NHL 14

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 99 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 99
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 99
  3. Negative: 28 out of 99
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  1. Bramsterdam
    Sep 14, 2014
    0
    this game is a massive piece of junk... the controls are awkward, clunky and just plain frustrating... if u enjoy spending hours upon hours learning the controls then by all means play this game... I can't believe they don't have a better tutorial system when the controls are so complex and clunky.. besides that, every online game results in a massive lag fest playing vs people... the A.Ithis game is a massive piece of junk... the controls are awkward, clunky and just plain frustrating... if u enjoy spending hours upon hours learning the controls then by all means play this game... I can't believe they don't have a better tutorial system when the controls are so complex and clunky.. besides that, every online game results in a massive lag fest playing vs people... the A.I is also incredibly stupid for example i just finished playing a game and i went in 2 on 0 and my ai winger skated behind their net... sorry man EA is just a terrible gaming company that makes inferior products don't spend a dime on this junk unless u enjoy frustration… Expand
  2. netmindah
    Sep 14, 2013
    0
    I have played every single EA NHL game religiously (except for the lockout year) since 1998, and have dabbled in it since 1994.

    This is the absolute worst EA Sports game I have ever played. Period. If this is the first NHL game you have ever played or you are just a new or casual fan of hockey you will probably love it. If you actually enjoy hockey this game will haunt your dreams. No    I have played every single EA NHL game religiously (except for the lockout year) since 1998, and have dabbled in it since 1994.

    This is the absolute worst EA Sports game I have ever played. Period. If this is the first NHL game you have ever played or you are just a new or casual fan of hockey you will probably love it. If you actually enjoy hockey this game will haunt your dreams. No longer is the game built on realism, playmaking, or skills.

    It is simply based on NFL Blitz style hits, horrible goaltending, the ability to score ONLY if you deke, Superman like immunity if you deke, and dozens of pointless fights, blown offsides calls, and the net getting knocked off.

    As a serious fan of hockey, this is the most infuriating thing ever! I will never purchase another EA title every again!

    They already added in Retro NHL 94. There is no need to have to arcade games with one release. The haydays of NHL 11 are far gone.    … Expand
  3. bpc315
    Oct 26, 2013
    0
    Worst game ever!
    - Goalies make amazing saves then a second later can save anything
    - Unrealistic hitting. People can skate away from a hit against the boards but at other times a push knocks you to the ground - If they do a mistimed deke it doesn't matter they will just hit your player or go through your legs to get past you - Computer players are constantly going offsides at the    Worst game ever!
    - Goalies make amazing saves then a second later can save anything
    - Unrealistic hitting. People can skate away from a hit against the boards but at other times a push knocks you to the ground
    - If they do a mistimed deke it doesn't matter they will just hit your player or go through your legs to get past you
    - Computer players are constantly going offsides at the oddest moments, slowing down the game so much
    - Net comes off waaaaaay tooooo much! every second it is coming off and stopping play
    - Tripping is out of hand. You can go through the players stick and puck and still get tripping called on you
    - Skating online is slow and seems like your in water. Horrible online gameplay seems sluggish
    - Hard to control players online seems like they are delayed or can't skate well.
    - Overall worst game of NHL of all time all they worked on was the fighting which can be initiated way too much pretty much anytime during the game.
    - NHL 12 easily a better game than this at least 2 on 0s would go in more than slap shot form the blue line!
    - Good luck next year EA, you got a lot of work to do to make the next one playable    … Expand
  4. rugbyelite13
    Sep 12, 2013
    4
    i basically think they did a sub par job with this one. i am a hard core fan o nthe series and i buy every game as it comes out, so iam knowledgeable and also extremely picky. the fighting engine is good and needed, but basically thats all. they concentrated on that only you can tell. they game is slow and block, feels like moving through water. they broke the rebound goal, but kept thei basically think they did a sub par job with this one. i am a hard core fan o nthe series and i buy every game as it comes out, so iam knowledgeable and also extremely picky. the fighting engine is good and needed, but basically thats all. they concentrated on that only you can tell. they game is slow and block, feels like moving through water. they broke the rebound goal, but kept the same defensive systems that force you to use that. also it feel laggy and "loose" the puck kind of bounces around automatically, and i do not have much control of the players ofr the action. it feels not that exciting to score a goal cause ite feel like the computer did it. anyways i am disappointed, but will continue to play it all day every day lol, and buy every one. better luck next time EA.… Expand
  5. revolvingmonk
    Sep 26, 2013
    4
    Quite possibly the worst NHL game yet. I mostly play Ultimate Team and the teammate AI is really, really horrible this year. Every time you get a rush up ice you're going to be alone on the break since the computer feels the need to make line changes whenever someone steps foot into the neutral zone on the rush. Ultimate Team online basically amounts to who can score the most top-cornerQuite possibly the worst NHL game yet. I mostly play Ultimate Team and the teammate AI is really, really horrible this year. Every time you get a rush up ice you're going to be alone on the break since the computer feels the need to make line changes whenever someone steps foot into the neutral zone on the rush. Ultimate Team online basically amounts to who can score the most top-corner goals. Every goal is scored in pretty much exactly the same fashion. Person with the puck skates low then suddenly changes direction into the slot between the circles and wrists it past your netminder into a top-corner while your defense stands there and just lets them walk through. Don't even bother trying to get chances from the point. Just walk in on the other team, skate into the high slot and aim for a top-corner, you'll pretty much score every single time.

