FTProtocal

I can't give it a 0, and it certainly doesn't deserve anything higher than a 6 ... I flipped back and forth between a 4 and a 5, and it's a 4 for me. It's essentially a copy paste of NHL 20, BUT ... that doesn't make it a 0, either, as they have done a bit of work on it, but nothing to write home about, and there are still critical flaws in the game that haven't been touched (and the removed Draft Champions!!!). It's like putting makeup on a pig at this point, it's still a pig, it's just a slightly nicer looking one. The Be a Pro mode presentation is nice and it's about time they added this. But ultimately, the gameplay itself is still garbage. You are literally being asked to carry your team and be the Superstar; playing actual positional hockey with and as a TEAM ... forget about it, it's literally the exact same garbage AI as previous years. They will consistently make (and not make) the most asinine plays they possibly can. There are literally too many issues to mention, and the root cause, let's be honest, is because EA simply does not know how to program the AI to properly play with a human player; the opponent AI is ALWAYS remarkably better than your own AI, even on 'Pro' difficulty you'll essentially be carrying your team as they bumble about, attempting to make what can only be described as ages 3-5 'Peanuts' level hockey plays. Just one silly example: a 3 on 0 down low in front of the net has developed, AI has the puck behind the net, I'm Center and our LW is (remarkably) where he should be. The RW skates out from behind the net, has two CLEAR options for a pass, the LW is a simple tap in ... the RW instead opts to slam the puck directly into the goalie's pads as if that was clearly the best possible option at that moment - good job. The new moves are fun, and I've yet to see anyone successfully complete any of them outside of the more practical 'bank' and 'self pass' (behind the net), and slip deke (near boards) moves. But ... those are useful and props to EA for adding those in! The game does feel better overall, especially when picking up the puck and making a quick move in the other direction, it's more 'fluid'. CHEL ... all I can say is, at least they didn't put a pond back in with shadows that effectively ruin the entire game experience ... in the words of the Angry Video Game Nerd "what were they thinking?!?" last year. there's a new sync feature prior to puck drop, that seems to have helped with the 'games not counting' bug that's been plaguing CHEL since ... forever ... I can't say for certain if that entirely resolved, however, as I do believe of the 30 or so games I've played, at least one of them did not count. I haven't and do not play HUT, so my 4/10 has nothing to do with that mode and does not factor into my rating whatsoever. We all play NHL for our own reasons and modes. The goalies are just as ... whatever as they have been in previous years. They do seem to be slightly better 1v1, but the cross-crease passes, omg ... ez. So yeah, as a lot of people have mentioned, this game needs an overhaul of sort from the ground up, the AI as a whole needs to be redesigned, and they should start with goalies. Admittedly, it must be very difficult to program AI, but at this point it needs to be better, as a whole.

Every so often one must admit when they are wrong ... oh so very wrong. Originally I gave this game an 8/10, but had yet to experience the full online "experience" - most notably the EASHL mode. At first I thought it was just a little buggy, but with over 100 games in the bag now I can safely say ... this game has SERIOUS (game breaking) problems. If I only played offline, and if you only play offline, or 1v1, you're probably fine, it's a great game, and that could be an 8/10 ... but not so much if you play EASHL. I don't eve know where to begin, Johnnyhockey's review is actually pretty accurate, but I can't give it a zero because despite all the bugs and glitches, I still enjoy the game enough to give it a 4 (see my update below). TLDR (even for me): EASHL ... I spend 99% in this mode, and just wow ... wtf. - if a fight is triggered during the game, there's about a 70% chance the game just 'resets' itself back to the face off prior to the fight. **UPDATE OCT 27*** This bug is GAME BREAKING, in my opinion. - Upon scoring a goal there's about a 10-20% chance that the game 'resets' itself back to the face off prior to the goal scored. - If someone quits the game any other way than via the menu it seems to trigger a long delay for everyone, and you just sit at a screen showing people in voice chat, then the game comes back, sometimes up to 5 minutes later. - As previous years' releases ... during a face off the game sometimes just starts to 'reset' once the face off has taken place and it's entirely possible that the game just loops at this point. Face off, reset, face off, reset ... - Stat tracking definitely appears be completely coked out, at least certain stats - shot blocks specifically. You could get 6 blocked shots in a game and it won't register on your career page; however, stats like goals, assists and penalty minutes do seem to be accurate, unless you're in one of those games where you scored a goal and the game 'reset' back to a prior face off All in all ... this game is buggy as hell, and is not worth the full price. Don't waste your money unless this is a game that you buy annually ... even then.

Point in case about this game, I'm upset at myself for being so ignorant as to not read about the game in its entirety before purchasing. But on the flip side, I just assumed that the core gameplay and modes would remain intact, silly me. This is going to be short, sweet and blunt. Don't waste your money on this title, it's unfinished! 1) The game is beautiful, and feels and plays better than any other hockey release, but that was to be expected. 2) ****/eaforum/posts/list/10163004.page That sums it up perfectly. I'm blown away that people are giving this game anything above a 5, which is why I'm balancing it by giving it a 1. I've been playing, and purchasing NHL games since 1994! Never have been this disappointed in an NHL release. It's shameful, it's robbery, it's unethical, it's a total scam. Full price for a game that's maybe 20% content complete. Also, why in the HELL should I have to be a Playstatin Plus member to customize my online matchmaking? That's beyond my grasp of reason. ****/ca/refund/ ... Everyone should be using this. Horrible, EA, absolutely horrible. Shame on you.