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

[phillyfan23]

early impressions:

POSITIVES

1)puck physics are for real
2)cpu pass error has never been this pronounced. One game I held them to 61 percent passing.
3)cpu pass reception on 0 will make the less skilled players have a tough time receiving pucks. Translates to sloppy joe's hockey...
4)5-hole goals, good goalie animations on desperation saves. I tried maxing goalie reaction slider, and it was 0-0 hockey...now it's at 4/6 and it's pretty fair....they will let in some.
5)IT is harder to enter the zone with high agression slider, the cpu will lay you out a lot of times.
6)i'm stuck with ny vs LA so 5 minute periods , and I am averaging 3- 4 shots a period. With even more sliders tuned, could 20 minute periods be possible?
7) cpu cycles quite well


Negatives:

1)I average 2-4 penalties for both teams on 5 minute periods. so expect 4-8 on 10 minute periods...I plan to play 13-15 minutes, so hopefully the penalties will be OK. It is still a little bit on the low side, but if you're willing to play longer periods, it should be OK. the sliders will make this game super sloppy.

2) board suction still there

3) goalies have newer animations, but this still is a sore spot. still a bit robotic.

4) shootouts are still a bit lame to be honest, doesn't capture the excitement imo.

5) player faces a big meh....underwhelming

6) commentary is better, but it's not close to the real mike emrick, although he does say weird things....geometrically???? haha

comeback AI is yet to be tested...will test but ea NHL play now usually free of this....and i will test this soon.

if I can get penalties 7-8 per game on 13-15 min periods, and no comeback AI, I believe this will satisfy my hockey appetite this year....

will comeback later with final impressions.

[GROGtheNailer]

I am hearing the defense is worse than last years, that true?

[gopher_guy]

I like the live shots of the arenas before the game.

[Stormyhog]

I really love the on ice gameplay control feels tighter and the puck physics are great. I don't play much of the modes never have even when they were all there more of a play now guy setting up matchups. Still the game needs to be fully featured for all the people that do enjoy those modes. I would give the game overall a 7 because so much was left out. I also miss the gametracker where you could go see replays of all the events in the game like goals, hits etc. Menus could use some work as they are slow & laggy. It just feels like the game wasn't done. Not to have the 3 stars at the end of the game reflects that as it's a basic feature. I enjoy the gameplay just disappointed with the overall package.

[BearishRiggs]

I'm sorry, but it's 2014. In a world where game systems cost $400, and games cost $60, good gameplay isn't enough. It just isn't. A full price sports game where the main feature is 1v1 against the AI or a human computer...I just don't get it. Props to those who can stick with Play Now and enjoy it, but it just doesn't add up. I really hope the sales suck this year.

[Clarityman]

Quote: Originally Posted by ddhex27

It's true. It won't let you put the second controller on the same team even in offline play now mode. Mind blowing.

That CAN'T be true. You could even do this in the demo.

[SVCbearcat10]

Something pretty cool is the ice conditions. A puck can hit a rough patch of ice and bounce on you. The puck is definitely looser this year. While you can gain the blue line by carrying in, if you don't mix up your entries, the defense pins you really quickly. By far the best hockey game ever made.

It also helps I love the barebones GM mode. Less time in menus, more time on ice. I'm also noticing small differences between teams.

[kellkasey]

This is the best NHL game ever made.....in terms of gameplay, visuals, graphics, physics, presentation, etc...

It's unfortunate that the lack of modes and all the stuff that was cut out from the game is stealing all the headlines. (Rightfully so)

When the controller is in your hands and you are playing a game, it's truly awesome. If this is the backbone or foundation that all other EA NHL games will be based upon, this will continue to be in contention for Sports Game of the Year going forward (once the game is made whole again). It sucks that this year the game is missing so much but in 1 year from now, when everything is back in the game, we'll be thrilled. It's just a shame that all the "extras" from nhl 14 were left out. That's the only thing keeping this years version from getting 9/10 and 10/10 reviews from all over the internet. All the great work done on the actual gameplay and whatnot is going to be overlooked this year because of what was stripped.

I typically play OTP and EASHL almost exclusively and I always enjoyed my own custom camera. (All things missing from the game). So while these omissions have me extremely annoyed and disappointed, I can't deny how awesome the gameplay is.