Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

[MuzzUK]

As many are aware on here my mod team are focusing on an NHL 2K10 modding project at the moment. Should this fail and we cannot deliver what we want we'll defo be looking at other games and options.

In terms of sim and realism which NHL game do people feel last gen is the best representation of ice hockey. I'm going to boot up NHL 10, NHL 14 and 2K8 today and have a play around with sliders, as a lot of top 10 lists have these offerings.

Love to here what you guys think!

[nikethebike]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

As many are aware on here my mod team are focusing on an NHL 2K10 modding project at the moment. Should this fail and we cannot deliver what we want we'll defo be looking at other games and options.

In terms of sim and realism which NHL game do people feel last gen is the best representation of ice hockey. I'm going to boot up NHL 10, NHL 14 and 2K8 today and have a play around with sliders, as a lot of top 10 lists have these offerings.

Love to here what you guys think!

I thought NHL Legacy was an updated NHL14? In other words it is probably the best EA NHL you have last gen. I guess why it is rarely mentioned in lists is that people already moved on to the new consoles by then.

[MuzzUK]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

I always found the penalty calls to be non existent and game breaking.

[nikethebike]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

I always found the penalty calls to be non existent and game breaking.

Is that better on 14?

[MuzzUK]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

Honesty I've been playing NHL 11 to NHL Legacy on an emulator I've found only 11 and 12 have good penalty numbers. Legacy wasn't too bad but 13 and 14 I played two games AI drew one pen lol.

I've applied a few patches so will give that a go at some point. That's another thing I like about 2K10 the sliders actually seem to have good effects on penalties and injuries.

[nikethebike]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

Yeah the sliders on 2K games actually make a difference.

[Spragga]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

With the correct settings / sliders, NHL 21 is by far the best SIM game. Im sorry guys but 2k just doesn't cut it anymore. It's been way too long for it to be considered good anymore. At this point NHL 21 bascially does everything better than NHL2K.

[The EVHL]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

With the correct settings / sliders, NHL 21 is by far the best SIM game. Im sorry guys but 2k just doesn't cut it anymore. It's been way too long for it to be considered good anymore. At this point NHL 21 bascially does everything better than NHL2K.

I mostly agree with this. I think my offline 21 sliders are pretty awesome (and to each their own here) but there's some scenarios where the AI are just ridiculously stupid compared to 2k8 that I hate seeing. Also, The way 2k's players would actually like drop to one knee before the shot was made was incredible as faking a shot actually did something and was incredibly read and effective. While I think 2k8's goalie animations are bit outdated, the way they played the game (took ground when they should, got screened, actually had weight when recovering to rebounds) is still better than EA's imo (coming from an IRL goalie).

I definitely like the final product of 21 better and more intuitive, but I still like 2k's direction and the "little things" about their games better. That true understanding of the sport is something EA doesn't have and honestly doesn't really seem to care about having. I'm someone who loves those "little things" being represented well. perfect combination of 2k's knowledge of the sport/presentation, EA's smooth animations/visuals, and the sense of chaos in scrambles in-front of the net from NHL Hitz Pro due to diving blocking AND shooting animations would be my dream/perfect game.

Overall playtime in terms of my "favorite games" are:
1. NHL Hitz Pro
2. NHL 2k10
3. NHL 21
4. NHL 2k8

21 is behind simply due to longevity though. NHL Hitz Pro is from 2003 and 2k10 from 2009 which both saw HEAVY offline use up until 19 when I truly thought EA gave us enough sliders and an actually enjoyable skating engine to make offline play worth while again. 21 is a great step in the right direction. Will play my season out for however long that takes, then transition to 22 when it hits EA Play.

[Money99]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

2k3 on the PS2 is still the best hockey game I've played. Or maybe more accurately, the most fun I've had with a hockey game because of its realism.
2K10 is the next closest.

Sent from my MAR-LX3A using Operation Sports mobile app

[VeNOM3099]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

With the correct settings / sliders, NHL 21 is by far the best SIM game. Im sorry guys but 2k just doesn't cut it anymore. It's been way too long for it to be considered good anymore. At this point NHL 21 basically does everything better than NHL2K.

