not as bad as some people say

[rickster1]

I have played the series for many years and this year also up to Xmas when i got fifa 18. I only play franchise in nhl and manager in fifa, other than the training element in fifa and more transfers taking place in my view there isnt much difference in the 2 games. The game announcers in fifa are boring and repetitive and get it wrong often. The game play is ok but not that much better than nhl18. My view is they should add the training element to nhl 18 and polish it up . Fifa 18 is not that far ahead and not without its bugs. ( doesnt even have all the correct ground names in the english leagues).

[1mangang]

Re: not as bad as some people say

every year people bash the game, and they have a right to their opinions as I stick mostly to play now and playoff mode, but I always enjoy the NHL games personally. I am realistic though and know its a video game and no matter how much I wish it was more like real hockey on tv it feels as close as the series has come to me.

[vertman]

Re: not as bad as some people say

every year people bash the game, and they have a right to their opinions as I stick mostly to play now and playoff mode, but I always enjoy the NHL games personally. I am realistic though and know its a video game and no matter how much I wish it was more like real hockey on tv it feels as close as the series has come to me.

I have been using TNK's sliders for the past two years and the game plays a really good game of hockey. You really need to play defense with his sliders and not just mash the poke check button or you will get penalty after penalty. Game is not perfect like you say but its pretty close for me and also enjoyable so I guess that's all that matters. Cycle and dump the puck and get it to the open man, clear the puck when your under pressure and freeze the puck with the goalie pretty much all of the time and you will be surprised at how well the game plays. Basically play real hockey and no cheesing.

[jake19ny]

Re: not as bad as some people say

I’m glad some guys can still enjoy it. Unfortunately for me the teamate AI renders it unplayable. They wander aimlessly, freeze up after face offs, bunch up like a flock of geese, and skate into you constantly. No sliders fix that. I would be able to live with the game and all its flaws and lack of innovation if they corrected that one thing but as of now it’s just a North and South cluster F that plays nothing like the sport of hockey. Until any competition to the market arrives this franchise will remain a poorly made roster update each year with a few gimmicks added and cash cow HUT.

[BigBadAss33]

Re: not as bad as some people say

I’m glad some guys can still enjoy it. Unfortunately for me the teamate AI renders it unplayable. They wander aimlessly, freeze up after face offs, bunch up like a flock of geese, and skate into you constantly. No sliders fix that. I would be able to live with the game and all its flaws and lack of innovation if they corrected that one thing but as of now it’s just a North and South cluster F that plays nothing like the sport of hockey. Until any competition to the market arrives this franchise will remain a poorly made roster update each year with a few gimmicks added and cash cow HUT.

just wondering - do you play POSITION LOCK? if you dont then i suggest you should.. It fixes alot of the AI problems. IMO

[piffbernd]

Re: not as bad as some people say

A buddy loaned it to my, I find penalty and hybrid controls defiantly improved from nhl 16. Engine is too old, visual nothing change since NHL 15. It's in sale right now for 23$ for ps plus member. I think for that price it's worth it.

I still wish there would be allowing customise roster like Madden 17 or MLB the show in modes

[Josam27o7]

Re: not as bad as some people say

I’m glad some guys can still enjoy it. Unfortunately for me the teamate AI renders it unplayable. They wander aimlessly, freeze up after face offs, bunch up like a flock of geese, and skate into you constantly. No sliders fix that. I would be able to live with the game and all its flaws and lack of innovation if they corrected that one thing but as of now it’s just a North and South cluster F that plays nothing like the sport of hockey. Until any competition to the market arrives this franchise will remain a poorly made roster update each year with a few gimmicks added and cash cow HUT.

The flaws in this game can be managed. And if you don't skate at the CPU d men to have them back up to the goalie and instead play a passing game, then the gameplay can be quite good.

[jake19ny]

Re: not as bad as some people say

The flaws in this game can be managed. And if you don't skate at the CPU d men to have them back up to the goalie and instead play a passing game, then the gameplay can be quite good.

How I skate with a player I control has zero to do with the incompetence of the AI bots. It’s nit hockey it’s not even close and I stand by my post. Again I have no issue with anyone e joying the game that’s totally cool. I yearn for a game that captures how hockey is actually played.

[Josam27o7]

Re: not as bad as some people say

How I skate with a player I control has zero to do with the incompetence of the AI bots. It’s nit hockey it’s not even close and I stand by my post. Again I have no issue with anyone e joying the game that’s totally cool. I yearn for a game that captures how hockey is actually played.

We are well aware of the incompetence of the AI in many areas. Overlooking the AI, we should recognize that the core gameplay mechanics in NHL feel better than NBA 2k or Madden. Something like that should not be overlooked.

[jake19ny]

Re: not as bad as some people say

We are well aware of the incompetence of the AI in many areas. Overlooking the AI, we should recognize that the core gameplay mechanics in NHL feel better than NBA 2k or Madden. Something like that should not be overlooked.

I don’t play those games so I will take your word for it. There are good aspects of this game I just find you can play a game and 95% of it is fun but that fun gets sucked out as soon as your AI teamate skates away from the front of the net leaving a guy camped right there for the wide open game winning goal making the first 50 minutes you played a waste. I could even live with that happening occasionally but there are several AI idiotic plays that take place per game and for me it ruins the experience 100%. Its frustrating because with very little effort they could easily redirect this series into a great gane with 5 simple fixes.
1) actually watch the teammate AI and correct it.
2) implement a simple roster share that every other sport game has had for years.
3) 5 man celebration must be in this game.
4) tweak the announcers and crowd reactions to reflect big moments. A go ahead goal scored with a minute left in game 7 of the cup feels exactly the same as scoring the 7th goal in the 7th game of the season. Changing this would dramatically add to the immersion.
5) new animations overall. Between whistle scrums, yapping, bench scenes....again dramatically alter the immersion.

