EA Canada has implemented a few changes to the physics layer found in its NHL series.

One thing that has always annoyed me about sports games is feature creep. As something of a purist--and as a guy whose first sports gaming experiences involved the LED bleeps and bloops of Coleco handhelds like Electronic Quarterback--I've never needed a lot of frills. Get the sport itself right on the field, or the ice, or whatever. Then we can talk about collecting players like sports cards, or bobblehead modes of play, or whatever. Less really can be more.

EA Canada has implemented a few changes to the physics layer found in its NHL series. Now each player and the puck have physics applied to them while on the ice. This allows for things like multi-player pile ups in front of the net, which didn't occur realistically in previous games cheap nhl 15 coins on Xbox 360 and PS3. Each player also has a trio of physics layers applied to them individually: their body, their equipment and their sweater. What this means is that players crash into each other with more force than before, and that a puck can change directions if it comes into contact with the fabric of a jersey or part of the equipment.

NHL’s biggest shortcoming, however, is that it abandons modes that many fans have come to love while keeping one that earns extra revenue for EA. GM Connected, an online franchise mode that allows hundreds of individuals to play together in a common universe--or even just a couple of friends who love to be in the same league--has been eliminated. EASHL, the online team-up mode that spawned entire communities of tens of thousands of fans, is gone. These are not ‘extras’ that only the hardest of hardcore fans look for; they are basic, fundamental features that NHL games have offered for multiple seasons. Meanwhile, Hockey Ultimate Team, a revenue-generating mode that lets you buy (with real money or earned in-game currency) virtual player cards and assemble a fantasy team to take on others online, is present and accounted for.

My experience with NHL 15 Ultimate Team coins was very different but no less entertaining for a time. I was amazed at EA Sports’ attention to detail. From the animation of one visiting fan cheering as the home crowd boos to the sheen of the ice after it’s been freshly Zambonied, NHL 15 is all about the realism.

All in all, NHL 15 is a solid experience that should whet the appetite of hockey enthusiasts with its attention to detail and realism but it provides too little content to keep casual players hooked.