NHL 14 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

[Segagendude]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hockeynut99

So what is the verdict? And is the Xbox version better?

Appears to be a small upgrade from 13.

Don't know the answer to your second question.

[Money99]

Really noticed some cool animations today.
Not sure if this was in NHL12 or 13, but in the previous versions I've played, it seemed that no matter what position the receiver was in, or how bad the pass, the one-timer always got off perfectly.

But I've noticed in '14, that it's more like NHL07, where if the pass is bad, or if the receiver isn't in a position to receive it on their forehand, the player will get off a weak one-timer, or they engage in an animation where they coral the puck, and then got off a different shot.

For example, in a game with the Sabres, Grigorenko took a pass from the right-wing boards, but had his back to the puck. So instead of just getting off a perfect one-timer, he took the pass on his backhand, then did a wrap-around type back hand shot on net.
The shot was pretty weak and the goalie stopped in easily.

I've been bugging EA to go back to how they did it in NHL07 and I'm glad to see it's returned.

[Splitter77]

the game is pretty good after playing it a bit more. i think it plays best on all star mode at the hardcore sim preset, with some additional tweaks. i know i lowered shot accuracy, and put pass speed and accuracy to 0. that seemed to help alot.
definitely better than nhl13.

i just hate how you can gain the offensive zone too easy, but once in there, Ill admit, the cpu defense is pretty legit.

i also hate the animation when the players always receive a bad pass when its behind them. They also receive the pass behind them. I wish they would can that animation, and have the pass go by them or deflect off the stick. i hate that animation.

guess ill have to deal with it, because the game is pretty good otherwise.

only other issues i have with the game are the piss poor presentation, the season and gm modes suck and i hate the create team.

the season modes need a re-haul. They need more stats. boxscores. see mlb the show.
create team should be easier to get players on there. They should have preset players that you can just add on there so it doesnt take a week to create all the players.

also- when the hell is EA gonna allow us to edit all players names? whats the deal with this? The 2k series allowed us to edit anything.

[CanucksBruins]

I find it a solid game overall, much prefer it to NHL 13. It still features the frustrating 1 shot 1 goal for the CPU in games I have been dominating to that point. They also still have some players in the game who never cough up the puck ever it seems.

I noticed the faster load times and the lack of lagging NHL 13 was terrible for. If my goaltenders actually played like real goalies, I would probably give this a ten out of ten, but it's a solid 9.5 from a purely offline standpoint. I'll give HUT a shot when I get bored of Be a GM and have built up a ton of pucks to get a decent couple of packs with. I found the new team building system (bronze CHL, silver AHL, gold NHL) discouraging. I hate that the training cards still only last one game too.

[jonapaloma]

How much have people tested how much effect ratings have this year? for example speed.

it is a long time ago I tested it myself in '11. Back then it didn't make a difference what the ratings were.

[Cletus]

Quote: Originally Posted by jonapaloma

How much have people tested how much effect ratings have this year? for example speed. it is a long time ago I tested it myself in '11. Back then it didn't make a difference what the ratings were.

I tested some sliders with teams that were far apart in ratings. I destroyed France with the Red Wings and chased down every loose puck. I didn't speed past anyone when I had the puck, but there was enough of a difference to get a little separation. The final score was 7-0 Red Wings.

Another game I was Modo playing against Nashville. Nashville outskated me and beat me 2-0. It was tough to get good scoring chances. Both games were on All Star level with 0 game speed and 0 acceleration for both sides.

[thedudedominick]

So what happened to EA punishing people for not taking a grip on faceoffs?

[jonapaloma]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cletus

I tested some sliders with teams that were far apart in ratings. I destroyed France with the Red Wings and chased down every loose puck. I didn't speed past anyone when I had the puck, but there was enough of a difference to get a little separation. The final score was 7-0 Red Wings. Another game I was Modo playing against Nashville. Nashville outskated me and beat me 2-0. It was tough to get good scoring chances. Both games were on All Star level with 0 game speed and 0 acceleration for both sides.

Ok but I meant player ratings. Sorry should've been more specific. Like trying to set player speed to 36 vs 99 and see if there is a difference ingame.