The best NHL all time

I play the series of EA Sports now for 20 years, so to speak, from the very beginning. Last year's NHL 2013 was, in my view already almost perfect and I would not have thought that it would be possible to the game, at least at the current state of technology to make it even better. But it has succeeded.

The already sensationally successful predecessor "True Performance Skating" was again improved, so that players now even more realistic skating across the ice. The AI ​​has been improved, which not only raises the level of difficulty once more, but also their own players can appear more intelligent and versatile, ergo the game fun again increased. The "Enforcer Engine" is also really awesome. The fights are much more versatile and more often, what it is, in particular, that fights no longer come about only through mutual challenging, but also, as in real life, from the gameplay out. Check out one example, an opposing player after the final whistle or an effort on goal after the game, you have to expect that there are just stress (such as real-up also). Even the obligatory jockeying and shoving in front of goal after the final whistle can here and there escalate. In general, the more likely that there's trouble with any hard check that they divide. So if you put an extremely physical style of the day, the own penalty account increases not only by ordinary 2-minute penalties, but just by the resulting Fights. Here was thus turned to the extreme realism-screw, which I personally find good. Gone are the days when even my absolute maximum Tough Guys came up with 40 penalty minutes in the team per season, although they have constantly mowed down everything that moves. After the first half of the season several of my players had the 100 penalty minutes in the account. The physics has been further optimized. The checks look even realisitischer, it crashes and clatters by the minute.

In addition to the highly improved technology I especially like that you have finally understood at EA that the wheel is not every year has to be reinvented. In the past, it was unfortunately often the case that the game has been completely drawn year after year on the left. Suddenly, the menu was completely different, the behavior of the players, the game balance, in some cases the control. War in one year almost every one-timers to score, only shots resulted in the following year in the top right corner to success, etc ... Now we will focus exclusively on to remedy the weaknesses of the previous year and leaves everything else to had proven so, as it was. Curiously, this point is exactly criticized by some users and presented as if it were not about a full version, but only an update. For me incomprehensible. I am pleased that I can get started right away, because I immediately find myself after 13 NHL in the menus and control and otherwise in the gameplay have only minimal adjustment difficulties. Nevertheless, I would never change in life back to the NHL 13, because there are just so many improvements.

My only two (small) criticisms are the NHL 94 anniversary mode, the one from my point of view could have saved (has nothing to do with the old NHL 94 to the control and the star-shaped markings on the player) and the lack of classification of a player in 1st line, 2nd line, etc ... in the Be-a-GM mode. While the division still exists, but appeared for some reason not in the overview of the player in the line-up screen, but for example in the trade screen and some other places where this information actually nobody needs. This is sometimes a bit annoying for detail-GMs like me.

Conclusion: Who NHL has 13 fallen for NHL 14 is in my view a must! Caution is advised for beginners or casual gamers, because the frustration factor due to the crisp level of difficulty can be quite high but. But this has nothing to do with cheating, the AI ​​how often criticized, but with the further improvement and therefore highly variable AI.