Most realistic NHL gameplay

[RicoLaguna]

For me, I think NHL 2K8 was the pinnacle of hockey. For some reason, I played so many seasons in my franchise with that game. I think the variety in player attributes and skills was better then any other hockey game. I spent so much time balancing my lines and players based on their individual strengths and weaknesses which really showed on the ice and made the difference in games

Plus the goalies were also so distinct and had a variety of skills that really played out in the games

I thought 2K9 and 2K10 built on certain things but then also went backwards in several other areas. I felt those games lost their animation polish and started to look too bush league in comparison to the great 2K5, 2K7, my favorite 2K8. Altho EA NHL games seemed to have the presentation edge and maybe better visuals, their gameplay engine always paled in comparison.....the depth was never their.

It was always Pinball hockey with EA....and rockem sockem robots on ice.

[Hoosier83]

Quote: Originally Posted by RicoLaguna

For me, I think NHL 2K8 was the pinnacle of hockey. For some reason, I played so many seasons in my franchise with that game. I think the variety in player attributes and skills was better then any other hockey game. I spent so much time balancing my lines and players based on their individual strengths and weaknesses which really showed on the ice and made the difference in games Plus the goalies were also so distinct and had a variety of skills that really played out in the games I thought 2K9 and 2K10 built on certain things but then also went backwards in several other areas. I felt those games lost their animation polish and started to look too bush league in comparison to the great 2K5, 2K7, my favorite 2K8. Altho EA NHL games seemed to have the presentation edge and maybe better visuals, their gameplay engine always paled in comparison.....the depth was never their. It was always Pinball hockey with EA....and rockem sockem robots on ice.

This is a great reply, thank you!

[Chiefaho]

This is always an interesting topic for hockey, as there has never really been a game that is widely considered the "best" representation of the sport. The NFL has 2k5/Madden 08, college football has NCAA '06, baseball has MVP '05, but hockey has never had that "one" game. As already stated, you can ask 10 different people about the best hockey video game and get 10 completely different answers. If you're on PC, NHL '04 is cool as it still has a decent modding community keeping the game alive, although it can be hit or miss as modern hardware has made it kind of a pain to keep working, and the game is starting to show its age with the mechanics. Other than that, you just have to do what was said earlier and watch some gameplay from some old titles and pick a few that you think look fun to try out.

I will tell you that with basically every game in both the EA and 2k series, there is some stuff done great and other stuff done horribly. Even the modern EA NHL games, with as much flak as they get, do some great stuff on the ice that none of the past games can do. You might eventually find your new favorite hockey game, but you won't find anything close to the "perfect" hockey game.

[PhilHell37]

As others have suggested, there is no definitive right or wrong answer to this question.

I personally would vote for NHL 2004 Rebuilt. What makes gameplay realistic is the feeling of not always having a great pass or deke option (but still having beautiful hockey moments at times), as I think it simulates the "structures chaos" - just the mix of grit and beauty hockey provides - of the sport really well. Combine that with the great gameplay script by drgullen, which basically makes for more shots to go wide, passes to miss and generally adds some "random hockey factors" (also tones down one timer goals and therefore increases the variety of goals), and I think gameplay holds up greatly for a 18 year old game. Graphics are good too imo considering the age of the game. What than brings the game over the edge and adds a real authentic feeling, is all the accurate updates by the community (cyberfaces and pbp for most NHLers, accurate jerseys, arenas, goal horns, boards etc.).

Can not go wrong with 2k8 and 2k10 either though. 2k8 does a fantastic job of making each player feel different and has the best goalies in any hockey game (+ franchise mode is great). 2k10 stands out with great ai gameplay in terms of positioning and tactical feeling (breakouts,forechecking, pp and pk for instance really feel like it), while still having some of the gritty elements of nhl 2004.

Also I think ea's ps3 games have some elements that are excellent (for instance I always thought that the strategy of trying to shoot from the blue line and hope for a deflection or chaos in front of the end was very well represented in those games).
I do not own a ps4 or ps5, so I can speak about those games.

So, in the end, you just have to try out different games and slider sets for yourself and see what fits you best

[Hoosier83]

Quote: Originally Posted by PhilHell37

As others have suggested, there is no definitive right or wrong answer to this question. I personally would vote for NHL 2004 Rebuilt. What makes gameplay realistic is the feeling of not always having a great pass or deke option (but still having beautiful hockey moments at times), as I think it simulates the "structures chaos" - just the mix of grit and beauty hockey provides - of the sport really well. Combine that with the great gameplay script by drgullen, which basically makes for more shots to go wide, passes to miss and generally adds some "random hockey factors" (also tones down one timer goals and therefore increases the variety of goals), and I think gameplay holds up greatly for a 18 year old game. Graphics are good too imo considering the age of the game. What than brings the game over the edge and adds a real authentic feeling, is all the accurate updates by the community (cyberfaces and pbp for most NHLers, accurate jerseys, arenas, goal horns, boards etc.). Can not go wrong with 2k8 and 2k10 either though. 2k8 does a fantastic job of making each player feel different and has the best goalies in any hockey game (+ franchise mode is great). 2k10 stands out with great ai gameplay in terms of positioning and tactical feeling (breakouts,forechecking, pp and pk for instance really feel like it), while still having some of the gritty elements of nhl 2004. Also I think ea's ps3 games have some elements that are excellent (for instance I always thought that the strategy of trying to shoot from the blue line and hope for a deflection or chaos in front of the end was very well represented in those games). I do not own a ps4 or ps5, so I can speak about those games. So, in the end, you just have to try out different games and slider sets for yourself and see what fits you best

Just got my copy of 2K8 in the mail, gonna give it a shot after work tonight.

Thanks for the feedback!