I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

[T5063]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

So what are you looking for exactly from this thread? Some kind of consensus on whether game is ‘garbage’ or not? Are you trying to convince those of us who like the game that we’re wrong for liking it? Do you need validation for your opinion?

You stated in the OP that you’re bored of the series and asked if people feel the same way. Some people agreed and some didn’t. What is there left to say?

There is a whole impressions thread where people state their opinions on what they like about the game and what they don’t.

[s_mkheidze]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

It "great" because it's better than last year, it's not great because we are right back to where we started pre-next gen.
Listen, The game is basically NHL 14 on next gen with a few minor tweaks to presentation. Am I enjoying it....yes...but that is due to my experience with 15....anything is enjoyable compared to that embarrassment. Can/should the game be better...HELL YES! There are legacy issues that have persisted for several years and really should be fixed by now...They had better be by 17 as they are no more excuses from here on out.

[jake19ny]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

I think I get what the OP is trying to say here. Maybe a better title for the thread would have been "Is anyone losing interest in this series like me". I kind know how he feels and wonder how many people may be feeling that way. I'm not fully there yet but I'm on the fence between totally frustrated with the series and just don't care anymore. For years we all expect improvements but seem to be let down. I would tinker with sliders, adjust rosters, get frustrated, and settle on a lesser hockey experience for the sake of playing a hockey because I love the sport so much. However now, after giving up quite early and trading in NHL 15 I find myself just shutting it off before I even finish a game...that's lack of interest. I'm hoping a huge patch is coming that corrects a lot of bugs and fixes things that should already be in the game like season stat tracking. I hope a tuner comes out that fixes the offline gameplay. If not I can see myself trading it in early like last year but instead of being angry or disappointed like in the past I'm kind of just like, meh!

I think if a lot if people lose interest will hurt sales in the future more than angry disappointed people. When were angry or disappointed we tend to fall for the "it's going to great this year" promise. When your no longer interested you don't even read the hype.

[CaptainSuperman]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

Fair enough, you said it is a great game. What has been so great an improvement this year in the way it plays compared to previous years? I see people state is is great then i see posts that pick apart the Ai and gameplay in a big way. It seems to me and i could be wrong about this that there is a few various opinions of the game. Here is what I noticed:

The game is great opinion = very little detail given

The game is not that great opinion = lots of details given

That is what ive noticed.

The people who pick apart the game always have some excuse as to why they can't just enjoy the game, which usually has nothing to do with the game. Like 2K's NBA is a good game. Or MLB The Show is a better game. Or they've played Sega hockey games that are better.

No, the game isn't perfect, yes, there are lots of areas for improvement. And lots of people hold that against them. They are upset cause it's 2015 and we have the PS4 and X1 and the games aren't perfect. So lot's of the criticism comes people people who aren't actually judging the game for what it is, but for what it isn't.

As far as why I love this years iteration, I love hockey. And It's starting to feel like that again. Cycling is back, which is huge. Possession is a real thing again. Players can now score goals by sliding the puck around the goaltender, instead of every puck shooting off of the ice. Players will shoot five hole and it will actually work and it looks like a real NHL goal, not an EA goal. Lots of goal variety. Back hand shots aiming for the top corner are a viable option to score, and it feels sweet when you score them.

Yes, there still isn't much neutral zone pressure, and yes, goalies still aren't perfect. Yes, those things need work but no it doesn't not spoil the entire rest of the game. Maybe I said it in this thread already, but most of all this game is actually fun again.

I believe they reworked the goalies. Now people hear that and think because they said that, that what they see in the game is the final version of those reworked goalies. But I promise they don't just shove everything in the game that year that they worked on. They didn't do NHL arenas in a single year, they just waited until last year and this year to put them all in. The goalies they put in this year is the progress they've made and what they felt comfortable enough to put in. The NHL series, like all sports series', is a work in progress.

[jake19ny]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

I agree there are things to like about this years game but until EA addresses 3 things this game will always feel like an arcade game rather than represent the sport of hockey.

1) THE DEFENSIVE AI: this is has been poorly implemented for years, more evident with your CPU teammates who seemingly wander about the ice in your end without a clue. I wish I knew how to post videos but most people have seen things like this. Last game I played I pick up the puck with Rick Nash along the deep boards in my end. I begin to skate up ice along the boards. My on ice teammates are nowhere to be found except Ryan McDonagh who is on the opposite side of the ice. However as I skate up the ice, McDonagh skates backwards all the way to boards behind the net and stays there. Two Panthers sweep in and one snatches the puck while the other skates to the front of the net and receives the pass for a tip in goal. McDonagh watched in amazement from his ridiculous position behind the net. Things like this happen every game and it takes the joy out of what up until then was a good game.

