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NHL 18 - Connor McDavid Named Cover Athlete, Gameplay Trailer

NYR

Member
DC43qlrXoAAincA.jpg:large


GAMEPLAY TRAILER:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsvajyRkqnc


NHL 18 GAME FEATURES
EA SPORTS NHL® 18 delivers the creativity of today's young NHL with new Creative Attack controls and the all-new Defensive Skill Stick. Play the fast-paced, arcade-inspired 3-on-3 EA SPORTS™ NHL® THREES mode, or reshape the league entirely with the new Expansion Draft and your own custom 32nd NHL team. Do it all with the most co-op and competitive multiplayer options ever delivered in an EA SPORTS NHL® sports game.

THE ICE IS YOUR PLAYGROUND
On attack, all-new creative dekes include between-the-legs shooting, one-handed dekes, back-handed toe-drags and much more - including the ability to link moves together for moment-to-moment decision making. On defense, the all-new Defensive Skill Stick gives you the tools to counter attacks with poke check targeting, extended pokes, and controlled stick sweeps to cover zones of the ice and take away lanes.

ARCADE-INSPIRED 3-ON-3 HOCKEY
Introducing EA SPORTS™ NHL® THREES, a bold new take on fast-paced, over-the-top 3-on-3 hockey action. The all-new arcade-inspired hockey experience features faster ice, bigger hits and high-scoring action that's easy to pick-up-and-play.

EXPERIENCE EXPANSION IN THE NEW NHL
In Franchise Mode, reshape the entire NHL with the new Expansion Draft feature where you get to create and draft a 32nd NHL team and shake up the league. Run an authentic expansion draft where you select the best players from across the league, build a unique roster and take on the front office role to manage the team, the business and the games.

TEAM UP OR COMPETE ANYWAY YOU WANT
Whether you’re playing cooperatively or competitively, offline on the couch or online with up to 12 players, NHL 18 delivers more than 64 combinations to team up with or against friends locally or online. No matter how you want to play, NHL 18 offers more ways to play multiplayer with your friends or against your rivals than any other EA SPORTS NHL® game.

YOUNG STARS EDITION
Play three days early and start your team off right with a Connor McDavid Hockey Ultimate Team item, Connor McDavid EASHL celebration, 20 HUT Gold Plus Packs and more.


Exclusive NeoGAF digital cover, pre-order now:
DC4wQZbXkAAyDgf.jpg:large
 

Juno_

Neo Member
Good to see the gameplay trailer is yet again the same deke/save/celebration animations. My favourite is the goalie hitting the puck behind his back. Disappointed at zero mentions of Be a Pro. Expansion draft mode? sounds so gimmicky. Gonna skip this one again unless something drastic gets revealed.
 

Ristifer

Member
Probably going to skip on this one. I was an idiot and bought 17 to play with friends because we always play the NHL games together. What a mistake that was. 17 was absolutely awful.
 

NYR

Member
Probably going to skip on this one. I was an idiot and bought 17 to play with friends because we always play the NHL games together. What a mistake that was. 17 was absolutely awful.

17 was terrible, EA puts zero money into this game any more and when they do, it's because of HUT which makes them money so that seems to be what gets the attention now. For EA, it is all about FIFA and Madden, the NHL series has really died this generation. The part that bothers me the most is the NBC stuff and the FMV (FMV! in 2017!) cut scenes before the game.
 

bumpkin

Member
Yeah... I'm skipping this edition. I got 15 because I wanted a hockey game on PS4 and one of my Bruins was on the cover. I grabbed 16 because of the additions they made to the modes and game atmosphere. And I grabbed 17 thinking I'd get a lot of mileage out of the EASHL, but I just wasn't able to find the time to play with the GAF club. No point in buying 18, it basically looks just like 17 with some extra stuff that means nothing to me.
 

Kazerei

Banned
I'm kinda interested in NHL Threes. Hopefully it's actually arcadey and over-the-top, and not just the regular mechanics with fewer players. I don't have much faith in EA though.

Looks absolutely nothing like him.

Yeah I thought it looked weird too, but I think it's just the angle and his facial expression. Apparently the cover is a render based on this photo.
 

