Diablo 3 With Russian River Damnation

After many long years of agonizing speculation and anticipation, Diablo 3 finally went live last week. Needless to say, I've been playing as much as possible ever since. While I've already tried out quite a few booze combinations with it, I saved something special for its release that I thought might go particularly well.

Russian River Brewing Company does not distribute to Chicago, but I try to pick up their beers (if I can find them) whenever I am in California. Though I try not to base my pairings on the names of boozes, I couldn't help but save a bottle of Damnation for this moment in video game history. Damnation is probably my least favorite beer from Russian River. Which is to say, it's a really fantastic beer in every way, but I find the brewery's other beers to be even more fantastic. When I visited their brewpub last year, I tried 15 beers, and every one of them was incredibly delicious and well-made.
Damnation is a Belgian-style golden ale. It has a beautiful creamy head, and features wonderful notes of pear and banana along with a subtle spiciness. It is strong enough to help embolden a mighty barbarian (I'm a sucker for warrior classes in Diablo games. I like to smash stuff), but not overpowering enough to hinder my reflexes. It made for a good companion to Diablo 3. But that's enough blogging. I have demons to slay.

Surprise, Baby: It's YouTube Rewind 2018!

In 2018, you danced your heart out to Drake, yodeled in Walmart, and played a lot of Fortnite. As we prepare to head into 2019, it's time for our annual look back at the year that was in video and the trends that you made possible.

This year was marked by surprising celebrity moments. In February, Kylie Jenner surprised the world with "To Our Daughter," an 11-minute film detailing her pregnancy and the birth of baby Stormi, which was watched over 53 million times on its way to becoming YouTube's global #1 Top Trending Video of 2018. Will Smith vlogged all over the world. Oh, and he also jumped out of a helicopter over the Grand Canyon on a dare. Rihanna started her own "Tutorial Tuesdays" makeup series. And, of course, Beyoncé's livestream from Coachella took #Beychella worldwide.

Emerging and well-known YouTube stars also showed up in a big way in the year's "Top Trending Videos" list. Liza and David shared the news of their breakup through tears and laughter, the guys from Dude Perfect somehow perfectly tossed bread into a toaster, and AsapSCIENCE once again solved the Internet's latest mystery. (Seriously, is it "Yanny" or "Laurel"?) India comedy sensation Amit Bhadana amassed an astounding 11 million subscribers in just one year and Lâm Chấn Khang's two-hour musical comedy set in the criminal underworld amassed more than 60 million views.

With more than 673 million collective views, these were the moments that had you watching, commenting and sharing in 2018:

Top Trending Videos

1. To Our Daughter 
2. Real Life Trick Shots 2 | Dude Perfect
3. we broke up
4. Walmart yodeling kid
5. Do You Hear "Yanny" or "Laurel"? (SOLVED with SCIENCE)
6. Portugal v Spain - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ - MATCH 3
7. Build Swimming Pool Around Underground House
8. Cobra Kai Ep 1 - "Ace Degenerate" - The Karate Kid Saga Continues
9. Behan Bhai Ki School Life - Amit Bhadana
10. NGƯỜI TRONG GIANG HỒ PHẦN 6 | L M CHẤN KHANG | FULL 4K | TRUYỀN NH N QUAN NHỊ CA | PHIM CA NHẠC 2018

Following the success of last year's monster hit "Despacito," Latin Music has continued to explode on YouTube. in 2018. In fact, eight of the ten most-watched music videos over the past year were by Latin artists.

1. Te Bote Remix - Casper, Nio García, Darell, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny, Ozuna | Video Oficial
2. Nicky Jam x J. Balvin - X (EQUIS) | Video Oficial | Prod. Afro Bros & Jeon
3. Maroon 5 - Girls Like You ft. Cardi B
4. Daddy Yankee | Dura (Video Oficial)
5. Ozuna x Romeo Santos - El Farsante (Remix) (Video Oficial)
6. Becky G, Natti Natasha - Sin Pijama (Video Oficial)
7. El Chombo - Dame Tu Cosita feat. Cutty Ranks (Official Video) [Ultra Music]
8. Drake - God's Plan
9. Reik - Me Niego ft. Ozuna, Wisin (Video Oficial)
10. Vaina Loca - Ozuna x Manuel Turizo (Video Oficial)

It's also time for our annual Rewind mashup video. But rather than trying to sum up 2018's biggest memes, personalities, and hit videos ourselves, we tried something different this time around. We asked some of YouTube's biggest names to tell us what they wanted to see if they controlled Rewind.

