NHL 15 News Post

NHL 15: Breaking Down the Initial Information

11:40 AM - May 7, 2014 by RaychelSnr

EA has finally blown the lid (well, slightly loosened the lid is more accurate) off of NHL 15, the first hockey game on the new generation of hardware. They didn't exactly show much, but they sure did a lot of telling. You can see the teaser trailer here, and the game page outlining all of the details is here. There's also a cover vote going on, and you can make your wishes known on this page. GameInformer also wrote up a big piece on the game, so I'd suggest checking that out, too, as I'll be referencing it here.

As I figured, EA played it fairly coy in terms of showing their cards (even though that trailer sparks some good emotion), but they did do a lot of hype-building, specifically as relates to gameplay features and presentation. There are a lot interesting details in what they said, so let's take a look.

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# 1 N51_rob @ 05/07/14 11:53 AM

This will be interesting to day the least. While I thought Madden 25 on PS4/XB1 was a current gen port with some upgrades to zone defense. I never considered it to be a true "Next-Gen" offering taking full advantage of the hardware. This game will probably be the first real next gen effort for the "ignite" engine.

# 2 Cletus @ 05/07/14 12:14 PM

I'm still not very excited. Sure the things are cool, but EA has put a lot of cool things in the NHL series.

# 3 Scribe1980 @ 05/07/14 01:55 PM

"The puck is one of the most complex items in the game to authentically replicate and it finally gets its due in NHL 15. Completely rebuilt puck physics result in a more realistic feel to every puck interaction. Everything on the ice, including the ice surface itself, is live which leads to the unpredictable and authentic puck spins, rolls and bounces seen in a real NHL game."

EA pulls this PR crap every few years. And then for last year we have, SURPRISE! a volleyball puck in the corners. Absolute game-killer. Bout done with this series. Show me. And I ain't from Missouri.

# 4 Eski33 @ 05/07/14 02:30 PM

With the new gen consoles I expect an upgrade in visuals but a more amped up AI. Smarter AI will make single player experiences more fun.

I view NHL on the same level with The Show. An excellent franchise that improves a small portion each year. Now that both are on next gen I expect that these franchises with the excellent development teams will reach new heights. I also think this is the year sports titles offer something awesome.

# 5 coolkev21 @ 05/07/14 02:41 PM

NHL has always been an online game for me

The show has always been a single player game for me.

NHL online is where it's at.... best online sports game out for a while.....

# 6 Wiggy @ 05/07/14 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkev21


	NHL has always been an online game for me The show has always been a single player game for me. NHL online is where it's at.... best online sports game out for a while.....

EASHL is a ton of fun, indeed.

# 7 spidertour02 @ 05/07/14 03:11 PM

I buy into the graphics and presentation elements almost immediately. They sound great, and I can imagine that they will go a good job with those. The gameplay, however, I will have to be sold on.

# 8 13whitebread @ 05/07/14 03:39 PM

There are obviously gameplay issues that have plagued this series most recently the bouncing puck in the defensive zone hopefully and it sounds like it that this most likley will be fixed. I know I have and many others have been calling for something more to immerse me into the game sure they have to prove it but from what I am reading it sounds that they have had extra time too work on it and maybe this first gen offering will pay off in spades. I played Madden and Nba2k and they were let's be honest just another port. I think the NHL series can benefit form a lower payroll than those sports and really give us a true next Gen title. All this of course hinges on EA delivering I am sure betting on this but of course remain cautiously optimistic.

# 9 Trevelyan @ 05/07/14 06:51 PM

EA always hypes their games, then ends up making extremely minor changes(which is fine when it comes to NHL, great game already). I'll wait for more concrete information, like changes being made to EASHL/OTP.

That said, I love this series so I'm looking forward to this more than any other game this year.

