NHL 2005

[Mountainous Cleavage]

Well, my dad traded his guitar amp for some money, a PS2 and a few games. NHL 2005 was one of the games, and I decided to try it. Now, I'm hooked.

I'm loving the different leagues in it, and I continiously play as Berlin, even against NHL teams.

What do you think of this game?

[Cactus Drags]

I think ESPN's NHL 2k5 beats it out in just about every category.

[Liam]

I think ESPN's NHL 2k5 beats it out in just about every category.

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Haven't played that, but I have NHL 2005, and it is pretty good. Only problem is it is on PC, and I don't have a game pad.

[Cactus Drags]

Trust me, you'd be doing yourself a favour to pick up ESPN's version, especially when it's only lik £18. The gameplay is far more realistic and enjoyable, the graphics are top notch, and the Dynasty mode has far more life in it than EA's effort, which I was dissapointed with quite frankly.

[Summers]

And Dragsy beat me on it.

[Liam]

I'll probably buy it when I get my PS2, rather than on PC.

[Corizzle]

ESPN 2K5 isn't on PC, only PS2/XBOX.

Personally I thought both NHL 2005 and ESPN 2K5 were subpar. Neither really felt that enjoyable to me. Although Hockey is my favourite sport, I just feel companies spend more time and money on the other sports games.

[Cactus Drags]

That's understnadalbe, hockey's easily the least popular of the big four. But in my opinion, and according to almost every review I've read, ESPN NHL 2k5 is the best hockey game ever.

And yeah, I beat Summers B)

[oldskool]

2k5 is realistic?

How many no-look, between-the-legs backhanded one-timers to the top shelf have you seen during actual NHL play? I've got at least one in my first game with the Leafs. That and the franchise freeze in my game...*grumbles*

[Guest Grapehead]

Meh I have both NHL 2005(for GC) and 2k5(for PS2). I won't really compare graphics, as it would be unfair since the GC automatically gets an advantage against the PS2, but I know for a fact that NHL 2005's player models are a million times more realistic, and the graphics are very clean. The big thing I liked in 2005 was two button shooting, because I do literally hold in the shoot button too long and get all pissed that I now lost my wrist shot, with 2005 I never have to worry. The major downside to the gameplay in 2005 is the insanely tight defense, and lack of a middle ground for difficulty, it's either stupidly easy, or really challenging(based on how good you actually are) so it's hard for someone average to pick up and have a go and really get the most out of it. Dynasty mode is pretty dull, while still giving you the basic run through the season, playoffs, and awards at the end, it lacks anything resembling content. You can easily pick up players you want, and even easier is to get free agents requiring no contract negotiation, leaving you capable of stacking a team fast. The defensive AI favours the checking, so you can get into a came and face a check as soon as you cross the blueline, there's ways around it but for the most part the defense is way too tight. The World Cup is a pretty neat feature, being able to play with the teams and all, but it's just another game mode, nothing overly special, just neat.

With 2k5 there's so much more to the Franchise mode, it's incredible, and could actually be seen as too much in some cases. It's really fun to negotiate contracts and offer guys bonus' to try and get them to sign, feeling like you're more in the game, and make it more competitive. You get to do your scouting all around the world, you can play with the scouted players, put them in competitions and all that, giving you a much better feel for who you're drafting. The AHL is pretty cool to, being able to get the stats for your minor league guys. One thing that gets boring is constantly resigning your guys, it's easy to end up with 3 quarters of your teams contracts running out at once, so you have a lot of renegotiating to do. The gameplay, IMO, is a bit sloppier than 2005, I found my guys harder to keep control of and easier to lose passes, plus the ridiculous goals you can come across. The fighting engine is neat, allowing you to roam the ice through the fight is a cool feature. One little pet peeve I have about the game, and it is small, is that once the game ends if you don't watch the ending cutscene thing, you can't retrieve the 3 stars of the games, and it's become increasingly annoying now that I've started the NHL 2k5 league where I like to post the 3 stars.

In the end I'd much rather play a game on NHL 2005, but if I'm looking for something involving like a Franchise mode it's obviously NHL 2k5.

Edited April 18, 2005 by Grapehead

[triplexpac]

I'm not sure why, but I just couldn't get into NHL 2005. I played 2004 to death and loved it, but for some reason 2005 just didn't do it for me.

I think it was because it didn't seem balanced. I wanted them to make the defence harder, since in 2004 you could easily get 8-5 games. So they ramped up the defence in 2005, but it doesn't seem fair to me. It feels like they just super powered the defence and goalies to keep goals down, instead of actually improving the engine.

[alldaws1]

And Dragsy beat me on it.

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You must suck, I stuffed Drags B)

[Cactus Drags]

Once, you jammy fuck.

[triplexpac]

I've been playing NHL 2005 a lot more lately, and I'm having a lot of fun. I've finally figured out how to set up plays and such, and it's making the game a lot better than I first thought. Plus the graphics are just so sweet... I love seeing the players on the ice, and recognizing them from their faces.

I'd really like more depth and stuff in the Dynasty mode though. After playing Madden 2005, I'm dissapointed by the PC version of NHL 2005. Hopefully they can step up the Dynasty mode a lot in 2006.

[triplexpac]

I've been playing NHL 2005 a lot more lately, and I'm having a lot of fun. I've finally figured out how to set up plays and such, and it's making the game a lot better than I first thought. Plus the graphics are just so sweet... I love seeing the players on the ice, and recognizing them from their faces.

I'd really like more depth and stuff in the Dynasty mode though. After playing Madden 2005, I'm dissapointed by the PC version of NHL 2005. Hopefully they can step up the Dynasty mode a lot in 2006.

Edit: I've been even more annoyed with Dynasty mode lately. The damned computer keeps changing my lines on me! That's really, really annoying. Plus the interface just plain sucks. There better be an overhaul for the next game...

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