Check out the full video below and head over to our Rewind site to get to know the creators and artists who shaped popular culture in 2018.



Kevin Allocca, Head of Culture & Trends, and the YouTube Rewind team, recently watched "YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind."

Ekam Continuously Builds

I just pushed some changes to Ekam adding a mode in which it monitors your source code and immediately rebuilds when a file changes. As usual, code is at:

http://code.google.com/p/ekam/

Just run Ekam with -c to put it in continuous mode. When it finishes building, it will wait for changes and then rebuild. It also notices changes which happen mid-build and accounts for them, so you don't need to worry about confusing it as you edit.

I've only implemented this for FreeBSD and OSX so far, but things are still broken on Linux anyway (see previous post).

kqueue/EVFILT_VNODE vs. inotify

Speaking of Linux and monitoring directory trees, it turns out that Linux has a completely different interface for doing this vs. FreeBSD/OSX. The latter systems implement kqueue, which, via the EVFILT_VNODE filter, can monitor changes to a file pointed at by an open file descriptor. This includes directories -- adding or removing a file from a directory counts as modifying the directory.

Linux, on the other hand, has inotify, a completely different interface that, in the end, does the same thing.

There is a key difference, though: kqueue requires you to have an open file descriptor for every file and directory you wish to monitor. inotify takes a path instead. Normally I prefer interfaces based on file descriptors because they are more object-oriented. However, the number of file descriptors that may be opened at one time is typically limited to a few thousand -- easily less than the number of files in a large source tree. On OSX (which seems to have lower limits than FreeBSD) I was not even able to monitor the protobuf source tree without hitting the limit.

Furthermore, watching a directory using inotify also means watching all files in the directory. While I have to assume that this is NOT transitive (so you can't watch an entire tree with one call), it still (presumably) greatly reduces the overhead of watching an entire tree, since the OS doesn't have to flag every file individually.

I'm still waiting for confirmation from the freebsd-questions mailing list on whether EVFILT_VNODE is really so much less scalable, but lots of Googling didn't produce any answers. I just see lots of people asking for inotify on FreeBSD and being told to use EVFILT_VNODE instead, as if it were an equal replacement.

This may mean that FreeBSD and OSX will have to use some sort of gimpy polling strategy instead, but that will have its own scalability issues as the directory tree gets large. Sigh.

I may give up and switch my desktop to Linux. Fully-supported Chrome and Eclipse would be nice, as well as a more robust package update mechanism (I'm getting sick of compiling things). Figuring out how to do everything on FreeBSD was fun, but getting a bit old now.

2018 GAME OF THE YEAR - Genre Awards

2018 Game of the Year - from media outlets

* Video Game Awards Only - The Video Game includes Console games,
PC games, Handheld games, and Indie games, but not Mac games, Kids games,
Free games, etc.

* Professional Awards Only - The Media include Sites, Magazines, Newspapers, Publications, Broadcastings, but not Blogs have a staff of one.

* All-Format GOTY Awards Only - But a single GOTY pick must be a single title, except for a tie.

* In release order.




2018 SHOOTER OF THE YEAR


Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : Battlefield V

CBS Gamers' Choice Awards (US) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Brazil Game Awards (BR) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Critical Hit (ZA) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

SA Gamer (ZA) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

TechTudo (BR) : Far Cry 5

DualShockers (US) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Twinfinite (US) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Geekbecois (CA) : Far Cry 5

Australian Games Awards (AU) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

VOXEL (BR) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : Battlefield V

ActuGaming.net (FR) : Battlefield V

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : Battlefield V

The Games Machine (IT) : Far Cry 5

IGN Hungary (HU) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Far Cry 5

VidaExtra Readers' Choice (ES) : Battlefield V

The Daily Camera (US) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Atomix.vg (MX) : Red Dead Redemption 2

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Battlefield V

DarkStation (US) : Far Cry 5

3DJuegos (ES) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : Battlefield V

Komputer Świat (PL) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Spider's Web (PL) : Battlefield V

GameMAG (RU) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

PlayGround.ru (RU) : Far Cry 5

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Far Cry 5

Varvat (SE) : Battlefield V

Bleeding Cool (US) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Just Push Start (US) : Battlefield V

