Tuesday, December 31, 2013

DTM-Cast - Episode #20 and The Winners And Losers Of 2013



Click on the image above to download the MP3.

Text listing is after the break... minus all the impromptu stuff.


Today's episode is the final episode of 2013... and being that this is the final DTM-Cast, I thought it would be appropriate to debut in audio format, something that I did in written form for years on the Twisted Realm site and even back when I did the old DTM Blog. See, I do this thing at the end of the year where I would post a list of winners and losers of that year, otherwise known as the high points and low points of that year... along with some middle-of-the-road mentions. It's something that I've done for YEARS in written form and, for those want to check out the written version rather than hear me ramble on it, I'll probably post the full list in a day or so.

Last year's list of 2012 winners and losers was done on a whim and quite honestly, was probably the weakest I've done. So, with this 2013 list, I took the proactive measure of compiling possible nominations on the fly. Whatever comes to mind got added to the list. And with that, let's get this over with.

THE YEAR'S WINNERS
Some good stuff has happened to or involving these particular targets during 2013.

MMPR - 20 YEARS
Twenty years running and still going strong with a new series every year, even if said series is now split into two 20-episode seasons. Still, for a franchise to last this long is quite an accomplishment even in the modern atmosphere of entertainment and so with a fruit smoothie in hand, we salute you, Power Rangers.

DOCTOR WHO - 50 YEARS
The long-running British sci-fi franchise turned fifty years old this past year and if there was ever a good time to jump on that Doctor Who bandwagon, this was it. And with the exit of Matt Smith as the Doctor and the introduction of that older bloke Peter Capaldi as the newest incarnation, looks like they found a way to circumvent that whole 13 lives limited instituted in series lore.

STUART ASHEN
The self-proclaimed "failed psychologist and internet cunt" recently did a movie that's available for free on YouTube. Unlike the upcoming AVGN movie which looks to be a complete pile of shit - albeit a decent looking pile of shit on a purely techincal level - Ashens And The Quest For The GameChild is actually funny, enjoyable, and entertaining. Kudos to the good doctor for not only getting a quality flick under his CV, but for also continuing to produce top-notch quality video reviews of tat without sacrificing the elements of what made him popular in the first place or sprucing it up with completely unnecessary rubbish. If only there were more like him who stuck to doing what they did best rather than branch out to completely unnecessary rubbish... oh hai Mark.

Fuck me, you got me quoting The Room now? Fuck me.

CLASSIC GAME ROOM
Despite moving to a warehouse, baring more live segments of Mark playing the game, and leaving YouTube to focus on its own website, Classic Game Room manages to be entertaining without losing what made it a popular show; very casual reviews that get to the meat of the matter. It is a prime example of a review show that can inform and be enjoyable without needless backstory or excessive padding lasting 20 minutes. One of the few (former) YouTube partnered reviewers that, to this day, maintains that standard of quality while evolving beyond its initial outings, but without sacrificing what brought it to the dance. If someone were to start doing video reviews and wants a good starting point, watch some CGR and take notes. But not on YouTube.

My BUDDY WHO BOUGHT MY OLD COMPUTER
Never mind that I stripped the poor thing of her bare parts, but he didn't mind and still forked over a couple hundred bucks... more than enough back for me to finally get a new PC for the last generation... I suppose.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
Yes, it recycles a bunch of stuff from the better movies. Yes, it is another tale of revenge and megamaniacal villains bent on widespread destruction. Yes, it apes a couple iconic scenes from a prior movie... but even with those points, Into Darkness was actually a fun movie and a wonderful spectacle. The best of the bunch? Not quite, but certainly nowhere near the worst film in the franchise... fuck you, Vegas Trekkies. Where was your Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations when you did that poll?

MY GAME COLLECTION
A thousand games was reached this year... I am happy... kinda, sorta... fuck it, yes, I made it a goal to reach this amount and I reached it. I'm fucking happy. Fuck you.

DANIEL BRYAN
2012 was a good year for Daniel Bryan Danielson, but 2013 was actually even better, what with a successful tag-team run with Kane and clean victories over John Cena and Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship twice. Both reigns were sadly short-lived and DBD was pushed aside to give Big Show another shot at futile relevance, but both victories served to cement Daniel Bryan Danielson as a bonafide superstar. Too bad WWE didn't catch and decided to push him aside in favor of MOAR CENA. But regardless of what he does now, you cannot say that there isn't anyone else on the roster who had more top-notch quality match-ups throughout the past calendar year than Daniel Bryan. The guy was truly a workhorse that shined brightly despite attempts by the power that be to fizzle him out. And for that, he gets the winner spot on this list.

THE YEAR'S LOSERS
Losers.

TWERKING
That's it. Just twerking. That's a loser right off the bat... I don't care. Moving on.

ABAYENCE
That's it. Just Abayence. That can kiss my ass. Next.