    I really, really, really wish that 2k would start putting out hockey games again. EA clearly hires people that know nothing about the sport and they don't give them the budget to pull things off correctly anyways. If the NHL franchise were a bit more like FIFA there wouldn't be half of the problems. I seriously doubt I'm going to buy another NHL game from EA after this one.    … Expand
  6. Joeychi21
    Oct 2, 2013
    0
    nhl 14 is literally the worst EA hockey game ive ever played. nhl faceoff 03 has better goalies then this game. every single new engine they promised is a LIE. GLITCH GOALS R BACK. oh im sorry idk we went back in time people it appears that EA knows something about time travel because i just payed for nhl 09. the hitting is unrealistic. im sorry im not sure if i payed to play hockey ornhl 14 is literally the worst EA hockey game ive ever played. nhl faceoff 03 has better goalies then this game. every single new engine they promised is a LIE. GLITCH GOALS R BACK. oh im sorry idk we went back in time people it appears that EA knows something about time travel because i just payed for nhl 09. the hitting is unrealistic. im sorry im not sure if i payed to play hockey or payed to play UFC undisputed. what it all comes down to is that nhl 14 creators literally took a dump in the case n said 60 bucks please. Im assuming that Adam Lanza made this game, because thats how autistic this game really is.… Expand
  7. petrynewborn
    Sep 13, 2013
    0
    My worst online experiance I ever had! I played the the demo before the release and its always running good. The demo is more fine tuned because its smaller amount of GB. But directly when I started playing online with full game the problems started as usual. Dont let the US, CANADA players meet EUROPEAN players it wont work because the lag online is horrible and the countires are to farMy worst online experiance I ever had! I played the the demo before the release and its always running good. The demo is more fine tuned because its smaller amount of GB. But directly when I started playing online with full game the problems started as usual. Dont let the US, CANADA players meet EUROPEAN players it wont work because the lag online is horrible and the countires are to far away. This generation is totally out of date but I think EA has done a bad job with everything. You pay for a small patch which dont do it. I will rate it as the worst game in the NHL series.… Expand
  8. championyouk
    Dec 9, 2013
    0
    The game is good unless you are a hardcore fan and put some real time into it. Then the constant computer errors and goalie problems drive you insane. How many times have we seen things that make no sense. Computer teammates race you to the puck just to skate in front of his own net, turn it over and ur down. Then momentum switches and people can do whatever they want. Ur down 3-0. Im inThe game is good unless you are a hardcore fan and put some real time into it. Then the constant computer errors and goalie problems drive you insane. How many times have we seen things that make no sense. Computer teammates race you to the puck just to skate in front of his own net, turn it over and ur down. Then momentum switches and people can do whatever they want. Ur down 3-0. Im in division one. I have a good club. I hate your game. Most problems ive ever had with any game ever.… Expand
  9. tom032583
    Dec 9, 2013
    2
    NHL has been my favorite sports video game for years but sadly this last one belongs in the penalty box because it has been naughty. First time I tried playing online I was rewarded by sluggish skaters and unresponsive controls. The second time I played it online I was beat so bad it was frustrating. My opponent seemed to know every trick in the game. Games today are being shippedNHL has been my favorite sports video game for years but sadly this last one belongs in the penalty box because it has been naughty. First time I tried playing online I was rewarded by sluggish skaters and unresponsive controls. The second time I played it online I was beat so bad it was frustrating. My opponent seemed to know every trick in the game. Games today are being shipped incomplete. Instead of releasing a game well baked games come out broken and in need of updates. I understand they are much more complex then the glory days of NES but no one should pay $59.99 year after year and experience only marginally improved games with unbalanced online play.… Expand
  10. Ochiwankenobi
    Dec 5, 2013
    2
    Honestly it's probably the worst game in the NHL series I have ever played. Feels like an unfinished product, which is beginning to be no surprise coming from EA(cough Mass Effect 3 cough). The hitting system just seems off, and if somebody doesn't have the puck then they pretty much can't be hit. Additionally, unlike all previous NHL series games I have played, there isn't any hittingHonestly it's probably the worst game in the NHL series I have ever played. Feels like an unfinished product, which is beginning to be no surprise coming from EA(cough Mass Effect 3 cough). The hitting system just seems off, and if somebody doesn't have the puck then they pretty much can't be hit. Additionally, unlike all previous NHL series games I have played, there isn't any hitting after the whistle, which for me takes an element of fun out of the game. Also, the fighting system is... Well there isn't really any better word for it; stupid. It's unrealistic and trying to be something it's not. While I must say the actual mechanics of the fight system are vastly improved, you will find yourself in two to three fights a period and apparently every fight ends in a knockout... I've never seen a knockout in a hockey fight.
    The skating mechanics also seem rather screwy; rather than stop & start or cut turns on sharp angles, the players insist on turning in large loopy manners.
    On a positive note the deking system seems improved and a bit more intuitive, although that's about the only thing I found redeeming about the game.
    And so that's 3 games in a row now, made by EA, that I purchased that have been complete and total letdowns. Too bad NHL 14 wasn't a trilogy game. And so I ask myself, why in the world do I keep purchasing EA games?    … Expand
  11. Twistedcuz
    Dec 17, 2013
    1