Glitched Africa Readers' Choice (ZA) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

PC Guru Magazine Readers' Choice (HU) : Far Cry 5

Gamekapocs Readers' Choice (HU) : Battlefield V

4Players (DE) : Battlefield V

Everyeye.it (IT) : Far Cry 5

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Battlefield V

GameSpace (US) : Destiny 2: Forsaken

Gameswelt (DE) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

VGChartz (UK) : Far Cry 5

Hardcore Gamer (US) : Dusk

Multiplayer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Battlefield V

Game Informer (US) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Game Informer Readers' Choice (US) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

New Game Network (CA) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Sector (SK) : Battlefield V

GameOver Readers' Choice (GR) : Far Cry 5

Play Legit (US) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

SaudiGamer (SA) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

GoHa.Ru (RU) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

GoHa.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Far Cry 5

Shazoo Readers' Choice (RU) : Destiny 2: Forsaken

JagatPlay (ID) : Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

GRY OnLine Readers' Choice (PL) : Far Cry 5

NeoGAF (US) : Far Cry 5

PardisGame (IR) : Far Cry 5

ResetEra (US) : Far Cry 5

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Battlefield V

ITC.ua (UA) : Far Cry 5

IlVideogioco (IT) : Battlefield V

Gameblog (FR) : Battlefield V

WCCFtech (US) : Far Cry 5

WCCFtech Readers' Choice (US) : Far Cry 5

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : Battlefield V

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Far Cry 5




2018 RPG OF THE YEAR


The Game Awards (US) : Monster Hunter: World

Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

CBS Gamers' Choice Awards (US) : Monster Hunter: World

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Brazil Game Awards (BR) : Monster Hunter: World

Critical Hit (ZA) : Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

SA Gamer (ZA) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

M3 (SE) : Monster Hunter: World

TechTudo (BR) : Monster Hunter: World

DualShockers (US) : Octopath Traveler

Twinfinite (US) : Octopath Traveler

Geekbecois (CA) : Monster Hunter: World

Australian Games Awards (AU) : Detroit: Become Human

VOXEL (BR) : Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

IGN (US) : Monster Hunter: World

ActuGaming.net (FR) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

The Games Machine (IT) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

SpazioGames (IT) : Octopath Traveler

Areajugones (ES) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

IGN Hungary (HU) : Monster Hunter: World

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

GameCrate (CA) : Octopath Traveler

VidaExtra Readers' Choice (ES) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

The Daily Camera (US) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

KnowTechie (US) : Monster Hunter: World

Atomix.vg (MX) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

TechRadar (UK) : Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Stevivor (AU) : Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Gamereactor Italia (IT) : God of War

GamerGen (FR) : Octopath Traveler

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

DarkStation (US) : Monster Hunter: World

3DJuegos (ES) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : Monster Hunter: World

Komputer Świat (PL) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Spider's Web (PL) : Vampyr

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : Monster Hunter: World

GameMAG (RU) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

PlayGround.ru (RU) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Varvat (SE) : Octopath Traveler

Bleeding Cool (US) : Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Just Push Start (US) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

BILD Readers' Choice (DE) : Monster Hunter: World

Glitched Africa Readers' Choice (ZA) : Monster Hunter: World

PC Guru Magazine Readers' Choice (HU) : Monster Hunter: World

Gamekapocs Readers' Choice (HU) : Monster Hunter: World

4Players (DE) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

Everyeye.it (IT) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

GameSpace (US) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

VGChartz (UK) : Octopath Traveler

Hardcore Gamer (US) : Monster Hunter: World

Game Informer (US) : Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Game Informer Readers' Choice (US) : Assassin's Creed Odyssey

New Game Network (CA) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Sector (SK) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

GameOver Readers' Choice (GR) : Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition

Play Legit (US) : Octopath Traveler

GamersGlobal Readers' Choice (DE) : Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition

Hrej.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

GoHa.Ru (RU) : Pathfinder: Kingmaker

GoHa.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Shazoo Readers' Choice (RU) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Premiere Line (BR) : Monster Hunter: World

JagatPlay (ID) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

Easy Allies (US) : Monster Hunter: World

GRY OnLine Readers' Choice (PL) : Assassin's Creed Odyssey

NeoGAF (US) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

PardisGame (IR) : Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

StopGame (RU) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

StopGame Readers' Choice (RU) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

