NHL 15

[XXXIV]

So is there something simple like offline season mode ?

Maybe?

They should have taken two three four years off to get it right...

or maybe just quit and let EA hire guys who know wtf they are doing.

Also an option.

[XXXIV]

[Aristo]

So is there something simple like offline season mode ?

Right now it is unclear if the game even has goalies.

[XXXIV]

So is there something simple like offline season mode ?

Right now it is unclear if the game even has goalies.

Does anyone know if it does?

[vader29]

So is there something simple like offline season mode ?

Right now it is unclear if the game even has goalies.

[XXXIV]

[Jimmydeicide]

OS is saying demo is up for One owners.
Hurry let us know.

[10spro]

OS is saying demo is up for One owners.
Hurry let us know.

Gotta Bing it, but it's there.

[Diablo25]

DL'ing now.

[10spro]

Just played one game as I have to go for my bike ride. Smooth gameplay, gotta get used to the new isometric camera angle but I like it especially from the faceoff angle. Players faces hardly resemble to their true lives.

[MizzouRah]

OS is saying demo is up for One owners.
Hurry let us know.

You are the man!

Downloading now.. thanks!

[Diablo25]

Definitely looks better but the graphics aren't 'wowing' me. Runs very smooth. Camera angle is a bit different...not in a bad way. Presentation looks, really, the same...just some NBC graphics mixed in. New announcers are decent. Very early in game one.

[Inuyasha]

Watching it here : http://www.twitch.tv/cachookaman

Looks terrible, hate to say it.

The players don't look like their real life counterparts.

The gameplay looks like crap. Just up and down the ice.

Commentary is horrendous. I mean really wtf. Reminds me of 16 bit All Talk Baseball.

Graphics nothing special. Uniforms lifelfess no detail.

Fighting was lifeless as well.

Geez what a mess. 2 years for this?

[Diablo25]

Watching it here : http://www.twitch.tv/cachookaman

Looks terrible, hate to say it.

The players don't look like their real life counterparts.

The gameplay looks like crap. Just up and down the ice.

Commentary is horrendous. I mean really wtf. Reminds me of 16 bit All Talk Baseball.

Graphics nothing special. Uniforms lifelfess no detail.

Fighting was lifeless as well.

Geez what a mess. 2 years for this?

Wow, I mean the game isn't knocking my socks off but it doesn't look/play that bad.

Arenas are better. Some guys look like their counterparts but it's the ones you would think. Maybe the guy you are watching has it on easy. At the beginning of the demo it asks what level a player you are and sets it to pro, sim, etc. I like it, it just doesn't ooze of 'all new' stuff.

[Rodster]

Watching it here : http://www.twitch.tv/cachookaman

Looks terrible, hate to say it.

The players don't look like their real life counterparts.

The gameplay looks like crap. Just up and down the ice.

Commentary is horrendous. I mean really wtf. Reminds me of 16 bit All Talk Baseball.

Graphics nothing special. Uniforms lifelfess no detail.

Fighting was lifeless as well.

Geez what a mess. 2 years for this?

For a second there I thought you were describing NBA Live 15.

[Inuyasha]

Watching it here : http://www.twitch.tv/cachookaman

Looks terrible, hate to say it.

The players don't look like their real life counterparts.

The gameplay looks like crap. Just up and down the ice.

Commentary is horrendous. I mean really wtf. Reminds me of 16 bit All Talk Baseball.

Graphics nothing special. Uniforms lifelfess no detail.

Fighting was lifeless as well.

Geez what a mess. 2 years for this?

Wow, I mean the game isn't knocking my socks off but it doesn't look/play that bad.

Arenas are better. Some guys look like their counterparts but it's the ones you would think. Maybe the guy you are watching has it on easy. At the beginning of the demo it asks what level a player you are and sets it to pro, sim, etc. I like it, it just doesn't ooze of 'all new' stuff.

Maybe I was just expecting more. But it just doesn't really scream out quality title to me.

[Diablo25]

Watching it here : http://www.twitch.tv/cachookaman

Looks terrible, hate to say it.

The players don't look like their real life counterparts.

The gameplay looks like crap. Just up and down the ice.

Commentary is horrendous. I mean really wtf. Reminds me of 16 bit All Talk Baseball.

Graphics nothing special. Uniforms lifelfess no detail.

Fighting was lifeless as well.

Geez what a mess. 2 years for this?

Wow, I mean the game isn't knocking my socks off but it doesn't look/play that bad.

Arenas are better. Some guys look like their counterparts but it's the ones you would think. Maybe the guy you are watching has it on easy. At the beginning of the demo it asks what level a player you are and sets it to pro, sim, etc. I like it, it just doesn't ooze of 'all new' stuff.

Maybe I was just expecting more. But it just doesn't really scream out quality title to me.

I can see that.

Some guy reviewed the demo already.

[MizzouRah]

To each his own I guess..

I love the commentary.. maybe it's because it's something new, but to me, they seem more engaged in the game play.

The new dynamic medium camera is great. I think the arenas and graphics in general are fantastic. I don't think you can get much from watching a video.

I played on AS with authentic puck and shadow.. game is fast and I'm finding it difficult to keep the puck in the zone. I've played the NHL series to death and to me, the CPU players are all over my butt when I have the puck.

