FHM 2014 Reviews / Media Reaction

[Lazion]

Spotted two reviews for FHM. I have never heard of those sites before, but reviews are positive.

8.2/10 - http://www.jumptogamer.com/reviews/fran ... 14-review/

Thumbs Up - http://lastwordonsports.com/2013/09/04/ ... anager-14/

[archibalduk]

Very positive reviews which is really nice to see!

I think FHM has a bit of an advantage in being a niche game. Unless the reviewers are big hockey and/or management sim fans, I don't think they'll necessarily see the things us hockey sim fans see. For example, the JumpToGamer review mentions that FHM has a "very clean and user-friendly interface" and the game is "very immersive". Whereas I think if you asked any member of this forum, the OOTP forums, HFBoards, etc they'd probably say those particular areas are very rough around the edges right now.

[philou21]

Wow I'm really surprised by those positive reviews! But like Archi said maybe people outside the hockey sim thing will probably don't see what we're seeing about this game.

[Lazion]

Wow I'm really surprised by those positive reviews! But like Archi said maybe people outside the hockey sim thing will probably don't see what we're seeing about this game.

Or it's fanboy paradox. You know oldschool people who's yelling "you have ruined this game! This is nothing what it used to be!" While casuals do enjoy it. But yeah, I do think that sim people have more needs for deeper gameplay.. not saying that review writers doesn't play manager sims. Maybe they do, but are less critical for semi-indie games like FHM than us.

[archibalduk]

IMO it's a case of reviewers not really trying the game out properly and just skimming through the screens like so: Tactics Screen... Check. In-game Sim Screen... Check. News Items... Check. Etc.

I don't in any way mean to be disparaging against the game, but I can't see how you can say the Tactics Screen, Player Search Screen or the In-game Sim Screen are "very clean". They're functional, but they're very cluttered right now. Similarly the stats displays are confusing and could do with some rearranging. If you spend any real time navigating through the game, I think it's hard not to get frustrated by all of the clicking and searching. The interface is functional but I don't think I've seen anybody say it is "very clean and user-friendly". I really do think it's a case of somebody who has spent 5 minutes getting a general idea of what's there and then writing a review based on that. But it's all good for OOTP because the more good reviews they get, the more sales they'll get and hopefully FHM's future will be more secure as a result.

[Primis]

This will highlight who actually plays the game, and who just pokes around a bit for their "reviews".

[dave1927p]

My honest review would give a score of a 6.0 and that's me being generous - it always seems to take at least 4 clicks of the mouse to get where you want to go each time and it is tedious and exhausting. Filter system is non existant. What I love about OOTP and that's not only the customization but the historical records (both for season and careers for all leagues) is not in this game. Many things that should be a given in a game like this (like the league champions screen not showing the finalists and PP and PK percentage) is excluded. Many features are still deactivated but currently I'm in year 2018 of modern day and only 1 crash.
I do nothing for tactics pretty much and leave it to my coach but it really feels like it doesn't make a difference. When it crashed I reloaded recent save and continued on with no problem. There are still too many Cy Young winners and after a couple years the youth movement takes over the game from then on but this is definitely the patch we've been waiting for. Still, totals at the players profile pages don't go on a per league basis and draft recaps don't tell you anything about a player...so if you go past previous drafts to see who's a bust and a steal you actually have to click on every single player to see. That's a joke. The draft screen is busted right now anyways and there are still many bugs but the major ones of constant crashes and RFA becoming UFA is fixed.

Archi, I've noticed quite a few UK players getting drafted too The UK hockey program must be improving...

I really think that overall review scores shouldn't be included in a review for this game. It is simply too hard to do.

[archibalduk]

Archi, I've noticed quite a few UK players getting drafted too The UK hockey program must be improving...

Yeah somebody else mentioned that too me too. I think the newgens are too strong. I know from other users that you can win any of the UK leagues by using a roster made up entirely of youth players created by the game. I'm waiting for the next patch (once NHL FAs are no longer signing in small leagues) and then I'm going to have a play around and see what's going on with these newgens. I know from previous testing that the newgens that appear on some teams when starting a game in order to fill the rosters are frequently league leaders in stats by the end of season 1...

[dave1927p]

Archi, I've noticed quite a few UK players getting drafted too The UK hockey program must be improving...

Yeah somebody else mentioned that too me too. I think the newgens are too strong. I know from other users that you can win any of the UK leagues by using a roster made up entirely of youth players created by the game. I'm waiting for the next patch (once NHL FAs are no longer signing in small leagues) and then I'm going to have a play around and see what's going on with these newgens. I know from previous testing that the newgens that appear on some teams when starting a game in order to fill the rosters are frequently league leaders in stats by the end of season 1...

