Aviously

Madden 18 Review

@iAmAviG

August 25, 2017

Madden 18 came out this morning, and after playing it for a week now with EA Access, I’m going to give it an 8.5 out of 10, same as last year’s edition, since the improvements outweigh the failings.

PRESENTATION

The graphics have been moved to the Frostbite engine this year, and after FIFA’s successful launch last year, it’s no surprise that this game is absolutely beautiful. Every year we talk about how it “couldn’t possibly look more like real life”, and every year they do just enough to make it look even better.

There are still a few glitches and annoyances with the game. For example, I started calling a play and then the booth issued a review. My “Playcall” screen remained overlayed on top of the replay videos and the ref making the call.
They also will pop up “Timeout: Injury” without telling (or showing) you who is injured at times, which leads to heading to the injury report for the necessary information.

GAMEPLAY

The play has picked up from previous years.

The running game, which last year was basically stuffed, is more open, and if you read the defense correctly can lead to 7-9 yard rushes when you have the defense playing deep zones.
Meanwhile, the passing game has gotten tougher (read: more realistic), where if you start forcing those passes, they will get picked off every single time.
The juke/spin moves finally work again. Hitting it at the right moment will free you up and open the field up for good RAC.
One struggle on defense has always been when you take a player who is supposed to be in man/zone coverage and you just don’t know how to mark your player. Now they have added in arrows to help you mid-play to keep your coverage as tight as possible.

LONGSHOT

I am a big fan of “Story mode” in games, and sports has always been the one game that has just handed you a season, and said “have fun”.

But last year FIFA unveiled The Journey (which will be continued this year from where you left off in last years’ game) and Madden has thrown its hat into the ring with Longshot.

A Texas kid, former star Quarterback, taking his shot at the combine, after stopping to play football at the start of college.

Every decision you make can take him to new levels or breaks his career and unlike a “Choose Your Own Adventure” you can’t just go back a step when you choose to post that video on Instagram.

You’ll make friends and have foes, play through high school rookie flashbacks, and just joke around with the people around you.

But from Act I, which is all that was allowed to play during the Early Access, it didn’t give me a lot to work with, in terms of wanting more…but it gave me enough to want to buy the game and play through the story.

THE DOWNSIDE

Load times are fairly long, from when you hit “Play Game” until it starts showing the opening sequences. Now this may be due to Frostbite loading up the intense opening package, of the players running on the field and fireworks going off…but FIFA showed shorter times unless that’s just an illusion since FIFA lets you practice while the game loads.

Meanwhile, those pesky booth reviews are just plain awful. I had a play where every single angle showed both feet landing out of bounds, yet somehow they managed to overturn it and rule him inbounds.

Central Park Zoo

@iAmAviG

no comments

August 24, 2017

Nestled in the lower corner of New York’s Central Park is the Central Park Zoo, the famous setting of the Madagascar movies. It is another WCS zoo with no parking lot (See: Prospect Park Zoo) and accessible mainly by mass transit.

The zoo is split into a few parts, the main typical Zoo and the Tisch Children’s Zoo, both included in admission and a 4D theater.

The zoo features the following areas:

Sea Lion Pool
Tropic Zone – A nice rainforest transports you out of the NYC landscape into the wilds, as birds walk alongside you as you view Lemurs and Boa’s
Temperate Territory – Snow Monkeys in a nice pool area, Red Pandas and Snow Leopards
Polar Circle – Four types of Penguins and a Puffin exhibit in this ice house
Tisch Children’s Zoo – Goats, llamas, and cows, all within hands reach
Grizzly Bears – This pair of bears originally from the Bronx Zoo have a nice enclosure leading up to the Harbor Seals

Android Instant Apps

@iAmAviG

no comments

August 22, 2017

It’s been teased and hinted for a while, but Android Instant Apps is finally rolling out to many Android devices.

Sometimes you click on a link that would prefer to open up inside of its native app (think Instagram), but you don’t have that app installed…well everyone hurts from that.
You see a poor(er) version of the page via the web, and the app developer loses out on some of their functionality.

But with Instant Apps, Google is making it easier on everyone. Your phone will download little pieces of the app in the background, just enough to make the page visible as it would be within the app itself, and it’ll give you full use as if you had the app.

This is also extremely useful for people running phones with very little space (16GB phones with no SD cards, for example), allowing them to use these apps, without tying up space on their phones.

Ideas of apps you can use like this?

Citymapper – Quickly look up where you need to get to, without downloading the maps?
NY Times Crosswords – Had a good puzzle and want to share it with someone who might like it? Do the puzzle without the app!
Weather Channel
Vimeo
Ticketmaster
Jet
Zillow/Realtor – For when you’re looking for your dream house on a random Tuesday…

The one question I have with all this: What does it do to data downloads and those not on unlimited plans?

Regardless, the idea is simple enough, and one of the cooler features to come to phones in recent years, and what I think will be the future of how apps run.

Here is more from Google.

Moana and Trolls

@iAmAviG

no comments

August 18, 2017

Moana and Trolls, two of the hotter children’s movies of the last year, have both come to Netflix, which made for some good summer watching as I wait for my Fall TV Shows to come back.

