NHL 16 Trial Available Now For EA Access Subscribers, Get 10 Hours of Gamplay

[bwiggy33]

I played for about 45 minutes last night and as much as it's a more polished game, it's still the same AI. I can go 1 on 4 into the offensive zone with any player on my team. No way in hell that ever happens, EVER. It is so infuriating and ruins the game. I haven't adjusted the CPU Strategies yet but I can't imagine it will fix anything because I'm sure they're the same settings as they have been since they brought those in. CPU Strategies fixes a lot of issues I have with the game, just not the neutral zone pressure.

Goalies are actually pretty refreshing other than the animations. Their movement is what I've wanted for years but they need to completely get rid of all of the goalie animations and make new non warp speed ones. Some of the ones they pull off or attempt I haven't seen since watching replays of 80's hockey. It's honestly shocking how they can possibly think the goalie animations are good. Maybe that will be a next year type of thing.

Just like someone else said the framerate goes bonkers at lower game speeds. I had mine on 1 and it was fine the first 10 minutes. All of a sudden my screen was just shaking.

I will probably post more as I play, but I won't lie I may not even play the 10 hours unless I start seeing some good things. Really at this state if you play online I could see it being fun but other than that it's another year of bad offline play. Quite honestly I wouldn't be so negative if this game actually changed from year to year, but since it still feels nearly identical to past versions I don't have much hope it will get better through using the rest of the trial. Nonetheless I will try and keep an open mind.

[statnut]

Quote: Originally Posted by AdamJones113

Bro... No emoji is too many!

I can't even find the right emoji to describe that game.

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

I like the celebrations in FIFA as well. You start out with an individual celly, then your teammates come and mob you for a group hug. You'd think since both games are made in the same building (EA Canada), NHL would be able to handle more than two-person celebrations by now. FIFA has had cellies that transition smoothly from an individual to a group for many years now.

I'm surprised at how little is shared between the games, since they share the same base engine. I don't know how different things can get above that level, but I always thought that the base engine could help to get things that work well transported between different game titles.

Speaking of the engine though, I can't deny it. I hate the cloth physics in the game. The jerseys always look so rubbery. FIFA had the same issue with shorts. Everything jiggles like jello, and doesn't look like cloth.

[jyoung]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

I like the celebrations in FIFA as well. You start out with an individual celly, then your teammates come and mob you for a group hug. You'd think since both games are made in the same building (EA Canada), NHL would be able to handle more than two-person celebrations by now. FIFA has had cellies that transition smoothly from an individual to a group for many years now.

For reference, here is how a late go-ahead goal is celebrated in FIFA 15:



The user manually runs off into the corner, where he is then joined by the rest of his teammates in a group celebration cutscene.

[MizzouRah]

Quote: Originally Posted by bwiggy33

Just like someone else said the framerate goes bonkers at lower game speeds. I had mine on 1 and it was fine the first 10 minutes. All of a sudden my screen was just shaking.

This needs fixed ASAP. Unplayable on lower speeds.

I think it's better as far as AI goes.. not GREAT.. but better. Like they tuned it or something instead of rewriting the code.

The puck is everywhere though.. and I love that. Sticks get a piece of the puck many times by my AI controlled players.

[brandon27]

So, I just got 4 games in tonight. I'm at a loss for words on this one. It's better, on the surface, but beyond that, it's the same old terrible AI. It's a bit improved in some spots, but terrible in so many others still.

I actually quit a game tonight. 7 minutes in to the first period, I'd given up 5 goals, on 6 shots. All instances where my D-men just stand around and do nothing in front of my net while I fight for the puck in the corner, then they magically throw it out front, the shooter can move, basically warp into the shot while my D-man barely even moves to acknowledge the play. 4 straight shots in a row, almost identical scenario.

I hoped earlier when I saw a player kick a puck out of a scrum across the ice, I hoped I was seeing things. However I saw it many more times tonight.

There's still so many instances still where the AI players don't seem to be effected at all, in any way by physics. They accelerate so much quicker, turn so much quicker. It's not even close to the same in comparison as to how your players skate.

Then, to top it all off. 3 games tonight. Not a single Penalty on the CPU. NOT ONE. So, the only way to enjoy the game is to just turn penalties completely off, because its ridiculous for the player to spend time on the PK all game, while the CPU apparently does nothing wrong.

GM mode has some nice additions, I can say that. How it all works in the long run though is whats important.

I'm not sure anymore that it's a full price buy for me. It's NHL 15, with a facelift to me so far. I'm going to mess around with the difficulty and some sliders over the weekend to see if that helps, but right now, I've got a major decision to make on what I do with this one. It feels good at times, theres times when playing it is fun, but then theres times where for some reason it's like the AI flips on it's superman switch, and you might as well just put down the sticks and take what they're about to give you. I have no problem loosing a game to the CPU. I went 2-1 tonight (well 2-2, it game me a loss int he game I quit from too) Like I said, no problems loosing, but I hate feeling cheated by the AI. I'm left feeling that quite a bit playing this so far though.

[bwiggy33]

Quote: Originally Posted by MizzouRah

This needs fixed ASAP. Unplayable on lower speeds. I think it's better as far as AI goes.. not GREAT.. but better. Like they tuned it or something instead of rewriting the code. The puck is everywhere though.. and I love that. Sticks get a piece of the puck many times by my AI controlled players.

See and I agree they tuned the AI, but there's just fundamental issues that make me go crazy. The lack of Neutral zone pressure is just so obvious and hasn't ever been touched. I can deal with the occasional defender lost in la la land blip. However, when you can skate in the zone every single time untouched going 1 on 4 on superstar level it's just stupid. There's just nothing dynamic about the game. You have to force yourself to attack differently in order to try and have fun. That shouldn't be the case. You can honestly skate in and tee up a slapper from the top of the circle nearly every single time. I just don't get why the higher skill levels don't have more pressure. It makes no sense to me.

I totally agree with you about the puck being all over the place. They made a great change in this regard.

[hoopsjones84]

One more question. Do u pay the $60 up front then play 10 hrs. Or can u download free and play 10 hrs?


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