NHL 15 Cover Athlete is Patrice Bergeron - New In-Game Video Footage Included

[Comp]

Got to see my team win a Stanley Cup, and one of ours on the cover of a NHL game in my lifetime. :')

[m-dogg]

With Bergy on the cover, you would think EA would feel some pressure to actually program some defense into the game other than hitting.

His top two skills (not counting face offs) are lock down defender and hockey intelligence, two things that definitely do not come across in the EA NHL series. Since speed, agility, and supernatural dangling rules EASHL - players like the Selke winner have no place in EA's hockey leagues (NHL or EASHL).

give us different stick checks with the analog, natural board play, and the ability to tie up sticks in front of the net by holding A if you are in the correct position and have the strength.

I still don't understand how a hockey game cannot have board play in this day and age...how important is it in real hockey? games/series/Cups are won and lost there, maybe we'd see a lot less midgets and rocket forwards if you couldn't skate 100 mph into the boards and retrieve a puck, and fly out at 100 mph never stopping and defying all physics...oh sorry, got sidetracked. nice cover. Congrats B!

[Moose24x]

I'm honestly pretty baffled by it. So far in several images of Bergeron he looks absolutely NOTHING like himself and now he is confirmed as the cover athlete, so every time you take out the disc or load the game and see him during the intro you will be reminded of how terribly inaccurate he looks in the game. Don't really get it. You'd think that they could simply get an updated scan so that AT LEAST their cover athlete could look realistic. Even if the rest of the faces were going to look just as bad as they do, they could show promotional footage with their cover guy and get everyone hyped about how accurate he looks.

Instead, NHL15 will have 9,000 unique fans, many with face paint, which doesn't even make sense in a hockey audience, and they are not only unique in appearance but apparently in behavior as well (Rammer has on several occasions mentioned how cool it is that some fans in the crowd will be seen taking selfies... because THAT is truly vital to improving the game!!).

I imagine programming 9,000 fans who not only appear different from one another but have distinct behaviors is very time consuming. I'm glad we now have a "living audience" and the awesome privilege of fans who wear face paint and take selfies. That will really enhance my experience. Especially since the game won't even have 300 unique athletes with two distinct behaviors between them. I don't get that at all. Instead of 9,000 fans how about 1,000? Or how about doing the players FIRST and working on the crowds a year or two later, once the players have actually been done. EA's priorities on that one are baffling.

[strawberryshortcake]

I don't personally watch hockey much, but the way the light hits the players' model, cloth, skates, hockey stick simply looks strange. There's sort of a weird "glow" around the entire player. Looks almost plastic, something that's usually a characteristic seen with most EA sports titles player model. Was hoping for more of a next generation look. Will wait for more real time gameplay footage.

[Dolphins88]

Ya at least make the players lifelike and actually play like the teams, players w signature moves. Then worry about the fans. I agree totally.. Need more defensive attributes and board play.

[bwiggy33]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

As far as the footage, I really liked that move TJ Oshie pulled off. I liked that quick side-step he made. I hope we can do those quick side steps anywhere on the ice (but only for guys with great skating and deking abilities).

This. That move looked really really solid. It just looked so much more like something that would be pulled off in real life. As you said though this needs to be for the best puck handlers in the game. That will be the big thing.