What Did You Think Of the First NHL 15 Gameplay Footage? (Roundtable)

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Submitted on: 08/15/2014 by

After watching NHL 15's gameplay trailer, do you think it was a good idea for NHL to take an extra year to develop for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One?

Phil Varckette: Absolutely.

The last thing the new consoles needed last year was a rush job of a game that left a bad taste in gamers mouths for a year. EA couldn't afford to dig themselves out another hole, see NBA Live.

Taking time to get it right is something you don't see in sports games anymore, so this decision definitely speaks volumes about how EA wants to be perceived by the community. At least in this case. I feel like we will all feel this way when the game drops and we see what was essentially a two-year development cycle in action.

Glenn Wigmore: Visually speaking, it was absolutely worth the wait. The level of detail present on the players, arenas and crowds is really something to behold, and I loved the camera work and presentation of the newest trailer. From the gameplay I was able to check out at E3, it was also worth the extra development time in order to get things right on the ice.

All that said, a lot of this good will could be undone if EA Vancouver doesn't include the modes that people have come to enjoy the most. As of this writing, we still don't know about the fate of EASHL, OTP, HUT or GM Connected. Honestly, we don't even know about the career mode (Live the Life) and where it stands. I'm sure we'll know more soon, but the omission of some of these modes would be a massive blunder that would really damage the hype generated by this game's outstanding presentation and gameplay upgrades.

Jayson Young: Considering that the NHL series has the smallest development team of Electronic Arts' annualized sports titles, it's understandable that they couldn't get an Xbox One/PlayStation 4 edition ready for last season.

But if the Reddit rumors are true, and key online modes like GM Connected and the EA Sports Hockey League have not survived the console transition, then I cannot envision the next-gen version capturing a large audience this fall, regardless of its graphics, physics and presentation improvements.

Caley Roark: I'm not the world's biggest (or most knowledgeable) hockey fan, but I have enjoyed this series on an almost annual basis.

However, at first glance, I'm not overwhelmed. I think the jerseys look a little "plastic-y" and the lighting, while good, doesn't seem to be a drastic improvement over last-gen versions. I do like the creative camera angles, especially those that mirror those used in actual broadcasts.

To answer the original question, I'd rather have a game that's plays well over a game that looks good. If the extra year delivers on gameplay, then it was certainly worth it.

Dustin Toms: Taking a full year to fully grasp a new system's limits sounds like a great idea, and it shows with the graphics in the new gameplay trailer. But last season's sports titles still looked pretty damn good despite having games release at, or near, the next-gen launch. I'm still not sure why NHL opted to wait, especially if the rumors Jayson mentioned turn out to be true.

With a lack of EASHL and Connected GM overshadowing things right now, won't a lot of hockey nuts just stick with the 360 and PS3 versions? Graphics are great, and I'm one to fall in love with whichever game looks better, but a hockey fan base is far too loyal to judge a book by its cover. The next three weeks are going to be huge for EA's NHL series.

NHL 15 Videos

Member Comments

# 21 s_mkheidze @ 08/17/14 05:41 PM

could not give a crap about the online stuff. Frankly I think that the game looks great....there is some cheese in there but it is a game. I can't wait to get it and be absorbed in my new Be a GM mode.

# 22 Sdot23 @ 08/17/14 06:14 PM

I'm not a big online league gamer. I'm a traditonal offline season/franchise mode type of player and from what I have seen with the graphics,physics and presentation I am really excited about this next gen version of NHL. Looks great so far. The year off paid big dividends in my opinion.

# 23 Gotmilkman24 @ 08/17/14 06:47 PM

Umm I still don't get why people complain about cross crease? Its hard enough to get a cross crease pass through if your D is playing their position.. Top cheese shots are also another thing that is hard to get off and even through if your teams D is playing right..

# 24 meep316 @ 08/17/14 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gotmilkman24


	Umm I still don't get why people complain about cross crease? Its hard enough to get a cross crease pass through if your D is playing their position.. Top cheese shots are also another thing that is hard to get off and even through if your teams D is playing right..

There is no problem with a well executed cross crease play. The problem people have is, that a lot of the "cross crease cheese" type shots, look like this at the :20 second mark:

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhillyGuy11826

It just completely defies the laws of physics. Nobody can shoot like that at that angle on a one timer. That is garbage. All positioning, angles, and any semblance of realistic vision/playmaking is just thrown out the window when you can just do that. It's stupid.

As one person, I can do a pretty good job of stopping almost all cheese. I am a very good defensive player. But if someone is spamming something the entire game, the ineptitude of the EA NHL AI is going to rear it's ugly head eventually, and do something completely devoid of any and all hockey logic, and probably cost me a goal and or the game. Without getting too in depth with the specifics of this, because I'll end up writing a 50,000 word essay, we'll see if some of these things are remedied this year with the AI that they have "re-built from the ground up".

# 25 Rhaze48 @ 08/17/14 11:58 PM

That is the perfect example of what I am talking about, I'm an offline Live the Life/Season playing exclusively Goalie. Let me tell you how infuriating it is to have well played/position excellent games ruined by cheese crap like that from the opposing AI and the elusive "ice tilt" that I KNOW exists. It has to with what I have seen.

Here's to hoping this is all fixed up in 15.

# 26 Elite49 @ 08/18/14 01:11 AM

As someone who only plays season modes or GM I am still excited. Saying that, the commentary is somehow bad and we're comparing it to the same commentary we had for the past how many games? Fix the damn way he says "Goal" and "Score" because that is the most bland and boring thing.

# 27 GROGtheNailer @ 08/18/14 03:41 PM

It will be all about the gameplay either it is great out of the box, or decent out of the box that can be made great with sliders, then I will be happy. Graphics are icing and i do like them, but the cake better be moist. The cake better play a damn good game of hockey. The cakes should also not fight other cakes that do not usually fight. Most of all, the cakes better be able to play defensive hockey correctly.

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