NHL 15 Review (XB1/PS4)

[Stormyhog]

I agree that the game should get lower marks but not a 5.5. To me gameplay has to be given more credit. You can have all the modes you like but if gameplay isn't good than the modes really don't matter. After playing for awhile I'd give the game a 7 to 7.5 as is. If they keep adding to the game with there updates I'd probably bump to an 8. I am not into many of the modes so I am more focused on how the game plays than how many modes there are. I am an older gamer so it may be that I prefer more of the offline experience than online so it doesn't bother me much. Just my opinion so not saying the modes aren't important as everyone has a different way of playing.

[CupCrazyManiac]

What's missing from NHL 15 IGN Podcast Beyond:


http://youtu.be/KEx2jmhrT4I

[loso_34]

How is gameplay good?

I wont even touch up on nothing but goalies in terms of gameplay. All goalies in this game play alike..goalies havent been touched since nhl. 07....yes this is what we call gameplay.

Goalie a.i needs to be totall redone. Henrik lundqvist and jonathan quick dont approach the game the same way. In addition goalies still defy physics in this series as goalies like to warp side to side.

DEFENCE. Pucks are still glued to sticks as the poke check is uselss. I have seen guys deke through skates..but gameplay is great?

Pucks still find sticks due to ratings but gameplay is great? Man now i see why this series will never collapse. Very low expectations is what most have

[loso_34]

Quote: Originally Posted by Inhocmark

The gameplay is fun but the http://assets1.osftw.com/images/button_submit.gifreview is spot on that its a bitter sweet experience because of the missing modes and terrible execution. I have it, I sort of regret it, and I hope that once the inevitable price drop comes there's some reward for those of us who shelled out full price. EA should be embarrassed. The NHL game was a crown jewel, the resources should have been there, especially in the first year while building everything to offer feature parity with the previous gen.

Goalies have yet to be touched in this series.

Im sure if somebody edits the attributes to get em to move like real goalies that will solve half the issue.

But i doubt ea will ever completely redo goalie ai and attributes to include goalie game styles..

[Shizz420]

Thing is, they improved the gameplay "out of the box". Much more balanced, and the presentation is fantastic.

They took away all of the extras outside the game though....the stuff that actually made the game tolerable when it was crappy on previous gens.

[jwilphl]

Quote: Originally Posted by HealyMonster

Man not a hockey fan, would have never purchased this game, but when I saw the game had the bnc rights and were doing some new things presentation wise, I wanted to see how it ended up flushing out in the end. That led me to check out this review. Seems like EA sports is a mess. If I had to call it, EA SPORTS seems to have held back the entire sports genre from moving forward since the start of the ps3/xbox360 generation. Every game they release seems to have massive issues, and quite frankly scea, 2k, while there are issues, it never seems to get to the point of easoorts games. THis isn't something that has been just the last year or 2. The last10 years have been a disgrace for this company and really they have made sports gaming something entirely different in terms of what to expect from a sports video game. Considering it's not just NBA live having issues getting out a game that has features and works as intended, but madden, and nhl. These are franchises that have been putout yearly since the early 90's. Leadership at EA SPORTS has to have serious issues as considering its issue after issue withall of their premiere franchises, someone of importance over there is an idiot and lost. This company is a disgrace, and someday we are all going to look back and remember these last 10 or so years as a black mark when EA was in control of everything. Sooner or later this is going to come crashing down on them. You can't offer up crap year after year and get away with it forever, sooner or later things will fall apart.

I agree with what you've said; my own rants are below (don't continue unless you want to read my editorial).

-- Off-Topic --

As a publicly traded company, EA is tied to their shareholders more than the consumers. That's just reality. They put out stuff like NHL '15 (and fail to make real progress over the last generation) because they know people will buy it.

NHL '15 was as blatant a cash-grab as any, in my opinion. The game isn't complete and it isn't fair to price it at the same price point of much more complete games. This should have been a $30 release, while staggering updates and releasing those for a small fee (as that would insure their completion). With people already putting out $60 for it, EA has no incentive to make the game any more complete.

