EA's annual NHL franchise is one of their best, most well-reviewed properties, even if the sport it's based on isn't the most popular in the US. As far as annual releases go, NHL usually makes an effort to improve the game as well as the aesthetic, and the titles improve year over year.
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The first details have dropped for the next entry, NHL 15, and the series continues to strive for improvement. One of the highlight announcements is (in the year the contract of long-time commentary team Gary Thorne and Bill Clement expired) that Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk will be taking over as commentators.
Emrick is widely regarded is the best announcer in hockey, and has long been called for to join EA's game. His voice can be heard narrating the accompanying teaser trailer (below), and it's great to have him and Olczyk aboard (along with on-ice analyst Ray Ferraro).
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Also announced on the game's official page are several mechanical improvements to the gameplay. The AI is becoming more intelligent, better able to see potential plays developing and get in the scoring areas. The developers are also applying full physics to every individual player and the puck, which should lead to more realistic collisions.
These are just objectives for now as far as we're concerned--we'll have to reserve judgment until we see if EA succeeds in implementing them. They are also adding fully realized, true-to-life arenas for each team for the first time, as well as more realistic crowds and revamped presentation. Player likeness and animations are supposedly going to be more realistic than ever--most of these improvements are due to the power of the new console hardware.
I'm personally a fan of the series, but had grown tired of the same formula over the past few seasons and skipped last year's entry. It seems like the franchise is getting something of a reboot, and the new commentary team will hopefully help take the franchise into the next generation with a bang.
