EA Sports NHL 14

[archibalduk]

Yeah I really struggle with faceoffs in NHL 13. I used the slider setting to make things easier but have never found a happy medium (either it's far to hard or it's far to easy). It doesn't help that there's nothing in the manual to explain how to carry out faceoffs. In fact, I've never really found a happy medium with the overall skill settings either. It's either too hard or too easy. I don't think the poor goalie AI helps.

I again have never understood what's difficult about them? I usually have ~80% faceoff wins against my friends. And they're HC players, I do not own a PlayStation, but play at their places. I keep it at 2 o'clock or 10 o'clock, (hard to estimate) but ~0,5 seconds after the referee moves his hand I drag it to 6 o'clock. That's how I do it?!

Perhaps that's why I struggle! I wish the manual could have explained that.

[philou21]

That may sound dumb but... it never tells you this.

Not dumb. I've been searching in the game for a tutorial because I was wondering how faceoffs were working and found nothing. I was trying different things randomly when I found it.

[archibalduk]

I tried out the NHL 14 demo a short while ago. Skating is definitely a little choppier now, like Primis said. It feels less perfect than last year and I really like that. Goalies are less perfect than last year too. The goalie AI last year was my biggest annoyance - 99% of the time they were too perfect and then they would go and let in a really dumb goal. Although with this year's game, it seems the goalies are almost too willing to make passes into traffic and they seem to give away an awful lot of rebounds. Goaltender interference seems a little better than previous years.

Collisions are more realistic but I found it too easy to carry out hard hits.

I've never really been interested in the fighting side of things, but the overall presentation is much more authentic and less arcadey. I don't like the new angle - I preferred the first person perspective. But like Primis said, if you're a physical team then you're going to get into a lot of fights each game.

The lack of player faces really bugs me. I remember in earlier versions of the game most of the players would have an authentic face. However now it seems like just a handful of players have them. Dougie Hamilton has the face of a 30+ year old in game. Like many other players, his face looks absolutely nothing like him - it's not even remotely similar.

I noticed the jerseys have been done differently this season. In previous seasons, the pattern of the "holes" in the jersey was very visible even from a distance. This year, they're only visible when very close up. This gives the jerseys a less pixelated look, IMO. Not a big change, but it does make things look a little cleaner.

Other than that, I thought the game was pretty much a carbon copy of last season's game. Unless you haven't bought the game for a number of years and are eager to upgrade, don't bother with NHL 14.

Btw, the NHL 94 anniversary mode is dreadful. It looks like something one of the coders wrote during his lunch hour. It's basically NHL 14 but with synthesiser music, blue ice, the old style star icon under the user-controlled player and simpler controls. It's a little more arcadey, but it's essentially the same as NHL 14. I would much rather they had just added the original NHL 94 with HD graphics (because otherwise it would look far too jagged on HDTVs).

There was however one really funny moment in the 5 minutes I did spend playing the 94 anniversary mode. I intercepted a pass in the slot of my defensive zone just as I was pressing the button to change player (the same button passes when you have the puck). However, I must have mis-timed it because the game treated it as me pressing the pass button and so I slapped a one-timer past my goalie into the roof of my own net. In the 15 years I've been playing the NHL series, that is by far the greatest own-goal I've ever scored. It wasn't any of that accidental deflection into my own net rubbish; instead it was a slap shot even Brett Hull would have been proud of!!

[Alessandro]

Rofl too bad you didn't record a video. I remember I "scored" one hell of a goal playing on the same pc against my brother:
I hard-hit one of his defensemen, the ref calls a penalty and thus his goalie gets pulled... he gets the puck down in his own zone, and I crosscheck his player in the chest right in front of the empty net, lol, the defenseman falls and the puck goes in
It was NHL 97, I think

[B. Stinson]

I would much rather they had just added the original NHL 94 with HD graphics (because otherwise it would look far too jagged on HDTVs).

When I first heard of NHL 94 mode, I figured this is exactly what they would do. But then I saw the trailer, and it's just the core game with blue ice and a few retro graphics.

[archibalduk]

Rofl too bad you didn't record a video. I remember I "scored" one hell of a goal playing on the same pc against my brother:
I hard-hit one of his defensemen, the ref calls a penalty and thus his goalie gets pulled... he gets the puck down in his own zone, and I crosscheck his player in the chest right in front of the empty net, lol, the defenseman falls and the puck goes in
It was NHL 97, I think

Hehe I think it's crazy things like this that made the early NHLs so much fun!

darn, that's a good point about recording a video.

[archibalduk]

I do have to say, the presentation is updated a bit. During Breaks In Play (BIP) when Gary and Bill are discussing a goalie, for instance, the screen will wipe to a fancy graphic showing the goalie's name and then to a replay or two of his highlights like on a real telecast, instead of just cutting immediately to a replay in older versions. BIP presentation stuff always needs updating every year and more variety IMO.

