NHL 15: Top Reviews and Overall Scores for Hit Video Game Series
Every year, hockey fans start to get antsy when the calendar flips to September. Not only does it mean NHL preseason starts, but it's a chance to get their hands on EA Sports' latest video game release. This year's NHL 15 has been generating a lot of buzz—both positive and negative over the last few months.
Our goal here is not to offer judgement on the final product, since we have yet to play it in great depth to make a final judgement, but to provide a synopsis of what critics are saying in reviews and their overall game scores to help inform you of what to expect before sitting down to take the ice as your favorite team.
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The excitement fans feel over the release of a new video game is unlike anything else. It's almost comforting, in a strange way, to know that your favorite sport is coming back soon, and here's proof of that, so why wouldn't you want to know all you can about it?
Here is a look at the early reviews from the biggest gaming websites and what to expect upon opening up your copy of NHL 15.
| Score | # of Reviews |
| 60 | 6 |
Note: Score and number of reviews were as of 6 p.m. ET Tuesday, September 9.
The Devil Is In The Details
We will get to the major criticisms of NHL 15, but it's important to start by talking about what works with the game. Reading all of the reviews thus far, they are near-unanimous in their praise for how the game looks.
That's best illustrated in the review from Matt Blair of GameTrailers.com, who noted that the level of detail in the game is incredible:
"Sporting the new-to-NHL Ignite engine, many large-scale improvements have been made. New animations, AI capabilities, physics and other examples of balance and atmosphere come together to create a satisfying sensation of playing the sport. Non-player AI has gotten a welcome overhaul, resulting in less computer mistakes, less predictability and much more synergy between human and AI teammates. The skating mechanics feel more organic than ever, puck physics are greatly improved and the infamous “ice tilt” effects in which momentum perilously affects everything from unfortunate puck bounces to player agility feel almost nonexistent in relation to previous years.
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Since this is the first year the NHL series is on the Xbox One and Playstation 4, it should not come as a surprise that the engine mechanics are top-notch. EA Sports has had nearly one year to work with the powerful computers Sony and Microsoft are operating with.
This is not a mundane detail, either. When you fork out $400-500 for a new system that promises to look better, you want to see the results. EA certainly deserves credit for taking things to the next level with its overall design, controls and artificial intelligence being used.
However, now we have to get into the criticisms that really hurt the game's overall score. Blair issued NHL 15 a 7.8 out of 10 by calling this "a rebuilding year."
"With some game modes returning to their basic principles, a lot more are missing from the game entirely. EA Sports Hockey League, Online Team Play, Seasons, Playoffs, Shootouts and even the nostalgic NHL 94 mode are chief among a long list of items from previous iterations that were omitted from the feature list of the new generation title at launch.
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The EA Sports Hockey League and Online Team Play strike me as the most egregious omissions. The latter because it was arguably the most popular feature in the NHL series by allowing you to create your own team and play against other clubs from around the world.
Online Team Play just seems like a missed opportunity because that's such a standard part of the gaming experience today. Not having it is taking away a piece of the spine that builds a game and allows it to endure over the year in between releases.
Still, this is a positive look at the new NHL game and highlights more of the positives than criticisms that have left it with an average overall rating score on Metacritic.
An Empty Shell
Following along the lines of Blair's review, the most common criticism following the game is how empty it all feels. While there is the ability to simply plug in and play hockey the way you always do, there's not a lot of variety in what you can do beyond that.
This was the basis of Colin Moriarty's 7.0 review on IGN.com, saying that what's on the screen is very good but there needs to be more of what made the game great in the past:
"As a single-player-centric gamer myself, I've always gravitated towards offline modes, which is where the lack of content really started to sink in. NHL 15 doesn't even have a Season Mode, which was originally introduced in the Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis era. To play a season, I had to actually jump into Be A GM Mode... only to find that it’s been stripped of some of its own features, including basic online functionality.
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We live in the greatest era of technology ever. There are advancements and upgrades being made on a daily basis, including and especially in the video game world. It's no longer enough to just have a product that allows you to plug and play.
Yet, EA Sports has taken away the essence of what made NHL so appealing, especially to the hardcore gamers. These are the people who help make sports games a success, because they will keep coming back.
There is hope coming in the form of post-launch content upgrades that will pop up at various points throughout the NHL season. According to NHL 15 producer Sean Ramjagsingh on the EA Sports website, the rollout plan will include six features being rolled out through October, including Playoff Mode, Hockey Ultimate Team and Online Team Play.
While the choice to bring content into the equation later doesn't justify taking out several features for the game—to be fair, EA Sports Hockey League and GM Connected are only unavailable on the next-gen consoles; Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 still retain these modes—it is easier to absorb the early blow of losing something by knowing more is coming.
Still, when you are dropping $60 for a new game, you would hope that the developers provide as close to a complete experience as possible and not have to promise future content to whet your appetite.
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