NHL 15 Review

NHL 15 Leaves Fans Satisfied but Shorthanded

Hockey has quickly become one of my favorite sports. I try and catch most of the Rangers games during the regular season, and religiously watch the sport during the playoffs. The fast-paced and intense play of hockey is what makes it so fun and sometimes even addicting to watch. The NHL has fans in the US, Canada, Europe, and Russia, making it one of the most internationally marketed sports associations in the world. It only makes sense that producers and developers over at video game juggernaut Electronic Arts rolled their sleeves up and got to work early in order to produce NHL 15, the first NHL game created for the Xbox One and the PS4.

While hockey is indeed fast paced and physical, with skaters flying down the ice and body checking each other left and right, it is also strategic and complex. Forwards are constantly setting up plays, looking for the perfect opportunity to shoot and strike. EA seems to understand the multiple dimensions of the game and seeks to properly recreate those dimensions in NHL 15. The latest edition of EA's NHL game is exhilarating to play, even as someone who is new to the EA NHL video game franchise. Like a live game of hockey, it leaves video game players and fans at the edge of their seats. Although the ice does shine with this game, there are a few parts of the game that left many veteran fans very disappointed.

The first improvement of gameplay in NHL 15 are the flawless graphics. Playing any game is presented like a a marquee headline NBC matchup, with live footage and pre-recorded commentary from Doc Emrick and Eddie Olyczk. The gameplay has been enhanced with realistic graphics, making the game look almost like a live hockey game. You can see the puck slide down the ice, the boards creak as bodies slam, and each arena is tailored to match their teams' unique real life arenas. You can feel the intensity of Madison Square Garden while playing as the Rangers at home. Faces are structured to look as  unique and familiar as their real-life counterparts, and the flow of the players' sweaters looks as real as it gets. The sound of the game is also spot on. The spraying of ice, the goal horn, and the slapshot of a puck almost make me feel like I'm on the ice myself.  In edition to enhanced graphics, a new feature called true hockey physics has been introduced to make the gameplay more natural. Hits, checks and shots are now designed to be more in line with the laws of physics. Whether it's a brutal hit or a crucial poke check in the middle of a breakaway, the physics in this game feel satisfyingly realistic. The accuracy and speed of a shot will depend on how fast your player is going, where your player is on the ice, how hard and how fast you hit the puck, as well as other factors that will make every single shot different than the last.

Players also have full control over the customization of gameplay in several different game modes, providing players with a variety of ways to experience the game. Changes can be made to period time, camera angles, different game rules like icing or offsides, and difficulty. Even the likelihood of a stick breaking can be changed. Overall, the visual and audio experience of the game is on point. I've had people tell me that it looks and sounds like I'm watching a live hockey game while playing NHL 15.

Many familiar features and game modes are back in NHL 15. The most popular mode, Hockey Ultimate Team, is a mode that allows gamers to create their own team from collecting player cards from different hockey leagues such as the NHL and AHL. The cards range from bronze being the least rare and least skillful to gold being the most rare and skillful. Player skill is indicated by a rating, the highest rating being a 99. Gamers customize their lineup, assigning skaters to lines and choosing a starting and backup goalie. Gamers are able to boost player skill with training cards and heal them with Healing cards. After creating a team, gamers play each other online and move through divisions depending on wins, with 10 being the worst division and 1 being the most talented and challenging division. What I really love about this game mode is how much control you have over creating your own team. While some players are more likely to be seen on an Ultimate Team than others, the variety is endless. You'll never see the same roster twice, which gives your team a more personal and unique feel.

However, what has really irked and even turned away many fans is EA's decision to discontinue and downgrade many popular game modes. Online Team Play and EA Sports League are done away with, although you can still play online ranked or unranked single games. Season Mode, which was introduced in the early 90s, has been eliminated as well.

