NHL 15 Available Now for PS4 and Xbox One - Post Your Impressions Here

[CujoMatty]

Quote: Originally Posted by Drakar

There is so many things to dislike about this version of NHL15. The puck physics might be better but the passing is 3 generations behind. Even on hardcore with no pass assist, you have almost no control. It really deteriorate the experience. It is the most glaring aspect of the games that was clearly dumb down in order to make the deadline. I really hopes EA patches this as soon as possible. CPU puck control. Its been my issue for the past 7 or 8 years. This version is no different. Every single player toe drag and dangle the puck like superstars, regardless of their rating. When I see grinders dangling and toe dragging the puck like they are Jordan Eberle, its a little bit annoying. Toe drag is a move that you barely see in the game. Once in a while someone uses it and make the highlights of the night. In this game, its every player. The CPU magic lift stick abilities. They will always lift your stick perfectly and they will never get a penalty for high sticking. Even you dare to use it, you will be call a penalty almost immediately. The CPU also have magic speed to get to rebound or the puck in the corner. You will check them and you bounce off like you just hit a rubber mat. All of this while they maintain the puck and do a blind pass on their backhand at lightning speed across the crease for a perfect one timer. All of this I experience on All-Stars/Hardcore simulation. I did start to tweak my own sliders to try to limit the CPU super abilities but the slider doesn't go up or down far enough to really impact enough certain super abilities. It tone down but still over the top. Most of the game I played tonight ended up in OT because the computer came back in 3rd (8/10 games). They become so aggressive in the 3rd period when they are trailing. Its really hard to stay in the passing lane and they play like if they were on a power play. You really have to been very patient and hope for the best. I haven't found a strategy to counter this. Some may say its a rubberband AI. I am not convince but they certainly play differently and its really hard to counter. So far my NHL15 experience has been a little bit frustrating. Its possible that I am getting too old for playing modern hockey game but I always feel I am 1 step behind the pace of the game on All-Stars. Is the CPU AI really cheating or is it me not up to par ? I am not sure.

Im pretty close to done with this game already. my record is 0-10-1 on pro. I get that im not good at this game but damn.....

There are moments that the cpu just goes ridiculous Gretzky mode and I just cant do anything but take my hands off the controller and watch the imminent goal.

Not to mention every other teams goalie is clearly the best goalie ever and my created 99 overall goalie plays like a D division over 40 rec league funnel. I just played a home and home against Detroit and Gustafson was unreal. No lie he made 3 of those sprawling diving saves on one timers against me in one period.

Throw in the fact the cpu ability to do whatever it wants when it wants with razor sharp reflexes and precision is just mind blowing. whats even more mind blowing is how thats only the cpu players on the opposite team. for some reason my cpu teammates are apparently the downsie special needs players of the virtual world because honestly, they very rarely do anything right.

ok I need to calm down lol. Honestly no doubt in my mind I suck at this game but I just dont see how its fun. Normally being bad at a game is a good thing because you see progress being made that theres hope you will get better. this game to me is so effed I just dont see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[KennyJ1976]

It's a shame this game probably won't do very well in sales because of all the missing features, but gameplay wise this game is pretty damn good. Now I wouldn't consider myself the most sim hockey gamer out there, (I'm playing on allstar simulation right now) so I enjoy the fast pace up and down big hits type of games. Just playing quick games right now, may play some 1v1 online once I get my skills up. Probably won't start my GM mode until the season starts and the rosters are set. As for HUT, not a fan of playing with make believe fantasy teams so it gets no play. If I had to rate it I would give it 7/10 simply because of the gameplay. I got $20 knocked off the price at Gamestop so to me it's worth a $40 purchase.

[daenius]

I played 2 games and I already regret purchasing this for full price...

Somehow the full game plays so much worse than the demo.

Started on all-star, got hammered 6-0; moved down to pro, quit after 2 periods and being down 5-1.

