A Song of Ice and Fire: A Clash of Kings

Sensing the uncertainty in the realms, lords are naming themselves kings left and right and raising armies to claim the crown from Joffrey. Both of deceased Robert's brothers see themselves suitable, and even some ship lord in the west thinks he should join the fray. And beyond the Wall, the wildlings are gathering under the lead of Mance Rayder to march south. A Clash of Kings is aptly named.

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 begins with a gripping intro, in which SSV Normandy SR-1 gets destroyed. Commander Shepard is killed, but not before he/she saves the crew. Death is not final, however, at least not when an infamous group, Cerberus (whose existence I had completely forgotten), and its mysterious leader, the Illusive Man, think you are the most important person in the galaxy.

The Witcher

The Witcher is an RPG developed and published by a Polish company, CD Projekt Red. The game is based on the books of their fellow countryman, Andrzej Sapkowski, and more precisely on the main character, Geralt of Rivia, who is one of the few remaining witchers -- monster hunters for hire.

Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

While I obviously already knew of the influence A Song of Ice and Fire had had to Dragon Age: Origins, I didn't fully realize how much until playing its expansion, Awakening. Having just read A Game of Thrones might have had something to do with that as well.

Top 4 Movies of 2011

In 2011, I saw four movies that, in my opinion, deserve four stars. No all-time favorites this year either, but I guess I don't expect them pop up all but very rarely.

The Best of YouTube 2011

In 2011, I watched more YouTube videos than ever before. Gaming content in particular spent a heavily increased amount of hours in my browser's flash player. Although, towards the end of the year, I found myself watching fewer videos fully or just didn't watch them actively, doing other things at the same time. Nevertheless, here are some clips (and their producers) I found enjoyable this year.

A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones

This is going to be -- more or less -- a comparison between the TV show and the book. That's probably inevitable so I might as well embrace it. I also think A Song of Ice and Fire somewhat rivals The Wheel of Time (in planned length if nothing else). Thus pointing out how they differ and match might be a thing worth doing, even if I've only read one volume of the former and nine of the latter.

Fate: The Traitor Soul

The whole Fate series is sort of a poor man's Torchlight. But it still is something to play while waiting for Torchlight II to come out. Fate: The Traitor Soul -- the second standalone expansion -- is again basically the original game (or the previous installation more precisely) but with more things.

Dragon Age: Origins

Describing Dragon Age: Origins as a spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate is somewhat dubious. Many games could be called that if DA:O is what makes one. But BioWare did that anyway.

Elminster Must Die

"Ed, we're moving the Realms into the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Elminster must die."