NHL 15 Continues to be one of EA’s Most Impressive Franchises

Hockey is a religion in Canada. Unlike in the United States, where football, baseball, and basketball compete for viewers, Canadians universally place hockey above everything else. So it is no surprise that EA Sports NHL franchise continues to be developed in beautiful British Columbia, and the group there continues to innovate and improve on what has worked year after year. Mediocrity is never an option for the good folks at EA Canada, in Burnaby, BC.

Canadians are hardwired to understand the unpredictability of a hockey puck. Unlike in other sports, hockey pucks move like nothing else, and their paths are almost never straightforward.  EA Sports has continued to battle this problem with very little success, but the power of next gen has pushed the developers to finally introduce realistic puck movements.

Other updates to NHL 15 are also welcome, albeit not game changing. EA has promised 9,000 unique fans dispersed throughout the crowd. This is a vast improvement over the twenty to twenty-five found in NHL 14. EA also improved the realism around the rink such as how the jerseys flow over the players equipment. It doesn’t change the game play per say, but does add to the overall experience.

From what I’ve seen of all the sports titles being shown off at E3, NHL 15 will once again compete for the Game of the Year award from all the major media outlets.