It's even worse than 13 and 14 with the CPU being completely overpowered.

Aside from the fact that EVERY team just feeds the slot and scores on laser one-timers from close range (there's absolutely no style difference in how teams play) and CPU goalies, no matter how shaky they are in real life, all seem to be otherworldly good; the thing that still enrages me the most is skating.
I've NEVER seen anyone skate like the CPU does in this game and it's been an issue for the past 2-3 years. Whenever I've got them lined up for a hit hey just seem to be able to stop on a dime and turn in whatever direction they want, momentum doesn't seem to play a role, it's just stop - do a 180 - turn left - turn right and I'm not able to make any play.

[iaxy]

Whilst I had mixed feeling from the Demo, I actually find myself really enjoying the full game (strictly from a gameplay perspective), especially now that I have experimented with sliders.

I honestly don’t get all the negative comments so far. I feel NHL 15 is miles better than NHL 14 in every single aspect (again – strictly from a gameplay perspective).

What is the point of waiting eagerly for a new game and then bashing it after 2 periods played because “it does not play” as expected. That is the whole point – it’s a new game, it’s got new mechanics, new challenges. That’s what we want as consumers. To the people who bash the game because they get murdered by the CPU I’ll say this - If you want to be in familiar waters and play a comfortable game, then stick to past versions of the game or lower the difficulty.

NHL 15 does a great job at punishing you if you make a mistake – this is godsend and a first in any hockey game so far. It actually forces you to play well, forces you to be vigilant and forces you to be on your toes, which really captures the essence of hockey.

For years I’ve wanted a game where, if you make a sloppy pass or if you mistime your hits, the CPU will punish you with a goal or at least create a great scoring chance. Never before had any hockey game managed to capture that accurately. Now we have it and I think it adds a contagious depth to the game. If you lose 5:0 you know why you’ve lost – it’s not because the CPU has cheated, but because you’ve been sloppy.

Yes, it does take a little time to adjust to the new defense mechanics. I got killed 7:1 in my first game vs the CPU. But I loved that every single goal the CPU scores was a direct result of a mistake I made. Just like real hockey, momentum is a huge factor. Mistime your hit and the CPU blows by you. Hitting is really hard in this game and I love that. What’s the point of being able to hit at ease everywhere on the ice. That deprives the game from a true hockey experience and becomes a hit fest. NHL HITZ did that.

Lower the sliders for puck control and pass accuracy, bump up your sliders for interceptions and poke check and this game is the closest representation of the real game, capturing its explosiveness, momentum and unpredictability.

The other thing I will say is – you have to try this on True Broadcast camera. I switched to True Broadcast already last year with NHL 14, but with NHL 15 its really rewarding playing on this view (but also harder). Yes, the controls feel more awkward, yes the dekes are harder to pull off and shooting is sometimes awkward (the only way it works is to select shooting Always Up), but ultimately it pays off to persevere with this view, because the game looks and feels realistic, the closest to a simulation of the real sport.

I love cycling the puck when on PP. Someone said it was too easy to do so. Well, that may be so, but it’s actually fun and gives you a great sense of control. IN years past you would try to cycle only for the pass to go astray or go to a Defenseman who would take the puck offside – frustrating. Now it feels great. This is supposed to mimic the NHL after all. Players should be sufficiently skilled to pass the puck tape to tape and not go offside.

Dump ins are actually a great weapon now. Same for saucer passes.

Naturally not everything is rosy. There’s a lot of legacy issues with the game. For a start I feel the game is unplayable in any up-down camera. It just looks too similar to past NHLs and it feels very repetitive.
Also, it’s been said before and it is true, it is way too easy gaining the zone.

