Shmee.Me

January 7, 2014January 7, 2014

Can Community Come Back From The Gas Leak Year?

To the shock of just about everyone, Community is back on NBC. Last year they kicked out the creator of the show Dan Harmon, so they could make it less weird and more accessible, but all they really did was make it more unwatchable. This year they brought back Dan, and the show is much better with him.

The writers answer the questions about why the study group would all come back to Greendale after graduating, by showing how woefully Greendale prepared them for life outside its walls. It also makes some great Scrubs references along the way. Community has gone back to its roots of showing weird people doing weird things for inexplicable reasons, but it did take on a darker tone. As I stated before the study group was not ready for post Greendale life, and they paid dearly for trying to venture out in to the world beyond. This may truly be the darkest timeline, but for now they are back doing what they do best, being a dysfunctional family/study group.

The group has changed, with Peirce being gone, <Spoiler>Jeff is now a teacher</Spoiler>, and the writers preparing to write Troy off the show. These changes have seemed to work to the show’s benefit for the most part. I will miss Troy, but he was always just a sounding board for Abed, so I think it will be fine.

Community is still not for everybody, but it never was, so when they changed it up last season, now known as the “Gas Leak” year, they just made it so it was for nobody. It is back to being a show for a select audience, but at least we few who watch it are now much happier. If this season is its last (we say that every season), at least it looks like it will be remembered fondly, and not as the less funny “Gas Leak” version.

January 6, 2014January 6, 2014

Why Can’t We All Get Along?!

Image via shirtoid.com, and you can get it on a shirt!

As long as there has been more than one gaming platform, there has always been the argument that one reigns supreme over the others, but instead of discussing it like mature adults, we like to rage against one another on forums. The sad fact is that now more than ever the platforms are very similar to one another, so all this rage is mostly meaningless. Why is it that we can’t all just get along?

I think it all comes down to money. Gaming can be an expensive hobby. By the time people get the hardware, the peripherals, and the games, you can be several hundred dollars, if not thousands, in the hole. A person just wants to feel justified in their purchase, so when someone makes a different choice then them it is like they are saying “you were wrong”. Buying a console or PC is not a test. There is no wrong answer. Are you having fun on the platform you purchased? Yes? Good you made the right choice. That is all there is too it. People are reading in to the current console hardware sales, and trying to use them to prove that one console is better than the other, but the console race will last for years to come.

Plus we do not really want a winner. If there was only one platform, there would be no competition, so games would cost even more, and the lone console would be pretty crappy. For those of you that are old enough, look what happened to the Atari. The Atari 2600 came out, and it was the only game in town, so when they made a follow up, the 5200, it was a giant pile of dung. It was so bad it almost destroyed video games, but luckily the Nintendo Entertainment System saved the day.

The new consoles are all selling well, and there is a resurgence in the PC market due to the rise in indie development. We as gamers should all be happy about that. As an Xbox One owner, I want the PS4 to do well, and as a PC owner, I want there to be strength in the console market. We are all part of the same hobby, and it is something we enjoy greatly, so we should be happy for one another. Though I am sure we can all agree that mobile gaming is the WORST! 😉

January 3, 2014January 3, 2014

Futurama Goes Out With A Bang!

Netflix finally got the last season of Futurama for streaming, and I of course gobbled it up. It is hard to see another great show end its run, but this last season was one of the best. The last episode “Meanwhile” in particular was an excellent way to wrap up the series and say farewell to Fry and Leela. It was funny and showed real heart and emotion. Most live action shows can’t do that.

I am now torn since there are rumors that Netflix wants to buy the show and develop more episodes, but it is nice to see Futurama go out on a high note like Breaking Bad, and not limp out of retirement like Arrested Development. No matter what the future holds for this show, at least season 7B (10 on Netflix) gave the fans everything they loved and wanted plus a little extra.

If you haven’t seen the show, you really should, and you need to give it until the second season because that is when it finds its footing and really takes off.

January 2, 2014January 2, 2014

Battlefield 4 Is Worth The Perseverance!