All in all, NHL 15 isn't a 5 star slapshot goal, but definitely isn't a 0 star shut out either. The questionable decision to exclude a high number of popular game modes has definitely taken a toll on the game's rating and sales, but still captures the hearts of many diehard NHL fans. The gameplay is superb and truly creates that genuine hockey experience that will leave you at the edge of your seat. However, EA has room for improvement during their offseason. The reception of their fans' criticism is crucial for the production of their next game. 

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Statement:

Video game reviews, or any sort of review, can be helpful for potential consumers when deciding whether or not they want to purchase a particular video game. There are games being released almost every week, so it can be hard at times to chose what game to buy. Most gamers, like myself, are young students. Like most students, I'm on a tight budget when it comes to video games. Most people wait until the holidays or a birthday to get a few games at once because at 60 dollars a pop, they are anything but cheap. Therefore, it is in a gamer's best interest to get an inside look at a video game from a source other than the developer. Nobody wants to go buy a game, only to play it and realize they hate it. Once you open a game, its considered "used" so you will likely get only a portion of what you paid for. That being said, most gamers like to do some research before buying a game. A review can often be a make or break when purchasing a game.

Like I said before, my audience for this review are gamers and hockey fans. While there are definitely hockey fans who are much older than my target audience, most gamers are teens or 20 something year olds. So with my review, I wanted to help gamers decide if they would want to purchase NHL 15. The best way to do this would be to give some pro's and con's of the game, and to provide images, gif's, and video content so my audience could get a look at what the game looked like. The text of my review could only do so much, because the visual experience of the game is arguably the most important.

The central idea of my video game review was that NHL 15 is a good game, but it is not a game without flaw. This is sometimes hard to see before purchasing a game because game developers will market and advertise a game to death, highlighting all the features so the flaws are drowned out by all the cool graphics and interesting gameplay. With a game review, the dilemma of choosing a game is minimized. Almost like a movie review, a video game review gives a potential buyer an inside look from the point of view of someone with taste and preference similar to themselves.

6 reasons why you should take a philosophy class

1. You will always have some insightful quote that could be used to break the ice in awkward social situations.

Whether it's running into a professor at Publix the morning after a long night at Midtown, or trying to find ANYTHING to talk about with that girl from your class, awkward social situations are the worst. No one wants to be the one sitting there twiddling their thumbs, only to mutter "uhhh... so what's your major?" These nightmarish conversations can be  make or break situations that can leave a lasting impression. Instead of a generic "did you catch the game last night?" or "Man, I got a case of the Mondays!" Hit them with a philosophical quote that will surely have them mind-boggled for the rest of the day. Something like "The only thing I know is that I know nothing" can EASILY be quoted when you are called on in class.

2. You will win more arguments between you and your roommates.

It's finals week. You have one more exam and then you're home free for summer break. It's the fourth quarter and you only have one last drive left in you. Stocked up on red bull and microwave ramen, you're all set to pull an all nighter for that last exam. Right when you're about to get focused, your roommates who just finished their exams, come in and announce plans for pregame and go out in a few hours. Knowing that you won't be able to concentrate with the noise, you realize that this pregame cannot happen at your apartment tonight. However, you're not going to win your argument with just a "I need to study but I hate going to the library." With classes that hone in on your reasoning and logical thinking skills, you'll be have the tools necessary to tear up any flawed argument. When you're done explaining your reasoning, I guarantee your roommate will be stumbling into his or her room, wondering where the pregame will happen instead.

3. You will develop great critical thinking skills.

What exactly is critical thinking? We all throw this skill around on resumes and cover letters, and heard about it as early as high school, when preparing for those dreadful standardized tests and SATs.  In a nutshell, critical thinking is simply making judgments based off good reasoning and well thought out ideas and theories. I can tell you right now, you probably won't get an A on your next essay if you try o write with poor critical thinking skills. Critical thinking allows quickly and effectively based on information that, at times, may be difficult to understand or may even be incomplete. Employers often look for potential employees with developed critical thinking skills who can think on their feet and make well thought out decisions efficiently and effectively.

