I have a feeling a number of readers of this blog from North America will recall the years of yore when the anime invasion hit our shores. Those were the days when Cartoon Network began broadcasting its Toonami block on weekday afternoons, hosted by Moltar of Space Ghost fame, consisting of, among other classic shows, Thundercats, Voltron, and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. Over the next three years young American minds got their first taste of anime, and boy did we eat it up. Though some of it never really struck my fancy (Ronin Warriors? Seriously?) I ate up the early mecha anime on Toonami. Perhaps the biggest impression was made by Gundam Wing. And recently, as I go back through (rather extensive) list of anime that one internet hivemind deemed worth watching, Gundam Wing’s name came up in my hard drive. It was time for a walk down memory lane, to see how those heroes, villains, and giant robots stood up to the test of time and nostalgia.

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The very definition of a sleeper hit, first-person puzzler Portal from Valve’s The Orange Box unexpectedly gained massive critical acclaim and a sizable fan following after the release of the new compilation this year. Though it may just as easily have slipped under the radar, Portal has instead become the pick of the litter, attracting nearly universal praise, including glowing words from notoriously harsh Escapist Magazine reviewer Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, and inspiring discussion not only on its gameplay but even on how it could be a feminist critique of FPSes. With the year in gaming concluding, Portal is finishing strong and getting named on a lot of best-of lists for its strong style, darkly humorous bent, and ingeniously simple mechanics. Pretty outstanding for a puzzle game bundled with hallmark franchises such as Half-Life and Team Fortress and based around the idea that people like cake.

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