Puzzle giveaways complete, solutions posted below along with explanation

http://www.itstoohard.com/puzzle/IvSmRbZB

I'll be making a new thread to discuss my future puzzles and giveaways, and will insert a link when that's done. In the meantime, if you have any feedback on the format, difficulty, and nature of the questions/answers I would appreciate it very much in the comments below, cheers!

General hints: All the answers are proper nouns; clues are often references to names or works; find synonyms and phrases that replace the ones in clues. Google is strongly encouraged to check where the references might come from.

To accommodate those who don't want to cover a wide array of topics, I made this giveaway. It has now ended, but you can see the solutions and process there which applies in a similar way to this puzzle.

Clue for Game 1: when the paratroopers arrive at their destination they are surrounded, not for the first time either.

Answer Borderlands 2. When paratroopers arrive somewhere, they land. Surrounded = bordered, not for first time implies 2nd.

Clue for Game 2: some like to try and survive till the end of time; however, at its core, both battle manoeuvres make up the primary matériel.

Answer Arma II: Combined Operations. End of time etc = DayZ; main game is both battle manoeuvres, or two operations combined, matériel = armaments.

All spelling, grammatical or punctuation oddities or 'errors' are intentional, and meant to be helpful.

Q1: Even Elizabeth, Isabella, Victoria, and Bees will melt after jogging up yonder incline. A ladder to the heavens is everything I must have.
Metal makes it less hard? Perhaps with a symphony. One woman leads this group of Dutch diggers, delving deep, discovering desires to stand their ground. Music category

Answer Within Temptation, a Dutch band. "Inside ...seductive" = WT. Memories, beating heart of it all/Heart of Everything, Gaeia/Mother Earth, can't focus/Restless, do come in/Enter are all songs by Within Temptation. Likewise, Elizabeth et al. = queens, melt implies ice, thus Ice Queen. "Jogging...incline" = Running Up That Hill. "Ladder...heavens" = Stairway to the Skies. "Everything...have" = All I Need. Again, all songs from their discography. "Metal...symphony", well they are a symphonic metal group, and that was meant to make it easy, or less hard :p Last of all, led by Sharon den Adel, they are Dutch; deep desires = Within Temptation, and Stand My Ground is another song.

Q2: instead of "bunch of rocks", try "sturdy group of defensively-stacked stone blocks". Also, put on your metal hat, Watson, and don't forget to take your guns with you, it's madness out there! You're a dead ringer for the guy I thought I painted Red 6.5 seconds ago! Oh well, time to wash off de grease so I can fry something Heavy with this pan, as long as my conscience doesn't get the Blues and object. Got milk? You be cray-cray! The gold standard sucks, I prefer the Bill's standard. Gaming category

Answer Team Fortress 2, a multiplayer FPS. Group/bunch = team, the rocks/blocks etc = fortress. Too/Two; name is similar to the first. Metal, hat, guns all common items in TF2. 6.5 seconds = timer for Dead Ringer, an item that fakes death. De grease/degreaser, fry...pan = Frying Pan, milk...cray-cray = Mad Milk, Bill's = TF2 currency similar to gold standard. Rest are self-explanatory items or terms like Red, Heavy etc.

Q3: Shape Positivemem-ories. This Australian was mentioned in four Greek letters, apparently [answer]>cancer>bad tennis player with a Knave up his sleeve. You know what they say, unfaithful in cards, unfaithful in love. Takes time to believe again after that. Just out of the blue, I found out I was meant to try again in this life. ">" can mean a good rhythm. Alternatively, the Hellenic Four were Well-tested for Swift Optic Activity in their sleep. They kept reciting their ABCs and...s! Music category

Answer Delta Goodrem (although even Delta was fine), an Australian singer. Shape of vagina is a delta, the down and dirty guys are Delta force, and the positive = good. Shape Positivemem-ories is self-explanatory considering the above. She's Australian, and the 4th Greek letter = Delta. She >, or beat, cancer along with getting past a cheating tennis player (Mark Philippoussis, card up his sleeve = cheating). The misphrased proverb is intended to point you that way. Believe Again, Out of the Blue, meant/Born to Try, In this Life all songs of hers. Hellenic Four; Greeks are Hellenes, their Four is Delta. Well (Good) ...Swift Optic Activity = Rapid Eye Movement, or REM. Reciting ABCs..."D" comes after!

