Jordan Posted 6 April 2015 Share Posted 6 April 2015 Apparently, Eastside Hockey Manager was this amazing ice hockey manager sim until its developers pulled the plug after its 2007 game, but it has remained a cult favorite over the years. It's back now, and developed by Sports Interactive. The game's available now as an Early Access purchase, and you get all the features as the game continues to develop. I've never played this franchise before, but based on good reviews, I bought the early version. It's a little early for me to judge how well this is going, because there's a lot to sift through. There are 11 fully playable leagues (NHL, AHL, and ECHL, the 3 CHL Major Junior leagues including the Memorial Cup, KHL, and the top two divisions in Finland and Sweden), with more coming. The game isn't licensed, so you've gotta figure out who all the fake names are and that's already a pain in the ass. But the game really does have everything: every competition in those leagues plus international play, extensive scouting, complete drafts and draft rankings by scouts, finances, etc. You can also customize your team tactics down to minute individual details and even coach your team during games, although you can also just stay in your role as GM and leave all that up to your head coach. The interface and feel are not too dissimilar from FM. It's a 2D match engine and I haven't quote figured out how realistic it is, how well the tactics are implemented, etc. I've started out with the Ottawa 67's in the OHL (CHL) for some stupid reason, and it's tough. The stats seem on par with how the O is, except my team has a penalty kill of about 50% after 6 games, which is atrocious even for Major Junior standards. We lost our first 3 thanks to terrible goaltending, but won the next 3. It's hard to make what seems to be fair trades, but it's probably more difficult to do that at my level than if I were to play in the NHL provided you work within the salary cap. After one day playing the game, I can say that if you like manager games, like hockey, and like thinking so hard that you start getting a headache, then this game is for you. I do feel, though, that once I start getting more of a hang for the flow of the game, I can have a bit of fun with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB11 Posted 6 April 2015 Share Posted 6 April 2015 Are there any downloadables to replace the non-licensed teams with licensed ones? On Football Manager the German national team was like that but you could download files from the community Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stadt Posted 6 April 2015 Share Posted 6 April 2015 I'd get if I knew anything about ice hockey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike the Metal Ed Posted 6 April 2015 Share Posted 6 April 2015 Is the EIHL still in? When I tried EHM 2007 I got to send the Sens to play the Nottingham Panthers away in a friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted 6 April 2015 Author Share Posted 6 April 2015 Are there any downloadables to replace the non-licensed teams with licensed ones? On Football Manager the German national team was like that but you could download files from the communityYou can find downloadable player databases on the EHM The Blue Line forum, along with logo packs, which are probably worth the few minutes it takes to install.Is the EIHL still in? When I tried EHM 2007 I got to send the Sens to play the Nottingham Panthers away in a friendly. No EIHL! Maybe it will be added later, though, as SI seem to be suggesting they will include more leagues in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnegan Posted 6 April 2015 Share Posted 6 April 2015 By not licenced do you just mean team names, or players too? Like Glun Merry and Jon Thormton? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted 6 April 2015 Author Share Posted 6 April 2015 By not licenced do you just mean team names, or players too? Like Glun Merry and Jon Thormton? Neither teams nor players are licensed (yet?). For team names, just the city is used (the Rangers are "New York" and the Islanders are "Long Island," the Senators are "Ottawa," but the Ottawa 67's in the O are also "Ottawa"). For the players, it's like FM regens where they use names from the database of names for nationalities, but unless you choose fictional players at the start, they use the same set of names/players. So, Evgeni Malkin isn't "Eugene Malkinov" or something like your examples , I think he's "Maxim Sannikov" in the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnegan Posted 6 April 2015 Share Posted 6 April 2015 Not quite PES levels then. Gills (Giggs) and Earltou (Earnshaw) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 7 April 2015 Share Posted 7 April 2015 I like management games but not knowing enough about Ice Hockey would put me off going for it. If anyone likes Basketball management games I'd highly recommend Wolverine Studios Pro Basketball. You couldn't ask for more and is even better if you play it against friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted 7 April 2015 Author Share Posted 7 April 2015 I like management games but not knowing enough about Ice Hockey would put me off going for it. If anyone likes Basketball management games I'd highly recommend Wolverine Studios Pro Basketball. You couldn't ask for more and is even better if you play it against friends. I think there are older versions of EHM available as freeware.I've never heard of that basketball one but I will have a look, thanks. I doubt I'd be able to give both a go at once, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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