ResetEra (US) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

BaziCenter (IR) : Monster Hunter: World

Игромания (RU) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Sick Critic (US) : Monster Hunter: World

Games.cz (CZ) : Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

ITC.ua (UA) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Zoomg (IR) : Monster Hunter: World

Zoomg Readers' Choice (IR) : Monster Hunter: World

Gameblog (FR) : Monster Hunter: World

Games.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

WCCFtech (US) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

WCCFtech Readers' Choice (US) : Assassin's Creed Odyssey

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Monster Hunter: World

PlayDome Readers' Choice (HU) : Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Rubber Chicken Readers' Choice (PT) :
Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (US) : Monster Hunter: World

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) : Monster Hunter: World

JeuxCapt Readers' Choice (FR) : Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

GameStar Hungary Readers' Choice (HU) : Monster Hunter: World




2018 ACTION / ADVENTURE OF THE YEAR


The Game Awards (US) : God of War

Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Life is Strange 2 - Episode 1

CBS Gamers' Choice Awards (US) : Marvel's Spider-Man

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) :
Action - Far Cry 5
Adventure - God of War

Brazil Game Awards (BR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Critical Hit (ZA) : God of War

SA Gamer (ZA) : God of War

news.com.au (AU) : Strange Brigade

M3 (SE) : God of War

TechTudo (BR) : Marvel's Spider-Man

DualShockers (US) : God of War

Twinfinite (US) : Marvel's Spider-Man

TyC Sports Player One Readers' Choice (AR) :
Action - Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Adventure - Red Dead Redemption 2

Geekbecois (CA) : God of War

Australian Games Awards (AU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

VOXEL (BR) :
Action - Red Dead Redemption 2
Adventure - God of War

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) :
Action - Red Dead Redemption 2
Adventure - God of War

IGN (US) : God of War

ActuGaming.net (FR) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - The Council

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

The Games Machine (IT) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

Areajugones (ES) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - God of War

IGN Hungary (HU) : God of War

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - God of War

VidaExtra Readers' Choice (ES) : God of War

The Daily Camera (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

KnowTechie (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

The Inner Circle Games Network (US) : Marvel's Spider-Man

TechRadar (UK) : Marvel's Spider-Man

Stevivor (AU) : Marvel's Spider-Man

GamerGen (FR) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Assassin's Creed Odyssey

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : God of War

DarkStation (US) : Action - Marvel's Spider-Man

3DJuegos (ES) : Red Dead Redemption 2

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : God of War

Komputer Świat (PL) : God of War

Spider's Web (PL) : Action - God of War

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : Action - God of War

GameMAG (RU) : God of War

PlayGround.ru (RU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : God of War

Varvat (SE) : God of War

Bleeding Cool (US) : Marvel's Spider-Man

Just Push Start (US) : Marvel's Spider-Man

BILD Readers' Choice (DE) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Glitched Africa Readers' Choice (ZA) : God of War

PC Guru Magazine Readers' Choice (HU) : Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Gamekapocs Readers' Choice (HU) : God of War

4Players (DE) :
Action - Red Dead Redemption 2
Adventure - Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

Everyeye.it (IT) : God of War

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : God of War

The Buttonsmashers (US) : Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

GameSpace (US) : Action - Marvel's Spider-Man

VGChartz (UK) : God of War

Hardcore Gamer (US) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Subnautica

Multiplayer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : God of War

IGN Middle East (AE) : Marvel's Spider-Man

Game Informer (US) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit

Game Informer Readers' Choice (US) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

New Game Network (CA) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

Sector (SK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

GameOver Readers' Choice (GR) : God of War

Play Legit (US) : God of War

GamersGlobal Readers' Choice (DE) : God of War

GoHa.Ru (RU) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

GoHa.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) :
Action - Red Dead Redemption 2
Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

Shazoo Readers' Choice (RU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Premiere Line (BR) : God of War

JagatPlay (ID) : God of War

GRY OnLine Readers' Choice (PL) :
Action - Red Dead Redemption 2
Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

NeoGAF (US) :
Action - Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Adventure - Red Dead Redemption 2