4. Your classes will have more engaging discussions than boring lectures.

No. Boring. Lectures. 'Nuff said, right? In case you need more explaining: philosophy is an organism that thrives on the sharing of ideas. Imagine how far philosophy would have advanced if Plato kept work like the Allegory of the Cave to himself. Through discussion, students (and sometimes even professors) see philosophical issues through a new lens. Students learn to think outside the box, and see philosophical topics in a new light. Plus, through actively discussing the text and material from class, students are more likely to engage and participate. Plus, those discussions make retaining the information a whole lot easier. Better than listening to your professor drone on for 2 hours, am I right?

5. Your writing will flow more naturally.

Writing is something that people either truly hate or truly love. Unfortunately, we can only do so much to avoid writing in college. Eventually, even those of us who hate writing with a burning passion will have to write some annoying, long paper, such as a research essay on the reproduction of plants. Yuck. As dreadful as that sounds, why not expedite the process of writing? Writing for philosophy is unique because unlike writing a research essay, the focus is more locked onto your own original ideas and arguments. Rather than reporting and analyzing facts and data, most philosophy papers are centered on arguing for or against a philosophical text or idea. Getting into the habit of writing more opinionated essays will pay off. This will help develop a voice within your writing, making writing feel more natural. Also, writing all these opinionated essays will help with lowering a writer's tendency to look towards outside sources like Wikipedia for material, and help writers rely more on their own original thoughts and ideas. These thoughts and ideas will flow from the mind to the paper, making writing seem like less of a burden. Writing an essay will go from being such a long and tortuous ordeal, to a simple routine. 

6. You will reach a new level of understanding.

Now I'm not saying that you'll wake up after the completion of a philosophy class feeling like Socrates or Kant, I will say that you will feel more enlightened. Even in non-academic settings, philosophy has impacted students' decision making and ethical values. Classes like moral philosophy help cultivate character, which leads to the development of more mature and ethically aware students on campus. Apart from a moral and ethical standpoint, philosophy is simply a study of life, reality, knowledge and existence. There are few wrong answers, with a better understanding of philosophy comes a better understanding of life itself. 

A New Hope for Alzheimer's Patients

            Alzheimer’s disease claims 60% to 70% of cases of dementia. The most common form of dementia, it is a concerning brain disease that progressively gets worse over time and is hard to diagnose in its early stages. My father, who’s a doctor, says that Alzheimer’s is a disease that troubles and confuses even the most intelligent and respected doctors. A decent size of the elderly population is affected by the tragic illness that is still not fully understood in the medical field. Symptoms include memory loss, short term at first and then long term as time progresses, mood swings, behavioral issues, and the gradual decline of bodily function. An up and coming pharmaceutical company has made groundbreaking discoveries that could revolutionize treatment for those suffering from Alzheimer’s. Biogen Idec is a global biotechnology company specialized in the development of therapeutic medicine used for neurodegerative (or the progressive failure of functioning from neurons or other nervous processes) illnesses based in Cambridge, Massachesetts, has found new discoveries from experimental studies on patients with Alzheimer’s.

Normal brain activity compared to that of a patient with Alzheimer's disease
 340 × 191 - abc.net.au

            Biogen, a David among many pharmaceutical Goliaths, is entering a field among many medical market juggernauts such as Pfizer Inc. Biogen is competing with companies that have cost patients a fortune because of the high cost in treatment and medicinal care. According to ALZ.org, 1 in 9 older Americans has Alzheimer’s, with 44% of those 74-84 years old suffering from the illness.  A simple one-time cure would not do pharmaceutical companies any good with a sole purpose of profit. Many of these big time companies, like Pfizer, are criticized for having ill-minded priorities: profit over overall patient well being. Biogen, however, seems to have a different philosophy. What’s interesting is how Biogen selected candidates for it’s experimental clinical studies of aducanumab. Patients were evaluated and chosen with accuracy in order to prevent recruitment of patients with other forms of dementia that are often mistaken for Alzheimer’s.  Biogen was also strict in the sense that they only selected patients that were in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Biogen CEO Geroge Scangos said in an interview that “We images every patient coming into study, so we knew that every patient had Alzheimer’s disease and (amyoid) plaque.” With this selectiveness with their experiment, other medical researchers in the neuroscience field will be reassured that the experiment was conducted with accuracy.