I was reading on the Operation Sports forum that the opening cut-scenes have been dropped (the ones where the players walk out of the tunnel and onto the ice, etc). I'm not sure what the source is for their information though. If it's true, it's a real shame. It's not a major thing, but it makes things feel a little more authentic. I think the devs have been really lazy for a number of years when it comes to the presentation (has it really changed all that much since, say, NHL 2002???). The clock and on screen graphics do look nicer and the highlights are better, but that's it. What really hammered this home was when I tried the demo of Madden 25 a few days ago. The Madden devs have nailed the presentation - it looks almost exactly how it would on TV. There's a good few minutes of presentation and commentator analysis before the game begins and there's plenty going on during breaks in play, etc. I know most people would end up skipping much of the opening stuff, but it'd be nice if there was at least better break in play presentation.

[Primis]

I was reading on the Operation Sports forum that the opening cut-scenes have been dropped (the ones where the players walk out of the tunnel and onto the ice, etc). I'm not sure what the source is for their information though. If it's true, it's a real shame. It's not a major thing, but it makes things feel a little more authentic. I think the devs have been really lazy for a number of years when it comes to the presentation (has it really changed all that much since, say, NHL 2002???). The clock and on screen graphics do look nicer and the highlights are better, but that's it. What really hammered this home was when I tried the demo of Madden 25 a few days ago. The Madden devs have nailed the presentation - it looks almost exactly how it would on TV. There's a good few minutes of presentation and commentator analysis before the game begins and there's plenty going on during breaks in play, etc. I know most people would end up skipping much of the opening stuff, but it'd be nice if there was at least better break in play presentation.

Oh there's no doubt some of the Presentation has gone stale.

For instance, the sequence when a player gets hurt and helped off the ice has been the exact same one since at least NHL 11, possibly 10. Same for some of the post-goal sequences. The split-screen sequence when players skate away to the box is unchanged since at least 11 as well with the EXACT same animations (save that the players now show post-fight "damage").

There's also a sharp-nosed generic face model that gets used for way too many players and has been since at least 11, possibly 10.

Bill and Gary allegedly go in every year to re-record their voice sequences, but many of them are unchanged from 10 or 11 also so if they are paying Gary and Bill to go in and record, I don't know what they're recording.

I wish EA would also get rid of the menu/UI soundtracks altogether. The songs almost always suck, most people end up muting most of the tracks anyways (if not all of them, or replacing all of them with their own) and they just drive up the retail cost of the product.

[philou21]

The crowd is too generic too! The only thing they improved is that some rows don't move the same way as the other rows but that's it. I don't ask to have every single spectators acting differently but come one, is it too much to put more than 5 colors and jersey on people? Sometimes there's like 5 guys line-up with yellow shirt. And adding more animations for them too and more randomly. I know we don't play hockey games to watch the crowd but I always thought the immersion would be a little bit better with some fluidity in it.

[archibalduk]

Bill and Gary allegedly go in every year to re-record their voice sequences, but many of them are unchanged from 10 or 11 also so if they are paying Gary and Bill to go in and record, I don't know what they're recording.

Wow! I never would have guessed that they re-record their voice sequences each year. I had assumed nothing had changed since at least NHL 09 (the first console version of the game I owned) because the lines sound pretty much identical. The only things I assumed they recorded each year were new players' names.

I wish EA would also get rid of the menu/UI soundtracks altogether. The songs almost always suck, most people end up muting most of the tracks anyways (if not all of them, or replacing all of them with their own) and they just drive up the retail cost of the product.

Me too! The first thing I do when loading the game for the first time is to mute the music via the game settings.

The more and more we discuss the shortcomings of the game, the more and more I'm feeling like tracking down a copy of NHL 04 (I wish I knew where my copy was - probably hidden somewhere at my parents' house).

[dave1927p]

Until EA makes it so that when you simulate in Be A Pro Mode it doesn't punish you harshly as it does now (by demoting you no matter how good your stats are) I won't be bothering with this. It's a bummer to that they don't put in what team you play for in player profiles...basic stuff I've grown used to taken away in EA's games I can't get past it.

[Lazion]

I was thinking to update my NHL 11 to newer version and decided to test demo before buying. Luckily I did test it because there's so many things which I didn't like in 14 when compared to 11.. Small things, but it might take some time to get used to those. I played three periods with hardest difficulty and scored 9 goals while AI scored one +two own goals and that's (AI) probably biggest no-no for me. In fact, AI felt much easier especially in offensive zone and had less handicaps than in 11.

I noticed the jerseys have been done differently this season. In previous seasons, the pattern of the "holes" in the jersey was very visible even from a distance. This year, they're only visible when very close up. This gives the jerseys a less pixelated look, IMO. Not a big change, but it does make things look a little cleaner.

IMO jerseys looked really blurry from distance.

[archibalduk]

Did you try adjusting any of the sliders (I don't know for sure whether these can be modified in the demo)? With NHL 13 there are a number of sliders which can make quite a difference to the AI's effectiveness (and your own effectiveness).

Yeah the jerseys do look a little artificial from a distance.

[Lazion]

Sliders are locked in demo.

I might just wait for one year and invest in nextgen NHL while testing out different sport games.

