NHL 15

NHL 15

Developer(s) EA Canada
Publisher(s) EA Sports
Series NHL series
Platform(s)
Release date(s)
  • NA September 9, 2014
  • PAL September 12, 2014
Genre(s) Sports (ice hockey)
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer, Online multiplayer
Distribution

NHL 15 is a hockey video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. It is the 24th installment of the NHL series and was released on September 9, 2014 in North America and three days later in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.[1] The game serves as the debut entry in the series for eighth generation consoles, receiving releases on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins is the official cover athlete.

New features

Most features are exclusive to the next generation versions (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) and are not present in the previous generation versions (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360).[2]

Features removed

Both EASHL and GM Connected are not included in the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game, however they are available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. EA plans on reintroducing an improved EASHL game mode in future versions of the game. Online Team Play will not be available for PS4 and Xbox One at launch, however the mode is planned to be added in a future content update for the game.[6][7] You will also not be able to control who you draft in Be a GM Mode, which is a huge part of building a successful team. Another feature removed from the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of the game was the more involved Be A Pro game mode titled Live the Life, which was originally introduced in NHL 14. Live the Life will be included in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of NHL 15. The less involved game mode, Be A Pro, will be included in NHL 15 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, though there will be no minor league teams involved, a random draft position for players, a lack of customization for players, and players will no longer have the ability to simulate between shifts during games. In light of the removed features for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, EA Sports NHL producer Sean Ramjagsingh confirmed via Twitter that a content update will later fix and improve the drafting feature.[8]

Operation Sports created a complete list of missing modes/features that were available in last year's installment of the series but are either not included in the game at all for PS4/Xbox One, or were not spotted during the early access period.[9]

Demo

A demo of the game was released for download on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 26, 2014. An exhibition game can be played between the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings, as well as the practice mode.[10]

Leagues and teams

The game will include the NHL, AHL (North America), Liiga (Finland), SHL (Sweden), Czech Extraliga (Czech Republic), DEL (Germany), and the NLA (Switzerland). In addition, the game will include the CHL, which comprises the QMJHL, OHL, and the WHL. The game will also feature the two teams from the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, as well as a maximum-ranked "Legends" team featuring a number of former NHL stars. The leagues are the same as in NHL 14.

As a result of the 2014 Kvalserien, AIK will be replaced by Djurgårdens IF in the SHL. Other new teams in the game are the Adirondack Flames and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, following the relocations of the Abbotsford Heat and the Adirondack Phantoms, respectively. The NHL team Phoenix Coyotes will be renamed Arizona Coyotes. Another new team in NHL 15 is Sport (Vaasa) from Vaasa who rose to Liiga when Jokerit joined the KHL. National teams will be included, but the lack of an IIHF license prevents EA from using the official jerseys for the national teams or any official international tournaments in the game. It also means that EA can not put real players in national teams if they are not included in any league or the free agent list in the game.

Additionally, players may create their own teams through the "Create Team" feature, but only on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, as the Creation Zone section of the game will be absent from the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions.

Cover

Like the NHL 14 cover, anybody could vote on the player(s) they wished to see on the official cover of NHL 15. The vote started on May 5, 2014 with eight NHL players in a single-elimination voting with two players in each matchup, and was closed on June 1, 2014.[11][12] P. K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens and Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins reached the final, and it was announced at the 2014 NHL Awards in Wynn Las Vegas on June 24, 2014 that Bergeron would be the cover athlete. The cover vote received over 10 million votes worldwide in total.[10]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(PS4) 58.95% [13]
(XONE) 63.76%[14]
Metacritic(PS4) 60/100 [15]
(XONE) 59/100[16]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer5.5/10 [17]
Game Revolution [18]
GameSpot5/10 [19]
GamesRadar [20]
GameTrailers7.8/10 [21]
IGN7/10 [22]
Hardcore Gamer2.5/5 [23]