Amyloid plaques
 526 × 407 - brightfocus.org 

Biogen conducted an 166 patient trial, four groups and a placebo group, using their own drug called aducanumab. The treatment was aimed at reducing a brain plaque, which is widely believed to cause Alzheimer’s. The plaque, called an amyloid, cause unnatural reactions in the brain which can lead to many different neurodegenerative disorders. While the reasons for amyloids are unclear, it is known that they disrupt tissue architecture and disrupt the function of the tissues. The more the drug increased, the more the amyloid plaque was reduced in the brain. In fact, it marks the first time that amyloid plaque was reduced from the cause of an experimental drug according to Biogen. The success was so high that Phase III trials for the drug are in the works, which could lead to an approval of the drug. Results were recorded later on in the course of the trial. Using imaging technology to scan the patients’ brains, researchers found that plaque levels were unchanged within the placebo group. For the patients received dosages ranging from 3 milligrams per kilogram of weight, 6 mg or 10 mg, of aducanumab, plaque reduction was seen at 26 weeks and later on during testing at 54 weeks.

The experimental trial also used two other measureable tests for cognition. A 30 point questionnaire used to rate mental acuteness and an 18 point “Clinical Dementia Rating scale.”  The placebo group saw the worst results from the two groups, with a high decrease of points in both tests. The experimental groups had a significantly lower decrease in points. The higher the dosage, the lower the decrease in points.

As medical research advances, the public’s general hope of experiencing the eradication and cure for Alzheimer’s disease may finally become a reality. Hopefully the priority of patient care trumps the desire for profit and stockholder interests. Perhaps other pharmaceutical companies may follow Biogen’s example and seek the development of a cure for not only Alzheimer’s but other diseases and illnesses such as HIV or cancer.

             

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/alzheimer-s-drug-slows-mental-decline-in-early-study/

https://www.alz.org/downloads/Facts_Figures_2014.pdf

In all kinds of weather: The Hydro Flask

Recently, we had one of the coldest days here in Gainesville with temperatures as low as 26 degrees. Being raised in South Florida, but born in Long Island, New York, I felt more like I was back in New York when I woke up at 8:30 AM for work. Even with the heat on, I felt extremely cold in my house so I craved something warm to drink on my way to work, but I was running late as it was, and there was no coffee shop on the path of my morning commute. So I decided to make some tea. Rather than attempt to drink it out of a mug in the car, I decided to use a "stocking stuffer" Christmas gift I received from my mom.

The Hydro Flask, as it was called on the flask itself, is minimally designed flask with the theme of simplicity. My Hydro Flask is a blue stainless steel, vacuum insulated, and has the standard mouth size option. The flask could come in other sizes up to 40 oz and the mouth could also sized as an alternate "wide mouth" option. The 21 oz bottle is seemingly durable yet also lightweight and  comfortable to hold. This makes it perfect for walking to class down university or this spring break when I'll be skiing in Colorado. The inside of the bottle is without aluminum lining unlike most flasks and is BPA free, making it environmentally friendly.

The top of the bottle is sealed with a screw-in cap. The cap, when properly screwed in, makes the Hydro Flask spill proof even when I drop it off my desk accidentally at work. I'm sure it could survive drops from higher heights because this flask feels extremely durable. It was made for being carried while commuting, exercising, or traveling. The strength of the stainless steel, the tough texture of the outside of the flask, and the screw in cap ensure the flask's contents will never spill. Perfect for those who are prone to spilling hot liquids in the car. Although the cap is tightly sealed when closed, it is easy to remove as well as screw in. Just a few easy turns and the cap pops off or tightens in. 

