NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

[peter21]

I've thought this for a while, but it seems like EA tries to be everything to everyone with the NHL series and ends up with inferior modes because they don't have the time and resources to do them all justice.

And sadly, for offline gamers, you get the short end of the stick because there are no microtransactions to take more of your money. It's a business. I get it. But the lack of attention paid to GM/Franchise mode, Be A Pro, etc. remains disheartening. The game should be split in two, ideally. EASHL could be a separate game since it doesn't rely on the NHLPA license. Hell, they could ditch the NHL license too if they wanted.

[actionhank]

Quote: Originally Posted by peter21

I've thought this for a while, but it seems like EA tries to be everything to everyone with the NHL series and ends up with inferior modes because they don't have the time and resources to do them all justice. And sadly, for offline gamers, you get the short end of the stick because there are no microtransactions to take more of your money. It's a business. I get it. But the lack of attention paid to GM/Franchise mode, Be A Pro, etc. remains disheartening. The game should be split in two, ideally. EASHL could be a separate game since it doesn't rely on the NHLPA license. Hell, they could ditch the NHL license too if they wanted.

Yep. That's the worst part. I understand why HUT gets so much attention...it's just frustrating, especially when I've personally watched it change over the years to what it is now.

I used to be a pretty strong EA supporter, but even I have a hard time doing that with the offline play these days. Things like ticket prices and concessions get added, but other things like the trade deadline, free agent signings, and just handling the contracts of your teams in general is incredibly stale.

Roster customization and sharing is a known complaint that I've beaten to death a million times. Outside of that, the AI has continued to frustrate and disappoint from year to year.

They just don't play defense or have any sense of offense. 3 on 3 was frustrating, because guys didn't really play any differently than they would during 5 on 5. And defense is pretty much the AI players skating for body contact, and not really using their sticks at all.

I could (and often do) go on for hours, but I'll wrap it up by simply saying, I've got high hopes for NHl17, and unfortunately low expectations.

[peter21]

Quote: Originally Posted by actionhank

Yep. That's the worst part. I understand why HUT gets so much attention...it's just frustrating, especially when I've personally watched it change over the years to what it is now. I used to be a pretty strong EA supporter, but even I have a hard time doing that with the offline play these days. Things like ticket prices and concessions get added, but other things like the trade deadline, free agent signings, and just handling the contracts of your teams in general is incredibly stale. Roster customization and sharing is a known complaint that I've beaten to death a million times. Outside of that, the AI has continued to frustrate and disappoint from year to year. They just don't play defense or have any sense of offense. 3 on 3 was frustrating, because guys didn't really play any differently than they would during 5 on 5. And defense is pretty much the AI players skating for body contact, and not really using their sticks at all. I could (and often do) go on for hours, but I'll wrap it up by simply saying, I've got high hopes for NHl17, and unfortunately low expectations.

I hear you. Instead of fixing issues that are already there, they add these niche things like managing ticket and concession prices. Fix the trade and free agent logic before adding features like this.

I've sunk a ton of hours into Eastside Hockey Manager, and I enjoy that GM aspect of the game, where you do less hands-on playing of the actual on ice game and work to improve your organization. But even Eastside doesn't bother with those features as it concentrates on being a GM. Now if EA wanted to build in interactions with the owner where you work on arena sponsorships or approve a marketing night to boost attendance or income, that would be an interesting wrinkle. But even that shouldn't come at the expense of faulty AI roster management.

I share your hope and low expectations. Here's to us being wrong!