2008 was a hell of a year in just about every category, from movies to music to world events to video games… It seemed that with every new day, something crazy and unexpected was just on the horizon, from a presidential candidate choosing a complete buffoon as his running mate to Chinese Democracy finally being released. Here are a few of my most notable memories from 2008.

The Movies: While The Dark Knight seems to have made everybody’s list, I’ll add Iron Man and Pineapple Express to my list. Poor Iron Man came out of the gate swinging, and I came out of the theater proclaiming that it was the greatest superhero movie ever made. And it was…for a couple months until Heath Ledger blew everybody’s damn mind. Nevertheless, Robert Downey Jr. was stellar as Tony Stark and Jon Favreau brought my favorite Marvel superhero to the big screen perfectly.

Seriously, I probably watched this trailer over a hundred times before the movie was released. Pineapple Express is not only my favorite movie of the year, but it’s the best movie Seth Rogan has ever been in. It also reminded me that James Franco is at his best when he’s funny. The guy is a great comedic actor and I hope the success of Pineapple Express encourages him to do more with the funny.

The Gadgets: I used a plural, but in truth there is only one gadget to mention in 2008: the iPhone 3G. Never in my life did I think a phone could change the way in which I live my life. But the iPhone is the most important device I own and the one thing that I must have with me at all times. I use it to watch movies, listen to music and podcasts, play video games, check news, browse the internet, update Robot Panic, take pictures, take notes, text dirty messages to Hilden and Moe, and of course call people. The App Store has completely revolutionized nearly everything in my life, and because of this wonderful gadget, I have joined Hilden in the cult of Steve Jobs.

The Games: Boy oh boy oh boy oh boy…there were some excellent games released in ’08. Among my favorites were Professor Layton and the Curious Village, No More Heroes, Burnout Paradise, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Little Big Planet, Dragon Quest IV (DS), Fable II, Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. Not to mention great downloadables like Castle Crashers, Megaman 9, and Galaga Legions. But the game that simply blew us all away was Left 4 Dead. Our obsession with zombies has been well-documented here at Robot Panic, but even we were stunned to find out just how incredible Left 4 Dead was. The game took nearly everything that is great about zombie movies (relentless hordes, a group of unlikely survivors, an ultimate standoff) and translated it perfectly into the greatest multiplayer game I’ve experienced in years. I was all set to choose Little Big Planet as my Game of the Year, but one evening with Left 4 Dead was all it took to change my mind. Hell, the game is so good that even Moe is playing it. Hilden and I had to buy him a 360 just so he’d stop playing our copies.
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SHOWNOTES

DS Review: Personal Trainer-Cooking
Retro Review: Super Challenge Baseball (2600)
Games of 2008 Discussion
Release List
The Last Shot
DGR Mailbag

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DGR: 12.29.2008

While these picks are listed, this is really just a collection of ten things (out of many) I found cool this year. They are not ranked in any particular order and each is just as awesome, in my mind, as the next.

The Dark Knight-My favorite movie of the year and proof positive that somebody “gets it” when it comes to comic book stories and characters. The fact that we’ve had two movies that get to the heart of characterization and manage to see past the colorful art and “comics are for children” stereotype, make me happy to wear the moniker of “nerd”. Stunningly crafted, filled with amazing performances and propelled by an amazing script and visionary director, The Dark Knight is why I go to the movies.

2008 Election-I have never cared as much or been a part of something so sweeping as what happened this November 4th. I, like so many others I know, went from a jaded and bitter member of the United States of America to someone who became proud of the only nation I’ve ever wanted to call home. It sounds like brazen hyperbole when I say it, but I assure you it’s true, my faith in the American People has been restored for the first time in what feels like forever. I know not everyone agrees, but as far as I’m concerned, there was no moment greater than Election Night, 2008.

iPhone 3G-Of course, the iPhone was actually first released in 2007, but the latest 3G iteration of Apple’s phone is the definitive version for number of reasons. First off, 3G networking is the gold standard, at this point, for any phone wanting to use the internet, download movies and just get shit done out in the wild. Second, the 3G brought along with it the App Store. Finally, the iPhone is the behemoth it should have been in the first place. With applications that truly make the phone sing, the App Store fleshed out an already imposing technological masterpiece. Quite possibly the most impressive piece of tech I own, the iPhone has made organization and getting shit done attainable, even for a hopeless case like me.

