NHL: The Great Re-Inventor of Itself - RaychelSnr's Blog

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NHL: The Great Re-Inventor of Itself Stuck

Posted on September 19, 2012 at 02:19 PM.

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The NHL series has fundamentally changed gameplay three times this generation.

Quick! What game in our genre over the last eight years has reinvented itself not just once, but twice? What about three times?

If you your answer is the NHL series from EA Sports, then you are on the right track. Perhaps one of the most dumbfounding thing about the NHL series is just how fundamentally it has changed itself over the course of this console generation.

Entering this generation, NHL used button controlled control layouts and an arcadey mo-cap engine that didn't quite feel like good hockey. Leaving this generation, NHL will be a full on analog masterpiece with real time physics and an advanced skating engine which has redefined how hockey games are played on the digital screen.

For the lack of a better term, NHL has decided to not just reinvent itself -- it has decided to become a whole new game entirely over the course of the past eight years or so through huge forward thinking leaps in it's approach to gameplay.

Other games have made small strides, but few have fundamentally changed how they play more than once. Madden finally just made the leap with real time physics. NCAA introduced Online Dynasty but hasn't yet fundamentally changed it's path with gameplay. NBA 2K has gradually over the course of several editions with stellar gameplay enhancements begun to reinvent itself. The Show finally truly began to change some items up with their new ball physics engine.

Indeed, few games have dared to change the foundations of their gameplay as often or as successfully as the NHL series from EA Sports.

The new skating engine in NHL this year fundamentally changes the game.

The first step to this revolution was the analog control scheme, which made NHL the first of it's kind among sports games to fully embrace an analog control scheme. This brought about numerous 'Sports Game of the Year' awards, including the 2007 edition from this very site.

It was well deserved.

A few short years later, NHL's main rival (NHL 2K) went kaput. People were nervous, and understandably so about what it all meant. The lack of competition could mean a lot of things, most notably is a lack of innovation.

What happened next was a masterful decision: NHL went with real time physics. It was the first major big box sports game to make the move to real time physics, but the effort was praised again for it's forward thinking.

After a year of refinement, we've gotten another huge leap forward with NHL: an advanced skating engine which completely redefines how the game is played on the digital screen. This move was a boost to increase realism, which the NHL team figures will also boost the fun factor. Many other products in our genre get bogged down in how to mimic a sport but not how to realistically portray it -- the NHL team has decided to try to portray the sport they are modeling on a digital screen and not just mimic it.

The NHL team has gone against the sports gaming grain not just once, not just twice, but now a third time -- and I believe they should be rewarded for that type of innovative forward thinking approach to sports games.

With the NHL lockout, sales are going to suffer and unfortunately, the product could end up suffering as a result of a diminished brand overall thanks to the league's inability to ever think forwardly and it's seemingly innate desire to be irrelevant.

However, make no mistake, the NHL series from EA Sports is perhaps the most innovative sports game series in our genre. Where other development teams shy away from, the NHL team not only runs toward hard challenge but they do so while laughing at the competition on the way by.

This year's NHL product isn't perfect, but it's certainly innovative. A sports game developer decided to try to be bold and give realism a try once again, fundamentally changing how its game is played in the process. As a fan of sports games, I feel that is an effort that should be rewarded. Few other games in our genre have even dared such bold steps to fundamentally transform itself once, much less three times this generation.

Let's hope the NHL lockout ends soon, this product deserves it.

Comments

# 1 Juce734 @ Sep 19

Well written article. NHL games are always a lot of fun and I think EA should be rewarded for trying new things with the NHL franchise. So they will get my buy.

# 2 GlennN @ Sep 19

The on-ice play has improved, but the offline (BeAGM) experience is completely stagnant since 10. I have bought every year since 10 and had buyer's regret every year since 10. For me, the additions on the ice do not make up for the staleness of the offline BeAGM. Not worth $60 IMHO.

# 3 RaychelSnr @ Sep 19

@js3512 -- One could make the argument that the lack of competition has actually allowed the NHL team to experiment a bit more liberally on new features because they don't have to play it safe with another product on the market. It's not a crazy argument for sure.

# 4 VladCanada @ Sep 19

I put lots of times into ea hockey games 09, 10 and 11. I just couldn't bring myself to play it again, something is always wrong with them to the point where its not playable.

After taking NHL12 and this years off, I just bought 2K10 for the 360 and am really liking it. Best part, 19 bucks.

# 5 TreyIM2 @ Sep 19

@js3512 and MMChrisS - You're both right. I came to the realization with all the Madden argument about lack of comp that that really doesn't factor in. There was a blog or sumthin about that a while ago and, at first, I completely disagreed. Deeper thinking down that line and looking at the fact that there are sports games that continue to strive even without comp.

And even further more on Madden - I don't really think they haven't tried to strive without comp. They have. They've come up with so-called "innovations" (be your own blocker???!!!!) but the problem is that they never fixed the core gameplay. They just kept trying to pour syrup on ish. Heh, but I do understand it is a broader issue with the engine, time, yada. As much credit as ppl give NBA2K for nailing core gameplay and then some, there are STILL inherent issues with the engine (passing, etc)that have never been fixed because trying to fix them will cause other probs, just like in Madden, so they pour syrup...

Whatever the case, the TRUE innovations with NHL regard CORE GAMEPLAY. No syrup, just true advancement and improving upon of gameplay, point blank. I LOVE the NHL demo and want to get the game. Unfortunately, it won't be anytime soon. Football and basketball are my true sports loves with baseball, soccer and hockey bring up the "I watch it here and there" rear and it is currently football season with basketball right around the corner.

Either way, great job NHL team.