Author: Shmee

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Shmee Witnesses 13 Reasons Why

Leave it to Netflix to drop a TV show about one of the most troubling issues in America, teen suicide.  Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people from 15 to 24, and 13 Reasons Why takes it head on.  I am generally unaffected by what I watch.  Sure my friends will tell you that I jump out of my seat during a horror movie more than anyone they know, but I will sleep like a baby that night.  Not so with 13 Reasons Why.  It is keeping me up at night, and not just because I want to watch just one more episode.  Though that is true too.

The show starts in the aftermath of the suicide of Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) and fellow Liberty High classmate Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) is not taking it well, and it gets even worse when a box full of cassette tapes is left on his front porch.  Each tape is narrated by Hannah Baker chronicling a reason why she decided to end her life.  Clay is informed that he is on one of these tapes, and he has no idea what he did.  He just knows he has to listen to the tapes and then send them to the next person on the list.

What is on the tapes is tragic, and Clay has a hard time listening to them.  He is our proxy for what is going on, and every tape devastates him further.  Of course he can only listen to the tapes a little at a time, so it takes him days to finish this task, which is convenient for the plot.  Some people are worried that this show glamorizes teen suicide, but this show is anything but glamorous.  It is sad and heart-wrenching, and it makes you angry at all the people involved in this poor girl’s life.

Granted with real life suicides we never get to hear the forlorn narration of why a person would make such horrible choice.  They are just gone, and they leave people to try and pick up the pieces of their lives.  Which is why I am torn about 13 Reasons Why.  On one hand it is an amazing drama that doesn’t shy away from its troubling theme, but on the other, as sad as it is, it is still not a realistic portrayal of a real life issue.  All I can say is that 13 Reasons Why is very good, but don’t say I didn’t warn you if it keeps you up at night.

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Mass Effect: Andromeda Post Game Thoughts!

After sixty-three hours and twenty minutes I have completed my first play through of Mass Effect: Andromeda, and I may play a little more to complete a couple of achievements and random quests.  You can play the game after you complete the main story, but of course any quests you complete will not affect the ending.  So, have my feelings about the game changed since my first ten hours?  Yes, and mostly for the better.  Here are some quick post game thoughts:

  • Crafting needs to be combined in to one interface.  Crafting is where you get all the cool items, so to have to navigate several menus to create the stuff you want is a little frustrating
  • There needs to be a way to land at forward stations from space.  Later on in the game several missions have you planet hopping, so it is supper annoying to have to land, fast travel, then drive.  I want to get straight to the driving.
  • There needs to be more enemy variety.  The same bad guys you see in the beginning of the game will be the same guys you see in the end.  The only difference is that they throw more of them at you, but you are so god-like at the end it doesn’t really matter how many guys run at you.
  • The story was a missed opportunity to do something different, but it ends well.  Even though you are still finding tech from long dead peeps and fighting faceless hoards the game still wraps up everything very nicely, and I was quite satisfied with how it ended.

I really enjoyed Mass Effect: Andromeda, but it was far from perfect.  I am hopeful they can fix the issues of the first game in the second.  We will see.  If you have yet to pick up ME:A, I recommended it to fans of the first games; though others may want to hold off until they have fixed a few more bugs and the game’s price comes down a bit.

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The Savior Of The LAN: Rune Classic!

When I was getting ready for my annual LAN party this year I researched which games were LAN favorites, and the game that kept coming up over and over again was Rune by Human Head Studios.  I remember hearing about Rune when it came out in 2000, but I totally missed it.  Which is a shame because it is hilarious fun, well at least the multiplayer is.

The game features hand to hand combat, and it is all about trying to out flank your opponent.  There are shields you can pick up, but if the other players find some of the bigger weapons the game has to offer, the shield will get chopped in two just before you do.  Really what happens in this game is people run around each other swinging big weapons with reckless abandon trying to turn the other player in to goo, or just dismember them.  It is very simple, but it wonderfully executed.  I think we played this game for three hours.  Besides death match there is a game mode called Head Ball where you have to chop off each other’s heads and then throw them in your own goal.  Not as fun as the straight up death match, but a good change of pace.

Everything about this game is as ‘Metal’ as possible. Oceans of blood, Vikings, skeletons, and rivers of acid.  Unfortunately the graphics have not held up well, but that just means it will run on any computer out there.  The gameplay on the other hand is still in top form, and you can find keys for Rune Classic (as it is titled now) for under a $1, so there is no reason not to pick it up for your next PC based get together.  Rune Classic got my LAN off to a great start, and there is no way it will not be on this list for next year.

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Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic Reboot?

So according to “sources“, BioWare Austin was going to remake the RPG classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, but they have now moved on to creating a prototype for a full series reboot.  While I would hate to see all of the old stories go, this would fit in to Disney’s “lets change all the canon to fit together better” model.  BioWare Austin has been busy keeping the Star Wars: Old Republic MMO going for over five years, so continued development of that title is probably winding down.  Which means it is probably time to return to the series’ single player roots.  Since I have been enjoying Mass Effect: Andromeda so much, I am pretty pumped for another Knights of the Old Republic game.  We will see if anything comes of this, or if it is yet another internet rumor set to dash my hopes with it lies.

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Check Out The First Trailer For Thor: Ragnarok!

This trailer makes the third Thor movie look a little like Guardians of the Galaxy: Thor Edition, but I am okay with that.  It is a Thor movie that looks as crazy as it should, and it has Jeff Goldblum in all his Goldblum-iness, so that is pretty sweet.  Plus I am always up for a good reason to listen to some Led Zeppelin!  It is a long time until November, but I am sure we will see plenty more from this movie leading up to its launch.