Quote:
Originally Posted by AR_Six
This kind of stuff though isn't stuff I care about. Any time they spend on this takes away from time they could be using to make the game work the way it should. I mean right now you have an AI opponent that essentially cheats as you increase difficulty. The AI doesn't play better, it just gives the CPU players superpowers that you don't have. That's not a well designed game. Don't even get me started on the catch-up logic.
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Why not improve BOTH?
Anyone else remember the days when NHL was available on the PC?
NHL 95 (DOS) - Looked like an exact copy of the SNES/Genesis version for gameplay, but had different menus. Improved version of the soundtrack for the PC. Had some fun features (like being able to get a game misconduct for hitting the referee).
NHL 96 (DOS) - EA's first foray into 3D, using a 3D arena and 2D sprites. The menu was brand new. Soundtrack was all made in-house and it was awesome. Nothing from the consoles carried over. Brought back fighting.
NHL 97 - Developed for DOS *and* had a Windows 95 version of the executable. The 3D arenas were improved and now the players were 3D models as well, including actual player faces. Menu was again drastically different, the soundtrack was brand new and in-house. First time play-by-play was featured, and it was just Jim Hughson. Brought back "Abuse of Official" penalties... and there was also a neat easter egg: if you used the 'fight' code, then immediately hit the ref, you could fight him. He was actually an incredibly good fighter and at the end of the fight, the other team would serve the fighting major for the referee.
NHL 98 - Native Windows application. 3D acceleration was introduced exclusively by way of 3dfx Glide, and added things like numbers on the backs of helmets, sleeves, and captaincy/alternate lettering. Player face technology was again improved upon. Menu was again redesigned, and the soundtrack was all brand-new, still in-house. Jim Hughson returned for play-by-play, and Daryl Reaugh was brought in for color commentary. My beloved 'Abuse of Official' penalty was removed. Spearing penalties were introduced.
NHL 99 (Win9x) - 3D acceleration was enabled through a number of supported chipsets including 3dfx, ATI Rage, and NVidia Riva TNT. Gameplay was improved, 'face in the game' was introduced, menu completely redone. Music was again in-house except for the inclusion of one track each by David Bowie, Gravity Kills, and Noise Therapy.
NHL 2000 (Win9x) - The start of EA's laziness. Very few improvements over NHL 99, new menu, new soundtrack but included more licensed music. Bill Clement came aboard as color commentary.
NHL 2001 (Win9x) - The laziness continues. Basically the same game as 2000, brand new menu, and a 'Momentum bar' which was a stupid idea. Sound-track starting to move more and more towards using licensed tracks exclusively.
NHL 2002 (Win9x/XP) - EA briefly snaps out of it, providing graphical and gameplay enhancements. Again, new menu, but more licensed music pushing out the in-house stuff. Also added the unfortunate 'NHL Cards' feature. Don Taylor becomes the color commentator; everyone loudly wonders why Abbott and Costello are now the broadcast team, and mutes the commentary volume.
NHL 2003 (Win) - A bit more laziness. New menu, game makes use of licensed music exclusively for the first time. NHL Cards feature is built upon. New franchise mode. Don Taylor returns to ruin the game.
NHL 2004 (Win) - Considered to be the best game in the series. Massive improvements to gameplay and a new dynasty mode. Create a team, goalie fights, the ability to choose not to fight, etc. The menu was JS/HTML based, allowing for massive customization. The modding community for this game is huge and still exists today. Sound track is all licensed music.
NHL 2005 - The lockout edition, stripped down quite substantially from what was available in previous versions. The beginning of the end for the PC NHL series.
From here, the PC version stagnated until finally no longer being available for the PC from the 2009 version onward.
My point of recalling all these things is that EA can do BOTH. Freshen up their menu and introduce something really awesome for the front-end, while still improving on gameplay and graphics. NHL 13 they did a little, but I miss the really cool stuff like the arena fly-bys.
I stand by the statement that EA has gotten incredibly lazy with the games as they've realized there's almost a sort of Madden-esque following (to a lesser degree of course) with their NHL series and they can get away with pretty well anything. This is the second year in a row that I've decided NOT to buy the NHL series after playing it. And I've owned every version of the game from 1995 to 2011.