    The game can't get lower than this.. (should be careful what i wish for). NHL 14 is the sole Hockey game for consoles and it's a disgrace to the game. Graphics.. improved, thats why it gets a 1. Physics and offline gameplay are phenomenal, huge step-up from last year. The online play and servers, which is the competitive edge that sells the game to some people, it complete crap. ThereThe game can't get lower than this.. (should be careful what i wish for). NHL 14 is the sole Hockey game for consoles and it's a disgrace to the game. Graphics.. improved, thats why it gets a 1. Physics and offline gameplay are phenomenal, huge step-up from last year. The online play and servers, which is the competitive edge that sells the game to some people, it complete crap. There aren't any latency bars in team select.. yet again.. when approaching online play, which leaves 2 players stuck in a glitchy laggy and unplayable game, some adapt and some prefer to shut off the system until its fixed, like myself. It's mid-December and the game is hardly playable at times.. 1 out of 4 games are playable at most.. This game and my terrible rage has taken the like of two of my controllers, and a punched in wall. Save yourself the money and invest in anything but this game.… Expand
  12. Meeble
    Mar 10, 2014
    2
    Plenty of time in the cycle to develop for both next gen and port to current, chose not to. Fix the glaring bugs that have been around for years before doing dumb 94 mode stuff.....
  13. dwayner
    Mar 10, 2014
    1
    everything about this game sets me off, NHL 13 was by far the worst game ever made, then this NHL 14 is pretty damm close. seems like every game i outplay the computer 10 minutes to attact to their 2-3 minutes, out shoot them 25-30 to 6 and lose most games 4-1 to 5-1 even with the goalies ratings changed to 99! this is getting old, Honestly the skating in this game is still god awful…. theeverything about this game sets me off, NHL 13 was by far the worst game ever made, then this NHL 14 is pretty damm close. seems like every game i outplay the computer 10 minutes to attact to their 2-3 minutes, out shoot them 25-30 to 6 and lose most games 4-1 to 5-1 even with the goalies ratings changed to 99! this is getting old, Honestly the skating in this game is still god awful…. the dump and chases are awful as computer picks up the puck %90 of the time anyways and scores, even while your man is back. I even notice behind the play crap thats annoying, example…. you might have a man covered, there guy might move the puck to the next, so computer switches your player……. now he makes the play back to that guy you had covered, and your player who had him covered suddenly dozes off to go pick his nose in the corner or somthing leaving them wide open goals…. another is 2 or 3 on ones, players just doze off for no reason! its the stuff behind the scenes that are annoying, almost like watchin kids novice house league hockey. I dont mind the fighting but for no reason after big hits? boring, or when you want heavy weights to fight then all of a sudden is sam gagne fighting brian mcggratton? get real. quite amazing their lil bots pick up rebounds for open net goals 24-7, while you might get 1 outta 100 rebounds but buddy shoots it 1000 miles wide or his stick breaks everytime…. rittte. why is it every time you poke a puck of their stick or anything, it goes to their wide open man for goals every time or they just come out with the pick. the computer goes offside on purpose to get your top line off the ice (gets old) and also the net falls off its pegs way too often.....…. Things this game needs are hire fire coaches (each coach plays their own strategy) should be able to hire fire gms, should have olympics or world championships of hockey during gm mode and should be able to overide trades. Pre-season on gm mode you should be able to pick who you wanna play against in ANY league. Allstar games should not be based on ratings, but instead should be based on statistics as well as contracts. anybody drafted 1st overall to top 5 should be rated close to 80 and ready for nhl (brutal when first pick overall is rated 54, 2.5 star potential and takes 10 seasons just get get his rating close to 80-85), should be able to customize jerseys during gm mode and should be able to relocate clubs or add/subtract teams to spice things up.....HONESTLY THIS GAME ISNT EVEN FUN FOR KIDS BECAUSE ITS WAY TOO COMPLICATED FOR MOST, NOT FUN FOR THEM.… Expand
  14. AngryBozo
    Jun 27, 2014
    0
    NHL 14 is the worst hockey game ever made. If you don't know much about hockey and just wanna play casual against offline AI, go for it (if it is on sale), but if you plan to play a hockey that looks real online, while measuring skills against other player, FORGET THAT!!! They have included the "Momentum Effect" which will tweak the play for all the bad reasons you can have. For example,NHL 14 is the worst hockey game ever made. If you don't know much about hockey and just wanna play casual against offline AI, go for it (if it is on sale), but if you plan to play a hockey that looks real online, while measuring skills against other player, FORGET THAT!!! They have included the "Momentum Effect" which will tweak the play for all the bad reasons you can have. For example, if the other player controls the puck for a long time, it moves up his momentum and yours will go down, than you cannot do anything more because you have that downed momentum so impossible to get it back. So if you expect to play skills against opponent, go for nhl 13 instead. You won't either see the rest of the problems that are:
    - Offsides: AI has become the stupidest ever. They go offside like they have no clue about it;
    - If you hit someone with the puck, expect your player not to be able to get the puck, he is like pausing his brain for 1 or 2 secs so the player you hitted comes back on skates and still take the puck;
    - Goalies are most of times useless when shooting in corners. They almost never see it coming.
    - Defense will clear the center of the ice to let the opponent shoot (because of momentum) which is to me not the way nhl players are behaving in real life.
    - Again if momentum is against you, passes are close to impossible to go straight on teammate's hockey. They will 80% of time go directly to your opponent so he makes a good shot and oftenly scores. But no worry, it will not give you a passing point. (loll) At least....
    - If you lose Momentum, your players forget how to skate, you will lose the race for getting the puck in corner.