Moana. The story of a Polynesian island that is slowly dying off due to a demigod that stole the heart of the sea, in hopes of having the power of creation…or something like that.
Honestly, the storyline was a little odd, but the characters were enjoyable. From Moana herself (Auli’i Cravalho) to the demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson), the movie is filled with song and humor, although I fail to see a song in there as catchy as 2013’s Let It Go.

Trolls. The troll dolls of youth coming to life in a movie, where they are singing/dancing/hugging and enjoying life, until the evil Bergens discover that by eating them they can get joy themselves.
Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake star in this one, where through their voices they hope to stop the Bergens and convince them that they can experience joy without harming others.

While Moana made double at the box office, I enjoyed Trolls more, with the lead song of Can’t Stop The Feeling making my Top Songs of 2016.

Both movies get an 8 out of 10.

CNN – “How To Travel If You’re Young and Broke” – Or Not

@iAmAviG

no comments

August 17, 2017

CNN ran an article recently on how to travel if you are young and broke. And while it was written by a fellow millennial, I think that this is a bad list, and unreasonable for most young people, especially if they don’t have tons of money (which is who it’s geared for).

Here are some examples:

“Sign up for a credit card with travel rewards” — When I was “younger and poorer” I didn’t have a credit card at all. Not because I didn’t want one, but because I had no credit since I was young and not having “tons of money”.
“Some credit cards, like the new Citi Prestige” — Dear young poorer people, don’t go out and get credit cards that have $450 annual fees. There are tens of Credit Cards with pretty good benefits, that won’t cost you a penny.
“Be flexible……travel on weekdays” — Most of these younger poorer people are in college or working their butts off so they can have “tons of money”. In both of those cases they can’t just take weekdays off to travel. Sure you may save money doing it, but it’s unfeasible.

My advice for traveling when you are “young and broke”? Get a few friends, take a car (either one of your own, or from Hertz with the discounts) and go on a road trip. Split the costs, use Priceline for last second hotel deals wherever the road takes you and hit up the free museums and sites that can be found wherever you go!

And if you need help planning a trip that’s a little cheaper, ask people who have been there which places are worth visiting and which aren’t worth the money…or find a friend who loves planning trips to map things out for you! (Hint: My inbox is open.)

How to travel if you're young and brokehttps://t.co/rIyU3BIVGg via @CNNMoney pic.twitter.com/BmIRkypbFf

— CNN Travel (@CNNTravel) August 15, 2017

Google Contacts Apps

@iAmAviG

no comments

August 15, 2017

One of the things I like about Android over iOS is that it is fluid and things can change from device to device. But that doesn’t mean I want everything different.

But I like my Google Apps…like Photos, Calendar, Keep, Gmail. And I don’t want to use other companies apps like Evernote or Gallery or Exchange.

But until now Google Contacts has only been available on an actual Google phone (think Pixel or Nexus). This week that all changed. Google has released “Contacts” on the app store.

Now, why do you need it? You don’t. But why should you get it?

For starters it provides a very clean interface for your contacts, mirroring the web version, and it also provides suggestions, such as:

Merges
Backup/Restore
Suggestions (from your emails and wherever else it pulls up the information)
Recent Unadded numbers

As always I highly recommend a cloud backup, such as Google and not your carrier, for all your stuff, and this will help push you through to safe backups and an easy transfer if you have to get a new device.

Rainbow – Kesha

@iAmAviG

no comments

August 11, 2017

Kesha’s newest album, her first in five years, titled Rainbow was released today.

The album wastes no time launching straight into an Intro of how she’s not going to let people bring her down.

Been too mean for too long
And I’m so sick of crying, yeah
Darling, what’s it for?
I could fight forever, oh
But life’s too short

It is all a strong response to her haters and those who have risen up against her in recent years. But it isn’t an album of anger or actual hate, but rather comes across as one of frustration.

A long album, based on other recent releases, the title song Rainbow serves as a bridge in the middle, from the strong and powerful to the lighter sounding songs on the back end.

Trust me, I know life is scary
But just put those colors on
Come and play along with me tonight
You gotta learn to let go, put the past behind you
Trust me, I know, the ghosts will try to find you

Kesha also covers Dolly Parton’s 1980 song Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You, which was written by Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, and features Dolly herself.

This album is absolute fire, her lyrics and vocals showing off her true talent, and with a little help from the sounds of Eagles of Death Metal and the fabulous Dap-Kings Horns, any awards for “Comeback Artist of the Year” will surely have Kesha in contention.

The album hit #1 on the charts within hours of release.

This album gets a 9 out of 10.

NYCFC vs Red Bulls – Legends

@iAmAviG

no comments

August 10, 2017

Sunday I went out to Yankee Stadium and sat in the Legends section for a thrilling match between Hudson River rivals of NYCFC and the Red Bulls from New Jersey.

The match was a full out fight, with both teams trading goals and the lead, before FC Captain David Villa finished off his first MLS Hat-trick for a 3-2 win.

The stadium, with 30,000+ fans, was loud from start to finish, and a little boost from USWNT Legend Carli Lloyd started the smoke up before the match. But the place is never louder than when Villa’s name is announced after a goal.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXeLgKqgyQ1/?taken-by=iamavig

It was a great experience watching the players come out for practice, giving them encouragement ahead of the match, and a special thanks to Maxi Moralez and Kwame Awuah for stopping by after the game and signing our gear!