[iaxy]

Whilst the demo gave me some mixed feelings (suffice to say I did not even pick up the game on release day), I am actually quite impressed with the full game.

My first two games were Winter Classic 2011, All Star difficulty, stock sliders. The first game I got smoked by the CPU whilst trying to get used to the controls, but the second game was a very gratifying experience staying together with the CPU right till the end and then winning 2:1 with a shorthanded one-timer 30 seconds from time.

Whilst I will continue to maintain that NHL 14 should have been what NHL 13 never was, I find noticeable improvements in pretty much every department. More than ever the game feels and looks like real hockey, with momentum, inertia and fluidity playing a major part. Position your player incorrectly and the opposition blows by you with momentum. Conversely, applying patience to your own offensive game and then hitting a clever pass to a flying skater, results in a great opportunity. What I like the most is how players will now react to receiving a pass. The motion is fluid, they do not lose momentum. This is especially useful when passing the puck between your D-men. The other noticeable improvement is control. Powerplays are immensely enjoyable, with the ability to cycle the puck around without accidentally going offside or turning over the puck because of clunky controls (like all previous installments). I love setting up plays being just patient and cycling around till I see an opening. The one touch dekes are also very well implemented and very useful in pretty much all contexts. For the first time the game plays and feels organic with stock sliders (though the speed seems too high on True Broadcast camera).

Defense is more of a challenge, but not necessarily in a good way. Similarly to FIFA, playing defense is a mixed bag. The CPU is too good at dangling with the puck, stopping and turning leaving your human-controlled skater hopelessly out of position. Sometimes it’s more useful just standing in front of goal and hope for a rebound. That said, I love how D-men look when they skate backwards. It feels so fluid and organic.

Fighting is a mixed bag for me. I am aware most people welcome this new addition. For me it is a non-event. I dislike fights in hockey – they detract from the game experience and EA has done exactly this here. To me it’s an unnecessary destraction that you can’t seem to turn off.

Online is also fun. I only played one game, which was competitive, fair and very close. My opponent ended up winning 4:3 with an OT goal, but all the action was very exciting and I loved the verity of goals and plays. There was no lag – everything worked to perfection.

I wish EA would not persist in recycle their commentary and visual presentation. This is the weakest part of the game for me. The cameras are identical (still no customization available for True Broadcast) and the commentary is just plain dated. I do have to concede though that some visuals have improved. The ice looks amazing, including the degrading of it as the period progresses.

Overall a good job, EA. A good title to say farewell with to current gen consoles. I bought NHL 13 and played it for about 2 weeks before losing interest. I think NHL 14 will maintain my interest much longer than that.