NHL 15 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions (Xbox One, PS4)

[Gerg04]

I appreciate the tipped pucks and broken plays. Even the dumping of the puck. But there's still major issues (as we've known) with the AI. Why players don't attempt a puck just a foot in front of them is beyond me. Or my teammate will make a hit and dislodge the puck, only to skate the other direction once it's free.

I don't know; I had tempered expectations coming into this, but I've also kept up with this thread since Tuesday. I'm definitely goings to give the demo more time, but first impression last the longest and so far they've been pretty much meh overall.

As others have pointed out the bad goes all the way into the menus and settings. Why on earth do I have to change my settings each game? Why can't I just rematch at the end? Why are there 2 minute periods instead of 1-5 min 3rd period.

I'm definitely looking forward to some impressions of the retail version come EA Access. Hopefully some of this is addressed.

[csamuelsvt]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigwill33

Yeah, this is bad. Especially after Rammer promised at least 3 man hugs and celebrations. I haven't seen any more than 2 players interacting after a goal. It looks awkward at times for sure.

Final version hopefully will be different. I think this demo is around E3...and hopefully they've tweaked a lot of things since including the 3 man celebrations etc.

[Caniac94]

Just joined this forum to leave a few thoughts on the NHL 15 demo. I've played the demo on the PS4 quite a bit over the last several days, trying to get a feel for the game even though it's still just a demo. Warning: I can really get into it so this may be a lot to read so just skip if I wrote too much for ya.

Some of my opinions may be re-iterations of what others have said so I may sound a little repetitive so I'm sorry in advance. First off, some positives. I played on Pro and All-Star difficulties with the Hardcore setting. I feel like the default sliders for these difficulties, while far from perfect, makes a difference. In my opinion I feel like the flow and the skating is really there this year. It feels so much better and smoother than it did to me in NHL 13 (I never played nor bought 14). I don't really know how to put it but I feel like I have more control of a player. I'd really love to see a player's attributes, such as balance and agility, greatly affect how easy or difficult it is to control them. Obviously EA really stepped up presentation wise this year. When I first started up the demo and played it for myself I was in awe of how refreshing the presentation and the cameras are. The graphics look sharp as well so those really stood out to me. The ice and the jerseys look so much better than they did in 13. The jersey waving is really exaggerated way too much and should be toned down a little but what do you expect from EA. They add a new feature and they really wanna show it off. It is a nice and very welcome change though. I also add points for the puck and collision physics. The pucks actually react like REAL LIFE HOCKEY PUCKS. I've noticed the pucks hit the boards and they go dead after a decent bounce or two. They also spin, lay on their side, and I've seen one do some pretty unpredictable things just as EA has been saying. I don't know if I'm in the minority here but the hitting feels pretty solid. I make a check on a guy and he doesn't do all this crazy bouncing any more. It's a solid THUD to the ice and I like that. Although at times I've noticed when either I make a check or one of my guys gets hit he can have a ragdoll-like reaction in either his legs or body, so that may need some tweaking but overall I'm quite pleased.

Finally some negatives. I really don't like the goalie animations and the goalie AI. While I have scored some solid realistic looking goals I've also scored some goals that feel cheap and I've had a few scored on me that feel cheap as well. I've seen some goals that guys like Lundqvist or Quick would make a save on 10 times out of 10 and it looks so bad. The animations should be smoother too. They look too robotic, as in they don't have any real flow to them to me. Also I have rocketed off a few one-time wrist shots in the slot that would never be physically possible and this should be looked into being adjusted. Maybe I'll have to try and adjust the wrist shot power when I get the full game but this shouldn't even be an issue. Being able to celebrate with a teammate rather than just by yourself is a nice change but where are the group celebrations!? I was really exciting at the idea of doing group celebrations this year but that looks like it's just another dream for this game. This isn't a big negative for me but it seems like a majority of the goals I've scored have gone in off the inside of the post and rung around the net to the other post. I like the way it looks but it just looks very unrealistic when it happens every time I pot one in the net. Each goal should have a unique look to it instead of having the exact same animation. Obviously there have been loads of comments on commentary so I won't say much but it really is stale. I was really hoping to hear an excited Doc Emerick when I score a goal or make a big play but like many others I was let down. There's no emotion in the calls Doc makes.

I have my pros and cons about this demo but the changes are just enough to keep me excited and putting in a pre-order for this game. I really hope that the game we get on release day has some tweaks made to it for the better and if not hopefully EA make some tweaks over the year that will improve the game. I don't play online so I wasn't disappointed with the EASHL news but I was disappointed to hear about Live the Life going back to Be A Pro since I never got to try Live the Life. I expect to spend a great amount of time in Be A GM and Be A Pro. If you read all this you deserve a prize or something.

