NHL 15 Review (XB1/PS4)

[PsnHitman17]

Quote: Originally Posted by cookjn

I wish people would stop defending this game. FIFA 14 and MLB: The Show 14 also provide great gameplay experiences without sacrificing the modes that many of us rely on for replayability. If those two titles can offer consumers both great gameplay and value, why does NHL 15, a game that only offers great gameplay, deserve a comparable review score?

cookjn how quick you are to forget that FIFA didn;'t have tournament play last year

[PsnHitman17]

Quote: Originally Posted by SGMRock

I would have expected this type of release if it had been released in 2013 for the Xbox One/PS4. FIFA and Madden managed to do it and yes they were not super great on the new consoles as far as graphics and such they still had all the same features the previous gen games did and a few more. The NHL team took that whole release off for the new consoles and yet still could not get in even half of their normal features. I having fun with the gameplay I will say that seems solid. The new presentation is nice, the play by play is a bit dry though. I like the new team ok but you can tell they have not had time to get in a good amount of stuff there yet and smooth it out. At least what they have is good. No stuff like Madden 15 where the announcers constantly say the wrong things. No player editor really burns me though, and the Be a Pro mode being back to the bare bones it was the first year they added it to the game makes my shake my head. They should have delayed this game 2 months at least so they could have added in the stuff they said they were patching in. Next year if they add in all the features they left out to the gameplay they have this year and beef up the play by play a bit I will be very happy with NHL 16.

As far as the announcers, wasn't it reported there gonna come back and record new lines in January the original plan anyways.

[BMDinTDOT]

Since the NHL isn't that big and doesn't sell that well compared to other EA sports games NHL
has the smallest development team and they out source it to India or Sri Lanka where the game
is made before being brought back to Vancouver for final production.

The EA NHL team just doesn't have the resources or man power to get what needed to be
done on time. The NHL series only has appeal to Canada and half of the states so EA isn't
gonna put in a ton of resources into a game that doesn't have a big market like Fifa, Madden
and UFC.

[bigwill33]

Quote: Originally Posted by BMDinTDOT

Since the NHL isn't that big and doesn't sell that well compared to other EA sports games NHL has the smallest development team and they out source it to India or Sri Lanka where the game is made before being brought back to Vancouver for final production. The EA NHL team just doesn't have the resources or man power to get what needed to be done on time. The NHL series only has appeal to Canada and half of the states so EA isn't gonna put in a ton of resources into a game that doesn't have a big market like Fifa, Madden and UFC.

Then why are they spending all of that money to obtain the rights to all of the Euro leagues that are in the game?

Why wouldn't EA give them a staff that they could work with to complete a proper and working game for at least one year so they have a base that they could work off when moving into next gen?

And why should I feel compassion and sorrow for a supposed overtaxed work crew when they have had a history of delivering a less than stellar product and this year have put out 4 skus that half are hardly half featured and the other half had nearly nothing new in them at all? When I purchase any other product that isn't up to the industry standard or doesn't work as advertised I don't sit back and think "boy, I wonder if they had enough people working on this product. I'd better just buy it anyway and hope for the best in moving forward. I don't want anyone to miss a meal because I didn't spend my hard earned money on their shoddy product."

I see a lot of false reasoning and pleading in these responses that just make me scratch my head. When did we stop holding companies accountable for their products? Why do we continue to blindly support things that are not where they should be in comparison to what we have been delivered in the past? And why do we feel challenged and insulted personally when someone doesn't agree with our opinions?

The last question is something that everyone should take a step back and think about before posting on any online site.

[BMDinTDOT]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigwill33

Then why are they spending all of that money to obtain the rights to all of the Euro leagues that are in the game? Why wouldn't EA give them a staff that they could work with to complete a proper and working game for at least one year so they have a base that they could work off when moving into next gen? And why should I feel compassion and sorrow for a supposed overtaxed work crew when they have had a history of delivering a less than stellar product and this year have put out 4 skus that half are hardly half featured and the other half had nearly nothing new in them at all? When I purchase any other product that isn't up to the industry standard or doesn't work as advertised I don't sit back and think "boy, I wonder if they had enough people working on this product. I'd better just buy it anyway and hope for the best in moving forward. I don't want anyone to miss a meal because I didn't spend my hard earned money on their shoddy product." I see a lot of false reasoning and pleading in these responses that just make me scratch my head. When did we stop holding companies accountable for their products? Why do we continue to blindly support things that are not where they should be in comparison to what we have been delivered in the past? And why do we feel challenged and insulted personally when someone doesn't agree with our opinions? The last question is something that everyone should take a step back and think about before posting on any online site.

I'm just going on what I heard...

One thing I noticed is most of the sports games have been like this as they make the adjustment
to next Gen. The usual news cycle has been completely different for almost all the games and I
think the reason for this is because the companies are trying to get everything they can till the
very end and don't want to advertise anything they can't deliver.

Almost all the sports games were lackluster or missing tons of things from old gen in year
one on next gen. I'm assuming that the game producers are having a hard time adjusting
to the new technology for some reason and don't want to release modes that are faulty.

As for me personally I haven't bought an EA NHL game since 97 Sega Genesis and I really like
the demo and the new game and plan on getting this game. As for the modes that are missing
they don't interest me so I really don't care.

I've bought every NBA 2K game since it came out in 1999 at launch and am fed up with
them and won't be getting it at launch this year as they've lost my trust.

Every year I give the Fifa and Madden demos a try but they don't interest me enough to buy.

[bigwill33]

My entire post wasn't directed at you, personally. I was just quoting yours in addressing my first point. I should have been more clear.

But I do have so many questions for the developers that were not responded to. I think many of us have questions from how did this happen to wonderings of the basic functions of the game and how they work.

And I question the rationale and aggressiveness of so many people on here that are seemingly offended by a game's rating or review.

[ram4x4marc]

I believe the review is a tad bit harsh. The game plays great, I bumped up a few sliders like game speed, goalie recognition, and screens affecting goalies moved down a bit and i have fun every single game i play. For as many people say on this site, if the game doesn't play good, who cares about the game modes, i'm shocked about all the anger. I'm a huge EASHL fan and thats the main thing i looked forward to but with the gameplay being great, I can handle playing Season (in be a gm) and some HUT/Online VS modes. 5.5 should be reserved for an NBA Live type game that truly looks like there is no hope for the series..NHL you play it and say WOW this is awesome, and you just know its not going to get worse!

[BillsFan1113]

Been playing since nhlpa 93 on the sega genesis, love video game hockey, and in my opinion I am thoroughly impressed with the foundation they have begun. This game with slider adjustments is the best playing hockey game made to date. I look at it as it's there first attempt on new gen, throw out everything they had up through nhl 14....I believe it's unfair to say they are missing all the old modes they built in for years on last gen. Right now like others have mentioned I'd much rather have this gameplay and physics and presentation over 10 different modes to play, I've played an bought every year and with the minimal upgrades to gameplay year in and year out I hate to say it but it was getting BORING, give me an online mode and a basic franchise mode with this gameplay and I'm finally feeling like YES I'm playing next gen hockey, this is a great stepping stone and I see what they decided to do first year in.....I do not regret this purchase whatsoever and am looking forward to what will be added in the years ahead. I appreciate this much more than keeping every mode with a graphical upgrade but the same minor upgraded gameplay we've had since 07.... The future looks good, basing my own review on just a first year next gen product this game to me is an 8.5.