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EA SPORTS NHL 14

One of the most popular gifts given this year to hockey fans was a copy of the EA Sports game NHL 14.  As a matter of fact I gave my son a copy of the Xbox 360 version.  It is an excellent video game, and is very realistic.  I am not a video game player so this is a review from a hockey fan that plays a few games with my son.

POSITIVES

True Performance Skating – The speed and skating styles continue to improve.  It is realistic, very realistic.  EA Sports has updated over 1000 more skating animations to make it even more realistic.  The skaters feature improved acceleration, quicker pivots and enhanced player responsiveness.

One-Touch Dekes – The masters on the ice are now the masters on the game.  The moves are awesome, and realistic.  The great thing about the game is that you do not have to be a game master to pull off these amazing dekes.

Game Modes – They have it all, full season, quick game modes, playoffs, tournaments, its all there and quick and easy to set up.  The features get much more complex, there is now the Live the Life features that allows you to become a player, and deal with all aspects of being a player.  It gets as detailed as negotiating contracts to dealing with injuries.  Of course they also offer online features such as group season play.  There is also a GM mode that lets you run a NHL the way you want.

Extensive Team Library – All the NHL teams are featured along with the option for third jerseys and even past jerseys.  It looks good, and very realistic.  The AHL, Major Junior CHL and World Teams are available.  This just adds to the realism.

Difficulty – I am not a gamer and I figured this game out.  It seems easy to learn and is a lot of fun to play.  If the control setting for NHL 14 are too complicated you can switch you use the NHL 94 controller settings to play NHL 14 graphics.  Lets you have the great new updates with easier controls.  Perfect for the young or beginner.

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NEGATIVES

Fighting – Fights are great and a part of hockey.  It is just not realistic to be able to fight as much as you do in NHL 14.  The actions and realism of the fights seem to be very good.  It is just the frequency of the fights,  The new enforcer mode is a great idea, but is not realistic.  Keep the fighting, just tone down the frequency.

Big Hits – Everyone loves the big hits, myself included but there is not twenty big hits a game.  Just like the fighting keep it part of the game, just don’t make it so easy to do.  This will limit the amount of big hits and make it much more realistic.

NHL 94 – Great idea to make a tribute to the classic game.  It just is not a recreation of that game.  It is a toned down version of NHL 14 with blue ice.  They should have just made the game the same as it was back then.  They should have left the teams and players alone too.  It would have been great, it would be like having two games in one.

Overall this game is amazing.  At a price of $59.99 you cant go wrong.  It is realistic, very real.  Its one of those games that all ages can catch on too, and enjoy.  EA Sports is the leader in sports video games, and with the exception of a few minor negatives they scored a hat trick with this one.