We knew that the team over at EA Canada was hard at work on NHL 15, but we had no idea that their first venture into the next generation would be so ambitious. With features such as The Next-Gen Hockey Player, True Hockey Physics, Superstar Skill Stick and Authentic Arenas previously revealed, we were already impressed, but today they took things one step further.
Announcing the all-new Vision A.I., it’s clear the focus of NHL 15 is where it should be; the gameplay. While past installments may have seen players drifting aimlessly towards the boards while the opposition put one in the back of the net, Vision A.I. will cause non-controlled players to react according to the definition of their specific roles. As EA Canada recently explained in their Blog Post, this means “Goal scoring forwards will look for soft spots in the defense and get into open shooting lanes.”
That sounds great to us, but as veterans of many sports games, this won’t be the first time a developer has claimed to solve the wonky A.I. problem. If EA Canada does have one thing going for them though, it’s the fact their track record with the franchise is phenomenal.
NHL 15 will be available for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One this September 9th in North America. For now, enjoy a few brand new screenshots that, if you ask us, are pretty much the only sales pitch we need to throw down a pre-order.