The Streets-Everything Is Borrowed- I buy very few albums these days. What I like, I usually find in the single track world of digital download. When I saw the latest album from The Streets, however, I immediately grabbed it and walked to the checkout line. Filled with the a happy vibe, some very catchy tunes and Mike Skinner’s signature Birmingham accent, it’s become one of my most listened to and favorite albums of 2008. It’s a shame we only get one more The Street’s opus but until that moment, this’ll do fine.
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Ah, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, plebians. My picks of stuff and nonsense.

10) Diary of the Dead: Romero has returned to us with more zombie joy. Despite a main character that would have made more sense being written into a 15 y/o fanfiction rather than a major movie release, the film stuck to it’s roots. Zombies, survivors, zombies and survivors being maimed in creative ways, and a little bit of light social commentary to go along with it. While I’m apparently still the one who enjoyed Land of the Dead, I appreciate Romero getting back to the original, cannibalistic undead roots of his stories.

9) iPhone 3G: It has single-handedly revolutionized crapper activities, as well as becoming to closest iteration of a handheld, works-anywhere laptop computer I’ve ever seen. The new iPhone as well as the App store support it has received has redefined the superphone and probably become the single most absurdly useful device I have ever owned. So, why does it not rank higher? Apple rigidly locking down functionality that should have been part of the thing from day one and the sheer obnoxiousness of having to wait in line to sign multi-year agreement for the device both annoy me. So down to #9 you go phone.

I still love you.

8 ) Good Old Games (Gog.com): It’s a site that has been built for the sole purpose of repackaging our PC nostalgia and selling it to us, at a fair price, with no DRM, and working on modern machines. Black Isle Studios titles? Check. SCUMM adventure games? check (and two are free with the last update). Phneri awash in a cheap gaming paradise? Check.

7)  NXE: No, it isn’t bigger than Jesus, but the Netflix thing is pretty badass, and even now I’m plotting to acquire a bigger hard drive to avoid the whine of the 360′s DVD drive.

Oh, and my Avatar goes into the night and violates your avatar while you sleep. In every way imaginable.  So I’ve got that going.

My initial reaction to the NXE was an overwhelming ‘meh,’ but after giving it some time I’ve gotten to like the extra features, and managed to save a fair amount of change by dropping cable in lieu of watching things instantly through the 360.  So yeah, it’s not bad. And Grindhouse is on it.
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Hello, everyone.

We’ve been getting a lot of requests to post community gaming information on RP. As you may or may not have noticed, we’ve started compiling a list of Gamertags and PSN Names and posted them in the Links section. If you would like to have your name added to the lists, please leave your Gamertag and/or PSN Name in the comment section below. We’ll add it to the list’s we’ve already started.

If you’ve already posted your Gamertag/PSN Name in the Come Play with Moe post, it’s already been added to the list. No need to repost.

At this time, we won’t be doing lists of DS or Wii Friend Codes. You’ll simply have to email folks for that information.

Thanks again and we hope to see you online!

Ok so here it is, my favourite things of 2008 in no particular order.

Speed Racer
So everyone else here is making mention to the Dark Knight which I agree is a phenomenal film. That said, I’d like to move onto the much overlooked but equally awesome Speed Racer. For me this film is the closest I’ll get to a film about one of my greatest passions: F-Zero. Whilst this isn’t exactly the same there are many similarities to be found and it does have an incredible amount of BOOOOOOST! Folks who know me know that I have a thing for boost… check out this ‘interesting’ little video that the delightful M.C. Wilson took of me during one of the evenings at PAX earlier this year.