PardisGame (IR) : God of War

StopGame (RU) : Action - God of War

StopGame Readers' Choice (RU) : Action - God of War

ResetEra (US) : God of War

BaziCenter (IR) : Action - Dead Cells

Games.cz (CZ) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : God of War

ITC.ua (UA) : God of War

IlVideogioco (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Zoomg (IR) : God of War

Zoomg Readers' Choice (IR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gameblog (FR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Games.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Red Dead Redemption 2

WCCFtech (US) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Shadow of the Colossus

WCCFtech Readers' Choice (US) :
Action - God of War
Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : God of War

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : God of War

PlayDome Readers' Choice (HU) : Adventure - Detroit: Become Human

Rubber Chicken Readers' Choice (PT) : God of War

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) :
Action - Celeste
Adventure - God of War

JeuxCapt Readers' Choice (FR) : God of War

GameStar Hungary Readers' Choice (HU) : Adventure - Detroit: Become Human




2018 SPORTS OF THE YEAR


The Game Awards (US) : Forza Horizon 4

Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : FIFA 19

CBS Gamers' Choice Awards (US) : Rocket League

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) : Forza Horizon 4

Brazil Game Awards (BR) : FIFA 19

Critical Hit (ZA) : Forza Horizon 4

SA Gamer (ZA) : NBA 2K19

M3 (SE) : FIFA 19

TechTudo (BR) : FIFA 19

DualShockers (US) : Mario Tennis Aces

Twinfinite (US) : Forza Horizon 4

TyC Sports Player One Readers' Choice (AR) : FIFA 19

Geekbecois (CA) : Forza Horizon 4

Australian Games Awards (AU) : Forza Horizon 4

VOXEL (BR) : Forza Horizon 4

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : Forza Horizon 4

IGN (US) : FIFA 19

GAMES.CH (CH) : FIFA 19

ActuGaming.net (FR) : Mario Tennis Aces

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : Mario Tennis Aces

The Games Machine (IT) : Forza Horizon 4

Areajugones (ES) : Forza Horizon 4

IGN Hungary (HU) : Forza Horizon 4

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Forza Horizon 4

VidaExtra Readers' Choice (ES) : FIFA 19

The Daily Camera (US) : Forza Horizon 4

n3rdabl3 (UK) : Forza Horizon 4

KnowTechie (US) : Mario Tennis Aces

TechRadar (UK) : Forza Horizon 4

Stevivor (AU) : Forza Horizon 4

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Forza Horizon 4

DarkStation (US) : NBA 2K19

3DJuegos (ES) : Mario Tennis Aces

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : FIFA 19

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : FIFA 19

GameMAG (RU) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2019

PlayGround.ru (RU) : FIFA 19

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : FIFA 19

Varvat (SE) : Mario Tennis Aces

Bleeding Cool (US) : NBA 2K19

BILD Readers' Choice (DE) : FIFA 19

Glitched Africa Readers' Choice (ZA) : Forza Horizon 4

PC Guru Magazine Readers' Choice (HU) : FIFA 19

Gamekapocs Readers' Choice (HU) : FIFA 19

4Players (DE) : Football Manager 2019

Everyeye.it (IT) : Mario Tennis Aces

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Mario Tennis Aces

The Buttonsmashers (US) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2019

GameSpace (US) : NBA 2K19

Hardcore Gamer (US) : Mario Tennis Aces

Multiplayer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Forza Horizon 4

IGN Middle East (AE) : Forza Horizon 4

Game Informer (US) : NBA 2K19

Game Informer Readers' Choice (US) : Mario Tennis Aces

New Game Network (CA) : MLB The Show 18

Sector (SK) : Football Manager 2019

GameOver Readers' Choice (GR) : FIFA 19

Play Legit (US) : Forza Horizon 4

GamersGlobal Readers' Choice (DE) : Forza Horizon 4

GoHa.Ru (RU) : FIFA 19

GoHa.Ru Readers' Choice (RU) : FIFA 19

Shazoo Readers' Choice (RU) : Forza Horizon 4

Premiere Line (BR) : Forza Horizon 4

JagatPlay (ID) : Ultra Space Battle Brawl

GRY OnLine Readers' Choice (PL) : Forza Horizon 4

PardisGame (IR) : Football Manager 2019

ResetEra (US) : Mario Tennis Aces

Sick Critic (US) : Forza Horizon 4

Games.cz (CZ) : FIFA 19

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Forza Horizon 4

ITC.ua (UA) : Forza Horizon 4

IlVideogioco (IT) : F1 2018

Gameblog (FR) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2019

Games.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : FIFA 19

WCCFtech (US) : Forza Horizon 4

WCCFtech Readers' Choice (US) : Forza Horizon 4

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : FIFA 19

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Pro Evolution Soccer 2019

PlayDome Readers' Choice (HU) : FIFA 19

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (US) : NHL 19

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) : Mario Tennis Aces

JeuxCapt Readers' Choice (FR) : FIFA 19

