Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

[DarthRambo]

Which one in your guys opinion? I have the itch to play but don't care what hear it is. I just want best simulation hockey experience that's fun.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[tinpanalley]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

I'm about to save you hours of searching online having been part of the NHL game community for over 20 years...

This question has no answer. Sorry. Several reasons:
1. Nobody will ever agree on the ones that are supposedly "best".
2. NHL hockey in general has been extraordinarily bad at being represented well in video games. Games are fast and it's fun so people easily fall for many games thinking they are the most accurate simulation, but really, honestly, none of them get it right.
3. A game can be totally wrong and be made better with the right sliders. (Something that requires even MORE hours of research and testing.)
4. It depends what you mean by simulation. You'd be surprised how vastly different people's definitions of that word is.
5. People have varying degrees of tolerance for what makes a game more simulation or realistic. Some people can not accept at all that a player blocks a puck in an unrealistic way. I couldn't care less. Right there you'd have two opinions.

So, I will give you 3 that are hard to argue against in the solid nature of their hockey fundamentals. But none of these gets it perfect..
NHL 2K8
NHL 09 (PC)
NHL Legacy (PS3/360)

Games that have realistic elements but fail spectacularly elsewhere:
NHL 2K10
NHL 2K6
Any NHL from the last 3 years

...and just watch, the next posts will all be "for me, it's [game x]", "actually [game y] is better because...

It never ends.

[LegendKillerOne]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

I can't answer this well as I have hated so many of the games lately BUT I remember Legacy being great

[LegendKillerOne]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

I'm about to save you hours of searching online having been part of the NHL game community for over 20 years...

This question has no answer. Sorry. Several reasons:
1. Nobody will ever agree on the ones that are supposedly "best".
2. NHL hockey in general has been extraordinarily bad at being represented well in video games. Games are fast and it's fun so people easily fall for many games thinking they are the most accurate simulation, but really, honestly, none of them get it right.
3. A game can be totally wrong and be made better with the right sliders. (Something that requires even MORE hours of research and testing.)
4. It depends what you mean by simulation. You'd be surprised how vastly different people's definitions of that word is.
5. People have varying degrees of tolerance for what makes a game more simulation or realistic. Some people can not accept at all that a player blocks a puck in an unrealistic way. I couldn't care less. Right there you'd have two opinions.

So, I will give you 3 that are hard to argue against in the solid nature of their hockey fundamentals. But none of these gets it perfect..
NHL 2K8
NHL 09 (PC)
NHL Legacy (PS3/360)

Games that have realistic elements but fail spectacularly elsewhere:
NHL 2K10
NHL 2K6
Any NHL from the last 3 years

...and just watch, the next posts will all be "for me, it's [game x]", "actually [game y] is better because...

It never ends.

Just curious, Now that I have a xbox series x and can buy any old xbox game and play it of the 3 you mentioned I have question

In addition to the great game play which of those games had the best franchise mode?

[Fiddy]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

NHL 96 is still the GOAT

[PernellKarl076]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

Which one in your guys opinion? I have the itch to play but don't care what hear it is. I just want best simulation hockey experience that's fun.

Tons of hours of work behind all of this, but in all humbleness, with my setup, you will get the best Simulation Gameplay of all EA's game of hockey.

So yeah, NHL23 is my easy choice DarthRambo 😀

[LegendKillerOne]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

Tons of hours of work behind all of this, but in all humbleness, with my setup, you will get the best Simulation Gameplay of all EA's game of hockey.

So yeah, NHL23 is my easy choice DarthRambo 😀

I am sure your setup is good but that would not make it the best hockey game ever. What qualifies as the best ever would be a game you can pick up take out of the box and play without needing to adjust

[tinpanalley]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

I am sure your setup is good but that would not make it the best hockey game ever. What qualifies as the best ever would be a game you can pick up take out of the box and play without needing to adjust

That game doesn't exist.

[tinpanalley]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

In addition to the great game play which of those games had the best franchise mode?

What does "best franchise mode" mean to you? I can't help you because I can't stand franchise modes, but somebody else might be able to help you if they read your answer.

[htskr21]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

I am sure your setup is good but that would not make it the best hockey game ever. What qualifies as the best ever would be a game you can pick up take out of the box and play without needing to adjust

NHL 20'. Only one I've never had to touch the sliders. Fun and the CPU shoots the puck. I've played them all. Atari 2600 "Ice Hockey" to NHL 23.

[htskr21]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

That game doesn't exist.

NHL 20' exists.

[htskr21]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

Just curious, Now that I have a xbox series x and can buy any old xbox game and play it of the 3 you mentioned I have question

In addition to the great game play which of those games had the best franchise mode?

I'm 12 seasons into NHL 20' franchise, playing every game.

[PernellKarl076]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

NHL 20'. Only one I've never had to touch the sliders. Fun and the CPU shoots the puck. I've played them all. Atari 2600 "Ice Hockey" to NHL 23.

Depends on what you expect from a hockey game… 20 was great, it was my second most played in the NHL series in the past 10 years, but it needed slider and strategies adjustments big time… I couldn’t play 10 minutes with Simulation sliders from EA…

[Keirik]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

I am sure your setup is good but that would not make it the best hockey game ever. What qualifies as the best ever would be a game you can pick up take out of the box and play without needing to adjust

Or at the very least, not have to play position lock. All due respect to all the are work putting into making position lock good, but that doesn’t interest the majority of players.

[PernellKarl076]

Re: Best ever EA Sports NHL game?

Or at the very least, not have to play position lock. All due respect to all the are work putting into making position lock good, but that doesn’t interest the majority of players.

Keirik, I suggest Player Locking for what it brings to the game. Paired with Action Cam, it brings that feeling of playing the real game. The feeling of being on the ice. I never really understood why it is ok to control all the players in a fast sport like hockey anyway… But that’s for another topic.

That being said Keirik, I have played/tested my Setup many times as the whole team and it still plays very well. On every Camera angles also. It plays like the real thing nonetheless 😀

If you are up for the challenge, play a game as the whole team with EA's roster and Sliders… Then try a game with my roster and my sliders and compare for yourself 😉