NHL 14 News Post

NHL 14: Keys to Best Last Year's Effort

12:15 PM - March 22, 2013 by RaychelSnr

With the next generation of consoles on the horizon, sports games find themselves at an interesting branch point. The engines that have powered sports products for the last five-plus years are starting to show their age, and developers are spinning their wheels when it comes to new features, modes and gameplay systems. On top of all this, the visuals have started to flag in the big franchises, with crowds looking the same, animations showing minimal improvement, and lighting not really changing all that much.

Read More - NHL 14: Keys to Best Last Year's Effort

Game: NHL 14Reader Score: 7/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 6 - View All

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# 1 canucksss @ 03/22/13 01:57 PM

For years, EA is developing NHL series not in the spirit of the GAME but to attract casual gamers and kids (I mean adults who play like kids ...skating NORTH and SOUTH, shooting indiscriminately...in other words not SIM style of game). We cannot blame EA for trying to suit their game towards the majority of their consumers and target audience, hey they are in marketing business.

But I HOPE, that they will give options or even ala tuner type of modes wherein we could play SIM style with those improvements as stated above. This way, all those who are SIM style players as well as the Arcady style players can appreciate this game. At the beginning of NHL 13, there's a neutral zone pressure from CPU/AI that will force you to change your approach...but somehow this was magically disappear.

I play BaGM and its really annoying to see D-man trying to join the rush...but somehow will not cross the blue line and wait for his co-d-man. Or a goalie who will try to get the puck behind the net and all of a sudden change his mind and go back to his position on net.

I am hoping, but I HIGHLY doubt that there will be a great improvement in NHL 14 because of the new consoles release date. Maybe in NHL 15? MAYBE?

# 2 Majingir @ 03/22/13 02:08 PM

Hopefully NHL14 is actually good. I'm NOT getting it on release day no matter what, but hopefully it gets good enough reviews that I actually decide to buy the game.

I've been a fan of EA NHL series since NHL2000, but after NHL13, I can't take it anymore. EA needs to do something big in terms of changes to the game in order to make me still like their series(and this is coming from a Canadian! If even a Canadian video game player doesn't even like NHL13, imagine what that must mean for many people in USA then who aren't even as big of hockey fans)

The puck control(especially when anywhere near the CPU player) is ridiculous, the penalties needs a complete fix(playing NHL with barely any penalties is like playing NBA with no fouls...it's a big part of the game and NEEDS to be proper in the video game), sim speeds on be a gm/gm connected needs to be fixed(it was unplayable this year cause it took like 20 seconds to sim a single day! MLB games sim 162 games a year PLUS minor league seasons all at same time and they sim each day in like 2-3 seconds).

They also need to fix the goalies still. Don't get how ppl even played any sort of franchise mode with a game cause sv% for goalies were so unrealistic. So many times you'd have games where a goalie lets in 3-4 goals on like 20 shots(fixing sliders really doesn't help), and half those goals were the cheapest rebounds ever, or pucks that hit the goalie and go in.

Physics in the game needs to be completely redone as well, don't get how if you shoot the puck to the right, it's suddenly act like a magnet is behind you and somehow end up 20 feet behind you, right to the CPU guys stick.

# 3 I3RIS3H @ 03/22/13 02:51 PM

Despite what anyone else thinks, i believe this is an arcade game 100%. There is way too much catering to the casual and online gamers for my liking (yes i do realize this equals $$$ for EA). The NHL series honestly doesn't even feel like hockey to me. As a hockey player myself maybe i'm just looking for something too "sim", but unless drastic changes are made i'm not purchasing any more NHL games by EA.

# 4 garyjr33 @ 03/22/13 02:52 PM

Breaking the Be-A-GM mode off and putting it into a separate game is bogus. I want Be-A-GM mode to be more than it currently is, but it should not be placed in a separate game altogether. I could go on and on about this but I will stop right there.