GameStar Hungary Readers' Choice (HU) : Forza Horizon 4




2018 BEST GRAPHICS


Golden Joystick Awards (UK) : God of War

The Game Awards (US) : Art Direction - Return of the Obra Dinn

Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) : Artistic Direction - Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Critical Hit (ZA) : Red Dead Redemption 2

IGN Japan (JP) : Octopath Traveler

SA Gamer (ZA) : God of War

DualShockers (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Digitally Downloaded (AU) : Art Direction - 11-11: Memories Retold

Twinfinite (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

jeuxvideo.com (FR) : God of War

Geekbecois (CA) : God of War

GamingBolt (IN) : Detroit: Become Human

VOXEL (BR) : Art Direction - God of War

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : Art Direction - God of War

IGN (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gamekult Readers' Choice (FR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

ActuGaming.net (FR) : Artistic - Dragon Ball FighterZ

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : Artistic - Red Dead Redemption 2

SpazioGames (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Areajugones (ES) : Artistic Design - Octopath Traveler

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Artistic Direction - God of War

GameCrate (CA) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Metro - GameCentral (UK) : GRIS

Giant Bomb (US) : God of War

EDGE Magazine (UK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

The Inner Circle Games Network (US) : God of War

Gamereactor España (ES) : GRIS

Gamereactor PT (PT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gamereactor Danmark (DK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gamereactor Deutschland (DE) : GRIS

Gamereactor Norge (NO) : Red Dead Redemption 2

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : God of War

3DJuegos (ES) : Red Dead Redemption 2

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Next Gen Base (UK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

GameGrin (UK) : Battlefield V

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

GameMAG (RU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

PlayGround.ru (RU) : God of War

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Glitched Africa Readers' Choice (ZA) : Art Direction - God of War

PC Guru Magazine Readers' Choice (HU) : God of War

COGconnected (CA) : Marvel's Spider-Man

4Players (DE) :
Art Design - GRIS
Technical - Red Dead Redemption 2

Everyeye.it (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

VGChartz (UK) : Art Direction - God of War

New Game Network (CA) :
Art - GRIS
Technical - Red Dead Redemption 2

TechRaptor (US) : GRIS

TechRaptor Readers' Choice (US) : God of War

Sector (SK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Play Legit (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

SaudiGamer (SA) : GRIS

Showmetech (BR) : Art Direction - Red Dead Redemption 2

Showmetech Readers' Choice (BR) : Art Direction - God of War

Optimagazine (IT) : God of War

Premiere Line (BR) : Art Direction - GRIS

JagatPlay (ID) : Red Dead Redemption 2

MonsterVine (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Bazimag (IR) :
Artistic - Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Technical - God of War

BonusWeb.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Red Dead Redemption 2

NeoGAF (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

PardisGame (IR) : GRIS

StopGame (RU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

StopGame Readers' Choice (RU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

BaziCenter (IR) :
Art - GRIS
Technical - Red Dead Redemption 2

Игромания (RU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Sick Critic (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Art Design - God of War

ITC.ua (UA) : God of War

Zoomg (IR) : Art Direction - God of War

Zoomg Readers' Choice (IR) : Art Direction - God of War

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : Artistic - Dragon Ball FighterZ

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : Artistic - God of War

Rubber Chicken Readers' Choice (PT) : Art Direction - Return of the Obra Dinn

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) :
Animation - Marvel's Spider-Man
Art Direction - God of War

JeuxCapt Readers' Choice (FR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

IGN Australia Select Awards (AU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

NAVGTR Awards (US) : Technical - God of War

SXSW Gaming Awards (US) :
Animation - Marvel's Spider-Man
Art - Octopath Traveler
Visual Achievement - God of War

Game Developers Choice Awards (US) : Visual Art - GRIS




2018 BEST STORY


Golden Joystick Awards (UK) : God of War

The Game Awards (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Game-Debate Global Game Awards (UK) : Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

