The summer months are winding down and onslaught of EA Sports games is about to begin. At Gamescom, EA released a trailer for NHL 15 and revealed that there will be a demo, unlike for the Madden franchise this year.
As you may recall, EA Sports decided to stay with NHL 14 on last-gen consoles, an idea that is pretty much out of the realm of thinking. When it’s time for a sports season to start there is always an EA game to complement it on every platform imaginable. Even during lockouts like the NHL lockout during the 2004-2005 season which resulted in cancellation of all the games that season, there was still an NHL game to be had for everyone on just about every platform. The choice not to force a next-gen option seems to have paid off, as my time with the game during E3 was overwhelmingly positive. You can view the rundown of my thoughts here.
As for the “gameplay†trailer from Gamescom, it’s composed entirely of CGI which does little for us getting more of an insight into the actual gameplay. Having said that, the CGI trailer does show certain features that are coming our way. Livelier pucks, collisions with the goalie and multiple opponents are key features for this years iteration. One oddity in the trailer does have me scratching my head though. There are a few instances in the trailer that make it seem like you can play in first person mode, don’t get your hopes up. In previous games, when playing Be-A-Pro, it would switch to first person view when sitting on the bench for a lie-change and when fighting. I can’t recall there ever being a first person hockey game, especially on the EA side of things. The 2K games may have had it in there, but I have little experience with that side of the NHL.
More Importantly, EA revealed that there will indeed be a demo and it can be downloaded on August 26 on PS4 and Xbox One. At this time there’s no mention of any other platforms. Similar to the other NHL demos, you can play the latest years Stanley Cup matchup between the New York Rangers and The Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings. You can play a full three-period game, with periods consisting of two minutes each. Conversely, you have the ability to try your hand at the new superstar stick in practice mode which pits you skating solo against a goalie, like in years past.
Check out the trailer below and let us know if you’ll be lacing up the skates and hitting the ice this season.
NHl 15 is being developed by EA Sports, published by EA, will be released on September 9, 2014 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