Now they've said they plan to patch in certain fixes, but I've seen enough of EA's PR disasters to never trust what they say again. They may make certain minor fixes, but there is no guarantee as to what extent those fixes will expand the game. Personally, I've lost all confidence in the brand, and that's a big deal. I really wish more people would be less forgiving after years of EA doing this sort of thing. They have straight-up lied and treated the consumers as complete dolts. Maybe the shoe fits?

Although legally EA has to do what it has to do (see: maximize profit), if more people were willing to cease supporting them until better products were made, the shareholders would ideally make the board responsible (and in turn the CEO) for improving the quality of the games to recapture the alienated consumers.

For the record, I have no problem with people liking the game. People's opinions will always differ. I do think we should be expecting more out of EA, however. With no competition, they have no incentive to improve their product. They simply need to hit theirs sales forecasts and move on.

-- On-Topic --

I played the demo, and to me it didn't feel all that different from NHL '12 (which didn't fell all that difference from NHL '09 before it). Upgrading the visuals alone while excluding the majority of game modes isn't going to send me to the store. I play GM modes almost exclusively, so without a fleshed-out version as comprehensive as I'd like, I have no reason to buy the game, really.

I can appreciate what they've done to certain aspects of the game, but in no way is this game worth $60 to me. It really did not feel like they completely rebuilt the game's engine. I have to imagine they recycled a large majority of the old code and simply made minor tweaks. I'm not taking a huge issue with that, because the gameplay as it stands is decent enough, but I haven't seen enough changes personally. There is still a lack of realism in many aspects.

[TrufflesEater]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheFlamingWeazel

What is sad is people like you defending this nonsense...Other games have impeccable gameplay and maintain all the modern feature set we are used to in 2014 (MLB the show had 9 months , it's all there)...great gameplay can only go so far if the game itself is watered down and barebones to be devoid of much replay value. Maybe a facebook hockey game is more suited for you.

It's sad people look to the MLB The Show as a shining example. Incomplete minor league system. No real minor league players. Incorrect implementation of option years. Limited control over September call-ups and 40 man roster. Wacky simulation stats over a span of several years. Wacky free agent and resign logic (players resigning with a team for 50M and more less than the best offer). Animations and commentary that show repetitiveness after just one game. Confusing interface and very awkward menu system.

I like the Show and play it. But there's plenty that needs to be improved.

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by TrufflesEater

It's sad people look to the MLB The Show as a shining example. Incomplete minor league system. No real minor league players. Incorrect implementation of option years. Limited control over September call-ups and 40 man roster. Wacky simulation stats over a span of several years. Wacky free agent and resign logic (players resigning with a team for 50M and more less than the best offer). Animations and commentary that show repetitiveness after just one game. Confusing interface and very awkward menu system. I like the Show and play it. But there's plenty that needs to be improved.

I think those are all valid arguments (The trade AI always seems really goofy in what they'll accept. Why would you trade me Price for Rickie Weeks and a C- prospect?) but the thing i find with the show is that the game play is fun, and honestly, in my opinion, a more complete representation of the game. The game sliders seem to have a greater impact on the way it plays, the control you have over your season, other teams, and even little things like managers and player creation is years ahead of the NHL series.

Personally, i think the Show has a lot of goofy smaller quirks to be ironed out behind great game play (And that doesn't even include the Roster sharing and Slider sharing that are a godsend when you want to get improved rosters without doing it all yourself), whereas i see EA's NHL as having game play that no matter the tweaks to sliders only really plays one way. With the Show in my seasons, I've never had to make exceptions to things i would do in game like "Oh, i'll only throw change ups right down the middle to the 7-9 hitters because they just don't hit well in the game for some reason", but in NHL i'm constantly thinking "Well, i won't go for the empty net goal, because the AI just stands in neutral zone watching me pass them" or "I'll use this easy goal because i have to balance the AI rocketing the puck out as soon as they touch it on the PK".