# 5 CaptainSuperman @ 03/22/13 04:07 PM

Everyone complains about it being arcady but they apparently haven't messed with the options and sliders too much. It's not perfect but they have been getting it right so far

# 6 Money99 @ 03/22/13 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainSuperman


	Everyone complains about it being arcady but they apparently haven't messed with the options and sliders too much. It's not perfect but they have been getting it right so far

Sliders can improve some problems, but in the end this game is still very much catered towards Joe Fratboy.
The game has been plagued for years with cheating AI, little to no neutral zone pressure, teams that all play the same and CPU players that all have all-star skills.

NHL2K3 will still go down as the game with the best AI ever seen.
You could tell the difference between different teams, neutral zone traps were effective, and high-octane offenses were very hard to stimy.
You needed to have someone like Lidstrom on the ice when playing Sakic, Forsberg and the Avs.
In NHL08>>>>NHL13, all defenders are the exact same. A poke check with a 99 defender is no different than a poke check from Phil Kessel.

# 7 Simple Mathematics @ 03/22/13 04:28 PM

I want them to fix the AI, fix goalies, and look at the BaGM Community Wishlist thread.

# 8 Money99 @ 03/22/13 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simple Mathematics


	I want them to fix the AI, fix goalies, and look at the BaGM Community Wishlist thread.

Bingo. But those have been on the wishlist for over 5 years now.
I don't have any faith in EA to deliver the NBA2K of hockey games.
When Next-gen comes around, I'll take a look, but really, EA's games haven't changed much since NHL92.

# 9 DJ @ 03/22/13 04:36 PM

Being able to control the CPU tactics/strategy in Be A GM would be nice. Strange that EA added this feature for Exhibition games but you can't carry it into any of the career modes.

Adjustable season length in Be A GM; I don't mind playing 82 games but I'd like to have the option to play 48, 50 or 66 games.

Better HUM teammate AI. I want to see my teammates moving without the puck and getting into scoring areas and helping me out when I'm fighting for the puck against the boards.

Penalties. We need more variety and we need more penalties called, especially against the CPU.

# 10 canucksss @ 03/22/13 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I3RIS3H


	Despite what anyone else thinks, i believe this is an arcade game 100%. There is way too much catering to the casual and online gamers for my liking (yes i do realize this equals $$$ for EA). The NHL series honestly doesn't even feel like hockey to me. As a hockey player myself maybe i'm just looking for something too "sim", but unless drastic changes are made i'm not purchasing any more NHL games by EA.

same here. i will not buy NHL 14, because there's a high probability that it is just a slight improvement of NHL 13 or the worst. plus with the new console, i dont know if EA can take advantage (if there's any) in improving this game based on new console features.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Money99


	Sliders can improve some problems, but in the end this game is still very much catered towards Joe Fratboy. The game has been plagued for years with cheating AI, little to no neutral zone pressure, teams that all play the same and CPU players that all have all-star skills. NHL2K3 will still go down as the game with the best AI ever seen. You could tell the difference between different teams, neutral zone traps were effective, and high-octane offenses were very hard to stimy. You needed to have someone like Lidstrom on the ice when playing Sakic, Forsberg and the Avs. In NHL08>>>>NHL13, all defenders are the exact same. A poke check with a 99 defender is no different than a poke check from Phil Kessel.

well said!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simple Mathematics


	I want them to fix the AI, fix goalies, and look at the BaGM Community Wishlist thread.

If EA will read and implement at least 50% of your wish list for NHL 14, I might consider getting it.

# 11 CaptainSuperman @ 03/22/13 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Money99


	Sliders can improve some problems, but in the end this game is still very much catered towards Joe Fratboy. The game has been plagued for years with cheating AI, little to no neutral zone pressure, teams that all play the same and CPU players that all have all-star skills. NHL2K3 will still go down as the game with the best AI ever seen. You could tell the difference between different teams, neutral zone traps were effective, and high-octane offenses were very hard to stimy. You needed to have someone like Lidstrom on the ice when playing Sakic, Forsberg and the Avs. In NHL08>>>>NHL13, all defenders are the exact same. A poke check with a 99 defender is no different than a poke check from Phil Kessel.

