NHL 15 Thread

[codynw]

If it weren't for EA Early Access I would have bought the game and been pissed that I wasted my money. So thanks for letting people play it early and saving me some money, I guess.

[mdubz]

Keep thinking they are going to "patch" all these features in. That's how they get suckers on the fence to buy the game. Aside from MAYBE OTP, nothing new will be added to this game. They need a couple of features to sell NHL16 besides broken glass.

[Otto-matic]

Its too bad 2K stopped with the NHL series, having another game on the market would have kept EA on their toes. Seems like they can release a broken game and we're essentially forced to buy it if we want a NHL sim.

[Hockeyguy15]

So I shouldn't have to ask, but I'm worried now. Can we play co-op on be a GM? Normally there is 3 or 4 of us on the same team, so if that isn't possible then I am out for this year.

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Sounds like it shouldn't be a $70 game. Honestly if GM mode is stripped down there will be nothing to do in the game.

I'm not even sure how you strip down GM mode to begin with. They never had a robust "real rules" GM mode to begin with.

I've also enjoyed BAP, well almost the only thing I've enjoyed the last number of incarnations. If that has been stripped as well...


I was always leaning towards "no buy" this year but what I'm reading/hearing it changes me from leaning to "definite no buy and we'll see what happens next year". Honestly at this point given the disappointments of the last few versions I think I will become 100% Fifa from here on out. Won't be much of a change as I was pretty much 99% fifa already.

[Otto-matic]

Sealed, going with old gen version for this year.

Thanks to EA Access, unavailable to me as a PS4 user, I was able to compile this list. Your motto is "It's in the game" but here are a few things that aren't.

-No EASHL
-No OTP
-No NHL 94 Mode
-There are no offline seasons in HUT
-There are no tournaments in HUT
-You cannot play a friend in HUT
-No Winter Classic
-No GM Connected
-No Shootout
-No Live the Life
-No be a CHL Pro
-No be a NHL Pro
-Being drafted is now just a random assignment to a team, no way to influence when you are drafted
-You cannot draft players in Be A GM Mode
-No fantasy draft in Be A GM Mode
-No be a Legend Mode
-No Season Mode
-No Tournament Mode
-No Playoff Mode
-No Battle For The Cup
-No Creation Zone
-No Edit Team
-No Edit Player
-No Customize AI
-No Build Your AI
-No Create A Play
-No Custom Music

As you can see, I'm a Hurricanes fan. And while it may have been out of your hands, PNC Arena is one of only two NHL arenas not "In the game" in addition to The United Center.

Here is a fan post

We all know EASHL and GM Connected aren't in there. That was bad enough but we've got over that.

But I at least thought the modes that were left unmentioned would still be the same. Be A Pro and Be A GM are as good as gone as well. Both have been completely stripped down to an unplayable mess.

Be A GM is, or at least was, my main mode, but there is nothing left of it. The farm system and the ability to draft among other things have been removed! Two of the core parts of the mode, it literally should not be called Be A GM mode anymore, all it is a season mode with trades.

Be A Pro doesn't allow simming between shifts anymore, that alone destroys it. Sorry I don't want to spend 2 hours playing each game, most of it sat doing absolutely nothing. And juniors have been removed, the draft is now random.

What functioning modes are actually left in this game? HUT. That is all. And even that has had offline tournaments removed. It is insane how destroyed this game is.

I cannot comprehend how the game has ended up in this state or why it is being sold to the public like this. It's disgusting that we are expected to fork over so much money for a game that now has zero replayability. Yeah the graphics and gameplay are nice but it only gets you so far. After a few games of versus that's it, game over, there's nothing new left to do. A game isn't a game without game modes, this is barely an alpha disguised as a full game.

What have the devs even achieved by removing 99% of this game, apart from saving a nice wad of cash for themselves? I don't understand at all, it's absurd. I can't fathom how it is possible to make such a bad game unless you tried to, which they obviously didn't so it's just sad.

Where has all the money gone that has come in from HUT and EASHL over the last few years? At least some of it should go into making the game better, surely?

I bought a PS4 purely for this game that I've now had to cancel my pre-order for. So thanks EA for wasting £350 of my money. I would be glad if the entire dev team got replaced.

[Hockeyguy15]

No creation zone? I thought you could create players?

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

Sealed, going with old gen version for this year.

Good lord. You can sum up that long list with two simple words:

No game.




But it tells you exactly where the NHL series ranks in terms of revenues/profits for EA. They are simply going to put the effort into Fifa and Madden moving forward (mainly Fifa). Unless someone else starts making an NHL series again we might essentially be seeing the end of the genre. Or EA is simply trying to see how much crap they can get away with in their sports games and this is being used as a prototype.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

No creation zone? I thought you could create players?

I think that mode is still in it but from what I gather its a one and done deal without being able to edit your player after.

[codynw]

I'm not even going to get the PS3 version. EA NHL will get no money from me this year.

[Street Pharmacist]

Even I defend EA, but I'm not getting this game now

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Fire

A good company would see the lower sales and put more money into it to increase sales for the next time, but of course we are talking about EA.

Not really. A company will only do that if they believe the increased market penetration would justify spending more money. If that market penetration doesn't exist or is limited (and it very well may be) you don't put more money into it.

A good company will kill profitable lines if spending money elsewhere will result in more/bigger profits.

[SuperMatt18]

Damn. I want to play NHL but might just cancel my pre-order as to not support this game.

Will be interested to see what Rammer and the dev team say about this mess now that it is out there.

Getting hammered on twitter.

[Otto-matic]

It makes you wonder why its such a poor release when they essentially had 2 years to produce this title. I don't see arenas/fans taking up majority of the development time and if they did its a poor use of resources.

[bubbsy]

wow that's a brutal list. ugh, i went with the online download purchase, so can't even trade it in and go madden this year.

I agree that the EA franchise product team needs new blood. Not only have the last several versions of the game been disappointments, the 2 year wait to move to next gen should be looked at as a general failure. When moving to next gen, game parity should have been the baseline target, which has been missed by a long shot.

the game should have been priced according to the stripped down feature set. The lack of transparency by the EA nhl team is ridiculous. There had better be some very quick media releases about what exactly they intend to patch in. Sure hope they take a hit on the bottom line come release day, and are forced to make some decisions on how the product is being handled.

[SuperMatt18]

Yup.

Fifa launched day 1 with game parity (actually huge improvements)

Madden launched day 1 with game parity (game was no good but was still the same on both generations)

NHL took the extra year and they still are releasing a game that is half baked at least. Really all you have is a game mode that you can play 1 v 1.

[Kool Keef]

Geez, what a mess. I imagine it'll take, at least, another two years before the devs can re-implement all of the modes that are missing from the PS4/XB1 versions. I expected some growing pains with the jump to next gen, but not this shallow husk of a game. Even if you get the game at half price, you've overpaid.

So disappointed.

[Anduril]

I can see myself spending hundreds of hours again with FIFA15 and I'm not even much of a football fan. What is there to do other than HUT?

It's just so disappointing.

[Yamer]

Well they did mention that a lot of modes will be patched later to build them from the bare-bones platform they all told us was coming. That said I certainly get the disappointment and frustration.

If I'm getting it for free with the purchase of an Xbox One (a system I planned on buying anyway) then it's really no skin off my back. And if they follow through with their promise to patch this puppy and add to those modes then I actually come out ahead.

[Muffins]

Someone may have mentioned it here already but I read it somewhere else:

Can you seriously not play co-op in online versus?