NHL 21
 

I normally never play the Be a Pro mode as I'm mainly a franchise only player but they put a ton of work into the mode this year.

I started one up today and you can choose to play in Europe or the WHL, OHL, and a couple more leagues or start directly in the NHL. I picked the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. I'm a power forward.

From there you're in the Memorial Cup and you have interviews, all kinds of perks and upgrades to choose from, etc.. There is even a radio show that talks about where you might go in the draft and what not.

Game 1 and it's tied 2-2 going into OT and I score the game winner on a great pass from my winger right to my stick in front of goal and I bury it. It was one of those gaming moments, if you know what I mean.

They also added a really neat trade deadline for franchise play that I can't wait to see in action. On to Game 2, GO THUNDERBIRDS!!!

i am not being fooled again by the nhl series as i have bought many of the previous versions, ultimately end up disappointed about something or not enough change from previous versions:)

I started a few days ago three different BAP players (C, LW, D) with the EA pass trial and I'm having blast so yesterday after I used the 10 trial hours I ended buying it.

Of course I'm not a hardcore hockey fan nor as knowledgeable as I'm in soccer or more typical sports in Spain, so I might not find some of the issues that others would, but I have been playing BAP and in the past EASHL for 10 years already and I must say this is the best version of BAP ever.

The interactions, while repetitive, add something so you are not just playing games but having objetives, trying to climb to to the top lines, etc. Your team mates are not stupid, they pass the puck, get open, rush the net, defend, etc, in fact I find the team mate AI much better than when you play BAP in FIFA.

It's not story driven but I prefer it, hate the stories in NBA2k where you are a badass street kid, as I don't feel identified at all with it and prefer to "write my own story". I think they have copied a lot from Road to the show, with similar off the record voice like in a documentary or radio speaker when you are having interactions instead of recorded actor voices.

Only thing I miss this year is being able to start as a 16 years old kid and play in the junior/minor leagues before you reach the NHL for a few seasons. You can start in the NHL directly, in Europe or in the North American leagues, but only in the playoffs and then you are drafted (after going through interviews with interested teams) and you are placed directly in the NHL roster.

Regarding other modes, I barely play them, but I have read that there are some franchise bugs.

The sad part is that Hockey is one of my favorite sports to watch and play in games, but I have been disappointed with many of the recent releases. Just the little things like Penalties....I know some have posted they get decent PP opportunities, that hasn't been my personal experience and I can't play a hockey game that can't nail a fundamental and important part of hockey. EA seems to have problems with penalties on their games....football, soccer, etc. Setting up shots always seems lacking, whether its my own teammates or the computer opponent. Most of the time it seems like you skate up and down the ice simply taking shots and by the end of the game you have some absurd shot totals. Rarely do I see a well developed play while distributing the puck, dumping and chasing, etc.

To be honest, I have never played any of the other modes besides Franchise/Seasons so maybe I am missing out on that experience.....just never thought I would like that aspect...but maybe I do need to try that.

Who knows....maybe I pick it up in one of the holiday sales .......

I would be all about NHL 94 Rewind if it could be purchased stand alone.

It looks like they finally caught up to where they were 7 years ago. Oh wait, still no GM connected. Pass.

I understand you might be way more interested in the ease of playing it on a new console, but it's pretty easy to get set up with an emulator. The NHL 94 community has been creating custom ROMs for it for years. For example, multiple ROMs are released with updated rosters each season. I still play it all the time on my hacked PS Vita.

I wouldn't be interested in playing a full season in the juniors but I can see how many would like that.


The whole BAP experience is just so immersive so far and I'm trying to be a good teammate instead of a "star" player.


As far as penalties go SlyBelle1, if you put the main penalty slider on 4/4 and up the individual ones in the custom sliders to 100/100 I've seen quite a bit of penalties. (you might have tried that already)

Thanks, I don't own the game to try the settings, I just know in the past you seemed to have good experiences but when I tried to get the same, I still saw lack of penalties......I'll keep an eye out and see if the positive vibes continue and possibly jump in during a sale or something

Sigh....hockey games. They vex me. I truly enjoy them but there is a fundamental flaw - despite watching a lot of hockey and spending time truly trying to learn the fundamental deeper roles and responsibilities of all players on the ice I am just not that good at hockey games. I always feel that I play a bit rigid and lack the natural creativity/flexibility and feeling for the game flow that someone who has actually played hockey IRL would understand. I also feel like this tends to result in me seeing things develop on the ice very slowly in what is a fast paced sport.