So this makes it a bad game?

# 12 Money99 @ 03/22/13 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainSuperman


	So this makes it a bad* game?*

I'm not sure if I should take your question seriously, but yes.
If all the teams play the same, and all the CPU players play the same, then what's the point?
Instead of Season mode, just play the same team 82 times in a row.
And I don't know anyone that enjoys having the CPU cheat over and over again in order to compete.
I didn't buy '13 this year (even though it was on sale for $19.99 at a store once the lockout ended) because I knew I'd just get frustrated the first time I'd see Colton Orr make laser passes or snipe top-shelf goals.

It sounds like you're okay with that, and kudo's to you.
But for me, I'll wait to see what next-gen has to offer. But my guess is NHL 15 will be no different than NHL98, NHL2002, NHL08, NHL13....

# 13 CaptainSuperman @ 03/22/13 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Money99


	I'm not sure if I should take your question seriously, but yes. If all the teams play the same, and all the CPU players play the same, then what's the point? Instead of Season mode, just play the same team 82 times in a row. And I don't know anyone that enjoys having the CPU cheat over and over again in order to compete. I didn't buy '13 this year (even though it was on sale for $19.99 at a store once the lockout ended) because I knew I'd just get frustrated the first time I'd see Colton Orr make laser passes or snipe top-shelf goals. It sounds like you're okay with that, and kudo's to you. But for me, I'll wait to see what next-gen has to offer. But my guess is NHL 15 will be no different than NHL98, NHL2002, NHL08, NHL13....

Huh. I'm playing a season and I don't win every game with the same score. Not every team plays the same, and how can you even have any input, you said yourself you didn't buy the game.

Only time CPU cheats is on the harder difficulty, don't play on harder difficulty and play with some sliders and the game is still fun.

Even if your point was valid of every team playing the same, how does that make it a bad game? Emphasis on BAD. The game is not perfect, nobody is saying that, but to actually say it's a bad game, that's ridiculous.

And your last statement of 1998-2013 playing the same, that's just foolish.

# 14 hockeyguru15 @ 03/23/13 01:11 AM

Oh, and another thing. PLEASE EA MAKE AS MUCH CUSTOMIZABLE IN THE GAME AS POSSIBLE!!!! Make it so that we can tweak everything from the AI to the everything about the players, custom goalie pads, custom arenas, make EVERYTHING TWEAKABLE. By restricting users' access to customize parts of the game, you are making the game substantially worse than it has the potential to be.

# 15 milesizdead @ 03/23/13 09:11 AM

Hmmm, I think that the game has improved a lot since 08, but for me it's all about online. EASHL, GMC and even VS have all improved so that most games are won by the better player. Which is all that matters to me.

I can see how people are tired and bored by the series if they play offline, only reason I play offline is to unlock boosts for my EASHL pro. And I hate the grind of it, AI is predictable and cheats with checking and shots since they don't have reaction times, they know what happens on the ice before your puny little human brain can process the same info.

This year I think EA should just focus on perfecting the game modes that are already there, nothing new, just polishing. Save all the fancy gimmicks and improved physics to nextgen release.

# 16 Blackwood Bully @ 03/23/13 11:45 AM

I might be in the minority, but I love the having the Legends in the game. I do wish that They would have complete Legend teams instead, so You could have tournaments and stuff like that.

# 17 Dougie_G_93 @ 03/23/13 01:06 PM

So this is a thread with us all just wishing out loud? I mean seriously, an article advising EA on what NHL14 should and shouldn't do is kinda therapeutic for us, But EA could really give less than 2 craps what we want or think. The main focus on gaming is multiplayer. Have you ever checked out EA's forum? Its filled with hut this and hut that and spoiled kids whining about trade piles.
NHL 14 will add a few minor tweaks to the game, both graphical and with the ai. Then they will package it all up, say there are over 200 gameplay enhancements and put there little bogus award sticker on it. And start raking in millions. And Mark Savard is guaranteed to be on Boston's active roster.