NHL 15 was met with average reviews, garnering a 59/100 (Xbox One) and a 60/100 (PS4) from Metacritic. IGN gave the game a 7/10 and GameSpot gave it a 5/10. Amongst fans, however, the game was met with overwhelming disdain, mostly due to the numerous missing features for next gen consoles.[24] The IGN "community" gave the PS3 and Xbox 360 releases, scores of 4/10 and 2.6/10 respectively. Fans with the early access version of the game began reporting on the game's missing features, and within hours a list covering the mass omission by EA were dispersed throughout the Internet. The situation got so bad that EA NHL producer Sean Ramjagsingh had to post on the EA forums a list of features to be added via patch in the coming months, all of this before the game was even released. The general consensus amongst fans of the series seems to be that while gameplay has improved, omitting much of the minutia of the game that fans had come to love was disappointing.[25]

Soundtrack

Artist Song
1985 "Time Of Your Life"
Bear Hands "Giants"
Benny Benassi "Control feat. Gary Go"
Close Your Eyes "Chain Gang"
Death from Above 1979 "Trainwreck 1979"
Empires "How Good Does It Feel"
Every Time I Die "El Dorado"
Fall Out Boy "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)"
Franc Wyte "What I'm Talking 'Bout"
Heroes X Villains "TWERK"[A]
Holy Fever "Find Your Fame"
Madeon "The City"
Max Frost "White Lies"
Plague Vendor "Black Sap Scriptures"
Porter Robinson "Sea Of Voices"[A]
Pup "Lionheart"
Red Sky Noise "She Don't Know"
Summer of '69 "Come And Get It"
The Graveltones "Forget About The Trouble"
The Night Marchers "Fisting The Fanbase"
No Wyld "Odyssey"
Wolf Rider "From Where You Are"
Wolfmother "How Many Times"
Young the Giant "My Body"

References

  1. "EA SPORTS NHL 15 Ushers in a New Generation of Hockey Videogames This September". Electronic Arts. 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 "NHL 15 features". EA Sports. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  3. Dyer, Mitch (2014-05-06). "NHL 15, Puck Physics, and the Hadron Collider Connection". IGN. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  4. Silverman, Alex (2014-05-15). "EA Sports' "NHL 15" Makes Most Of NBC Partnership To Create TV Feel For Videogame". Sports Business Daily. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  5. "15 Questions with Rammer". EA Sports. 2014-06-12. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  6. Macy, Seth G. (2014-08-20). "EA Reveals NHL 15 Game Modes". IGN. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  7. "NHL 15 - Game Modes". EA Sports. 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  8. Ramjagsingh, Sean. twitter.com https://twitter.com/Rammer34/status/507733018237476864. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. http://www.operationsports.com/news/760010/nhl-15-might-be-missing-more-than-we-anticipated-xb1ps4/
  10. 10.0 10.1 "NHL 15 Demo Details". EA Sports. 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
  11. "NHL 15 cover vote starts April 22". EA Sports. 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
  12. "NHL ‘14 EA Cover Vote Sweepstakes" (PDF). covervote.nhl.com. Retrieved 2013-06-08.
  13. http://www.gamerankings.com/ps4/792645-nhl-15/index.html
  14. http://www.gamerankings.com/xboxone/792644-nhl-15/index.html
  15. http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/nhl-15
  16. http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/nhl-15
  17. "NHL 15: Review: Misconduct For Slashing". GamesInformer. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  18. "NHL 15: Review". GameRevolution. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  19. "NHL 15 Review". GameSpot. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  20. "NHL 15 Review". GameRadar. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  21. "NHL 15: Game Review (PS4 and Xbox One)". GameTrailers. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  22. "NHL 15: Game Review". IGN. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  23. "Review:NHL 15". Hardcore Gamer. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-09-09.
  24. http://www.cantechletter.com
  25. "NHL 15: Post Launch Content Plan". EA. 2014-09-07. Retrieved 2014-09-11.

External links