Shmee.Me

June 1, 2015

Controllers Keep Eating Batteries? Try The Nyko Charge Base!

The Xbox One controller is way easier on the batteries than the Xbox 360, but that doesn’t mean you will not burn through batteries at an alarming rate. Finally I decided to do something about it, and I bought the Nyko Charge Base for the Xbox One. It is about $15, and well worth the price. The main reason that you will buy this base is to charge your controllers, and I am happy to report that it works quite well for that. The other features of this base are lit indicators on the front telling you if the controller is charging, and which ones are ready. It also gives you a place to set your controllers when you are not using them.

They are not perfect however. The batteries don’t last as long as standard AAs, but since you will be charging them after every use that doesn’t seem like that big of an issue. Though if you are a marathon gamer it is something to keep in mind. The other downer is that since the base uses batteries with contacts on them to do the charging you need to replace your battery covers with the ones they have included for you. This isn’t a problem except for the fact the covers are shiny and the controllers have a matte finish. You will not be looking at the back of your controllers a lot, but it is disappointing the colors don’t match.

Not having to worry about batteries for my controllers was well worth the money. I kind of wish they had a four controller option, but if I ever get two more controllers I guess I can buy another one. There are a lot of good charging options out there, but the Nyko Charge Base should be at the top of your list. It looks like they make a version for just about every major platform out there, so if you are in the market for a charging station it is worth a look.

May 29, 2015May 29, 2015

DC Went Nuts And Made Everything Canon!

Oh man DC went crazy! According to Polygon instead of fixing all their comic books’ odd continuity errors and multiple story lines for the same character they went completely the other way. They embraced the messiness and made every book they have ever published canon. That is right every book. “How?” you might ask. Well they just decided that since the DC Universe has multiple Universes that all those story lines exist within their own world, so why not let them all live on and interact with each other.

This is completely opposite from every other comic book event ever, including the ongoing Secret Wars that Marvel is doing, which clean up and streamline the Universe in to one easy to understand package. Honestly this is probably the coolest thing they have done for awhile. It lets them pick and choose the stuff that works, and ignore but still have the stuff that didn’t in case they want to go back to it and try to fix it. The New 52 Aquaman and Wonder Woman get to stay, but you can bring back the old Superman, or just have both!

We will see how this all turns out, but at least for now DC has given into the madness and let their comic book creators make whatever books they want with whatever characters they want, and that is a very good thing!

May 26, 2015

My First Impressions Of The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt!

There must be something about the third game in an RPG series. With the Elder Scrolls there was Morrowind, and with Dragon Age there was Inquisition, but it seems like it takes that third game to get the mix right. The same seems to be true for The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Sure The Witcher had great storytelling and a sprawling environment, and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings had great action and good graphics, but the third one blended everything together amazingly well. So far anyway.

This is a game that is going to take me a long time to finish, so like Dragon Age: Inquisition I am going to give you my impressions, and my impressions are that you should play this game. I was intrigued by this game when I saw Geralt of Rivia on his trusty steed in a wide open plain, and then he got off his horse and decapitated some monsters. Great stuff, but I was sold on it when I read a review that said it was the fantasy version of Rockstar’s classic western game Red Dead Redemption. I hit the buy button faster than my mind could process that statement.

That review was right. You ride from town to town solving problems, killing monsters, kissing maidens, and then when you are done you ride off in to the sunset. It is great. I love getting lost in this game. I also like that they took a page out of Dragon Age’s book and have more than one environment. There are a few giant maps to explore, and new wonders around every bend in the trail. I love it. This is the game I always wanted The Witcher to be.

There are some problems. I am playing on the Xbox One, so the frame rate dips from time to time, and there is so much to do it can be overwhelming. Not to mention the difficulty spikes at times, so you are left wondering how the quest that was three levels higher than you was a piece of cake while the quest a level lower than you kicked your butt, and the story is so complex I am not going to bother telling you about it, but those are minor compared to all the positives. Just make sure you have lots of liquor to replace all your potions and you will be fine. Seriously buy all the booze, you will need it.

I think this is one of the best games of all time. It is not the personal hero building of most modern Western RPGs, but it has a great story with good action, and some of the best exploration ever. If those things sound at all good to you should give this game a shot. Provided that you are over eighteen that is. It is a mature experience all around, but one that shouldn’t be missed.

May 22, 2015

Exploring The Broken Age! (Part 2 Update)

I am not going to go over the first part of the Broken Age, but you can read my thoughts here.

I loved Broken Age part one by Tim Schafer and Double Fine games, and for the most part I love part 2, but it lacks a little something from the first half. That little something is discovery. There are only a couple of new areas in the second half of Broken Age, and they come towards the end of the game. Discovering the beautiful areas Tim and his team thought up were a lot of what I enjoyed in the first part, so going back over the same areas wasn’t exciting. This may have been less disappointing had I waited to play the whole game once it was finished instead of playing the first half so long ago.

That doesn’t mean I think the game is a bad. Far from it. People wanting challenging puzzles should be happy, they upped the puzzle count a lot, and none of them are as obvious as the puzzles in the first half, so you really have to think things through and go back over all the areas to find what you missed. I know this made a lot of people angry, but it is an adventure game so what were they expecting?

Also the wonderful characters are still here, and it is great to see Vela and Shay try and save the people they love while continuing their coming of age tale. Story telling really is the strength of adventure games, and Tim Schafer doesn’t waste this opportunity. The story feels a little rushed at the end, but everything leading up to the conclusion is wonderful.

Games like Broken Age are why I love Double Fine studios so much. They create games from the heart that tell great stories that charm and delight. You may never get your action game fix from them, but you will get something unique and thought provoking, so I think you should give Broken Age a shot. It is going to be out on pretty much every major platform (except Xbox), so there is no reason not to give it a try. Well unless you hate adventure games.

May 21, 2015May 21, 2015

Arrow Season Three Is In The History Books!

Yeah I know that Arrow ended before The Flash, but I actually finished The Flash on time, so I decided to review it while it was still relevant. The Arrow on the other hand has no such luck! This was an odd season. On one hand we got The Atom and he made the show lighter, and on the other hand we got Ra’s al Ghul who made the show darker. I think this made season three a bit uneven. It couldn’t decided what it wanted to be.

I personally like the darker tone. It melds well with Arrow being a stand in for Batman, and it sets it apart from its little brother The Flash. When Arrow tries to get funny it seems to loose its footing, so I think it is good that The Atom and Co are off on their own thing next year. Hopefully that will let the Arrow get back to his brooding in the shadows. We will see. It will be also interesting to see if Mr. Queen will have to fight more Metahumans or not. I am guessing yes. That will change up the show quite a bit since he will be fighting people much more powerful than himself.

I wonder if the writers can bring the focus back to Arrow next year, or if they get too distracted writing three other shows. I hope they can because the show that started the comic book TV craze should be in the running for the best, and not just an also-ran. See you next year Oliver!