Once they most bugs and features added that they committed to, they definitely need to look deeper into newgens and developmental as well. In 6 seasons a majority of players older than 29 were either out of the league or fringe players and teams were filled with guys on entry level contracts being the key players and cores of teams. I guess i'd rather see players hiting their peak almost right away and slowing down early than players going on forever in top shape like it felt with EHM.

[traveler99]

http://gamingtrend.com/game_reviews/put ... 14-review/

first truthful review, the other 2 i saw, where pretty rubbish reviews no mention of any issues with them, i doubt the guys even played it...

[Primis]

http://gamingtrend.com/game_reviews/put ... 14-review/

first truthful review, the other 2 i saw, where pretty rubbish reviews no mention of any issues with them, i doubt the guys even played it...

"Franchise Hockey Manager 2014 is an incomplete game with a number of promising aspects overshadowed by its short comings. "

Boom yeah, that pretty much sums up EVERYTHING that has been said about it there. A 57 rating out of 100. Not good.

It won't be the only bad review, and like you said it will be clear who did and didn't actually play it.

[archibalduk]

Yeah that's a very fair review.

[archibalduk]

Not a review per se, but OOTP have updated their website with a much improved FHM section: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/franchi ... y-manager/

It's a nice website, but I saw this in large capital letters on the home page:

THE MOST COMPLETE HOCKEY GAME EVER

- and -

Franchise Hockey Manager ("FHM") is the deepest, most immersive, and most customizable hockey management game in the world.

I'm very much a believer in FHM's potential and am doing my best to support the devs both through promoting the game on our site and contributing to testing and roster work. That said, the above quotes are complete nonsense at this stage. I can really appreciate why users would feel misled when they see claims like that.

[B. Stinson]

I hope this works out for them, because I know I personally have been reluctant to recommend or say such things about the game.

[archibalduk]

Here are some more reviews:


Gamer Zone
Link: http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/2013/10 ... ey-is-back
Score: N/A
Summary:

There were far too many instances where I’d go, “Wait, didn’t I just make X move?” There seems to be a problem with the communication between the game and player. Maybe it stems from the weak UI, or maybe it just stems from a bad design, but there are plenty of times where you’ll wonder if a trade, roster move, or tactical decision you’ve implemented has really gone into effect. The game is frustrating enough when your players aren’t performing as well as you’d like them to. This only complicates things more.

Sadly, the complications don’t quite end there. The simulation of a game is an extremely painful process should you sit and “watch” it; you’re better off fast-forwarding through each game instead of wasting ten minutes of your time. Sadly, though, bypassing the games themselves doesn’t allow you to switch some tactics on the fly, something that has given me tangible results. It’s an unfortunate catch-22 that only showcases the problems with the game.

Franchise Hockey Manager 2014 has potential. In order to reach that, you’ll have to dig through a lot of rubbish. It’s not bad, yet not good. Merely so-so.

At least hockey is back, though. Go ‘Hawks.

Operation Sports (5/10)
Link: http://www.operationsports.com/reviews/ ... review-pc/
Score: 5 / 10
Summary:

Like I mentioned, past practice is that Out of the Park Developments support their products and listen to fans. If you are a huge hockey fan and have been waiting for a long time for such a product, $40 might seem like a steal--just think of it as a long term investment that will pay off in time, not necessarily immediately.

For everyone else, I’m suggesting the wait and see approach. The learning curve is steep, the bugs seem rampant, and the product seems a little unfinished.

Again, this rookie has huge potential--it’s just hard to recommend it for the price at this point.

Pop Matters (6/10)
Link: http://www.popmatters.com/review/175647 ... ager-2014/
Score: 6 / 10
Summary:

For those that love or even that want to understand more of the background machinery that goes into a hockey season, Franchise Hockey Manager 2014 delivers more than one could hope for. For those that’d rather keep the off-ice politics off the ice, it will come across as nothing more than a series of numbers with some familiar names attached to them.

[Lazion]

Gamereactor Finland 7/10 (Sep 25)
http://www.gamereactor.fi/arviot/165424 ... y+Manager/

+ Lot of leagues and players, detailed player movement and GM choice effects are apparent
- Boring and complicated UI, bugs and not user-friendly for beginners

[Primis]

I've seen a few notable hockey blogger-types praising FHM on Twitter (Joe Yerdon was the last one I caught), but beyond that, not much else.

Those reviews above are all fair IMO. We're starting to see the same things repeated that we were saying months before official launch. OOTP may only get one more chance at this, and they're going to have already turned off some with this first outing. Honestly, they probably need to offer some deal with the next version to those that purchased 2014 even. Even at the reduced pre-order price, they charged too much for what they delivered with it.


I found zero on MetaCritic for FHM, it's not even in their DB. But then got curious to check how EHM fared there.

The original NHL EHM clocked in at 77/100, EHM 2005 at 82/100, and 2007 at 89/100. Seeing 5's, 6's, and 7's is not a rollicking start.