If we're talking graphical and audio fidelity, then yes. NHL 21 is leaps and bounds ahead of a 10+ year old game. But if we're talking about gameplay or AI... Sorry but EA's game has been severely lacking even to this day. When I see defensemen double back into their zone and get destroyed in the corner giving up the puck when they could've just, oh I don't know, PASS THE PUCK TO A TEAMMATE UP THE ICE!...

... I can't help but feel that a current game still can't get right what a 10 year old game could. EA always gets a pass because of the pretty graphics. But they just don't cut it anymore. Give me NHL 2K10 or NHL 2K8 over the fuster cluck EA's game is any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[The EVHL]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

If we're talking graphical and audio fidelity, then yes. NHL 21 is leaps and bounds ahead of a 10+ year old game. But if we're talking about gameplay or AI... Sorry but EA's game has been severely lacking even to this day. When I see defensemen double back into their zone and get destroyed in the corner giving up the puck when they could've just, oh I don't know, PASS THE PUCK TO A TEAMMATE UP THE ICE!...

... I can't help but feel that a current game still can't get right what a 10 year old game could. EA always gets a pass because of the pretty graphics. But they just don't cut it anymore. Give me NHL 2K10 or NHL 2K8 over the fuster cluck EA's game is any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

EA's AI are pretty atrocious...it's shocking how they basically ignored AI for an entire generation and wonder why fans, especially offline ones, are mad.

[MuzzUK]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

I think the AI in the EA NHL games has taken a step back since 2017. In 2017 it was pretty polished not perfect but with sliders I think I enjoyed it the most of the current gen games... that said 2K's AI is still my favourite. 2K8 can be a little rush heavy at times but it's generally fun to play against and 2K10 nails the actual feel of puck cycling and movement well.

EA 2017 AI took plenty of blue line and point shots with some good cycling and behind net play sure all the players felt the same but the variety in play was there to make up for this. It's gotten worse the last couple of years I really just don't understand the speed out of the box. Why is default and online game play so fast. It's a shame because I think EA nails the graphics and presentation feel now and the create a team franchise modes pretty incredible with expansion draft etc. If they brought it back to PC I'm sure the modding community would make some pretty special.

For all the things EA does well it does just as many bad though which is why I'm playing games that are 10 years old. I hate the goalies in the newer games they just make so many mistakes. They are either terminators unbeatable or they collapse like jelly in heat. The general game play is ok in NHL 2021 but 2017 is better but I hate the fact players all feel the same with only noticeable difference speed or size. Sliders do some good in EA games but in 2K they change the feel so much.

In 2k8 and 2k10 there's a noticeable difference in super stars and depth players. Top tier players on the right sliders will deke, spin and dangle you but the biggest thing is you can play the same team twice and have a different games according to morale, injuries and difficulty. I always know in NHL 21 if I'm a bottom tier team against top of the league their going to out shoot and probably out score me, so the chance to cause an upset result or steal a win isn't there so much.

Literally if you took EA's drafting scouting, UI and franchise mode added in some 2K8 and 2K10 game play you'd have a pretty solid hockey game.

That said 2K10 goalies are absolute trash on the breakaway but brilliant the rest of the time.

We all have a different opinion! I personally like my hockey games to be close to real life in terms of stats.

[Bigrowdy777]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

As many are aware on here my mod team are focusing on an NHL 2K10 modding project at the moment. Should this fail and we cannot deliver what we want we'll defo be looking at other games and options.

In terms of sim and realism which NHL game do people feel last gen is the best representation of ice hockey. I'm going to boot up NHL 10, NHL 14 and 2K8 today and have a play around with sliders, as a lot of top 10 lists have these offerings.

Love to here what you guys think!

I love NHL 2004 rebuilt.

[savoie42]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

Franchise Hockey Manager in my opinion. While not perfect of course, especially when it comes to AI roster management, it still sims realistic results. Plus, it's as deep or deeper than any hockey game on the market.

[ScottyKnowzzz]

Re: Most realistic / sim based hockey game? your opinion

2k3 on the PS2 is still the best hockey game I've played. Or maybe more accurately, the most fun I've had with a hockey game because of its realism.
2K10 is the next closest.

Sent from my MAR-LX3A using Operation Sports mobile app

NHL 2004 for me. Even on an emulator, just watching CPU vs CPU is fun and pretty realistic. The only knock is the fights. Too many non-fighters drop the gloves, bringing the realism down just a bit.