How NHL 15 Will Capture the Look and Feel of Hockey with NBC Sports Broadcast Package

[Money99]

I hope we finally see out of town highlights.

[Pezell04x]

Quote: Originally Posted by dukebeatsuncagain

No the whole thing wouldn't collapse at all, it would actually be the building blocks for a game to make the conversion to Gen 4. People routinely fail to see how this is going to be a year yo year process.

I'm going to have to disagree with you. When it comes to sports games, the NHL franchise is the one I only truly care about. It's the one I've been playing since NHLPA 93 on my Sega Genesis.

Fiddy said it best - the series has been the same since NHL 09. While there may have been "innovations", the gameplay for every game has been the same. Teams play the same. Players play the same. Sidney Crosby plays like Shawn Thornton who plays like Corey Perry who plays like John Scott out of the box.

There's been a litany of problems never addressed in terms of gameplay that include but aren't limited to: AI penalties, puck physics (especially the 14 super dump in the corner).

The gameplay and presentation need a new face lift. I'm sure this subsection would be more inclined to give the NHL devs a pass if their gameplay was up to the level of The Show, but it's not. It's not even close.

[Dolphins88]

Yes the gameplay definitely needs addressed. I felt 2k3 nailed how each team and player should play differently and it was more organic. The presentation needed this but let's hope EA can reproduce organic gameplay and where playing as Sidney Crosby, Malkin , lucic, Kane or Toews actually matter in different skills set and ratings matter. Each team needs to play a different style and you should have to adjust and line match.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dolphins88

Yes the gameplay definitely needs addressed. I felt 2k3 nailed how each team and player should play differently and it was more organic. The presentation needed this but let's hope EA can reproduce organic gameplay and where playing as Sidney Crosby, Malkin , lucic, Kane or Toews actually matter in different skills set and ratings matter. Each team needs to play a different style and you should have to adjust and line match.

2K3 still had the best AI I've ever seen in a game. It also was able to capture different player styles better than any game I've played.

I echo yours and Fiddy's thoughts, Pezell04x.
While I've enjoyed NHL14, the entire gameplay engine and AI needs a complete overhaul.
Seeing a big difference in player and team styles is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, next-gen NHL games will eventually feel the same as last-gen.
I'm very excited for NHL15 news and I hope it's the game we've been waiting for.
But if we continue to see 4th liners doing the same things as 1st liners, offline gamers like me will lose interest quickly - again.

[crankybaker]

Good read as we are before e3 trying to grab as much info as possible.

I am very excited to hear updated commentry and support for this during the life cycle of the game to keep some things fresh, I like the idea of 5 months down the road I will hear something i havnt heard before. Look forward to hearing about some game features at e3 now.

[crankybaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by Semipro91

Thank GOD Pierre McGuire isn't going to be doing anything. I couldn't handle playing and hearing about where Steve Ott played his juniors and who his coach was.

But how else am I to know what Brian gibbons did at Boston college? And think about all the crosby love we are missing out on lol

[SpectralThundr]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

2K3 still had the best AI I've ever seen in a game. It also was able to capture different player styles better than any game I've played. I echo yours and Fiddy's thoughts, Pezell04x. While I've enjoyed NHL14, the entire gameplay engine and AI needs a complete overhaul. Seeing a big difference in player and team styles is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, next-gen NHL games will eventually feel the same as last-gen. I'm very excited for NHL15 news and I hope it's the game we've been waiting for. But if we continue to see 4th liners doing the same things as 1st liners, offline gamers like me will lose interest quickly - again.

While I agree player separation and teams playing differently certainly needs to be addressed on this new gen of consoles, could you elaborate on what you mean by the entire gameplay engine needs overhauling? I think the skating engine in 14 was absolutely fantastic, being able to pivot finally in a hockey game and have it be completely fluid and realistic in that players could not go full speed while dangling through traffic without high chance of losing the puck. I though that aspect was really well done and I'd hate to see that get thrown out the window.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by SpectralThundr

While I agree player separation and teams playing differently certainly needs to be addressed on this new gen of consoles, could you elaborate on what you mean by the entire gameplay engine needs overhauling? I think the skating engine in 14 was absolutely fantastic, being able to pivot finally in a hockey game and have it be completely fluid and realistic in that players could not go full speed while dangling through traffic without high chance of losing the puck. I though that aspect was really well done and I'd hate to see that get thrown out the window.

The skating is a lot better and I thoroughly enjoyed it in NHL14.
But here are the things needed to make it more realistic (please excuse the disjointed list. Just tossing them out there as the come to mind):

1. Need a 'juke' or side-step movement. Quickness and effectiveness of this move is based on skaters quickness and agility ratings.
2. Teammate defensive AI has to be much better. Play with player lock and notice how your teammates will basically just stare at their man. They barely even poke-check.
3. Teammates getting open. In 14 there are still way too many times where I'm leading a 2-on-1 and they do something dumb like skate behind me or tail away from the net.
4. Stick handling while skating at full speed. The best players can do it, but in NHL14, as soon as you stick handle, you slow down.
5. Player types. It was done extremely well in NHL07. Snipers sniped and danglers dangled.
One of the things I adored about 07 was that if the pass wasn't perfect for a one-timer, the receiver couldn't get off a good shot, had to readjust to the poor pass and then got off a weak shot, or outright missed the shot.
So you really wanted to make sure your playmakers had the puck so one-timers were easier to setup.
For some reason they changed all this in NHL08 to the point where it didn't matter who passed, who shot, or how good or bad the pass was. It always resulted in a hard, accurate one-timer.
6. The CPU is always a perfect defender. Whether EA believes it or not, not every NHLer is great in his own end. Yet in NHL14, every skater will hound you, steal passes and knock pucks loose regardless of their ratings (this goes back to needing more player separation).
7. Pre-cognizant abilities of CPU. Ever notice how if a pass is deflected it always goes directly on the CPU's stick? Me thinks this is yet another 'boost' the CPU gets in order to be more competitive.

Those are just a few.
For the most part, EA does a pretty good job of showing individual skills. But when you pull back from the action, the actual flow of the game needs to be much better.
It should be harder getting through the neutral zone, players skills and one-ice personalities need to be separated a LOT, LOT more.
I should never, EVER, see George Parros complete a perfect, no-look, one-timer, behind-the-back pass to an open teammate. And yet, it happens all the time under the current EA engine.

I think once teams and players start playing like their real selves, then the game will feel more organic and different.
But as it is, it really doesn't matter if you play a game against the Isles, Oilers, Bruins or Wild.
And every player might as well be Jonathan Toews.