Fun & Serious Game Festival (ES) : God of War

Digital Trends (US) : Marvel's Spider-Man

IGN Japan (JP) : Red Dead Redemption 2

SA Gamer (ZA) : God of War

DualShockers (US) : God of War

Digitally Downloaded (AU) : 11-11: Memories Retold

jeuxvideo.com (FR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Geekbecois (CA) : God of War

GamingBolt (IN) : Red Dead Redemption 2

VOXEL (BR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

VOXEL Readers' Choice (BR) : God of War

IGN (US) : God of War

ActuGaming.net (FR) : God of War

ActuGaming.net Readers' Choice (FR) : Detroit: Become Human

The Games Machine (IT) : Detroit: Become Human

SpazioGames (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Areajugones (ES) : God of War

Eurogamer.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Metro - GameCentral (UK) : God of War

Giant Bomb (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

n3rdabl3 (UK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

EDGE Magazine (UK) : Return of the Obra Dinn

The Inner Circle Games Network (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gamereactor PT (PT) : Detroit: Become Human

TechRadar (UK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gamereactor Danmark (DK) : God of War

Gamereactor Italia (IT) : God of War

Gamereactor UK (UK) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gamereactor Deutschland (DE) : Detroit: Become Human

Gamereactor France (FR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gamereactor Norge (NO) : God of War

JeuxVideo-Live (FR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

TheSixthAxis (UK) : God of War

3DJuegos (ES) : God of War

3DJuegos Readers' Choice (ES) : Red Dead Redemption 2

GameGrin (UK) : God of War

GameVicio Readers' Choice (BR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

GameMAG (RU) : Detroit: Become Human

PlayGround.ru (RU) : Valkyria Chronicles 4

PlayGround.ru Readers' Choice (RU) : God of War

Navi Games (ES) : God of War

Bleeding Cool (US) : Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Just Push Start (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Glitched Africa Readers' Choice (ZA) : God of War

Gamesource (IT) : God of War

PC Guru Magazine Readers' Choice (HU) : Detroit: Become Human

COGconnected (CA) : God of War

4Players (DE) : Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

Everyeye.it (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Everyeye.it Readers' Choice (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

VGChartz (UK) : God of War

Gamereactor Sverige (SE) : Red Dead Redemption 2

IGN Middle East (AE) : God of War

Stay Nerd (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

New Game Network (CA) : Red Dead Redemption 2

TechRaptor (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

TechRaptor Readers' Choice (US) : God of War

Play Legit (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

GamersGlobal Readers' Choice (DE) : God of War

SaudiGamer (SA) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Showmetech (BR) : Return of the Obra Dinn

Showmetech Readers' Choice (BR) : God of War

Optimagazine (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

JagatPlay (ID) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Easy Allies (US) : The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories

MonsterVine (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Bazimag (IR) : God of War

BonusWeb.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Detroit: Become Human

NeoGAF (US) : God of War

PardisGame (IR) : God of War

StopGame (RU) : God of War

StopGame Readers' Choice (RU) : God of War

BaziCenter (IR) : God of War

Games.cz (CZ) : Red Dead Redemption 2

The New York Videogame Awards (US) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Merlin'in Kazanı Readers' Choice (TR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

ITC.ua (UA) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Zoomg (IR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Zoomg Readers' Choice (IR) : Red Dead Redemption 2

Gameblog (FR) : Detroit: Become Human

Games.cz Readers' Choice (CZ) : Red Dead Redemption 2

GameSoul Readers' Choice (IT) : Red Dead Redemption 2

PPE.pl Readers' Choice (PL) : God of War

AIAS - D.I.C.E. Awards (US) : God of War

JeuxCapt Readers' Choice (FR) : Detroit: Become Human

IGN Australia Select Awards (AU) : Red Dead Redemption 2

SXSW Gaming Awards (US) : Detroit: Become Human

Game Developers Choice Awards (US) : Return of the Obra Dinn




Previous Page - 2018 GAME OF THE YEAR

GMB Versus The Flag Dude

May has been a poor month for painting as I remarked last week, although things picked up in the last couple of days and I managed to up the number to 48 which was another German Infantry batallion, this time IR 63.

So not too bad, this means I'm still just about on course for 1,000 figures for the year providing I don't have too many more months like this.