    I think that the first thing they should do, is remove the Momentum effect that makes you suck for trying to balance the game. By the way, I do not understand why they classifies us from level 1 to 55 and may be more if they are making the Momentum tweaking the game. Let me play REAL SKILLS ONLINE!!! Momentum is something in the head of the player, not in the "making the controls going wrong and not responding right to what I do".

    I am a big fan of hockey. That is the ultimate sport I love to play on consoles. But nhl 14 was so bad, I'm having trouble to believe they will make the changes with AI. But be sure the graphics will get better and the fights (obviously in nhl they put all the budget on fighting so not much left for the AI). If they do not make the changes in nhl 15, I won't buy it, nor I'd buy a next gen console (the only reason why I bought consoles was nhl), because it frustrates me too much and finally, MISSING THE FUN OF PLAYING HOCKEY. My Advice, look from nhl 09 to 13 which will respond best to your stands. And don't be fooled by the next gen graphs if the fun of hockey is not there.    … Expand
  15. hockeyh
    Jun 29, 2014
    3
    In NHL 14 i get so frustrated because of various reasons. First of all, this annoys me the most, is that when playing against another team whether multi or single player most of the time it doesn't matter how many shots you have taken on goal because sometimes the goalie is just an unreal brick wall. He will not let anything through from one timers to deke. It is simply based on luck basedIn NHL 14 i get so frustrated because of various reasons. First of all, this annoys me the most, is that when playing against another team whether multi or single player most of the time it doesn't matter how many shots you have taken on goal because sometimes the goalie is just an unreal brick wall. He will not let anything through from one timers to deke. It is simply based on luck based on my gaming experience how many goals you will score in a game. Second, this game is all about hitting. On every play there will plenty of big hits and after some big hits the option to fight shows. This is not realistic at all, you do see hits in real NHL games but not as many as this, not even close. For me, it feels like an arcade game in which your objective is to annihilate other players on the ice. Nhl 13 to 14 went from okay to bad. I mean nhl 14 took away the purpose of the game which is to try to win and changed it to hurting the other players. Anyways another reason why it feels horrible is because when you are the better team and are winning, the game, i guess, try to makes it fair by letting the cpu on your team take penalties constantly and you just start wondering,"what the heck is going on".… Expand
  16. ireviewthings1
    Mar 4, 2015
    2
    I've been with the series since 2000. I've been playing hockey since 2000. This series is a shell of its former self. The series has stagnated since 09.
    F**k EA. It has taken the license hostage for too long. So many gameplay elements are outdated or outright broken.
    -If your big new innovation is a new fighting engine, you know you are in trouble. -the "new" live the life is just a    I've been with the series since 2000. I've been playing hockey since 2000. This series is a shell of its former self. The series has stagnated since 09.
    F**k EA. It has taken the license hostage for too long. So many gameplay elements are outdated or outright broken.

    -If your big new innovation is a new fighting engine, you know you are in trouble.

    -the "new" live the life is just a very poor and lazy rip off of 2ks my career

    -The AI cheating is the worst it has ever been. It's just awesome how it just does things you as the player are simply not capable of, how your player magically stops skating for 2-3 strides like he pulled a hammy, and the AI conveniently recovers the puck. flat out interference in front of the net. all the time. And of course, if it doesn't want you to have the puck, you wont have it. No matter how well you play defense.

    -even worse though is the team AI. the skate routes, yes. but that is about it. no puck support, no skating into open ice. it is so limited the most effective thing you can usually do is drop passing or just dangling through the entire opposite team.

    Concerning presantation, I can only compare it to 2k's NBA series. I know it also has it's faults but when it comes to capturing sport broadcasts, the NHL series looks like a mobile game. No effort. Same animations since 2007! There are All-Stars without cyber faces. Are you joking? And the animations.... oh my goodness. I think they used someone who never skated before in his life for motion capture. It looks stiff and embarrassing. It might have been fine 5-7 years ago, but that is the story with this franchise.

    The NHL series by EA hasn't taken a step forward in 5 years. It has come to the point where I think it is bad advertisement for our game of hockey in general. The core gameplay experience is simply not up to modern (not EAs) standards any more.

    Doesn't matter if you are a fan of hockey or not: don't buy this title. And since they have done nothing to improve but rather stripped MAJOR FEATURES of next gen NHL 15, stay away from that as well.

    And to the producer, sean ramjagsingh, I can only say: If I happen be in BC one day and I am being told you said the words "all new" again, I will find you and kick your head in.    … Expand
  17. peterrocks
    May 21, 2016
    4
    the refs are so one sided in my opinion this game is not good. if you want to buy go right ahead but i warned you that the refs are not good, and you might want to return it

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2013
45
#45 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2013
62
#62 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 30 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. Level7.nu
    Dec 12, 2013
    70
    A lot of people complain that the big sports game series don't evolve enough over the years. But NHL 14 shows that they don't even have to do that. This entry in the series is riddled with bugs and the Hockey Ultimate Team mode has still not yet been figured out. Instead of a step forward it seems it chose to take two steps back.
    Read full review
  2. GameOver.gr
    Nov 1, 2013
    85
    EA continues to dominate the fields, whether they are made of grass or ice. The 2014 edition of NHL is one of the best that has come out and the addition of the NHL 94 arcade edition makes it even more valuable.
    Read full review
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 24, 2013
    60
    If you've played any of the recent "seasons", no. 14 is just another small step towards making the game better. But if you're new to the game, you'll be head over heels for it. [Issue#234]
See all critic reviews »