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D.C. Cutler

Madden NFL 22 and Real Life

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Before every NFL season begins, I like to play the full schedule of the reigning Super Bowl champion from the previous season. A few weeks ago, I played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers full 2021 season on Madden ’22 on my Xbox. My takeaway of how this season will go for Tom Brady and the Bucs is rather simple: They’re going to be very good. I only lost 3 games playing their ’21 schedule, but they were interesting losses.

Since I was a teenager, I’ve been playing a full season of Madden before the start of the NFL season. The teams that I lose to with the defending champions are usually the teams that the real squad end up losing to. It’s strange, but it’s the way it usually works out.

In my simulated, Xbox world, the Buccaneers lost an away game to the Washington Football Team by a field goal. Washington’s defense smothered any running attack by the Bucs, and Brady was on his back several times. They kept it close, and the Bucs failed to have the ball last; the way Brady and Bucs’ head coach Bruce Arians like it.

image source: xboxachievements.com

The Buccaneers offense is supposed to be phenomenal this season, but when I was in control of them, playing Madden, they had a ton of dropped balls and they couldn’t convert on 1st downs. My ’21 Bucs lost to the Colts, at Indianapolis, by 17 points. It was a blowout, and I couldn’t get my offense going. The short little passes that Brady is so good at were not connecting. All my receivers seemed covered on every passing play I’d select.

Playing the Buffalo Bills on Week 14 was difficult, but my Bucs won by a field goal. During that game, Brady had a last-minute drive that set up my kicker for the win. I lost to the Saints at Tampa Bay. None of my offensive players could hold on to the football in that rainy game. I like the elements in Madden, but not when they cost me a victory.

I’ll see if the Buccaneers will lose to Washington, the Colts, or the Saints this season. Some ESPN analysts are suggesting that the Bucs could go undefeated this season. My opinion: Not a chance. When you’re the defending champion, every opponent circles you on their schedule. Opposing teams will be ready.



New Scrabble Go App

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

The new “Scrabble Go” app was released earlier this year, and contrary to what many fans of the iconic game are saying, I really enjoy it. The candy-coloured, frenetic update was meant to get younger players to appreciate an older game.

The new look to the app, a far cry from the traditional red-and-tan predecessor, is definitely going to turn off some loyal fans of the decade-old game.

I’ve been playing Scrabble since I was 8-years-old. I used to watch my parents play and I’d bug them about the rules and what a triple word score meant. In high school, my friends and I would play Scrabble past midnight. We would have little tournaments that would last long into the night. My friend Elizabeth would usually beat the rest of us, but it never stopped us from trying to win one game against her.

I’m a Scrabble traditionalist, so when I first played the “Scrabble Go” app, I didn’t know what to make of it. The ability to decorate my word tiles with 3-D flamingos and baby dragons was slightly alarming. I understand that dragons have no place in Scrabble, but it didn’t make me want to stop playing the game. What is so bad about a little color in a classic game? The redeemable shiny gems that give you a preview of the best available words was a nice touch. It didn’t bother me. Covid-19 could be the biggest reason for all the criticism of the new app. People don’t like change and being shut in during the pandemic has made people really not like change. Hasbro tinkered with a classic when loyal players need Scrabble more than ever. I play the app for about an hour a day. I can’t imagine what the changes were like for a player who plays for hours daily.

Maybe the reason why the dragons don’t bother me is because I’m a huge “Game of Thrones” fan. If you’re focusing on the actual game of Scrabble, struggling to score with a clever word, the dragons and strange gnomes (or pixies) aren’t distracting.

Complaints about the new game on Reddit threads and Facebook pages are hilarious. The most frequent criticisms are about the colourful treasure chests and the difficulty of finding the dictionary. Personally, I could care less about the chat room. I don’t want to get to know any other players or learn any of their “tips.”  A lot of people on the chat room are not even interested in the game of Scrabble. I think some of these lonely people really need to leave their basement and go for a long afternoon walk. Perhaps get some fresh air and sun and think about things that are slightly more important than a word game. Scrabble is something I do to get away from all the chatter and snark on social media platforms, especially Twitter. I cannot think of anything worse than chatting with stranger during a game of Scrabble. Focus is vital during Scrabble.

Mark Blecher, Hasbro’s head of digital gaming, said the old app isn’t coming back and that the company sees the updated app as a “game-changer” for Scrabble. A “game-changer” seems somewhat overenthusiastic, but something new usually always causes some division. I’ve noticed the more I play the new app, the less I notice the little things that players have decried.