Played 4 games, lost 1 in regulation, lost 1 in a shootout, then won 3-1 and 2-1.

Game looks crisp to me and the goal horns are fantastic this year.

[Inuyasha]

that sounds better. i saw it but you played it. so i hope it's more like what you're describing when the full version is out.

[Naples39]

I have now joined team Xbone, and played this demo a just little bit.

-One-on-ones with the goalies definitely different. Attackers can't zig zag back and forth nearly as quickly and have more momentum. Shootout goals I made were more varied and realistic looking. I was quickly beating the goalie with the Jeff Carter special (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biiOsLT4SOE), which is the kind of move which has never been an option in past NHL games.

-Player graphics are clearly improved, and arenas/crowds are massively improved. Probably the single most obvious improvement IMO.

-New cameras are interesting, although my preferred "custom 3" camera is gone.

-You do notice the puck physics, as I had one weird bounce off the glass as apparently the puck landed on edge and stopped abruptly. This was a 'good' weird bounce as it is the kind of thing you will occasionally see in real life. One the other hand, another time I blasted a sharp angle shot high over the goal and the puck appeared to get stuck in the glass in the corner for several seconds until there was a whistle.

-Overall. the game plays FAST. Players get up and down the ice quick, and shots explode off the stick. Maybe the game will feel slower as I learn it more, but right now it feels more arcadey and the rink feels smaller simply because the players are flying out there.

-Moments of graphic slowdown. Weak.

[MizzouRah]

Yeah, it might need a tweak down 1 notch in speed when the full game comes out.

Puck physics are great if a bit too fast at times. Maybe it's just the graphics, but goalies to me look so much better so far. I might have to go to normal puck and normal puck shadow as it really zips on authentic.

Game feels more alive though.. the intros are quite boring after the commentary.

Definitely more aggressive for sure and the play is more "sloppy" at times, especially when the star lines are not on the ice. I do notice a difference in players.

[10spro]

When they showed some gameplay demo a few weeks ago, I noticed that the dekeing animations were more realistic and looked sweet. However, I find that in the demo version, dekes are not as easy to pull and seem to fall short and limited at times.

Hitting and colliding is not as drastic as 14 although when the CPU does it, it does seem to have more weight in it when you get crushed.

Would like to see the CPU get more penalties than well, I haven't seen one yet in five trials. On the contrary, if I use the stick lift it's almost an automatic trip to the sin bin.

Nice to see the dump ins NOT have the air effect as the bounce is more realistic, the CPU passes are not as tape to tape as in previous years which is nice, unless you happen to be shorthanded when they scored three straight goals on me after I took a five minutes major resulting in a 3-2 loss.

Being touted as a new from the ground up build up on the new -gen has some nice pluses but I wasn't totally floored by this demo. Gameplay as mentioned by most does seem to be on steroids at times.

Improved presentation for sure, even puck physics and the commentary is alright nothing to brag about or dump on them this early, it's different.

The crowd is much alive too and nice to see the hybrid icing working here.

Will try the PS4 version and see if there are some differences.

And yeah, way too many generic faces, hope they clear that up.

[LAking]

-One-on-ones with the goalies definitely different. Attackers can't zig zag back and forth nearly as quickly and have more momentum. Shootout goals I made were more varied and realistic looking. I was quickly beating the goalie with the Jeff Carter special (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biiOsLT4SOE), which is the kind of move which has never been an option in past NHL games.

I can watch that highlight on repeat for eternity and it will never get old

Also, i just watched a twitch stream of a guy playing on all-star hardcore settings and it didn't seem as blazingly fast as the other videos i've watched. That's promising since the default seems way too fast for my liking.

[Naples39]

Played a few more games. Adjusting to the game, and it doesn't seem as blazingly fast. Also the hardcore setting is there to slow it down a bit more if you want, but I play mostly online so I'm stuck with default. Normally I presume a demo is the finished product and things don't improve from there, but in the case with NHL I'm sure everything will be tweaked with tuner updates for the first month or two after release.

The best signs for me are goal variety and quicker passing. I'm seeing goals I've never seen before in this series, and every goal I've seen has been different. The money plays like shooting high glove have been shut down. It's high scoring in general, but it's much more satisfying and surprising when they go in and the group celebrations look far less hokey than the awkward individual celebrations we've been stuck with the last few years.

Passing (and shooting) ping around pretty quickly, which I like to see. Last few years, between bad AI (teammates not moving into open scoring zones, not receiving the pass in a position to shoot or skate so they stop and spin upon pass reception...) and slow times to "load up" a pass, stick handling like crazy was clearly the dominant strategy in the game and passing was mostly frustrating.

It's hard to say anymore about AI and effective offensive strategies until you play other good players online. It *appears* then when an attacker is dangling you can poke check into his grill more aggressively with less chance of a penalty, but could be placebo effect or just playing CPU.

I personally think the game feels fairly new, with the graphics, presentation, and quicker and more responsive play. No, it's not a complete overhaul that a full team has working on for multiple years, but it's a much more than the annual incremental improvements we've gotten the last 4 years or so on 360.

[Naples39]

If anyone is on the fence for this game, in one of my demo games Emrick said one player played the puck "geometrically" to a teammate. This is next gen announcing.