2) PLAYER SEPERATION: 4th line virtually no difference than 1st line. As long as I can do the same thing with Tanner Glass as I can with Rick Nash this game has a problem.

3) FUNCTIONING SLIDERS: too many do little or nothing at all....period.

I know the game will never be perfect, hockey has got to be one of the hardest sports to replicate in a video game. But I believe all of the above is quite achievable and I believe all of the above would make the vast majority (some people will never be happy) very happy and enthusiastic about this series again but I'm not sure EA will ever do it. These things have been the chief complaints for years and go ignored. Number 1 and 3 would require redoing the entire engine. Not going to happen with their budget. Much more cost effective too just add some window dressing, a tuner update with minor gameplay improvements, and a roster update. Slap the new label on and hit the shelves. Number 2 won't happen because it will make online players, who want a level playing field, unhappy and the main focus for EA now is online and HUT. So as long as the core of this game stays as is, hardcore hockey people are going to lose interest. Not all but many.

[MQ91]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

I agree there are things to like about this years game but until EA addresses 3 things this game will always feel like an arcade game rather than represent the sport of hockey.

1) THE DEFENSIVE AI: this is has been poorly implemented for years, more evident with your CPU teammates who seemingly wander about the ice in your end without a clue. I wish I knew how to post videos but most people have seen things like this. Last game I played I pick up the puck with Rick Nash along the deep boards in my end. I begin to skate up ice along the boards. My on ice teammates are nowhere to be found except Ryan McDonagh who is on the opposite side of the ice. However as I skate up the ice, McDonagh skates backwards all the way to boards behind the net and stays there. Two Panthers sweep in and one snatches the puck while the other skates to the front of the net and receives the pass for a tip in goal. McDonagh watched in amazement from his ridiculous position behind the net. Things like this happen every game and it takes the joy out of what up until then was a good game.

2) PLAYER SEPERATION: 4th line virtually no difference than 1st line. As long as I can do the same thing with Tanner Glass as I can with Rick Nash this game has a problem.

3) FUNCTIONING SLIDERS: too many do little or nothing at all....period.

I know the game will never be perfect, hockey has got to be one of the hardest sports to replicate in a video game. But I believe all of the above is quite achievable and I believe all of the above would make the vast majority (some people will never be happy) very happy and enthusiastic about this series again but I'm not sure EA will ever do it. These things have been the chief complaints for years and go ignored. Number 1 and 3 would require redoing the entire engine. Not going to happen with their budget. Much more cost effective too just add some window dressing, a tuner update with minor gameplay improvements, and a roster update. Slap the new label on and hit the shelves. Number 2 won't happen because it will make online players, who want a level playing field, unhappy and the main focus for EA now is online and HUT. So as long as the core of this game stays as is, hardcore hockey people are going to lose interest. Not all but many.

The passing sliders, in particular, have it worst. Changing accuracy does next to nothing at all for the opposing AI, who'll happily make 95% of their passes even with the slider set at the lowest click possible.

[GROGtheNailer]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

Well EA makes us a lunch which we pay for. If the lunch sucks you either skip lunch and go hungry; or you eat the lunch because there is no other lunch. Hungry people tend to eat the mediocre/bad lunch until someone comes along and makes a better lunch.

No competition means many days with bad lunches or skipped lunches. I am hungry.

[CaptainSuperman]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

In your case you're basing today's lunch on yesterdays lunch, and yesterdays lunch was sandwiches, and today's lunch is sandwiches, but today's was provided by Jimmy John's while yesterday's was Subway.

[MizzouRah]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

I'm no longer interested in watching baseball after tonight.

[T5063]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

I am just not that interested in this thread any longer..

[bwiggy33]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

I've just accepted I won't enjoy this game until my many gripes are changed, which they won't because they've been issues since 07. That's why I haven't even posted or been on this section in a very long time. There's just not much more to say. I played the EA Access version for 20 minutes and got bored. There just isn't anything that gets me going about this game anymore. It is what it is at this point. It sucks not having an NHL game to play but if it's not fun why buy it. Maybe I will wait for it to be $10 again like I did with 15, but that won't be for a while I presume.

[sabastiane]

Re: I am just not interested in this NHL series any longer..

I haven't played since NHL 14 and when I did play 14 it just felt like I was going through the motions. Gameplay is the key here. I can live without amazing graphics or other presentations. When I play NBA 2k16 I'm excited when I run a play on offense and hit a big shot. I pump my fist when I make a shot and get the and one. I love playing defense and getting the rebound on my player. NHL needs to work on creating those moments again. I remember little things on the NHL series on the Sega Genesis got me excited. I remember the first time I saw a line change on the original NHL game and I had to watch the replay a few times because I have not seen something like that in a sports game before. I remember the gameplay from those NHL early days and I hope one day I will see it again.