NHL 15: Expert Reviews, Player Comments, Player Ratings and More

In what is shaping up to be a banner month for fans of sports video games everywhere, hockey takes center stage on September 9 with the release of NHL 15 from EA Sports. It's the 24th game in the ongoing series and first to be featured on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. 

Of course, if you preordered the game for Xbox One, then you were given early download access to it on September 4. If that's the case, you have probably been glued to your couch for 120-plus hours admiring the handy work of the talented people in charge of making the increasingly popular hockey series. 

Since we like to provide fans and gamers with all the information they need so that they get the most bang for their buck, we've got a breakdown of some early reviews coming out, ratings for the top 25 players and a look at the game itself. 

Pos.	Player	Team	Ovr. Rating
1	Sidney Crosby	Pittsburgh	96
2	Steven Stamkos	Tampa Bay	93
3	Jonathan Toews	Chicago	93
4	Alex Ovechkin	Washington	93
5	Shea Weber	Nashville	93
6	Pavel Datsyuk	Detroit	93
7	Henrik Lundqvist	New York Rangers	93
8	Jonathan Quick	Los Angeles	93
9	Ryan Getzlaf	Anaheim	92
10	Corey Perry	Anaheim	92
11	Carey Price	Montreal	92
12	Evgeni Malkin	Pittsburgh	92
13	Tuukka Rask	Boston	92
14	Duncan Keith	Chicago	92
15	Ryan Suter	Minnesota	92
16	Henrik Zetterberg	Detroit	92
17	John Tavares	New York Islanders	91
18	Drew Doughty	Los Angeles	91
19	Anze Kopitar	Los Angeles	91
20	Zdeno Chara	Boston	91
21	Patrice Bergeron	Boston	91
22	Marian Hossa	Chicago	91
23	Pekka Rinne	Nashville	91
24	Claude Giroux	Philadelphia	90
25	Zach Parise	Minnesota	90

Game Review

Game Is Bare Bones but Fun

Uncredited/Associated Press

One of the best parts of having video game systems that are capable of seemingly doing anything is feeling connected to other gamers. Arguably the most popular feature in the NHL series in recent years is the EA Sports Hockey League (EASHL). 

However, EA Sports producer Sean Ramjagsingh told Richard Conte of Design & Trend in August that EASHL wouldn't be included in the Xbox One and Playstation 4 versions of the game this year:

"

As a franchise, we’re 100% committed to the EA SPORTS Hockey League. While we can’t deliver EASHL in NHL 15 on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, we have huge plans for the mode in future iterations of the game. We will be putting together a small EASHL committee made up of you, the fans, to ensure that we deliver an experience that is bigger and better than any of us would have imagined when we first introduced the feature in NHL 09.

"

While that news has left a lot of fans up in arms, including the start of a Twitter account with the handle WE_WANT_EASHL, it didn't deter Adam Najberg of The Wall Street Journal from admitting that he still had fun with the game:

"

This very lean game is easy to learn for a first-timer, without any complicated button, trigger and stick combinations to learn, and fun for all, which is the most-important feature of any game. It was so quick and easy to start games and so smooth to play them, I was eager to play rematches or new games as soon as one was finished. There’s no bloat in NHL 15.

"

The first sentence, though, is part of the problem that gamers are having. While new people find video games every year, there is a huge built-in audience for the series that doesn't care how easy it is for new players to learn. 

Going more in-depth into Najberg's analysis, particularly on features that will be of interest to owners of next-gen consoles, he heaps lavish praise on the graphics:

"

Player likenesses are extraordinary, on-ice actions and collision physics are highly realistic. You can still use the left stick to make big hits, and with the new collision physics, I was able to wreak havoc off the puck. I started a couple of pileups in front of the net and pulled off some satisfying checks against the boards.

"

His praise does stop when going over all the game's features, specifically when he talks about the "12-month development cycle" that EA Sports has discussed with the game. Najberg says that basically amounts to "releasing an unfinished game."

Those added features—including a custom offline playoff mode with up to 16 teams, getting coach feedback and Hockey Ultimate Team—will be released in September. October will bring Online Team Play and the GM Draft, according to the EA Sports' blog. 

Najberg's sentiments were echoed by Patrick O'Rourke of Canada.com's technology section, with his biggest complaint being all the missing features despite having fantastic gameplay before giving it a 5.5 out of 10:

"

Many of the tricks and exploits elite players used to consistently score the same goals in previous NHL titles, are gone (although some still remain). Goalies are intelligent, but not invincible brick walls. The new physics system forces the puck to bounce around in a realistic ways and also makes player collisions feel less robotic. Scoring goals is also challenging and playing defense is much easier than it’s been in past titles...

"

The sad part of EA's release strategy, relying on downloadable patches and upgrades after the game has come out, is it cheapens the immediate experience of buying a game for $60. Instead of getting a full experience for your money, you're forced to wait for the things that you love about the game.

Player Comments

Brian Babineau/Getty Images

While the critical consensus may be lukewarm toward NHL 15, there have been more favorable and entertaining responses from hockey players. All you have to do is listen to this song from Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, via the NHL's official Twitter account:

Good luck not humming that tune later today. 

Even better than that song is being able to play online against a mascot. If you've ever wanted to play against Bailey the Lion, who has single-handedly willed the Los Angeles Kings to two Stanley Cup titles in three years, you can:

Bailey is getting cocky, but I guess you can do that with two trophies on your mantle. At least his arrogance isn't unfounded. 

Final Thoughts

This doesn't seem like the best iteration of the NHL series, but after 24 years, to still be delivering a game that even critics agree continues to improve on the gameplay is impressive. Even some of the issues at launch are going to be cleared up with the release of the upgrades over the next two months. 

Admittedly, that does cheapen the value of spending $60 on launch day for a product that isn't all the way done. But that's also part of gaming today. Patches and fixes are released for every title you play due to unforeseen errors by the developer. 

EA Sports planned for the future by giving gamers advance notice that some things would be coming later. It's also a good strategy by the company to ensure that gamers keep coming back to the product when they see something that they want to use has been released. 

Bottom line: If you like playing hockey, you are going to like NHL 15. That's the most important feature for any hockey game, so the mission has been accomplished. 

If you want to talk sports, hit me up on Twitter: @adamwells1985.