But we will buy it because:
a: we are sheep
b: we need it because of re-alignment
c: we are like cub fans and maple leaf fans, we hope this is the year they get it right.

# 18 bwiggy33 @ 03/23/13 01:43 PM

I will not, and I mean will not, purchase this game on day one next year (or at all) unless I can see with my own two eyes things have changed. I'm doubting anything drastic will be changed, but it's badly needed.

Everyone so far has pretty much nailed all of the issues in the head but there's still one thing left.

PUT OFFSIDES BACK IN THE GAME

How the hell is it that I can go multiple games in a row without myself or the CPU going offsides? The most times I've ever gone offsides in a game is 3, and that's still playing 13 minute periods. When they revamped the offside logic back in NHL 10 or whatever it was, it absolutely killed this game from feeling anything like hockey. The game is just a constant ping pong battle of flinging the puck up to the oppositions blue line (EA's version of a realistic breakout), shooting and repeating. Sure you can set up in the zone, but really you can create better chances without passing, then you can when passing.

Honestly I could go on and on. It just absolutely sucks that all EA would need to do is take one or two years of listening to the more sim gamers, and this game could be a great representation of the sport for both the caual and sim fans. I know hockey is probably the most difficult sport to replicate in a video game, but I know for damn sure it can be replicated way better than what it is.

From what I have heard though, the best way to reach the EA developers is to post this sort of stuff on the EA NHL forums. They don't come around here like The Show dev team does. Also when Redshirt was around a couple months ago he mentioned this as well. I think if we have any chance at them seeing our opinions, we have to do it on the EA forums.

# 19 bwiggy33 @ 03/23/13 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainSuperman


	So this makes it a bad* game?*

Yes for some people it does. If you want a more sim experience that's not what you are going to get with NHL. I'm looking for a more sim experience so I absolutely dislike the game. It has some good things, but overall I don't enjoy it at all. It's just my opinion. What I or someone else may think is a bad game, isn't for someone who enjoys it.

As Money said, sliders only do so much for this game. If EA isn't going to make the AI play like a real hockey player or team would, they need to give us more sliders or AI options that allow the user to create the AI that they want to face. EA barely allows us any of that. If they expand on the Build your AI feature from 13, that will drastically help this game though. Adjusting those settings was pretty much the only time I enjoyed the game, and it wasn't adjustable for BAGM. I'm not saying my opinion is the only way, but I can bet that most if not all people would love more options to create the AI they want to face during games.

# 20 CaptainSuperman @ 03/23/13 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwiggy33


	Yes for some people it does. If you want a more sim experience that's not what you are going to get with NHL. I'm looking for a more sim experience so I absolutely dislike the game. It has some good things, but overall I don't enjoy it at all. It's just my opinion. What I or someone else may think is a bad game, isn't for someone who enjoys it. As Money said, sliders only do so much for this game. If EA isn't going to make the AI play like a real hockey player or team would, they need to give us more sliders or AI options that allow the user to create the AI that they want to face. EA barely allows us any of that. If they expand on the Build your AI feature from 13, that will drastically help this game though. Adjusting those settings was pretty much the only time I enjoyed the game, and it wasn't adjustable for BAGM. I'm not saying my opinion is the only way, but I can bet that most if not all people would love more options to create the AI they want to face during games.

But your grading the whole game based on one feature. That is not a complete way to rate a game "bad". If you play a game against a friend, all the mechanics are there for a good game. That is the point I'm trying to get across. The game of hockey is a good one. If you want bad a bad game as far as hockey goes, go play NHL 94. As fun as it was, it's not a true sim of hockey, even against a friend. EA has done the best job so far, yet they get **** on by everyone for little to no reason, other than fans expectations are super high. And why are they that high? Cause they've been going such a fantastic job, go back and look at EA's NHL scores from reviewer sites, they are always 8's or 9's. So with great results, come great expectations. That is the only reason people are ****ing on EA and NHL

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