NHL 15 review: on many occasions it was hard to tell that this was a game at all

£54.99; EA; PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

It is surprising that ice hockey is not more popular in the UK as the sport involves being cold and fighting, so to try and encourage us EA have released their latest being cold and fighting simulator NHL 15.

This is the first NHL game to make it to the new generation of consoles and as such there is a certain level of expectation, especially considering what was achieved with the latest instalments on the last gen machines.

There are a variety of modes that allow the player to take on human opponents from around the world or to battle through a career as an ice hockey pro. The career mode seems to be the focus of the game with you taking control of a single player as they are drafted by an NHL team. You are then tasked with completing challenges within the season depending on your position, such as scoring goals or assisting with goals etc.

The actual hockey plays very well with the puck moving about the ice in a realistic manner and the players feeling as though they have real weight and momentum behind them. The controls can be a bit tricky to get used to at the start but once you get the hang of them it’s possible to play some fast and impressive looking hockey.

Fans of the series may be disappointed to hear that many of the modes present in previous versions of the game have not been included in this iteration. This may seem odd seeing as EA managed to include them on last-gen versions of the game. But the players look incredible and the gameplay itself manages to be realistic - but not too complicated that it is no longer fun.