Outside of seriously looking at the AI the rest is all cosmetic but would in effect change the feel of the gameplay. I think so many that are angry at the game and it’s flaws are also angry that the game feels and looks almost exactly the same year in and year out. This makes them believe EA only cares about HUT and they may be right. I think those 5 things while not perfecting the game would launch it to the next level.

Everyone says it’s about money but this is a what cane first the chicken or the egg? EA downsized it’s NHL crew when they started making UFC and the game has suffered since as have sales. I think thousands would return to the series if they added those things above.

[Qcsports4]

Re: not as bad as some people say

EA definitely needs to update and improve NHL's presentation! Make the playoffs and Cup Finals feel different then just a regular season game. Add some more exciting commentary for those intense moments.

[1mangang]

Re: not as bad as some people say

EA definitely needs to update and improve NHL's presentation! Make the playoffs and Cup Finals feel different then just a regular season game. Add some more exciting commentary for those intense moments.

I always wanted to be able to control a skate around with the cup after winning it. One of the nhl 2k’s had it and it was great.

[Josam27o7]

Re: not as bad as some people say

I don’t play those games so I will take your word for it. There are good aspects of this game I just find you can play a game and 95% of it is fun but that fun gets sucked out as soon as your AI teamate skates away from the front of the net leaving a guy camped right there for the wide open game winning goal making the first 50 minutes you played a waste. I could even live with that happening occasionally but there are several AI idiotic plays that take place per game and for me it ruins the experience 100%. Its frustrating because with very little effort they could easily redirect this series into a great gane with 5 simple fixes.
1) actually watch the teammate AI and correct it.
2) implement a simple roster share that every other sport game has had for years.
3) 5 man celebration must be in this game.
4) tweak the announcers and crowd reactions to reflect big moments. A go ahead goal scored with a minute left in game 7 of the cup feels exactly the same as scoring the 7th goal in the 7th game of the season. Changing this would dramatically add to the immersion.
5) new animations overall. Between whistle scrums, yapping, bench scenes....again dramatically alter the immersion.

Outside of seriously looking at the AI the rest is all cosmetic but would in effect change the feel of the gameplay. I think so many that are angry at the game and it’s flaws are also angry that the game feels and looks almost exactly the same year in and year out. This makes them believe EA only cares about HUT and they may be right. I think those 5 things while not perfecting the game would launch it to the next level.

Everyone says it’s about money but this is a what cane first the chicken or the egg? EA downsized it’s NHL crew when they started making UFC and the game has suffered since as have sales. I think thousands would return to the series if they added those things above.

Have you ever played NBA 2k or Madden on current gen? Animation heavy games that are thus ruined. Ryan Moody on youtube talks about this in madden all the time. There is a reason why Madden on PS2 felt more rewarding to play, it was bc it was less animation heavy.

You say add animations, okay, but do not go overboard bc it could backfire just like the Madden PS2 to next-gen disaster....

Yeh, the CPU leaving the slot open is a problem, I avoid it by just holding the RT and playing last man back defending covering the slot myself.

[Splitter77]

Re: not as bad as some people say

I gave NHL18 alot of time, but I finally stopped playing it and starting playing NHL 17 again.
My created team franchise mode in NHL17 is still the best gameplay hopckey game Ive ever played. I also feel that the goalies are just about perfect.

[tinpanalley]

Re: not as bad as some people say

...to me.
As in "not as bad as some people say"... to me. We need to start getting used to qualifying opinions as opinions. You can't just say flat out something is or isn't better. It's gotta be how it feels to you. Also, it depends what you've played before.

In my opinion, is the current NHL not as bad as people say? No. It's worse. But I say this only because of where we've been in the series since... well, since 1993 to be honest, and where we are today. And it's not because anything is broken, but more so because of everything just barely doing the job. I've played sports games that were buggier than the last 3 NHLs and had a better time because the game played true to the real sport. Mostly because they're only designed now (like Madden) to look like NHL hockey rather than play like NHL hockey. But this game could have been made by people who have never watched hockey and I almost wonder if it was. Madden suffers from the same problem. I was playing M17 and after about three games, I got to the point with all the animations and simulated fly by camera shots, that I actually was prompted to utter to myself out loud, "Ok, can I just play the f-ing game, please?". There are times in NHL when skates on ice don't even interact like freaking skates on ice! There isn't the depth of gameplay and mechanics the 2K series had. The flow is off. It doesn't play like Legacy did. And why? Because we're all online, because there's more money to be made from younger consumers who spend their money more frivolously in microtransactions and connecting gamers in an online universe, because the collecting nature of online play modes is more interesting to the facebook generation than realistic video game hockey. So, those of us who want to play our own version of what's going on in the NHL are out of luck because those online components don't require the game to be realistic. Just that it be "fun"... quotes intentional.

Anyway, not trying to crap on your opinion. I understand what you're saying and you should absolutely have the right to say it. But the people who have issues with this game have legitimate concerns that aren't based on personal views, they're more based on mechanics that don't work, easily implemented features that have been missing for years, and a laziness on the part of the developers that makes the $60US/$80CAN price tag insulting.