Ristifer

Member
17 was terrible, EA puts zero money into this game any more and when they do, it's because of HUT which makes them money so that seems to be what gets the attention now. For EA, it is all about FIFA and Madden, the NHL series has really died this generation. The part that bothers me the most is the NBC stuff and the FMV (FMV! in 2017!) cut scenes before the game.
Pretty much. The product they ship is the product you're stuck with. They'll say they're "patching" certain gameplay aspects and bugs here and there, and yet your games will still crash over half the time.

How many dekes did they show in this tiny trailer? That's all you really need to know about what they're doing with this installment. Brutal.
 

NYR

Member
Switch version?
4K Scorpio support?

That'd be nice.

The site only has boxart for Xbox One and PS4, and the beta only lets you pick from the same selection. I doubt this is a mistake, they would be pushing Switch hard if this was coming out.

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Cake Boss

Banned
Fuck it, it's the only game I play on a weekly basis.

3on3 arcade interests me.

Disappointed there is no GM Connected tho 😕
 

Brad_WFG

Neo Member
I'm just happy EA is trying to sell a sports game without the obnoxious Alex Hunter/Longshot Madden thing. Love that trailer too.
 

The Dude

Member
NHL was always my go to back in the genesis days, then eventually 2k took over for me but in 08 nhl finally hit one hell of a new feel that I simply fell in love with. The online portion just feels awesome, I love it. Nhl 14 was the pinnacle game for me, i was in the top 50 centers in online bap and ever since its my most played sports game when it drops.

Although nhl 15 took a step back, 16 was decent and 17 was a lot closer to its former greatness. I expect 18 to just feel awesome.

6 on 6 is just pure hockey bliss, I play it in huge bursts or just as a great filler game in between my other big time games.

But unlike madden the nhl team actually makes strides even tho sometimes video trailers don't show, the feel of play on the ice just gets better most years except when they switched from last gen to current as nhl 15 was just pure rubbish.

Really excited to see my Pens in action as well.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Yeah the new defensive stick that didnt work the way it should the last 5 times it was new.


Switch version would be nice.

Only way I'd buy this is because of a Switch version.
 

Revenant

Member
I hope the on ice feels massively different because pitching one of your features as having "x" combinations to play with your friennd sure seems a little weak
 

Maddrical

Member
I'm surprised NHL 17 is poorly received, I bought it a few weeks ago on sale on the PSN and I'm enjoying it a LOT more than the last couple I played (14-15). But maybe I just missed the game since I hadn't played in a while, plus I don't touch any game modes aside from Be a Pro.
 

Ardenyal

Member
I'm surprised NHL 17 is poorly received, I bought it a few weeks ago on sale on the PSN and I'm enjoying it a LOT more than the last couple I played (14-15). But maybe I just missed the game since I hadn't played in a while, plus I don't touch any game modes aside from Be a Pro.

It's not that it's a bad game but the series hasn't reached the peak of ps360 gen (NHL 13) feature or gameplay wise. Every feature they add feels clunky for the first year or two (net battles, new dekes etc.) or has been in the earlier games as standard for years.
 

Maddrical

Member
It's not that it's a bad game but the series hasn't reached the peak of ps360 gen (NHL 13) feature or gameplay wise. Every feature they add feels clunky for the first year or two (net battles, new dekes etc.) or has been in the earlier games as standard for years.

Yeah I bought 15 on PS4 and could not believe how bare bones it was compared to 13-14 on PS3. I should've expected it but I was pissed off and refused to buy 16. I wasn't going to buy 17, only reason I did was because it was only $20 or something on sale on PSN. Glad I did though.
 
I'm surprised NHL 17 is poorly received, I bought it a few weeks ago on sale on the PSN and I'm enjoying it a LOT more than the last couple I played (14-15). But maybe I just missed the game since I hadn't played in a while, plus I don't touch any game modes aside from Be a Pro.

Yeah it's only poorly received if you stand it beside 14, 15 and 16 and see what they pulled.
14 was great
15 was a disappointing barebones game.
16-18 are simply re-adding features that they stripped from 14.

Maybe this is a plan to stay under budget so the game can continue to get made every year? I know it doesn't sell all that well and can't have much of a budget.
 
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