I am really enjoyed NHL 15's integration with NBC's hockey telecast. First of all, I'm a huge, huge fan of Doc Emrick. I think he's the best in the business. So hearing him, alongside Eddie Olczyk and "Chicken Parm" Ray Ferraro is a real treat. Still, Doc’s delivery feels a bit stilted. There are none of his quintessential freak-out moments, and his famously vast vocabulary isn't utilized well. Olczyk throws in a few memorable lines, but Ferraro's lines seem rushed. They also collectively seem off the mark fairly often. Doc will announce that a perfect pass just occurred as I threw a puck into traffic in the slot, losing it to an aggressive defenseman. A goalie can be scrambling in the crease, making multiple acrobatic saves, as Doc notes that those saves were "easy." Ferraro in particular seems off-kilter; he made comments multiple times during Be A GM Mode games that made it seem like I was in the 50th game of the season, not the 3rd. Little things like this are minor, but they can be grating if you're looking for immersion and realism.
I did see a few instances of physics wonkiness, especially with players getting up after falling to the ice from a collision. They sometimes warped to their feet, instead of picking themselves up slowly as you'd expect. And there are some notable AI deficiencies on both offense and defense. On the default difficulty (Pro), CPU defenders play too passively in their own zone; it's too easy to skate past them. And I wish my own teammates were smarter about staying onside.
The reason for this is simple. Most of the ways that hockey fans have come to play EA’s well-regarded NHL series for the past several years have vanished in the leap to new-gen consoles. NHL 15 is not just a slimmed-down version of its former self; it is one that is utterly gutted. Not only are significant game modes missing--no online leagues, no EASHL, no Be A Legend, to name just a few--but those that remain are also so devoid of core features that they feel barren.
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For all the work that's gone into physics, it'd be a meaningless point if NHL 15's AI didn't act like hockey players would. Fortunately, they do. Defensemen will almost always stay at home, making it incredibly difficult to go coast-to-coast alone. Forwards will immediately jump on the backcheck after a turnover, getting the headstart on regaining control. Everyone usually just feels like they're in the spot they should be.
EA Canada has implemented a few changes to the physics layer found in its NHL series. Now each player and the
NHL puck have physics applied to them while on the ice. This allows for things like multi-player pile ups in front of the net, which didn't occur realistically in previous games on NHL 15 Xbox 360 and NHL 15 PS3. Each player also has a trio of physics layers applied to them individually: their body, their equipment and their sweater. What this means is that players crash into each other with more force than before, and that a puck can change directions if it comes into contact with the fabric of a jersey or part of the equipment.
Even if you have no experience with hockey, NHL has always been a series that was welcoming to newcomers. Part of that is due to the accessible nature of some of their control schemes, including one that drops the “skill stick” entirely, relying solely on the buttons. That being said, if you are experienced with the NHL franchise, you can always choose a more difficult control scheme that increases immersion further. The biggest drawback for new players is the lack of a suitable tutorial mode. While games like Madden have a variety of drills to get you used to plays, schemes, etc. NHL has none. The closest thing to a training mode is their “Practice Mode” which just has you skating towards the goalie and attempting to score a goal with no players around, similar to a shootout situation.
