Fansided

5 features we still want to see from EA Sports’ NHL series

By Nick McAdam

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 08: (L-R) Patrick Kane, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Jonathan Toews pose during the EA Sports NHL 11 Launch Event outside the NHL Powered by Reebok Store on September 8, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Thomas Nycz/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 08: (L-R) Patrick Kane, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Jonathan Toews pose during the EA Sports NHL 11 Launch Event outside the NHL Powered by Reebok Store on September 8, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Thomas Nycz/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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MOSCOW, RUSSIA – JULY 7, 2018: The opening of Majlis Qatar, a three-tiered pop-up space, and the Qatar Elements multimedia museum in Pushkinskaya embankment in Moscow’s Gorky Park. The 2022 FIFA World Cup is to be held in Qatar on November 21 – December 18, 2022. Mikhail Metzel/TASS (Photo by Mikhail MetzelTASS via Getty Images)
MOSCOW, RUSSIA – JULY 7, 2018: The opening of Majlis Qatar, a three-tiered pop-up space, and the Qatar Elements multimedia museum in Pushkinskaya embankment in Moscow’s Gorky Park. The 2022 FIFA World Cup is to be held in Qatar on November 21 – December 18, 2022. Mikhail Metzel/TASS (Photo by Mikhail MetzelTASS via Getty Images) /

4. Modes Everyone Can Play

A big problem that Electronic Arts has had over the past few seasons is that it leans toward the players who are very knowledgeable about hockey. Furthermore, this is the most definite reason other than money that EA has gone all out on Ultimate Team.

It’s one thing around sports games that puts the genre at a huge disadvantage against other forms of video games. Everybody can pick up the latest action game or the recent RPG and play for hours on end. Sports games are more fun when a player knows what’s happening, which could take more time than a consumer wants to take.

EA doesn’t really try to counter this, either. NHL 2K5, as a great example, had game modes that allowed players to drop the puck wherever they wanted to. Locations included a farm, the frozen apocalypse and even space.

There were also a host of funny game modes such as the portions that involved players with big heads, mascot games and several challenges that are seen at the All-Star game. EA started this ideology with the throwback to NHL ’94 in their NHL 15 edition, but after that, it slowly faded away.

EA needs to not only install these basic elements into its game, but they need to expand upon them. Make these game modes available online or activate a rewards system based off something a player achieves in-game.

There’s a universe filled with ideas that can be used as simple and fun game modes. EA chooses to ignore them because they’re making money off of “hardcore” fans, while the need for expanding on modes that only those fans would understand is a must for some reason.