Cheap NHL 15 Coins Online Sale - Predictably the NHL 15 Ultimate Team Mode is plenty intact

Expanding overtime to include 3-on-3 play was discussed by the GMs at their one-day meeting in Toronto in November. The idea has been championed by Holland, who made it part of the Red Wings' annual Traverse City Prospects Tournament in 2013. "We understand in Detroit the shootout is here to stay, so how do we have a greater percentage of games decided in overtime and a lesser percentage decided in a shootout?" Holland said. "The shootout fans will get their shootouts, but from my perspective I'd like to see more games decided in overtime than in the shootout. That's all I'm trying to bring to the table."

 

Even for the NHL modes that remain, many are scaled back in inexplicable ways. For instance, in Be a Pro, it's no longer an option to simulate to the next shift. You're just forced watch mindlessly from the bench. Unfortunate enough to take a penalty? Then you might as well just go make a sandwich or take a restroom break. Predictably, the NHL 15 Ultimate Team mode is plenty intact. After all, EA looks at it as a central piece to making $1 billion from extra content this year. However, the only way to earn pucks now seems to be from playing online -- no longer picking up a few from time spent in single-player modes. Or, (as EA would surely like) just open up that wallet of yours.

 

All of the missing modes mentioned above existed as part of NHL 14's launch-day feature set (in fact, these modes all exist in NHL 15 for Xbox 360 and PS3, though they remain unchanged versus last year's game). It's not unreasonable for sports fans asked to spend $60 at launch to expect feature parity between a year old product and the latest to hit the market, especially since EA identified this as a concern for its Madden and FIFA franchises at the start of the PS4 and Xbox One generation.

 

Offline, on the default five-minute periods, penalties generally only occur once or twice per game, even on “Hardcore Simulation” settings. Pushing the penalty sliders all the way up doesn't raise the number of infractions by much. Slashing and tripping are again the most common penalties in NHL 15, due to the game's randomized, "dice roll" stick checking system. Because the right thumb-stick is being wasted on body checking commands, defenders have little control over their hockey sticks, and instead, are at the mercy of animation roulette whenever they press the A button to stick lift or the right bumper to poke check. Stick checking needs to be reassigned to the right joystick in future NHL video games, so that players can finally have more control over the angle and the amount of force that's being applied during these deft defensive maneuvers.

 

The game’s AI has also taken a few too many slap-shots to the head this year, often times feeling invisible. Sure, they are there near the net when a scoring chance is happening. However, when you are on the boards and need help to move the puck, you just can’t seem to find a teammate to save your life. It’s even worse in the defensive end, where your d-partner rarely moves to the right spot, leaving you to fend for yourself when moving the puck out of your zone. The NHL 15 game does offer a new stick skill mode that works great when you have the puck, but don’t expect to see your teammates busting out their Pavel Bure impressions too many times.

 

If you're into the idea of hearing Emrick in NHL 15 yell the words "geometrically" and "catawampus" several times per-game, you may wring some amusement from this commentary, but none of it lands with any enthusiasm or excitement, and most of it barely qualifies as informative. The upgraded crowd noise is the lone audio upgrade of note, and it is certainly a huge improvement. Crowds react wonderfully to every play, booing the home team profusely when they give up a bad goal, and cheering wildly after a big play. If only the commentators could have exuded a similar level of energy and variance.

 

With the startling amount of missing content, kneecapped modes, and uneven gameplay in NHL 15, either EA Sports isn't giving EA Canada the same level of resources as its other sports franchises or the development team is woefully incapable of negotiating a console transition. If the publisher doesn't care to put a winning effort into its NHL series, hockey fans have no reason to jump over the boards and buy the game.

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