Battlefield 4 is a first person shooter developed by EA’s DICE studio. If you have not heard about Battlefield by now, that means you have been living under a rock somewhere. It is one of the most recognizable brands in the video game world. It has been a rocky start for the game, but it is still fun, and worth a look.

Much like the last game, Battlefield 4 features a single-player campaign, and in it you take the role of Sgt. Daniel “Reck” Recker. He is part of an elite squad called “Tombstone”. You have been called in to stop a Chinese general from starting World War III, and to do that you pretty much have to shoot everyone in China.

The whole elite squad thing is kind of a misnomer since they can’t seem to shoot anything until you tell them too, and you can only tell them to shoot stuff that you are looking at and shooting anyway, but it is fun to be part of a group instead of all by yourself. The campaign was really fun, and I was almost done with it when Battlefield 4 destroyed my save game file. This apparently is a widespread problem, and an inexcusable one. There have been game saves for as long as there have been video games, so to not be able to keep them from getting lost or corrupted is crazy.

All that being said the reason you will get Battlefield 4 is for the multiplayer, and that is still fantastic. There is nothing more fun than flying a helicopter, having it almost blow up on you, so you parachute down to a skyscraper, and then having the skyscraper collapse. You parachute down to the ground and grab a tank, and then lay waste to all that oppose you. These sorts of moments make this game great, and they happen a lot. Sadly EA is having trouble with its matchmaking, so getting in to games can be a little rough at the moment, but it is worth the trouble.

This game feels like it was rushed to the market to be in time for Christmas and the new console launches, and it is a shame. If it were to have come out next month, I bet it would have been a smoother launch. Still when you can play it, Battlefield 4 is one of the best things going right now, but I would wait another few weeks before picking it up, or just be like me and use the perseverance to build character.

January 1, 2014January 1, 2014

Top Ten Movies For 2014!

With so many geeky movies coming out in 2014, I couldn’t pick just five, but this is my site, so you get ten. Sue me! Here are my choices in reverse order!

10: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Marvel has done an amazing job making characters I never liked before seem great. The new trailer for Captain America sold me with its almost spy movie feel. The only reason this movie dropped to number ten is that I am ready for some new Marvel characters to take the forefront.

9: Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowskis don’t always make good movies, but they always make interesting movies. Everything they make is at least worth a watch, so a Sci-Fi movie from them is an exciting proposition.

8: The Lego Movie

We are finally getting a Justice League movie! It is being made by the people from Lego, but still, it will probably be better than whatever Warner Brothers is going to make. I rolled my eyes when I first heard about this movie, but the trailers have sold me.

7: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

The first Sin City movie showed what we can do with modern CGI by almost literally ripping the pages out of the comic book and putting them on the screen. I am a little worried since this movie has been in production forever, but the last one was great, so here is hoping.

6: Muppets Most Wanted

It’s the Muppets, so I will see it. That is all.

5: Guardians of the Galaxy

Cult movie maker James Gunn is making a movie out of one of the strangest Marvel franchises out there? Yes he is, and it is a fantastic choice. The Marvel movies have been starting to get a little to serious, so this should fix that. I hope Guardians of the Galaxy is crazy silly.

4: The Hobbit: There and Back Again

It has been good so far, so I will have to see how it ends. I am hoping this third movie ties everything together, and that the Battle of Five Armies is awesome!

3: Interstellar

Christopher Nolan has earned my trust, so I will see just about anything he makes. This space flick should be wonderful. If Inception has taught us anything, bring your thinking caps and expect the unexpected.

2: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1

Good heavens the last movie was good, so watching the next one is a no brainer. The only reason it is not number one is that it is just half of the final book. I hope they can make a full movie out of so few pages.

1: X-Men: Days of Future Past

It is strange, only X-Men 2 and First Class have been good, but the idea of merging the two worlds and bringing Bryan Singer back to direct is just so darn exciting! If Jennifer Lawrence wasn’t huge before, she will be after having an X-Men movie and a Hunger Games movie come out in the same year.

That was my list, and hope you liked it. What are you looking forward too?