GOOGLE PLUS
Other than the ability to change my YouTube channel's name to something a little more palatable and allowing for much longer comments on Youtube videos, I found no practical use for Google Plus. I don't like that it's being implemented into YouTube like an ugly tumor. And most of all, I have no real interest in being part of some social network thing. There's a reason why I don't have a Facebook account and it isn't because I wanted to free up space for Google Plus.

MICROSOFT
Bungled the Xbox One announcement with many controversial decisions (always online, restrictions on used games, etc.) that caused heavy negative reaction from the gaming community that most of those policies were reversed or removed as a result. The Xbox One might have survived the blow, but Microsoft gets the Loser pin for their critically misguided initial steps in the pre-launch.

WII U
A pretty anemic first year outing for Nintendo's latest game console, with only a handful of worthwhile titles, people talking shit about it, and poor marketing. They had a chance to really sell the console and make as big of an impact with this thing as they did the Wii and they just fumbled completely. A console that makes it to C-Net's Top 5 Worst Tech Gifts (a bit harsh) isn't something to take likely. It looks to be more of a struggle with the other two consoles upon us and Nintendo will have to work a bit harder to sell their console. Maybe they'll manage to do better in the coming year but for the first year lead-in, Wii U fumbled.

WII MINI
99 dollar Wii console? Not a bad idea. 99 dollar Wii console with no Gamecube support, no online Internet access (thus no Wiiware or Virtual Console games), no Component or S-Video support, and no SD card slot? Fucking terrible idea. Sounds like DejaVu. It sure is. When 2012 ended, the thing was exclusive to Canada and nobody bought it. So Nintendo's strategy turned out to be "Let's sell the Americans our sloppy seconds." Have fun with your gimped Wii, yanks.

DOUG WALKER
Last year, Doug Walker was one of the 2012 winners for doing something that should have been done ages ago; retire the Nostalgia Critic for bigger and better things. Unfortunately, retirement didn't last long and Walker went back to the well by reviving the Nostalgia Critic and adding even more sketches to his "review" material. The dip into the well is what places Walker on the losers bracket, as he could have been someone who could've broken away from his bread and butter to do other things. Alas, it was not to be, as fans DEMANDED that the Critic be brought back for weekly segments because how dare Walker retire this cash cow... Hell, when KENNY THE NC17 GUY does a better job of retiring his gimmick and reserving it for special occasions than DOUG WALKER, then something's seriously wrong here.

MEGA MAN (AGAIN)
2012 was a rough year for Mega Man, what with games getting cancelled, joke appearances and whatnots. And if you honestly expected things to be different for 2013, you would be sorely disappointed. Nothing of note happened with Mega Man aside from a handful of rereleases on the 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console services. However, they did celebrate the 25th anniversary of Mega Man with style... by announcing an upcoming upgrade to the pre-existing Street Fighter Iv game... Fuck you, Capcom.

ZACK RYDER
Remember when Zack Ryder made waves a couple years ago with his YouTube show and got a US Title run as a result of his online popularity? I wonder what happened to that guy... actually, that was a lie. I don't wonder what happened to that guy. That's why he's on the list.

TOTAL DIVAS
No clue why this show exists. But it does and it's not interesting... but it does get high ratings, so... no.

DOUBLE DRAGON II: WANDER OF DRAGONS
Never played the thing itself, but has gotten some many vile and negative reviews that it makes the list based on reputation alone. The original Double Dragon II is one of those well-made and well-regarded games that one should weary of remaking. You have good remakes such as Bionic Command Reloaded... and then you have bad ones like Turtles In Time Reshelled. Wander Of Dragons is of the ReShelled variety... as far as I know.

SONIC.EXE
Horrible waste of time. Worthless drivel that somehow became a fad. It's shit... and while I'm at it...

CREEPYPASTAS IN GENERAL
They all suck. Fuck 'em.

MIDDLE GROUNDERS
Only two this year...

MAN OF STEEL
Man of Steel is something of an oddity. On the one hand, it's nice to see a movie where Kal-El (not quite yet Superman here) is punching stuff... but on the other hand, it's depressing that a movie could be so BORING with its action. The first half of the movie is actually quite good, but the rest of it? I honestly didn't care about any of it and if the movie doesn't make you give a shit about the final act and the final conflict, then it hasn't done its job. As a generic superhero movie, it's mostly decent fare. As a Superman movie, however, it was definitely missing something... because if it didn't, we wouldn't need to put in BATMAN for the sequel. Oops.

RETRON 5
A potential "dream" machine for retro gamers, as it is a clone system powered by Android that is capable of playing NES, Super NES, Genesis, Mega Drive, Famicom, Super Famicom, and the Game Boy family of games. And it has a lot of features and bells and whistles that could potentially make this a true dream come true. Certainly peaked my interest and could have been an easy winner of 2013... except for the constant delays and pushbacks... and now it's due 1st quarter 2014... lame. Looking forward to it, would very much like to get a machine like that for myself, but at the same time.

That does it for 2013. Meh is all I gotta say. Next.

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