Pre-End of the World Highlights

I've been away a while if anyone who reads this, and if you are reading this then thank you for spending some of your well earned time on reading what could be construed as some very pointless ramblings. Recently I've mainly been cramming in gaming and drinking between doing the sensible things like earning money and spending quality time with the better half.  But it's nearly the end of the year so hooray! And what a year it has been for gaming and beer alike, so before we get blown into oblivion when Nibiru comes crashing down on us here's my top three games and also my top beers that have graced my chops. 

The Walking Dead

For those of you who have played this I know just the thought of this epic story is bringing a tear to your eye, and for those who haven't what the hell are you doing get this game now! Telltale games' epic story in Robert Kirkman's Walking Dead universe is filled with tough choices, great characters and  a plot line so engrossing it was a torment to wait for the next episode. Not without it's slow moments in some parts but the way it all gets brought together in the last episode makes up for this. This is may be a simple point and click adventure game, but it is a game that has been more engrossing than many AAA releases this year. Guys, for Clementine...*sob* 

XCOM Enemy Unknown

I'm often a bit a game hussy, spending a fair amount of time on one game until I complete it and then never pick it up again until I've run out of new things to play. XCOM on the other hand is different, it’s definitely a keeper. A turn based strategy game, an almost unheard of genre for consoles, it's an absolutely addictive joy to play. With random spawned missions amidst the obligatory missions to progress the game, you can spent as much time on the random pop up missions levelling up your squad as you want, or you can try and use your expert tactics and try and defeat the alien threat as quickly as possible it’s entirely up to you. The varying difficulties really ramp up the challenge and to be honest even normal mode has it’s tough moments. Maybe lacking on enemy types and mission locales as they will appear a bit samey after a while even though you’re travelling round the world but you can overlook this as you’ll probably be screaming at the screen as your best sniper gets taken out by a heavily armoured floater.

Dishonored

I'm not massively into stealth games, not because they aren't good but because I'm not very good at them. My patience wears thin hiding in boxes for guards to pass and I end up setting off all alarms and shooting everyone, one of the major reasons I've never got into the Metal Gear series. Dishonored is a different kind of stealth game in the fact you don’t have to be that stealthy to play it, if you want to shoot every one in sight you can still progress in the game however it will be a lot shorter game if you do so. Apart from the great art style, stellar voice cast (Susan Sarandon, Chloë Grace Moretz & John Slattery to name a few), and the universe Arkane Studios have created, I love the choice the game gives you, there are so many multiple ways to achieve your goal and this makes quite a short game become even longer as you will want to explore different ways to complete a mission as they will often open up bits of the story you probably overlooked the first time round. As I mentioned the story is a little short but the replayability value is there and I do hope with the success Dishonored has had this isn't the last we have seen from the city of Dunwall.

Wild Beer Co – Epic Saison  

To be honest I only found out about this beer the other week when out with Adam Sargent from Innis & Gunn (you can check his blog here ), this beer comes from a very new brewery based just outside Bristol which started off August of this year. Using either wild yeasts, barrel ageing or just using some unusual ingredients Wild Beer Co have certainly made a good start. And the Epic Saison is no exception, fusing Belgium beer culture and the powerful hops of America this is a punchy beer banging with tropical fruit flavour and a good bit of spiciness chucked in for good measure. It’s a great complex beer and I can only start to imagine how well it will go with food.

Arbor Ales – Hunny Beer  

Arbor Ales brew just round the corner from me in Lawrence Hill and their first foray in running a pub the Old Stillage is a great local showcasing their wares along with a few guests here and there. Hunny Beer is the go to beer, not too sweet and the name might suggest, it is well balanced with the honey and bitterness from the hops and is just a great all round pint for ale and lager drinkers alike!

Celt – Bleddyn 1075 

Based in Caerphilly, Celt have a quite a varied range which I have yet to sample (hint to Celt if you’re reading) but I did try this on cask the other week and was seriously impressed. On cask it’s a pale ale which is not for the faint hearted and not the choice of drink all night at 7.6%, in bottles it’s a safer 5.6%. Either way this is one tasty strong pale ale with a massively full bodied and bitter flavour, but oozing with a nice sweetness of citrus and grapefruit on the nose.

So that’s was my top three before this world full of amazing beer and games comes to an explosive end, so what will you be drinking or playing before the obviously inevitable and not at all ridiculous cataclysmic finale?