In NHL 15, you see realistic looking and skating hockey players, along with detailed and authentic representation of the game of hockey itself. 12 Player NHL Collision Physics and Real Puck Physics capture the hard hitting chaos and unpredictability of the sport, while the Superstar Skill Stick and Vision AI put the flow and finesse of the game in your hands.
Witness the sights and sounds of authentic arenas across the National Hockey League, as 9,000 individual crowd models – the most ever in a sports videogame – hang on every play called by an all-new three man commentary team. In addition, a new partnership with NBC Sports brings, a world class broadcast package to the game.
New features
Most features are exclusive to the next generation versions (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) and are not present in the previous generation versions (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360).[2]
NHL Collision Physics is EA’s revamped player physics and allows for secondary collisions, player pileups, and net scrambles. In the next generation, this applies to all 12 players on the ice, meaning that all players are affected by physics. This allows for pileups involving all 12 players. In the previous generation, not all 12 players are affected by physics, and pileups do not involve all of them.
Revamped puck physics leads to authentic and unpredictable puck bounces, rolls and goals in the next generation versions. Everything on the ice controls puck physics.[2] According to NHL 15 producer Sean Ramjagsingh, EA hired a software engineer who worked on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to help make the puck physics as realistic as possible.
New modeling system for players and equipment allows for dynamic cloth technology in the next generation, with the players’ clothes moving and affecting physics.
Authentic NHL arenas: For the next generation versions, EA is re-creating 28 NHL arenas (PNC Arena and The United Center excluded) in extensive detail, making each arena unique and enabling larger crowds at NHL games.
NBC Sports Game Day Presentation: As part of a new partnership with NBC Sports, the next generation versions will feature a broadcast package that closely resembles The NHL on NBC broadcasts.
New commentary: Play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne and color commentator Bill Clement have been replaced by NBC Sports commentators Mike “Doc” Emrick and Ed “Eddie” Olczyk, respectively. Additionally, in the next generation versions, TSN analyst Ray Ferraro will give game insights at ice level.[2] Ferraro’s proximity to EA’s development studios in Vancouver allows EA to call him midseason to update the game with new insights as the 2014–15 season progresses. Emrick and Olczyk were recorded in front of a green screen and have been directly put into the virtual studio in the next generation versions, which eliminates lip syncing.
Living crowds: On the next generation, the crowd is more alive with individuals holding up player signs, wearing costumes, and reacting authentically to plays. Over 9,000 new crowd models produces various different types of fans.
In the next generation, Vision AI makes non-human-controlled players more aware of what is happening on the ice, including potential plays.
Group celebration returns to the NHL series for the first time since NHL 11, allowing goalscorers to celebrate with teammates in the next generation versions. New individual player celebrations have also been added.
Ultimate Edition: On June 30, 2014, EA confirmed that buyers can purchase an “Ultimate Edition” of the game for 10 extra dollars than the normal version would cost. Buyers of this exclusive edition will receive special content for the game’s “Ultimate Team” mode, a popular game mode across all of EA’s sports games, and will be playable in NHL 15.
