PART TWO: The Season Continues
Welcome back to another instalment of "Let's make sim consumers' blood boil."
You are once again a rabid NBA fan. You suffered a setback last night, when you tried to play a game in your franchise/dynasty mode, and it didn't really work out so well for you.
You are able to pass it off easily, because you remember you need to create your Opening Night opponent's second round draft pick, who actually made the team in training camp. So you make him—and while you're at it, you work a little bit here and there to fix up some inconsistencies in your roster. Finally you save, and are ready to play.
When you get into your dynasty mode—ready and raring to go, yippee!—you check to make sure the created second round pick is on his team. You flick through, but can't find him—you can't search for players, so you have to go team-by-team, because maybe you put him on the wrong team. Wait—there he is!! You see him—huh?—in free agency. And then you click back to his intended team, and he's there, and now you have duplicates in your mode.
Never mind, you think, I just want to play a game. So you do. You are relieved that a repeat opening play doesn't occur—but what?—but then you see that their PG has crossed the timeline and is just moving jerkily from side to side. Just then, after a few seconds, he zips it to the SF in the corner. Thankfully, you switched to your SF and you manage to bump him back several times, but the opposing SF doesn't loose the ball. You switch to your PG to cover theirs, because the passing lane was open, and their SF with the ball crosses left, right, left and then drives against no opposition and slams it home.
You bring the ball up the court, and suddenly the defense disappears—figuratively. You are able to just drive straight, as their PG just backs up until he is under the basket, facing the stands, and the other CPU players don't move, as you easily slam home—wait! You are unable to slam it home, because their PG (who is 5'10, a sharpshooter and unathletic) has suddenly warped up through the stanchion, still facing the stands, and crooked his arm at an impossible angle to block your 6'3 athletic PG before he can even throw it down.
As the game goes on, you notice that whenever the CPU has a clean 1-on-1 they just spam left-right-left and are easily able to outmaneuver your player for an easy lay-up. Though that isn't the part you are most concerned about, it's the fact that once again when the CPU drives your teammates mob the middle and a kick-out 3 is almost a given.
Finally, the fourth quarter. You're up by 14, because you've gotten really good at NBA games over the years, despite the cheese. Then you can't make a shot, even uncontested lay-ups, while the CPU is hitting in-your-face 3's with Brian Scalabrine. You bring the ball upcourt, lead down to 4, and are once again stymied by their PF. The CPU runs a transition offense upcourt, you've got guys scrambling to defend, when you suddenly see that your SF, who was nowhere near the rebound on your previous possession, has suddenly run toward the spot and jumped. You concede the basket on a 5-on-4 rush, but you played good D—their SG, running our of bounds, received a pass and made an instantaneous, physics-defying turn-and-shoot that he got full power on and swished.
Thankfully, you win. Your guy goes over to celebrate with his teammates and notices that only one guy in celebrating with him. The others are standing around like idiots.
You finish and exit the game and decide to set up your draft class. Oh wait, you can't make a draft class. Oh wait, they'll be patching the draft in in two months.
Legacy Issues Addressed (in order):
—CAPs duplicate
—No player search function
—Jerky play set-up behind the net, including guys going backward for no reason (new to NHL 15)
—Bumps on the CPU don't knock the puck off their stick
—Easy spam move for breakaway deke goal (side to side)
—No NZ pressure (slider adjustment helps)
—Goalies warp to make incredible saves
—Side-to-side work 90% of the time
—Leaving opposition free in the slot
—Comeback AI cheese
—Terrible players sniping
—Guys off a line change entering the attacking zone when the puck is heading into your defensive zone
—Ridiculous one-timer physics where the receiving player's momentum is going away from the net, yet still shoots at full power
—Only one other teammate in the "group" celebration
It's sad that I have enough material to do 2.
11-08-2014, 05:33 PM