[Animal31]

Dont do that, instead get 14 and wait for 16, 15 on next gen is going to suck

[dave1927p]

If you simulate a full season in Be A pro mode (or whatever it's called this year), does your player still get demoted for "phoning it in" ? That has always killed it for me. I normally would just like to play 2-3 games a season. I mean there are 82 games plus playoffs each season, how do they expect everyone to do that! Even playing one third of those games for a career is crazy.

I'm so happy I checked out what was new on TBL tonight! This is very promising

[Animal31]

The whole point of Be a Pro is to PLAY as a player, not just sim it. You can get by playing like 1/5th of the games I think, you sure as hell cant do 1 or 2 games total in a season

[dave1927p]

The whole point of Be a Pro is to PLAY as a player, not just sim it. You can get by playing like 1/5th of the games I think, you sure as hell cant do 1 or 2 games total in a season

As much as playing 400 games of single player in BAP sounds like fun I will never do that. My sentence is reeking of sarcasm as well, just thought i'd point that out. If that is the case, i'd be willing to ba majority of users with a full time job never actually finish a career...and if they do they certainly like the game much more than your average person, or they just play a lot of video games...I don't. I have much better things to do than play 400 games of BAP. I just like playing to get big money and choosing where I go.

For the record, Madden 25 allows you to play just 1 game a season if you so choose and your player still progresses quite well. NHLs BAP Should be allowed to give us users with far less time on our hands a fun experience as well...and it falls way too short. Animal, perhaps you are right...they actually want people to play 400 to over a 600 games in one career. If that's the case they isolate a lot of us casual players.

[Primis]

As much as playing 400 games of single player in BAP sounds like fun I will never do that. My sentence is reeking of sarcasm as well, just thought i'd point that out. If that is the case, i'd be willing to ba majority of users with a full time job never actually finish a career...and if they do they certainly like the game much more than your average person, or they just play a lot of video games...I don't. I have much better things to do than play 400 games of BAP. I just like playing to get big money and choosing where I go.

On NHL 11, back before they instituted the ability to "skip" times when you aren't on the ice, I played through two full seasons as a C, then restarted and got through a season and a half as a d-man instead. Since I couldn't skip being on the bench anyways, I just played Position Lock to my position.

Oh and this was while I was also leveling my player up online via Drop-In games... so had I wanted to I could have fit in another season or two easy.

Now with the ability to skip I'd imagine it's even easier.

I agree I can't imagine someone playing 7 or 8 seasons deep without losing interest but... I also can't understand the time people put into RPG's and MMO's either soooooooooo... to each his own I guess.

[dave1927p]

As much as playing 400 games of single player in BAP sounds like fun I will never do that. My sentence is reeking of sarcasm as well, just thought i'd point that out. If that is the case, i'd be willing to ba majority of users with a full time job never actually finish a career...and if they do they certainly like the game much more than your average person, or they just play a lot of video games...I don't. I have much better things to do than play 400 games of BAP. I just like playing to get big money and choosing where I go.

On NHL 11, back before they instituted the ability to "skip" times when you aren't on the ice, I played through two full seasons as a C, then restarted and got through a season and a half as a d-man instead. Since I couldn't skip being on the bench anyways, I just played Position Lock to my position.

Oh and this was while I was also leveling my player up online via Drop-In games... so had I wanted to I could have fit in another season or two easy.

Now with the ability to skip I'd imagine it's even easier.

I agree I can't imagine someone playing 7 or 8 seasons deep without losing interest but... I also can't understand the time people put into RPG's and MMO's either soooooooooo... to each his own I guess.

The only difference with good RPGs though is that is has depth that BAP doesn't. BAP just gets repetitive so to put in 20-40 hours in one career would be torture, at least for me.

[philou21]

I've just read reviews of the game both from game sites and fans. They are average at best. Mostly 6 and 7.

[dave1927p]

I've just read reviews of the game both from game sites and fans. They are average at best. Mostly 6 and 7.

I don't put much merit in review scores these days but it definitely sounds like there isn't much new in this version.

[Kopi]

They only make it much better for being a goon.

As guys above said till they dont make it like NBA 2k13 have to be able to play only important games or full season in BaP mode then im still staying at NHL 11.

[archibalduk]

I don't put much merit in review scores these days but it definitely sounds like there isn't much new in this version.

Seems like NHL 13 was just a one-off thing. It was a really refreshing change to see what the devs were concentrating on last year. The focus on gameplay improvements is exactly what the game needs IMO. However now it seems that we're back to the same old headline feature and little else.

[dave1927p]

I don't put much merit in review scores these days but it definitely sounds like there isn't much new in this version.

Seems like NHL 13 was just a one-off thing. It was a really refreshing change to see what the devs were concentrating on last year. The focus on gameplay improvements is exactly what the game needs IMO. However now it seems that we're back to the same old headline feature and little else.

yeah, that's too bad. People these days are constantly complaining about COD and them reusing their same engine but without a doubt no one is worse than EA Sports. At least COD offers a new single player campaign each time and try to make the story somewhat interesting.