Q4: like Marilyn, liked Marilyn. There's more than 1 Marilyn? 13 may be unlucky for some, but not this one's career. My first was once [and again] seen as the Almighty-Noah after a visit from a Fox named Lucius. I once Had ley for dinner. Ok...more than once. Licks blood-red lips
Knock knock. Who's there? I'm knocking on. I'm knocking on who? You mean what? (change "friend" to "Friends", that clue is one-third of the name) Film/TV category

Answer Evan Rachel Wood, an actress. Even = Evan, blonde Friend = Rachel from Friends, touch...hard = Wood, and hard on for a crude reference to sexiness. "Like Marilyn, liked Marilyn" = similar to Marilyn Monroe (all blondes look the same right? >.>), liked Marilyn Manson (was in a relationship with him for some time). Thirteen was an early movie that greatly helped her career. My first = first name, [Once and Again is a TV show she was in] Almighty Noah = Evan Almighty after a visit from God/Morgan Freeman/Lucius Fox in the Batman movies. Had ley for dinner + blood-red lips = she 'ate' Hadley in True Blood, as a vampire feeding off her. Knock knock...well you are literally knocking on wood.

Q5: chuck a rock in there my good fellow; see who turns up as the real Bossy pants when they turn 30. Taste sour? Don't worry, I'm wearing glasses :D My Lovlie friend works in the Parks and Recreation department. Knope. Oh, come on! TV/Film category

Answer Tina Fey, an actress/writer/producer. Fairy = Fey, feller/fellow + throw the rock in there = Rockefeller, or just Rock, turn 30 = 30 Rock, TV show Tina Fey is known for. End of April is the 30th. Singing + turn was supposed to indicate Tina Turner, bad clue >.< Bossypants is the name of her autobiography (she is also a bit of a bossypants in the show. Her character's name is Liz Lemon, hence the sour. Glasses, she wears them. "Lovlie friend" = her good friend Amy Poehler, who plays Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation, another TV show.

Q6: twice unified in two centuries. Tore that sucker down years ago, and stopped separating the left from the right! Now a major union leader for the region. Just don't sing the HW song or twist any crosses. Sorry, all out of jelly doughnuts, those brats are the wurst. Geography category

Answer Germany, a nation. It doesn't matter which = any, diseases originate = they come from germs, thus Germany. Germany was unified for the first time in the 19th century, then again in the 20th. Tore that sucker... = Berlin Wall, left from right = West/East Germany. Major union leader = significant leader of European Union. HW song = Horst Wessel song, twisted crosses = swastikas, both banned in modern Germany. Jelly doughnuts = reference to "Ich bin ein Berliner", Kennedy misquote upon his visit to Berlin, while "brats" and "wurst" = bratwurst.

Q7: whether or not you watch this show, it's as simple as ABC; this is how you always start it... TV category

Answer Once Upon a Time, a US TV show. Swan rose to royalty = Swan Queen, Wolf...sail with everyone else is Red the werewolf (of Riding Hood fame) being so shippable with all the other characters. Those clues are for regular viewers of the show; go back to the beginning = beginning of story, = Once Upon a Time. ABC = the channel OUAT airs on, and something that's consistently began in the same way are fairytales with the aforementioned "Once upon a time..."

Q8: Boo! Well seasoned, Peter! Glad you stuck with us and your Ruthless/ful career in frightening enemies in the service of the Queen. Ghostbusters can't keep these guys down...nor can the US, the Iranians, the Russians, the French...not even their sister [older by 1]! That said, they do lose many along the way :( [Kudos to Ros and a not-so-Little Woman for doing so heroically.] What do you call those shrouded Jack Ryans and Valerie Plumes? As long as they're not black, of course! Numbered oxymoron you say...well at least you can count on us on one hand! TV category

Answer Spooks, a British TV show. Scared, haunt = spooked, spook. "Across the pond" usually = British or the States. Shadows battle = spies, they work in the shadows. Smart team = intelligence group, or department. Well seasoned = multiple seasons (ran up to 10). Peter and Ruth are two of the few characters to survive the whole series, and a fan favourite almost-couple. "Frightening" = spooking again. "Service of the Queen" indicates British. Ghostbusters obviously fight ghosts or spooks. The US, Iranian etc are enemies the characters in Spooks (aired as MI-5 in the US) face throughout the series, along with their older sister agency, MI-6 (SIS). Many of those characters do die or are otherwise 'lost'. Kudos is the production company behind the show. Ros = Ros Myers, a section chief who died. Not-so-Little Woman = a namesake character from Little Women, Jo; also died bravely like Ros. Shrouded Jack Ryans and Valerie Plumes...JR is a CIA analyst in Tom Clancy's novels, while VP is an IRL outed CIA agent, both spies, or spooks (this clue was for the Americans out there). "As...not black" = reference to "spook" being a derogatory term in the US for African-Americans. Numbered oxymoron = Military Intelligence, only the British MI-5 and MI-6 are numbered. "Count on us" = national defence, i.e. MI-5's duty, and "on one hand" indicates it is 'Five, not 'Six. Whew! A lot of clues for that one, as it seemed to be particularly hard.

