The Pandemic has had one mixed result for me passing the time, I got re-acquainted with the PS4 I earned via points at Pinballz two years ago. Somara found out how to hook it up then I think I played a couple hours of Destiny which was bundled with it. Never touched it again as life and divorce got in the way. Plus I hate FPS games on consoles, they’re overcomplicated and boring. They all have the same storyline since Rambo II, shooting solves everything.
While searching for cheap games, I took the gamble on EA NHL 20 because the full thing was relatively cheap (under $40) and they’ve been including my teams in the AHL for a decade (Stars, Admirals, Wolves and Phantoms). So I’m replaying this season with the majority of their current lineup (EA is usually pretty close) but I moved Jason Robertson to the first/starting line, what were the programmers in Vancouver thinking? Initially I played the first several games at Rookie level, after I did the tutorial. Here the Stars clobbered all in their way. I’ve since bumped the difficulty to the next level, Semi-Pro to improve while I’m grateful EA brought back the earlier control scheme…Jesus, since the late Aughts, they made playing hockey as annoying as Fortnite. Anyway, Semi-Pro has been a mixed bag. I’ve managed to keep to provide the Stars a winning season, just no more shut-outs, terrible passing, beaucoup icing, weak face-off results while getting leading in hits! Above and below are the results of the first seven games (click on them to see a larger view), about 10% of the 2019-20 season. We look decent. We’re in second with 10 points. The rest appears random because the Rampage have never been in first nor undefeated in their 15 seasons of existence while the Wild, Admirals and Griffins should be in better shape.
The coolest new trick I learned with my PS4 is getting screen shots and movies of great moments I’ve pulled off. The downside is the media is posted to Twitter first. Check out this sweet textbook goal I made.
Moving Jason Robertson to the starting/scoring line has created what would be closer to the real-world results. He is leading my fantasy team with five goals! This guy scored over a hundred points with the team he played for last year so I expect great things of him.
On to the next seven games. Let’s see what could’ve been if the Pandemic and Orange Foolius didn’t screw everything up.