So aside from a lot of boost, this film actually delivers a pretty decent story which is intentionally over-the-top super cheese, I think it’d be hard to come away from this without a huge Joker-sized grin on their face. It’s possibly the best looking Blu Ray film I’ve watched to date, brimming with style, incredible colour as well as some of the fastest action scenes you’ll ever see.

Blu Ray
Okay, okay I hear ya! So Blu Ray was released a while back. What I’m talking about here though is Blu Ray winning the format war. Last year it was still unknown which format was safe to buy for which was bad for all of us and in having one set format we can all finally move forward with conifdence and retail can start buying bulk which in turn leads to decent pricing. This is good for all concerned and I’m very happy to be in the HiDef Film generation.

Lost Odyssey
Like others at Robot Panic, this game blew me away. I’m proud to say that I picked it up first as a Japanese import as it was multi-language and boy I’m glad I did. It wasn’t long before my hyping of this game got many of my friends to buy the game including many of the guys here and I was elated to see a near universal agreement about how great this game is. I’m picking this as one of my SOTY nominations due to its mind-blowing story telling. This has been the only game to date which has openly made me cry due to plotline and delivery.

Adding to the great story telling in game though was something much more unique, daring and in hindsight very rewarding. Scattered throughout the game were these wonderfully produced stories penned out buy an award winning Japanese novelist, Kiyoshi Shigematsu, called ‘A Thousand Years of Dreams’. Not only were these unique to videogames but they were also surprisingly deep, involving and emotional way to deliver story content to the viewer on a TV set.
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Xbox Live gamertag = MoeBot 5000

Maria Schneider

A native of Windom, Minnesota, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota, this incredible woman continues to almost single-handedly rewrite the direction of composition for jazz ensemble year after year, and 2008 was no different.  Schneider released her latest album entitled “Sky Blue” to much critical acclaim and a brought home another grammy for her tune, “Cerulean Skies.”  Incredible musician and all-around benevolent human, Maria Schneider is a name those of you with an interest in composition, jazz, or improvised music ought to dedicate a little time in the coming year.  Point of interest: she was one of the first artists to work with www.artistshare.com, an online avenue for artists to propose, fund, and share their work without playing any games with corporate entities.  Give ‘em some love.  www.MariaSchneider.com

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Proof positive that real journalists practicing real journalism do, in fact, still exist in the world, they just happen to wear fake beards, tell dirty jokes, and generally get straight to the damn point.  Here’s to you, Jon! (more…)

Greetings. After a brief holiday hiatus the blogsperiment has returned. When last we left off, Stabitha was approaching the super duper mart, in search of experience and a serviceable weapon beyond the sledgehammer stolen out of the sheriff’s house. More on that later.

The super duper mart proved to be fairly easy with a melee character, mostly because enemy raiders like to charge face-first into sledgehammers. After I took some hits I headed to the back room and turned the protectron loose on what was left. It was only after all of this that I learned of Stabitha’s fatal weakness; shotguns.

The last raiders had a combat shotgun (blame my meteoric ascension to level 4), and carved me a new asshole with it. With a a lot of stimpacks and a little patience I managed to bring him down, but damn. Shotguns hurt. From now on I carry a hunting rifle with me. No, I can’t hit for crap with it with my small gun skill of 20, but I can still manage a sneak attack.

Anyway, raiders all dead, it was time to collect my real reward for fighting through this crap. In the back of the store I also found two laser pistols, which I managed to cobble together a functioning ranged weapon that uses my chraracter’s skill. Huzzah.

5. The trip back to the sadistic witch was uneventful. She rewarded me with some food and acted like nothing had happened. Nothing! After I go out and get shot full of holes trying to follow her braindead research project. And while I’m swimming in old ammunition, the batteries for my laser pistol are dwindling. Of course Moira charges more for those than anything else. Bitch

Her next insane scheme involves me taking on a lethal dose of radiation and telling her how it feels. I’m going to take a rest, then tell her just where she can shove her stupid book and her idiot research

[DANGER] Pipboy 3000 has detected hazardous radiation exposure to user! Please close journal v1.9 a and seek immediate medical attention.

