Welcome to our 2017 holiday gift guide, featuring some of the year’s best film, videogame and TV home releases – Check it out right here!
Every item on this Holiday Gift Guide was reviewed/and/or covered on FFFN in 2017. There are 10 items on this list, ranked from 1 (must-own) to 10 (still gotta have it but don’t kill an entire house of Freys to get it sorta thing) I think these are all badass Blu-ray/DVD and videogame releases, so check em out and maybe buy one or two for Christmas.
#1. Game of Thrones: The Complete Seasons 1-7 Blu-ray Box Set
Yes I know there will be yet another amazing box set once season 8 comes out, but look at this beautiful monster. I love the Chess piece box art, which ties it in with the series’ beautiful opening every episode and having all seven seasons in one gorgeous set is an incredible Christmas gift to bestow upon the poor suckers who have been putting the best show in TV off this long. Now is the time people – don’t sleep on television’s most ambitious show of all time. Season 7 hits DVD/Blu-ray December 12th along with this box set. Mark your calendars!
#2. Shadow of War Gold Edition
It’s always frightening dropping a hundred-plus bucks on a videogame, but getting the GOLD edition of Shadow of War is essential. New orc tribes to take on, new playable characters and amazing story missions? Just take the plunge. The best game of 2017 also has the best DLC content of the year and I urge anyone who digs Lord of The Rings to go out and buy this game immediately. It’s a masterpiece.
#3. Injustice 2 Ultimate Edition
The best fighting game of 2017 (and maybe the best fighting game overall in several years) is also an essential Ultimate Edition purchase. That way you have access to guest characters like freaking Hellboy, Red Hood and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Yes – you can play as the Ninja Turtles as they go toe to toe with Batman, Swamp Thing, Harley Quinn and many, many more. Injustice 2 is not just an improvement upon the original game, but it blows that one out of the water. This one is a must-own.
#4. Beavis and Butt-Head The Complete Collection DVD Box Set
If you don’t own any of the previous volumes that collect creator Mike Judge’s personal favourite episodes, then you NEED to own the Complete Collection DVD set. No, it does not contain EVERY SINGLE EPISODE from the MTV run, but when the man who made the cartoon says that this is THE COMPLETE COLLECTION, then you listen to the man and just go with it. This set has all of the previous volumes, including the latest return to MTV, as well as various discs loaded with special features, music video commentary and even the damn cult classic movie Beavis and Butt-Head do America.
#5. LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2
TT Games has been dropping so many LEGO games this year it’s hard to believe that they have time to make them any good – let alone absolutely remarkable. LEGO Marvel Superheros 2 is the best LEGO game of 2017 and one of the greatest Marvel superhero titles of our time. The amount of special moves, characters and eclectic characters from Marvel comics that are included in this game is unreal. You can be MAN-THING for the love of god – MAN THING! Even if you aren’t sold on LEGO games in general, get this just so you can use Star-Lord’s special power, which has him putting headphones on, cranking up his walkman and dancing to tunes from Guardians of The Galaxy while blasting enemies with his signature lasers.
#6. South Park Season 20 Blu-ray
From the member berries (which I fell in love with completely) to the soundtrack (see the intense moment when all the girls break up with the boys in order to prove that women are independent and won’t be held back by sexist internet trolls) — South Park season 20 plays out like a masterful 10 episode film. Every single ending leads directly into the next episode making this season the most binge-worthy yet. From where South Park began to where it is now – is jaw-dropping… From Christmas Poo and gay dogs to school councillors talking children out of committing Twitter suicide — South Park has evolved into one of the strongest TV comedies today.
#7. Ghost in The Shell Blu-ray
I loved this movie. It was weird, beautiful and reminded me of the first time I saw The Matrix. The future is stunning, disturbing and all too realistic when we see the direction we are headed technologically today. People enhance themselves with robotics, whether it’s those creepy-ass eyeballs that Pilou Asbæk straps on eventually, or something else bizarre, it all works and builds this incredible world that I honestly wish I could spend more time in. Ghost in The Shell was too short – I would’ve loved spending more time with Major and her team, fighting crime and just getting to know more of these fascinating characters.
#8. Arrival Blu-ray
Arrival gets better with repeated viewings. The music, the cinematography, the unreal direction from Denis Villeneuve (quickly becoming one of the best directors of our generation), the amazing script from Eric Heisserer… Arrival is unlike any other movie of it’s kind in decades – not since Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, has there been a film in this genre that manages to defy this many expectations and push the boundaries of the genre to it’s limits and then ultimately propel past them.
#9. Monster Trucks Blu-ray
Monster Trucks reminded me of classic family films like Goonies, Monster Squad or ET because it was able to mash up an adult sci-fi theme with family friendly content in a way that appeals to both audiences. The creature effects are fantastic because on paper these things should be horrifying but the team did a wonderful job making them family friendly as not to scare the ever living hell out of my kids. The main monster – who winds up being called Creech – is so damn cute… There are a couple moments when he turns into something resembling a worm from Tremors, but other than that he’s adorable.
#10. The Walking Dead The Telltale Series ‘A New Frontier’
A new family, new survivors, new locations, more drama, more horrific choices – all that and more are in the third season of Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead franchise subtitled ‘A New Frontier’. Oldschool fans may be pissed that you will NOT be playing as Clementine for much of this latest season (don’t fret – you will be playing as her in flashback sequences), but Javier is a really solid new main character with a lot of depth and backstory which was wonderful to dive into amidst the zombie apocalypse.
