Holiday Gift Guide: TV Box Sets

This is a list of 5 great shows you should consider buying for your friends and/or loved ones this holiday season.  There are other articles for movies and games on their way so don’t worry I’ll get to that.  Also this is in no particular order just so we are clear and are not from this past year.  They are just great TV series on DVD/Blu-ray.

The Walking Dead

This is a great box set to pick up because the show is now in its second season, which means that whoever you buy it for can get caught up on the series quickly.  The series is very mature and graphic so don't buy this for any young people.  I hate gore for gore's sake and this show does make me feel sick in certain instances but it does fit in the world and serves a purpose in that they it makes the story that much more real and intense.  So if you know someone who is willing to watch a very dark, visceral show The Walking Dead is great.  The one problem is that the season is only 6 episodes so it’s pretty expensive but if you got to get someone a gift why not.  What are they going to do?  Complain that your cash only got them 6 great episodes instead of 20?  Of course not.

Supernatural

This is another mature and dark show and it is fantastic.  It is horror themed as well but it doesn't use gore much.  It has a more classic horror approach where it builds tension and then something grabs you out of the dark in order to make you jump instead of just throwing guts in your face.  The show is about a family who hunts down monsters, all of which are taken from real lore although they do add bits to certain ones.  The writing is fantastic and makes you really feel for not only the main characters (there are only two and they are incredible so you really get attached), but for the monsters as well.  If you haven’t checked out this show you must buy the first season either for a friend or for yourself or both, and don’t search much about it (I know that sounds weird) because you really don’t want any spoilers in this show.

Smallville

The story of how Clark Kent became Superman is an amazing one.  I’ve always loved superheroes and when I was a kid Superman was one of my favourites because he is essentially the perfect superhero.  As I got older though I lost a lot of interest in the man of steel because I just couldn’t relate to him the way I did with Batman and Spider-Man.  After years of catching bits of random episodes of Smallville on TV I gave it a real shot and fell in love with not only it, but I also fell back in love with Superman.  The first season isn’t anywhere near its strongest but you should start at the beginning to understand the relationships between all the characters.  This is great for anyone from pre/early teens onward since the series starts with Clark entering high school and how awkward that is.  Also anyone on your list who likes superheroes should find something to love about this show.

Fringe

            Fringe is another great show that, to me, is like a sci-fi version of Supernatural.  Instead of dealing with monsters and the lore behind them they deal with really fringe science, like crazy bio-weapons and all kinds of bind blowing stuff.  It is about a government agency called Fringe division that recruits a mad scientist out of a psych ward because the outrageous experiments and theories he used to test are now becoming reality.  It is one of my favourite shows and if you’re shopping for someone who loves sci-fi they will love this, but it isn’t kid friendly so make sure these people are at least teenagers or they will be lost and a little grossed out.

How I Met Your Mother

            On a lighter note there is a comedy to end the list.  It is still very adult themed, all the sex jokes don’t really go over too well with kids or their parents who will hate you for exposing them to this.  The show is really funny, I got into it in the second season, which is hilarious, but it is best to start from the beginning.  I know that is usually not the case in comedies because you can just jump in anytime and laugh but this comedy actually has an overall plot and brings back a lot of jokes and running gags so you should get season one for any comedy lovers on your list.

If you have any suggestions for people feel free to post them in the comments section.

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Weekly Wrap Up

Another Assassin’s Creed

            Ubisoft has announced that there will be another major Assassin’s Creed game released next year.  I love the Assassin’s Creed games but I personally feel that I need a break from the series because what was once so special and refreshing about the original game is now familiar and sort of repetitive.  Revelations is coming out tomorrow and I know it will be a great game but I’m not going to buy it first day because I’m currently playing other games and I don’t want to play with Brotherhood so fresh in my memory.  Also I’m tired of Ezio, I never cared very much for the character (I must admit after two games he has grown on me just not enough to make me want to play as him again) and I was hoping that every game would give me a new assassin but this will be his third and thankfully his final outing.  It will also wrap up Altair’s story line, which to me seems to be setting everything in place perfectly for Assassin’s Creed 3 to be nothing but Desmond, a perfectly trained master assassin, who runs around a modern day city trying to destroy Abstergo.  I think that all the modern weapons and gadgets would change up the game nicely but I also want them to take their time and make the game the best it can be and wrap up the entire story in a satisfying package.  I just don’t see how they will do that in a year and if the modern day setting will be enough of a change when the games are released so closely together.  Lastly if this isn’t Assassin’s Creed 3 and they milk this story even further that will suck and so Ubisoft please just delay the game and make it special.    

Jak & Daxter Collection

            Another HD Remake is on its way so that another publisher can crank out money based on the nostalgia factor and the fact that new PS3s aren’t backwards compatible.  This time the developer is Naughty Dog and to no one’s surprise they are re-releasing the Jak and Daxter series.  Personally I love this series, the first game was good but 2 & 3 were incredible and I think that if you haven’t played these games before you should check it out when it’s released especially if you love platformers.  As for me if I want to play these games I’ll just pop them in my PS2 or my 80GB PS3 with almost full backwards compatibility.

Steam Hacked

            Hey do you guys remember when the PSN was hacked and got shut down for like a month or two, well now it’s Steam’s turn.  That’s right Steam was hacked and credit card info might have been compromised, luckily the service is still up and running but Valve is advising that members monitor their credit card and bank account activity.  I really don’t see why hackers do these things I mean if it’s for kicks they should really take other people into account because now a bunch of people will probably worry themselves silly over this and I don’t think that’s fair at all.  So hopefully they didn’t get any serious info (if they had I think Valve would have figured it out and said so) but this is a heads up just so you are aware.

Call of Duty Endowment

            Bobby Kotick did something nice; really nice…I feel wrong saying this.  Bobby Kotick the CEO of Activision and man responsible for milking gaming franchises liking CoD and Guitar Hero has founded a non-profit (what has he been replaced by the anti-Kotick now) organization called Call of Duty Endowment, dedicated to providing job training and placement to soldiers.  He also dedicated $3 million to the organization, which no matter how I or anyone else feels about him, is pretty amazing.  Carry on with the great work Kotick…there’s that feeling again. 

Imposters release date

            For those of you that have been playing Arkham City and thinking that what the game really needs is some FPS combat Gotham City Imposters is the game for you.  Side note if there is actually someone out there that fits the description above, really that is what you wanted out of that game…weird.  Anyway it will be a Team Fortress like shooter where you play as wannabe Batmen and Jokers who shoot each other.  It will be released on Jan 10^th so if you haven’t had enough shooters by the end of the holiday there will be one more just after New Years.

More Zelda for your 3DS anyone?

            If the answer is yes then you will be happy to hear that a Zelda themed 3DS is being released!  I know it is a cruel little joke if you were hoping for Majora’s Mask but hey I needed a heading that wouldn’t explain the whole thing.  It will be released in Europe on Nov 25^th with no set release date for NA.  I doubt it will take too long to get here though since Nintendo could use the boost in sales.