[EMERGENCY] Pipboy 3000 has detected critical levels of radiation. Seek immediate medical attention. Would you like to browse various styles of wigs and dentures in the vault network outlet? [Y/N]

[!] .Pipboy 3000 has detected fatal radiation levels. Please make peace with your chosen diety and prepare for the inevitable. Thank you for choosing Pipboy.

Or the lunatic will shove me into the irradiated pond at the edge of town and let enough rads flow into the crack in my head that she can conduct her research. Moira said it was for the good of the wasteland the whole time. I know what needs to happen now. I’ll help her with her quest, because she’ll help me.

Then I’ll blow her head off.

Megaton seems to be designed to be pillaged in many ways. In a matter of hours one can accumulate a vast amount of wealth from the city, then detonate it quite happily. My only real obstacle in my looting has been Deputy Steel. See, Simms’ key doesn’t just open his house and access to a bobblehead, it also gets you into the armory, which is full of guns and angry robot. Angry robots can be quite painful even at the mighty level of four, which is why I bring grenades for these situations. Apparently the townspeople didn’t hear the multiple explosions in the giant metal building in their town, or thought better of asking, because sadistic little Moira was happy to buy back the contents of the armory. No laser weapons in here, though. I’ll have to do some more thorough hunting for those.

Until next time.

Pices
A new store will be discovered on your journeys. What’s that? You hate exploring? Well suck it up and try a few random marketplaces on your block. Just walk down the line of a shoveled sidewalk and go into random places. See what they have.

Aquarius
Stouts will taste like subtle poison for a period. I wish you well through this week. Drink up some spirits instead. Shots are the way.

Capricorn
You! Yeah! You! Make a snow angel! Go outside and do that! Then have a snowball fight with your kids…or somebody you know. Just like, go outside. Get off this computer, guy.

Sagittarius
Whip out a Smash Bros. game. Challenge your significant other. Laugh. Frown. Taunt the other person. Bad sportsmanship will plague you this week.

Scorpio
Holidays are tedious to you. You need to read something. Watchman looks to be a good find during your holiday break.

Libra
The sky shows a meek color, pale like your heart. But remember it is just a clump of cells, pumping little rings that are red. They circle the paths of your body, making your other limbs thrive and function. Maybe you have health insurance. If you do, schedule a check up. Some stars don’t have health insurance, don’t-cha-know…

Virgo
Emotionality is not a word. Cease to use it.

Leo
You probably received music for Christmas. It would seem you should unpackage this album right about now. You have a car ride that needs it.

Cancer
You on the other hand, did not receive music for Christmas. However, you appear to have received articles of clothing that reference music, but curiously reflect albums that you don’t even own. I suppose that means the person should not have gotten you those clothes and would have been better off buying you the actual albums, huh.

Gemini
You will notice one of your mouse traps has yielded great success. Upon slaying the mouse:
You gain 14 Experience Points
Your Smiling increases by 2
Your Sparkle increases by 1
Your Dexterity increases by 3
Your Cockiness increases by 2
Your Asthma Resistance increases by 4
Your Gay Porn Resistance increases by 9

Taurus
One of your speakers will crackle and attempt to malfunction. You must raise your hands in the air in frustration and cry out to a lord to repair your entertainment center. The lord of theaters which we will name “Bose-it-i-cus” shall ease your woes and repair your possessions without reason or cause through sheer mysteriousness. And then you should turn the Bass down on your system. All will be neutral. The stars have spoken.

Aries
Plan the fucking greatest New Years party you could ever do. Hire random girls to serve drinks at your house ‘n shit. Invite a washed up 70’s band to play in your basement. Dude, maybe even I’ll be there! It’ll be totally sweet.