A tiny difference between this unit and all my previous line infantry is that these fellows have a standard from The Flag Dude. I saw these at Salute and couldn't resist buying a couple. They are actually 7 years War standards but giving the "scrunching" its somewhat impossible to tell the difference, and, lets face it, if I hadn't mentioned this, you'd have never known.

IR63 Bianchi, sporting a Flag Dude standard 

To be honest, trying to compare the 2 is a bit like asking which footballer would you prefer in your pub team, Wayne Rooney or Lionel Messi? Both companies are brilliant and worlds apart from anything one could produce for oneself, the quality of both is so incredibly high. Particularly given their relative cheapness.

Which gives us our first comparison. FD are £3.00 each while GMB are £3.50 for 2. With GMB you have to cost in the finial and staff which adds a bit over a quid for 2  flags so the cost is actually about the same(ish)...buttons really either way considering the effect.

Obviously the big initial attraction the FD is that everything is done for you, and done very nicely. Flag is "scrunched" rather attractively (though probably not realistically), The finial is included and the flag is attached to a lengthy staff,in fact the only thing that needs to be done is to trim this to a desired length and paint it.

With GMB you do have to do a tiny bit of work.

The pole  needs to have its finial attached, and then the flag glued to the pole. My prefered method for this is to cut the flag out, fold it so its creased centrally around the pole before "dry fitting" it. Only then smear PVA glue over the inner surface of one half of the flag before folding in and lining the flag up as neatly as possible. At this point a bit of scrunching can take place. I always try and do it to expose as much of the detail of the flag as possible (otherwise, whats the point?). Then leave it for a couple of hours before giving it a few thin coats of brushed on gloss varnish to stiffen it. Finally give it a coat of matt (or not, depending on taste).

More IR63. Custom "scrunching"

The final analysis comes in the detail. The printing on the GMB stuff is slightly better, and their finish a little bit finer. Also the colours on these Austrian flags is a little more vibrant.

I can't comment on how this is with other periods. One nice thing is that the ranges are somewhat complimentary, there are items that each company do which the other doesn't.

I.R.24 Baron Strauch. Proud of their GMB flag

Oddly,  the deciding factor for me is the fact that the GMB flags aren't the finished article which FD are.

The reason for this is that with GMB I glue the standard with the finial to the figure before priming. So all painting and handling takes place with a bare standard pole, but one which is firmly glued on bare metal with the glue painted over. Then, when the figure is completely finished and varnished I attach the flag as outlined above.

More GMB.

With FD flags this isn't possible. Because the flag is all done you can't attach it until after the figure is finished. One could prime the figure and then attach the flag, but this would mean having a great big flag flapping about (ok,not actually flapping but you know what I mean) while painting the standard bearer which I'm not that keen on. Subsquently, I ended up gluing on the FD flag once the figure was finished and then varnishing over the glue. Not ideal.

So, for me, GMB has it. Just.

Free Counter

AX-027, Plaque Attack!

Welcome to the exciting world of TEETH! This week I'm taking a look at Plaque Attack by Steve Cartwright and published by Activision. This is NOT the other Atari 2600 teeth game, so there. Next time I'm covering Mines of Minos by Commavid, and there will be another Strudders Score contest! If you'd like to win a copy of Mines of Minos courtesy of Rob, all you need to do is guess the combined score rating that Strudders and Mini Strudders will give the game WITHOUT GOING OVER. Keep in mind that the scoring is from 0-10, so don't guess over 20 you sillies! Please email your entries to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com. PLEASE put "Minos Contest" in the subject line, and if you have feedback for the game, please send a separate email. All entries and feedback should be in by April 3rd at 6:55 PM EST. Thank you all for listening!

Steve Cartwright interview by Tim Duarte
Steve Cartwright interview on Retro Video Gamer forum
Steve Cartwright on Lost Treasures of Gaming podcast
Steve Cartwright on Racketboy podcast
Steve Cartwright's web site
Plaque Attack on Random Terrain
Plaque Attack patch
Plaque Attack patch letter (superior tubesmanship!)
Plaque Attack manual
Atari Age Facebook High Score Showdown, Plaque Attack
No Swear Gamer 412, Plaque Attack
Plaque Attack 2nd place high score video
H2H Adventure, PLAY IT
H2H Adventure review
The N64 Podcast