NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

[DJ NEO]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

If they innovate enough, people will still buy the new game.

The question is what is enough tho
If the game cost half, I would be okay with this "enough" we have now.

I would definitelly prefer if the devs get more resources to make much improved game for the full price.

[MizzouRah]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

So as an offline franchise gamer these are the 3 improvements I can see.

1. Something about net battles.
2. New goalie animations.
3. Being able to control food prices that stopped being interesting in Madden at least 3 years ago.

There is no...
1. Improved board play
2. Shareable rosters.
3. Team and player differentiation.
4. Neutral zone improvements
5. Making playing defense more varied and interesting.

Pretty much sums it up. For me, #3 is the dumbest feature I've ever heard of. I'm a GM, I don't set hot dog/beer prices, nor should I care about them.

It's the only hockey game though, so like a robot I'll purchase day 1 and hope for the best.

[brianski71]

Uhh...what's the issue putting Auston Matthews on the World Cup roster in the game? He was already in NHL 16 on his Swiss team. Since the rosters at launch are typically from last season with junior teams anyway, what's the issue? During the most recent season he was a player in a league EA has rights to. Leaving him off would be pure laziness.

[BlacknBlue]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

Uhh...what's the issue putting Auston Matthews on the World Cup roster in the game? He was already in NHL 16 on his Swiss team. Since the rosters at launch are typically from last season with junior teams anyway, what's the issue? During the most recent season he was a player in a league EA has rights to. Leaving him off would be pure laziness.

Most likely cause he's not a member of the NHLPA and the licensing to the World Cup is tied up with the PA somehow.

[Moose24x]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

For me, we're at the point where if NHL18 doesn't have players that feel different and behave differently on the ice - as in different skating strides and puck handling styles and such - I don't think I'll be able to justify buying again. The gameplay itself is in need of attention. Not concession price mini games.

[AdamJones113]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

It is undeniable that the team and game has made significant strides; whether those strides are for good or for bad is up to each gamer's opinion. A major problem is that we can look at old videos (remember that great 2BC vid? & a couple of mine) about problems in the game and see that they are still there. While the game has changed in a lot of ways (again, for good or bad is your call), it has remained the same in others, on both a large and small scale.

[LousyJackRanga]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

I am hoping that they add a search function when looking for a specific type of player, similar to what they had in the last gen version. It was a horrible waste of time searching the rosters of every team to find the player you needed.

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[mikeq672]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

For me, we're at the point where if NHL18 doesn't have players that feel different and behave differently on the ice - as in different skating strides and puck handling styles and such - I don't think I'll be able to justify buying again. The gameplay itself is in need of attention. Not concession price mini games.

Im at that point already, and I pretty much know Ill be disappointed. Im sick of spending 60 dollars on tuner upgrades while the core of the game doesnt change at all. This is my last year buying unless the game plays a lot better. I still pop in NHL 16 from time to time and Ill be damned if it doesnt disappoint every single time, game is such a steaming pile of garbage.

[peter21]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

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]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

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]

Re: NHL 17 Hands-On Preview (Sportsnet)

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!