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Game critics seem pretty happy with NHL 14

punchotnhl14

EA Sports’ latest video game NHL 14 released in North American on Sept. 10 and worldwide on Sept. 13, so it seems like a good time to take a look at how critics are receiving it. The general response seems to be enthusiastic, although maybe that excitement is waning a bit year-to-year.

Most of the critiques are glowing and contain a multitude of hockey puns, although Giant Bomb’s review captures a mild feeling of stagnation that might be familiar to fans of sports video game franchises.

All of this considered, NHL 14 is most certainly a better game than last year’s, but whether it’s enough to convince you to go for another purchase will likely depend on how badly you want improvements to the series’ more physical game elements. In terms of visuals, commentary, and feature set, little of NHL 14 changes notably from what was on offer last year, leaving only the hitting and fighting systems as the marquee upgrades. NHL 13 had a pretty massive chasm between the quality of its gameplay and its feature set, and that chasm hasn’t really been filled in much at all this year.

Metacritic’s aggregated reviews gives the Xbox 360 version an 83 out of 100 while the Playstation 3 one mysteriously falls to 79. The site’s collection of game reviews shows that the series is generating slightly less impressive reviews each year, although only incrementally worse.

NHL 14: 83 on 360, 79 on PS3
NHL 13: 83 on 360, 83 on PS3
NHL 12: 86 on 360, 86 on PS3
NHL 11: 88 on 360, 88 on PS3

EA hasn’t confirmed NHL 15 for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, but perhaps bigger innovations - and more enthusiastic reviews - might come then?

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins