Top 10 NHL game

[donghabs98]

It was the first time we all got to play it and it’s when it was at its most pure IMO. Cards had careers to them, there were contract cards, attribute boosts, and way less fluff. It was the most fun in that first year

Agreed, I stopped playing HUT around NHL 13. NHL 11 and 12 was when it was in its simplest and purist form.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

2k10 is the goat

I have no confidence EA will ever match it

 

[Qwertydrive]

NHL 94 with the 2022 mod by Naples39

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[ElLeetch]

NHL 09, because its the last one they had on PC, and i refuse to buy consoles

 

[mattihp]

NHL 09, because its the last one they had on PC, and i refuse to buy consoles

Holy moly! It has been that long! I used to love updating rosters and adding players with Blomman's editor!

 

[Michigan Magic]

NHL 94 SNES, NHL 2002 GBA, NHLPA 93 Genesis

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

2k10 is the goat

I have no confidence EA will ever match it

Youre joking right?

 

[Matty Sundin]

Obviously the gameplay is better now but when it came out I thought nhl 13 and 14 were solid games.

I actually wasn’t a fan of the actual gameplay for the 2K games but their options with the modes and presentation was actually better then what we have now.

 

[AmabileCassarole]

Obviously the gameplay is better now but when it came out I thought nhl 13 and 14 were solid games.

I actually wasn’t a fan of the actual gameplay for the 2K games but their options with the modes and presentation was actually better then what we have now.

I really enjoyed the little things you'd get from 2K games, such as the record keeping and the attention to detail with the jersey options. Hell, I remember playing NHL 14's Live the Life mode and getting the same repetitive questions (how many times do you need to say what a hat-trick is?) while NBA 2K was getting full blown cutscenes. What gives, EA? And then there was NHL 2004 where you had a pretty spiffy GM mode, and you could even customize your office.

Now it's all the barest minimum possible. You can't even blame EA for this because everyone is doing it nowadays.

 

[blundluntman]

I didn't start playing the games consistently until NHL 12 so my list is gonna basically rank the last decade.

1. NHL 15 old gen (it was basically an improvement of 14)
2. NHL 12
3. NHL 18 (this was the only game I really played where I grinded online in drop ins which was unbelievably fun; it was also the last hurrah before the horrible World of Chel change the next year)
4. NHL 22 (I finally got to play a decent goalie BaP for the first time this year bc I changed the sliders so drastically)
5. NHL 13
6. NHL 14
7. NHL 21
8. NHL 19
9. NHL 20
10. NHL 24 (we'll see if it grows on me; maybe I'm just getting old)

I didn't buy 16, and I only played 17 for maybe a month before 18 came out. I also boycotted NHL 23 so that's why none of these are on the list.

 

[BruinDust]

1. NHL 98 (PS1) - Easily the game I played the most of as I played very little of NHLs 99-2004. Felt it was better than 99-01 by a mile hence why I kept going back to it despite owning copies of the other 3. The intro video and soundtrack are classic. When it came out in the Fall of '97 the presentation was mind-blowing. This is and will likely always be my favorite all-time NHL game.

2. NHLPA 93 (SNES) - Sorry but neither me nor my friends owned the fabled NHL 94 so NHLPA 93 was our jam. If you could stop yourself from scoring the wrap-around or the "half-wrap" we called it (cutting out of the corner across the net), the game was challenging vs. the AI.

3. NHL 2014 (PS3) - The peak of the PS3/Xbox 360 era. HUT was still fun and the game really had no flaws and was the least buggy of the recent games (to this day NHL 13 is my most disliked NHL due to how buggy it was).

4. - NHL 2005 (PC) - Was the first NHL I played consistently since the above mentioned NHL 98. On PC their was no options to create players or edit players that year so whoever was in the game was in the game (pardon the pun). The GM mode had a "keeping costs down" benefit to player salaries (no salary cap in that game) and it was a fun experience.

5. - NHL 95 (SNES) - First NHL that you could create players and move players. Spent way too much time creating teams and players. Gameplay I felt was improved from the earlier NHLs.

6. - NHL 2011 (PS3 and Xbox 360) - HUT was in it's infancy but still a bit of fun. The peak of my EASHL participation, had a team with 4-5 local friends. We weren't good but was a lot of fun. Felt the overall game was solid top to bottom.

7 - NHL Open Ice (Arcade) - Going off the board with a stand-up arcade game in NHL Open Ice. Basically NBA Jam for hockey, I always used the Bruins I can still hear the announcers screaming "Ranford" over and over.

8 - EA NHL 3 on 3 Arcade. (PS3) I booted up my old PS3 the other day and was pleasantly surprised to see this game still installed on the drive. Just a fun NHL game that played well and didn't require any sort of time commitment and easy to play.

9 - NHL Stanley Cup (SNES) - Was glitchy and you could score some really strange goals, but used the SNES's Mode 7 hardware to it's fullest. Pretty impressive presentation for its time.

10. - NHL 16 (PS4)- The best NHL of the PS4 era. Solid all around and for my money the best HUT experience because it predates the "synergies" that they added to NHL 17 and onward.

HM - NHL 2009 (Xbox 360) - The first NHL I owned from the PS3/Xbox 360 era and was a decent game overall. No major complaints.

Worst - NHL 13 (PS3) - My goodness how much I despised this game. Between the glitches, the system lock-ups, the terribly implemented dynamic skating system, the brutal AI, etc. just an overall awful game. I rarely get upset playing a video game but this one had me tossing my controllers all over the living room.