A quick recap and an excuse to say thanks.

2022 went fast. Scary fast. So fast it feels as though even as I drive my daughter to school, at the beginning as I strap her into her car seat she is still the messy little newborn she once was, only to see the beautiful and brilliant little Kindergartener pop out of the back at the end of the car ride. I know, I know, it will only get worse. But for as much reflecting as I do about every type of media I can get my hands on, rarely do I slow down long enough to look at my own life with an appreciative and warm set of eyes. Something that is worth working on in the upcoming years and beyond.

If you’re still here, I appreciate you and what regular readers I have earned over the past couple of years, I cherish. It truly is flattering that anyone would the time to read any of this and even more fun if you’re here because we have similar interests and like hanging out towards the end of the day. Where of course time marches on inevitably but some of us spend the time to double check on things before the moment is completely gone, just to make sure we didn’t miss anything of value.

I’m rambling. Moving on.

So on a less serious note I let the good people of Instagram vote on the best video game I have reviewed all year and also the best video game character of the year. The results were interesting…

Video Game of the Year

(As voted on by Instagram users)

Out of 39 games this was what the Top 16 looked like:

Top 8

Ultimately leading to a show down between GTA III and Silent Hill 3 – a testament to third game’s in successful series.

Winner? GTA III

GTA III (91% OVERALL )

Silent Hill 3 (99% OVERALL)

Both are masterpieces – with Silent Hill being a bit more niche than the all encompassing, billion dollar global phenomenon that Grand Theft Auto has become.

However… character of the year was a lot more confusing.

Video Game Character of the Year

(As voted on by the populace of my Instagram following)

Top 16

So because the internet is the internet the top two video game characters of the year ended up being, you guessed it, Garfield or Shrek.

(For whatever reason none of my photos will resize so excuse the difference in size)

Winner? Garfield

Garfield: Lasagna World Tour (49% OVERALL)

Shrek 2 (75% OVERALL)

I am bound to run into both another Shrek and Garfield title so I guess expect a rematch between the two next year.

So far as the site stats go – 2022 was much more generous than the initial year of blogging:

I also had nearly 7,000 more visits to the website this year – so again thank you to anyone whose made that possible. There is no money in blogging for any normal people that I know but there is a sweet validation that I am not above admitting I chase.

As for me personally, I’m not really big on resolutions but I am big on continual improvement. I need to read, learn and write more outside of my own comfort zone.

As the year comes to a close I hope everyone reading this has a safe and happy new years and i wish you all love and luck on your own projects and self-improvement.

From Buffalo with love.