NHL 15 on the older consoles still maintains a lengthy list of game modes and features that are nowhere to be seen on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions.

National Hockey League loyalists are used to getting their emotions tossed around, whether it be by frustrating TV deals, the way the sport gets swept under the rug by popular American culture, and the general lack of media attention and press it gets. They must endure these harsh realities, forever cursed in knowing their sport is secretly the best thing to ever happen to humanity.

Part of that tragedy was realized a little less than a year ago when we found out that the iconic NHL coins series would not be making an appearance on the brand-new NHL 15 Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles. At the time we were told the team was focused on delivering the best-possible experience on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but the final product proved to be a step back.

Really, the one thing that may go the furthest toward tying together NHL 15's illusion of "this is real hockey" is the presentation. Featuring a commentary team of NBC Sports' Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk, and Ray Ferraro, fans would be hard-pressed to ask for a better line-up calling the game (except for you, everyone in Canada). The beginning of each match-up starts with a "live broadcast" that genuinely makes each game seem more important than it really is.

Again, the on-ice portion of NHL 15 Ultimate Team coins isn't really the issue. It's still the solid game of hockey it's been for a while, though it's arguably more the same solid game of hockey than it's been in a while. Meaningful advancements in gameplay just aren't there this year. The AI is strong, especially if you bump up the difficulty--you'll see teams react to repeated tactics and change up their play accordingly--and the feel of the game remains highly enjoyable, provided you're playing against a good competitor. And really, that's vital this year, because there aren't a lot of other ways to play NHL 15.

NHL 15 pucks are shell of its former self. Despite some impressive work to bring the on-ice experience and game presentation up to a new-generation level, it is so devoid of modes and features that its appeal will be limited to fans that have been waiting for hockey on their new machines; after all, NHL skipped the launch of the latest console generation last fall. While most other sports games have made the transition to the PS4 and Xbox One quite nicely, NHL finds itself in a very different position; at the bottom of the pile, looking up.

Fans of the franchise are upset with the disappearance of many of the game’s features.

When EA Sports first released photos and gameplay videos of NHL 15 pucks, the hockey world got excited at the improved graphics, physics, and AI. But since the game’s release, hockey fans have been furious about the laundry list of missing features. Is the game worth your time given all of the furor and rancor? It depends on how you prefer to play your virtual hockey.

The actual sporting section of cheap NHL 15 coins – the play of the puck itself – is great. Sure, playing the boards feels a little scripted still, but the improvements to puck physics, collisions, and goaltender reactions all make for an outstanding game of hockey. Scrambles around the goalmouth are about as frequent as they are in the real world NHL now, with not every goal being scored from by a big slapshot from the point or a wrister from a one-time pass, as was the case in years gone by. 

You need to work hard to score, as improved defensive reactions will cut out quite a few of your options when playing the AI and although those goalies concede goals in a more realistic manner now, they aren’t fools. They’ll put up a stone wall to kill off your beautiful breakaway move more often than not, and look great whilst doing it. Graphical improvements are in place of course, and everything looks sharp. Players are animated better and collide much more convincingly now, although they are somewhat more robotic than we’d like at times.

On the ice, you’ll notice the improved physics as soon as you start.  Each and every player is a physics-enabled object now, whereas last year, only two players who were colliding were affected.  Now, you can cause pile-ups in front of the net, and land devastating hits that can potentially cause one player to barrel into another.  The NHL 15 puck physics make a difference, as you’ll see goals that you’ve never seen before.  The game seems to run a bit smoother over last year; that is, the players seem less sluggish, everything seems a hair faster, and, well, players seem to be able to stop and change direction better.

EA created a time-intensive 9,000 unique fans to fill the stands’ lower bowls and dispel the franchise’s notion for plunking a bunch of generic-looking fans near the glass. It’s not just the number of super fans, however; it’s how they act. “We’ve got vendors walking up and down the aisles,” Ramjagsingh says. “And you’ll see people in the crowd taking selfies.”

Pacioretty, an Xbox guy, calls this season’s aesthetic leap one of the most impressive he’s seen from year to year. “One thing that really struck me was how real it all looked, and they had Doc and Eddie up there announcing,” he says. “I thought that was pretty cool as well.”