# 10 H to the Oza @ 05/07/14 07:48 PM

We need something like connected franchise in NHL

# 11 Robo COP @ 05/08/14 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevelyan


	EA always hypes their games, then ends up making extremely minor changes(which is fine when it comes to NHL, great game already). I'll wait for more concrete information, like changes being made to EASHL/OTP. That said, I love this series so I'm looking forward to this more than any other game this year.

How about having playoffs cut back. Once every month wasn't enough and every single weekend is too much. I think every other weekend or possibly every 3 weeks would be much better

Quote:

Originally Posted by H to the Oza


	We need something like connected franchise in NHL

.......? GM Connected?

# 12 SVCbearcat10 @ 05/08/14 09:59 AM

I think this is a no win year for the NHL series. They clearly focused on putting a fresh coat of paint on this game... better physics, sharper AI, stadiums, crowds, presentation, commentary. This is everything everyone has been asking for. But this is next-gen and most believe they should be able to get absolutely everything they want in the game on the first iteration.

Now if all the game modes are left pretty much untouched with no major improvements, that is all everyone will be complaining about. If they would have focused on truly changing all their modes and not on presentation/environment, then that is what everyone would complain about. If they changed too much at once and not everything worked properly, it will feel rushed and incomplete. If they don't change enough, they don't seem to care.

Even though they essentially skipped a year on next-gen, they don't know have the time or resources to address everything. They are a small team with half the resources of other EA franchises. I, for one, think this will continue to be a great game and will appreciate the effort their team put forth. As long as their is not massive bug in the game, this will be by far the best hockey game made.

# 13 DJ @ 05/08/14 12:43 PM

As the NHL series moves to the PS4/Xbox One, I'd like to see the developers work on the CPU AI. It may take 2 years, but ultimately what I'd like to see is teams actually play like their real-life counterpart. You'd have teams like Colorado that, while weak defensively (good goalie), can utilize their speed and offensive skill to stay in the game. Then you'd have your defensive-oriented teams (Wild, for example) and go through the league.

The way the game plays now, all the teams play the exact same way. It gets old after several years of seeing this.

# 14 canucksss @ 05/08/14 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ


	The way the game plays now, all the teams play the exact same way. It gets old after several years of seeing this.

THIS! AND THIS! AND THIS!

That's why whenever I see announcement of EA regarding NHL, I am not all excited. It's the same issue every year. And Im sick about it...hopefully RAMJ and his team will improve on this....IF NOT CUT HIM OFF FROM EA and have a new person take in-charge.

# 15 canucksss @ 05/08/14 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Segagendude


	That's what Revamped is for.

Thats why I really appreciate the hardworks of those guys...even if I skipped NHL 14....these guys who were doing Revamped were making so much effort to make this game playable. The OS'ers are more reliable that those guys at EA, specially comparing to RAMJ (somehow i lost respect with this guy). With guys doing the Revamp, its not wise to get the game early because it really takes awhile for them to do the job, which at the very fist place should be EA's.

# 16 eF 5ive @ 05/08/14 05:12 PM

I hope goal celebrations are scripted and replicate real life better.

# 17 Kalkano @ 05/08/14 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H to the Oza


	We need something like connected franchise in NHL

*heart attack* Connected Careers destroyed Madden for me. I'm still playing '12, because of it. LET ME PLAY MY WAY.

# 18 Nextel Husker @ 05/08/14 07:07 PM

Fired UP! I love NHL14 and can't wait for 15.

# 19 PPerfect_CJ @ 05/09/14 10:58 AM

The one thing that concerns me, there was no mention of cleaning up the game menus. They are way too slow! Going back and forth between screens is BRUTAL. And when you're first putting in custom tracks, it takes the majority of a night.

# 20 Schmackity @ 05/09/14 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PPerfect_CJ


	The one thing that concerns me, there was no mention of cleaning up the game menus. They are way too slow! Going back and forth between screens is BRUTAL. And when you're first putting in custom tracks, it takes the majority of a night.

Well for obvious reasons, there won't be custom music for NHL 15. Hopefully by the time NHL 16 comes out, the consoles will include that ability.

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