I didn’t intend on writing a review, but I guess what I’ve written so far feels a little like one, so I will just sum up my + and –

Positives
+ Great puck physics (make sure to tone down the slider for puck control to really get the most of this)
+ More responsive skating
+ Improved AI and feeling of “always being on your toes”
+ Nice graphics (but not as sharp as I expected for New Gen)
+ Passing feels crisp and there is the necessary oomph behind long range passes (lacking in the past)
+ Saucer pass is a weapon now
+ More difficult to hit
+ Accurate sounds (ice, posts, sticks, etc.) but not hits
+ Degrading ice (the ice in general looks amazing)
+ New dekeing
+ Greater variety of goals
+ Breakaways feel fantastic and are lethal now
+ Overall presentation (crowd especially)
+ Little details such as head fakes when dekeing look awesome
+ The sliders actually work (they change the game dramatically)

Negatives
- Lack of modes (debated to death)
- Slightly blurred / washed out models (I’m playing on PS4)
- Player faces still look years behind FIFA for example
- Uniform for National teams are generic and inaccurate (still).
- No-look passes are too accurate
- Board play is still a weakness
- The animation for chopping the puck away still looks horrible
- Hits don’t feel natural and don’t get any physical sensation of being hit or you hitting someone
- Some sotware issues – sticks going through board, players, etc. Inexcusable.
- Lagging menus
- Not being able to keep the stick extended when poking

[18 eighty 5]

Is it possible to turn penalties off? I didn't try this in the 6hr early access version and the demo won't let me do it I am pretty sure. I realise this kills a big part of the game but given what I remember how often the CPU ever got called for a penalty it might be fun to do away with them entirely and just have at it without fear.

[vauclair]

Played one game set to 16minutes, shot accuracy zero and some other slider tweaked;
CPU took 4 penalties while my team got 6. (penalty slider of course on max). Was fun to play and I definitely see some potential with regards to game play.
Though; CPU passes are still too much of tape to tape, manual passing almost inexistent.

[gopher_guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Drakar

There is so many things to dislike about this version of NHL15. The puck physics might be better but the passing is 3 generations behind. Even on hardcore with no pass assist, you have almost no control. It really deteriorate the experience. It is the most glaring aspect of the games that was clearly dumb down in order to make the deadline. I really hopes EA patches this as soon as possible. CPU puck control. Its been my issue for the past 7 or 8 years. This version is no different. Every single player toe drag and dangle the puck like superstars, regardless of their rating. When I see grinders dangling and toe dragging the puck like they are Jordan Eberle, its a little bit annoying. Toe drag is a move that you barely see in the game. Once in a while someone uses it and make the highlights of the night. In this game, its every player. The CPU magic lift stick abilities. They will always lift your stick perfectly and they will never get a penalty for high sticking. Even you dare to use it, you will be call a penalty almost immediately. The CPU also have magic speed to get to rebound or the puck in the corner. You will check them and you bounce off like you just hit a rubber mat. All of this while they maintain the puck and do a blind pass on their backhand at lightning speed across the crease for a perfect one timer. All of this I experience on All-Stars/Hardcore simulation. I did start to tweak my own sliders to try to limit the CPU super abilities but the slider doesn't go up or down far enough to really impact enough certain super abilities. It tone down but still over the top. Most of the game I played tonight ended up in OT because the computer came back in 3rd (8/10 games). They become so aggressive in the 3rd period when they are trailing. Its really hard to stay in the passing lane and they play like if they were on a power play. You really have to been very patient and hope for the best. I haven't found a strategy to counter this. Some may say its a rubberband AI. I am not convince but they certainly play differently and its really hard to counter. So far my NHL15 experience has been a little bit frustrating. Its possible that I am getting too old for playing modern hockey game but I always feel I am 1 step behind the pace of the game on All-Stars. Is the CPU AI really cheating or is it me not up to par ? I am not sure.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm even playing the same game as some people in here...

[Taku]

Menus are just so annoying, replacing an injured player is pain in the.... I mean is it really so cool to make menus make "whoooozzz!" sound and make those sliding animations in every move you make. Pathetic.