However, the overall best and more impressive feature of this exceptional flask is it's about to retain the temperature of it's liquid content for such a long period of time. While I've personally never had any water or tea in my Hydro Flask for more for a few hours, the website claims it could retain cold temperatures for up to 24 hours and hot temperature for up to 12. I have no doubt that these claims are true. On warmer days, I'll fill my flask up with some ice and Gatorade for the gym. By the end of my workout, the ice is still intact and the Gatorade still ice cold. On my cold, miserable trek to class my tea stayed steaming hot the entire time. Even when I was in class was my tea still steaming. In fact, when I was walking into my house around 4PM after my long day of classes, the tea was still exceptionally warm.

So whether you're a student, a bodybuilder, a hiker, traveller or someone who is simply a fan of their beverages retaining their temperature for as long as possible, I recommend you purchase the Hydro Flask. It puts reusable plastic bottles and portable coffee mugs to shame. Under 20$ on Amazon, this flask is a steal. I give it a 5/5 rating.

American Sniper: Not your typical war movie

American Sniper was similar to many other war movies of the past, such as Saving Private Ryan or The Hurt Locker. However, one striking difference is that it is without the pro-American patriotic glory that is in other war movies. That being said, it is not an anti-war movie in any way. The movie, based on the biography of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, was more of a testament than a statement.  It is a tragedy that highlighted the dangers of war on the frontline and at home in the states. Directed by Clint Eastwood, the movie has already become the highest grossing U.S. war film of all time.

            The movie follows Chris Kyle from his youth growing up in Texas, to his four tours spent in Iraq shortly after 9/11. Portrayed by Bradley Cooper, Chris Kyle was a Christian, rodeo-loving cowboy and what his father called a “shepherd dog.” As shown in the movie, even at a young age Chris Kyle felt he had a duty to protect those he cares about. A scene in the early part of the film shows Kyle fighting off a bully in defense of his younger brother. While he protects his other brothers, usually in a bleak and lonely tower or rooftop, Kyle gains the reputation of a military legend by racking up 160 confirmed kills. Kyle immediately experiences the mental hardships inflicted by the devastating theater of war by having to snipe a mother and son who attempted to sabotage Marines with a live grenade. You see his eyes blankly stare through his rifle’s scope; his mind wounded from something not even training could have prepared him for.

  While his peers commend him for his work, Kyle remains humble and stands firm that his work is nothing noble, but that it is his duty and it is what he must do in order to protect his fellow soldiers. He is a man of few words, as seen in interviews such his interview with Conan in 2012. As he returns tirelessly to Iraq for a third and a final fourth tour, tensions increase with his wife as she questions why he keeps returning, a question we don’t directly receive. It wasn’t for the thrill or glory of war, but perhaps the feeling of a need for Kyle to return to face the demons that sit in the Middle East. As Kyle sits in the middle of an approaching sandstorm, he proclaims to his wife that he is finally ready to come home. Reintegrating into civilian life is just as hard as training for Kyle. Sounds of war, machine guns, explosions and the cries of the wounded haunt him as he sits with his wife and two children.

This movie was not intended by director Clint Eastwood to be a political statement. It’s the story of a man’s life in the midst of a war that echoes the public opinion similar to the Vietnam War. It’s a side not many of us are too familiar of seeing in regards to our generation’s drama of the Middle East. We are used to seeing speeches, gunfights, and explosions on the news; but this movie is a softer side of a long war that has arguably defined the early 2000’s. Chris Kyle’s struggles on tour in Iraq as well as at home are similar to many soldiers who come home and unfortunately struggle to reintegrate into society. Regardless of your political views, I believe American Sniper was not a testament of modern U.S. military achievements but rather a tragedy highlighting the tolls that this war takes on our soldiers.