greatest game" of the PS3 on my "worst" list. It's true, though. Of the games I played this year, nothing frustrated me or annoyed me more than The Last of Us. The story was acceptable, with a solid ending to tie up the themes and the character threads. However, the part where you played the game was just not fun at all with some really frustrating mechanics that clashed with the nature of the game itself. I know this game is beloved by many people and commended for its storytelling, but it did not impress me enough to outweigh my gripes with how it played. To put it nicely, I look forward to watching someone else play the sequel.

The Best Movies I Watched in 2018

Winner: Blade Runner 2049 (REVIEW)

I have to say, I'm surprised that this is what I'm putting down as a winner for this year. Maybe it speaks to how few movies I saw this year that actually impressed me or that I thoroughly enjoyed. Or maybe Blade Runner 2049 was just a lot better than what I expected. It's far from perfect, but it has so many memorable moments with some solid performances and great art design that goes along with the imagery of the first movie. I might also be a little biased in favor of it because of my appreciation for the first film. However, I think the biggest flaw of this movie is how much it tries to relate itself to that film, so maybe I'm just torn. Regardless of who is having the real identity crisis here, I think Blade Runner 2049 is a good movie with some issues that is still worth a watch if you are a fan of the slow (very slow) burn detective noir experience.

The Disaster Artist (REVIEW)

I don't typically like James Franco, but his Tommy Wiseau is what makes this movie. The comedic retelling of the making of the Citizen Kane of bad movies, The Room, is a hilarious experience. It starts out slow with some tedious exposition and character building that is occasionally funny and embarrassingly goofy. However, once the production starts on the infamous flop of a film, The Disaster Artist really picks up steam and is just one funny moment after another. I wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I did with this one, so kudos to Franco for pulling it off.

REC

Found footage is not my preferred horror genre or style, but this year I saw some good ones (along with some bad ones). I had never seen REC, or its American remake, Quarantine, but I had heard good things about it. I'm pleased to say that it lives up to its reputation. The plot is simple: A sick woman has caused the fire department to come and attempt to help a group of people in an apartment building. The building is quickly sealed off for fears of an outbreak, trapping everyone inside. The pacing follows that of a found footage film where it's slow at the start and is a riotous nightmare by the end, but it all feels earned. There's just enough backstory to make the plot work and to justify the epidemic of zombie-like behavior. And, it has a really good sequence at the end that slows down the pace but ramps up the tension. Having finally watched REC, I don't really have a desire to see the sequels or any American versions, because I know it's only going to go down in quality and complicate the ambiguous story.

As Above, So Below (REVIEW)

Another found-footage film that surprised me. As Above, So Below does some interesting things that I did not expect. A small group of treasure-hunting archaeologists go under the catacombs of Paris with some young French guides in search of the Philosopher's Stone and soon find themselves traveling through the layers of hell like Dante Alighieri. I was expecting another crappy horror movie with ambitions it couldn't meet, but this movie manages to accomplish a fair amount. It's not as good as REC—not by a long shot—but it is still surprisingly competent with some really good moments.

The Worst Movies I Watched in 2018

Loser: Queen of the Damned

It's an older movie, sure, but I managed to never see it until this year, so it qualifies. I haven't read the Anne Rice vampire books this movie was based on, but I'm fairly certain this is not how she envisioned her stories and characters playing out. Lestat, the recurring character from Rice's novels is bored with his eternal existence and wants to spice it up by revealing vampirism to the world and pissing off the vampire societies. To do this, he starts a lame nü-metal band that plays Korn songs. There's some scholarly girl who is drawn into the whole affair for some reason or another and becomes obsessed with Lestat and vampires. Then Aaliyah shows up and murders a bunch of people as an antediluvian, elder vampire; the titular Queen.

It's based on two separate novels, and it shows. The plot is all over the place, just like the pacing, with an ending that sort of just happens all of a sudden. This is an embarrassment to watch. The acting is stiff in most places and overdone in others. The special effects are laughably bad. The whole movie reeks of nü-metal, "edgy," Hot Topic bullshit that is enough to make even the people still proudly wearing their Marilyn Manson t-shirt from 1999 gag. I've heard a lot of people say that Twilight ruined vampires and made them lame, but Queen of the Damned came first.

Alien: Covenant (REVIEW)

I love Alien. I love Aliens. I do not like Alien Covenant, at all. After I finally watched Covenant and had some time to really think about it, I kept asking myself the same question over and over: "Did they really just make the worst Alien movie thus far?" Alien 3 had always been the low bar of the franchise with very few redeeming qualities to it. However, it was still an Alien movie that was mostly just boring. Covenant is actively bad. It continues the Prometheus problem of having the dumbest people in space do the exploring and decision-making while trying to recapture and recreate Sigourney Weaver’s charismatic magic. It fails on almost every front, wastes Michael Fassbender's talents, and just gives a lame origin story to the iconic xenomorph that doesn't really explain anything. Alien: Covenant is lucky I watched Queen of the Damned this year.