[Madwolf]

Impressions:

Presentation:
Good - The presentation on the game so far is pretty amazing. The views from outside the stadium, to the announcers pre-game. All really stunning work, and it really helps pull off the feel of the game. I will be skipping those details a lot once the game is in full swing, but I love the work they put into it. I really think Eddie and Doc breath new life into the commentary in the game. It was weird at first not hearing Gary and Bill, but I adjusted very quickly. The NBC presentation is also very well done.

Bad - The sometimes get quite behind a play. The calls also don't always match up well to the intensity or importance or the lack of either in the game. This is a bit forgivable though since at the end of the day it's still a video game, and they had to pre-record all of these sound bites.

Graphics:
Good - The game is visually stunning. It's the best game I've played on my PS4 so far. The arenas are really polished, and the fans look fantastic. The crowd definitely feels more real than in any other sports game I've played so far. It puts Madden to shame.

I really love the way the ice looks. During a replay I forgot I was looking at a video game for a second.

Bad - The sweaters look amazing, but the way they flutter is a bit much. They feel like they need some more weight to them. As others have said, they give off a tissue paper vibe. The faces look amazing, but some of the face scans don't look exactly like the players. Probably has to do with the shape of the faces. There is still some clipping that goes on, especially with the goalie and the net and the refs.

Sound:
Good - The game sounds fantastic. I love hearing the skates on the ice. The stadium music, and goal sounds make you really feel like you're watching the game on TV.

Gameplay:
Good - The game definitely feels different from past-gen on the sticks. The players feel a lot more weighty, and have better momentum to their movements.

The puck behaves more normally, and getting those rebound goals is so satisfying. It's really night and day from NHL 14. This makes scoring goals a lot more life like as well. There are some crazy things that happen that result in goals by forcing the goalie out of position. Really fun and it feels realistic.

The players collisions are both good and bad, but mostly good. Watching guys trip and get mixed up is pretty fun, and adds to the game.

The computer is definitely smarter with the puck. They spread it out and keep it away from you better. They're a lot better with this when they pull their goalie too. I caught myself chasing the puck in order to have a shot at the empty net, not realizing that this was no longer NHL 14, and that they wouldn't give it up nearly as easy.

You really have to be careful with your passes this year. They're a lot less likely to go through skates, sticks, and legs than in past-gen. Sending it at someones skates is a sure fire way to lose the puck.

Bad - Some of the problems from past gen are still around. The AI just doesn't seem all their at times despite many of the improvements. You'll make a hit, or get hit, and have a team mate next to you who won't go after the puck, or you'll make a hit, and switch guys on accident and your last controlled player closest to the puck will seem completely oblivious to where the puck is.

The AI still stacks up at the blue line, and they don't dump it in when they should. I would like to see this logic reworked a lot.

The board play seemed a lot harder to engage so far. I've played quite a few games, and the suction being reduced is a good thing, but it also seems really hard to engage at times. I really hope board play is reworked next year.

Final verdict: Overall I'm very excited for the game. It's made a lot of very good strides towards a promising future. NHL 15 isn't perfect by any means, but it's a great building block for the future.

[meep316]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gerg04

I appreciate the tipped pucks and broken plays. Even the dumping of the puck. But there's still major issues (as we've known) with the AI. Why players don't attempt a puck just a foot in front of them is beyond me. Or my teammate will make a hit and dislodge the puck, only to skate the other direction once it's free. I don't know; I had tempered expectations coming into this, but I've also kept up with this thread since Tuesday. I'm definitely goings to give the demo more time, but first impression last the longest and so far they've been pretty much meh overall. As others have pointed out the bad goes all the way into the menus and settings. Why on earth do I have to change my settings each game? Why can't I just rematch at the end? Why are there 2 minute periods instead of 1-5 min 3rd period. I'm definitely looking forward to some impressions of the retail version come EA Access. Hopefully some of this is addressed.

This stuff drives me CRAZY lol. Sooooo annoying.

[merchant1874]

I dont understand how some people think this game is "the best looking they have played on PS4" and others like me feel like they are playing a PS3 game because if the 720p "blurring".


Why is there a discrepancy?

[Smirkin Dirk]

The game looks amazing on broadcast view.

[StoneColdSwede]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hot Kidd

The game looks amazing on broadcast view.

I started off on the default camera angle and it felt like I was playing NHL 10 all over again.

Once I changed to True Broadcast it was like a whole new game for me. Not changing back.