Q9: try looking up the number and adding to the quote. Oh...you know we are simply [sing it with me now!] so happy togetherrrr! IMDB is your friend. Did you know that one Sarah Connor sold flowers to A knee walker in the [answer]? True story...or true love at least! Jaime Lannister knows what I'm talking about. Just think! about us together, and you'll find the answer. Film category

Answer Imagine Me and You, a film starring Lena Headey and Piper Perabo. "You're a ...number nine!" is a quote from the film, "piped" for Piper. "Just the two of us, in your dreams" = Imagine Me and You. "Look up the numbers" = look up, it's question 9!, and add the quote = add to the quote, therefore it becomes "You're a wanker number nine", easily Google-able. "So happy togetherrrrr" is from the song "Happy Together" by The Turtles, which is featured in the film, as it has the lyrics "imagine me and you, I do" in it. IMDB helps you link the next few clues. Sarah Connor in The Sarah Connor Chronicles was played by Headey; she is a florist in this film, and "A knee walker" = Annie Walker, Piper's latest role in Covert Affairs. Jaime Lannister = Cersei's brother in A Game of Thrones, indicates romance involved. "Just think! about us together", now could that be more obvious?

Q10: you can read about this one in a lucky top-secret Area. Reilly? Brrrr, stay here! In other media, namely Oz, this one received a gift no human should think without. I can hear your braincells churning...shoo, pests, shoo! Oh wait, I can't talk >.< I'ma sip this, dude. Those whom I share a last name with fear me. IRL, they also separated blacks and whites...you know, to make it obvious. It was a scary era for the former. Fiction category

Answer Scarecrow, a novel by Matthew Reilly. Strawman = scarecrow. Dead bodies get picked over by crows. In the novel, he is chased after by someone "sending killers", i.e. bounty hunters. Cursed paladin = a dark knight, in this cases the Black Knight, a bounty hunter who is sent to protect Scarecrow (main character). Frightened = scared. "Aquatic animals" indicates marine life; Scarecrow and his team are Force Recon Marines. He also features in "a lucky top-secret Area", or the novel Area 7, a la Area 51. Reilly is the author's last name. Another novel he is in is Ice Station. Other "Oz" media = Wizard of Oz, "received gift..." refers to the Scarecrow receiving a brain in that musical/movie, which I hope we all think with. "Shoo..." suggests the role of a scarecrow, and one that can't talk. Crows obviously don't like scarecrows. IRL, the Jim Crow 'laws' and era instigated racial segregation in the United States.

Q11: the clues are all works by the same Wesleyan graduate who didn't quite live to see 9/11, in 2001. He was a thrilling chap, didn't think much of the M-I complex though. Not much love for the government either, with operatives even in embassies or consuls turning against his characters. The Aquitaine moves along until it reaches Nimrod. The last clue in the original puzzle involves f^ng M D in its adaptation. All but one of his works begin with "The", and his first began with an Italian red as his Inheritance. For the guy flying too close to the sun, what's his Agenda? Inver-sing Copper and Zinc? (the opera in the clue tells The tale of one of K. Arthur's evenings, just pair it with stained glass; The Road is literally showing you the way to...O-ha, NE clue?) Fiction category

Answer Robert Ludlum, bestselling author of thriller (the conspiracy kind) novels. "two-pronged road etc" refers to The Road to Gandolfo (in Italy) and The Road to Omaha (in the US), its sequel. Singing = betraying. Boy with a crook = Shepherd Boy. Round to the head = death, as well as 'Circle'. Bomb ticking down = Countdown. In the two books The Matarese Circle and The Matarese Countdown, the Shepherd Boy is a re-imagined mafia don, who heads the deadly Matarese organisation aiming for global control yada yada.

"Secret singles..." refers to the Covert-One series attributed to Ludlum and other authors, involving Covert-One, a secret agency, and the main character, a clandestine operative who has extensive medical and military credentials. He loses his sweetheart in the first novel, whose sister also features here as a will-they won't-they character.

"Born with no name" I would have thought this would clinch it...= The Bourne Identity, the tale of a deep-cover CIA asset who loses his memory and true identity. "Better" = The Bourne Supremacy, "ending" = The Bourne Ultimatum. Those three comprise the original series by Ludlum, but have also been re-conceptualised into films, i.e. "away from the pages", or books.

If you read this far, thank you for your patience and interest! I hope this helps and encourages you guys to participate in my later puzzles :)