The Last Jedi (REVIEW)

Beloved by some Star Wars fans, hated by other Star Wars fans, and generally disliked by me, The Last Jedi is not a good movie. I'm not sure how you can defend it other than pointing out: it's different from every other Star Wars movie. It's certainly that. With a plot that feels like a monumental waste of everyone's time, story arcs that go nowhere, and characters who are incapable of growing, The Last Jedi only manages to outdo its moments of boredom with moments of absurdity. Someone drank way too much green milk from an alien's tit before they greenlit this piece of crap.

Fahrenheit 451; Before I Wake; The Imitation Game

These movies aren't necessarily terrible, they're just extremely bland or disappointing in some way. I don't have a whole lot to say about them here that I didn't already say in my reviews of them. They're just big disappointments that either change too many details from their source material or simply don't do enough with their premise to matter.

Reviews:

The Best Books I Read in 2018

Dracula

Of the classics I've read this year, no book did I have a harder time putting down than Dracula. I normally read before I go to bed, but I could do that with Bram Stoker's classic because I would never get to sleep. Written in the form of journal entries from the different characters, Dracula is a mystery-thriller with interesting characters that share a strong bond of camaraderie and loyalty as they work to uncover and destroy the evil that is responsible for their friend's death. It's a slow, looming dread that continues to build and hang over all of them before the epic and climactic confrontation with the dark lord himself. Apart from the few sections that were a little too drawn out, Dracula is a fantastic novel with language that is still relatively easy to read.

Frankenstein (REVIEW)

I distinctly remember while I was reading Frankenstein, thinking to myself: I see why this is considered a classic. The language, the pacing, the characters all work so well together to make a compelling story about a man whose obsessions over an outlandish idea inevitably condemn him to a new obsession and a life of misery and revenge. The protagonist's confessions are laden with guilt, sorrow, and anger in a way that is convincing and sympathetic. I did not want this book to end when I read it.

1984

George Orwell's novel has been getting referenced on the news a lot these past two years as a weapon of criticism towards particular political figures. The more I hear it used, the more I become convinced that the people shouting "This is 1984!" or "This is Orwellian!" have not read 1984, or at the very least are unable to comprehend what was in the text.

In any case, Orwell's dark, dystopian novel focuses on a man who hates the world he lives and works in, as a puppet of the government: Big Brother. Under the government's ever-watchful eye, he can't express his feelings and tries to find refuge and privacy any way he can until, at last, he decides to do something drastic. The book focuses on how terrible life would be in a world where you can't express yourself, or dare risk possibly offending someone else with a disagreement or a heated conversation. It's a world of distrust and hatred, where you can only assume that your brainwashed children would turn you into the authorities for nothing if it benefited them. 1984 is a compelling warning of what will happen if free speech is not protected and it's a novel that is so well-written it's still a fun (and depressing) read.

Fahrenheit 451

Dystopian, like 1984, Fahrenheit 451 is a colorful rendition of the horrible future where firemen burn books instead of fighting the flames. The style of Ray Bradbury is more flamboyant and eccentric than Orwell's, but the content and the quality are just as valuable. If you are looking for a bleak science fiction tale and can't handle the ominous dread or the density of 1984, Fahrenheit 451 still does the trick and is worth a read.

The Worst Book I'm Still Reading

Moby Dick

I'm reading a lot of classics these days, but none has been so good at putting me to sleep like Herman Melville's novel about a mad hunter and his obsession over the white whale. I've ready about 20 chapters so far and I have yet to meet either Ahab or the titular whale. It's been the best book to read before bed because I am almost asleep after reading one chapter. Maybe when I get to chapter 100 I'll finally understand what makes this book a classic. So far, it's just been Melville's usual style of repeating himself and describing incidental scenes that have no impact or weight on anything.

Musical (Re)Discoveries of 2018

As usual, I mostly just dabbled in the usual trio of my main favorite bands (Tool, Meshuggah, Mastodon) this year. However, I occasionally checked in on what was new in my list of recommendations from music streaming services. From my random selections, I found a few new albums that have made their way into my library, as well as some newfound appreciation for albums I had previously disregarded. To express my enjoyment of them, rather than doing a review of each (because I wouldn't know how to review music) here are some haikus.

The Joy Formidable - "The Big Roar"

Metric measurement
A Mastodon's influence
Prog rock continues

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - "The Vietnam War"

Fragile reference
Recoiling dark reverence
Quiet, subtle, rage

2814 - "??????"

Ambient echoes
Sleep comes swiftly, quietly
Take, take me away

Incubus - "8"

Nimble at first, but
Lonely lethargy creeps in
A return to form

Full of Hell - "Trumpeting Ecstasy"

Fast, frenetic, freaks
Squealing screech, blast beat, soft meat
Compelled, sudden stop

Mastodon - "Blood Mountain"

Old, but new, favorite
Dormant adoration freed
Newfound respect, joy

Baroness - "Purple"

Forgotten release
Color my love with fast grooves
And timeless scale sweeps

See You Next Year

If you've been frequenting the site throughout the year, thank you for continuing to come back and giving DagonDogs.com a purpose! We will be back next year with more articles, more video game footage, and more content in general. Have a good rest of the year!

Fan of death metal? Check out my band on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. If you like what you hear and want to hear more, head to HoundsofInnsmouth.com for more info!

The Best and Worst of 2018