Submitted on: 11/24/2008 by
Rob Kotaska
It is a scenario that has long been a dream of mine. It's also a dream that has been shared by many Canadian hockey fans as they grew up.
It begins in the defensive end as I lift my opponent's stick not once, not twice but three times. It is a thing of beauty. I watched Esa Tikkanen do it once a game growing up. After pulling off a move you see at least 20-30 times a game in the NHL every night, I knock down the defenseman who outweighs me by 50 pounds. I obliterate him into the boards. Hey, the puck was between his legs after I lifted his stick. Fair game, right? After he bounces off the glass and lands in a heap, I take off down the ice, bobbing and weaving.
It is a thing of beauty as I glide around, sometimes backtracking to beat an opponent twice, just because I can. I know where my destination is and what is going to happen, so there is no need to rush. It is automatic. I am just smoking these other players; it is as if I am alone on the ice. This is the way hockey was meant to be played.
As I cross the blue line, I skate to the right against the half wall and pull an amazing 360 spin. I yell at my teammate since he almost got in the way -- what was he thinking? That 360 move belongs on YouTube. Sure, I do it every time, but it never really gets old. It would be like complaining about having to look at Scarlett Johansson when you wake up in the morning. It is just not right. After pulling off the sweet spin move, I cut to the middle of the ice. Ah the high slot above the circles, where the magic happens in every hockey game.
I cut across the ice, moving right to left. As I push my body to the left, I deftly flip the puck in what cannot even be considered as a wrist shot, more like a shot put. It's a shot that goes directly into the right corner of the net. It is just as all the greats did before me. I can remember seeing footage of the Great One scoring his 92nd goal on that move in 1982. But his was not as smooth as mine. What a great game, thank you EA for bringing the magic of hockey to my console.
EA: Bringing the magic of hockey to a console near you..or are they?
As you may have guessed, the above is sarcasm. Sorry for you cheesers out there that may have been nodding your heads in agreement. And I use cheeser in a very careful manner. I think it can be an overused term in the sports-gaming community.
Don't get me wrong, I am all for having a game be as sim as possible. However, I understand that in the end the video game is not the sport, and at best it will be a representation of said sport. Either way, I cannot deal with people who do not play the game, but rather the code. What is described above happened all too often in EASHL before the patch was recently released.
A few weeks ago, I dropped my controller and headset because I could not take it anymore. EASHL was not fun. In the end, video games are supposed to be fun. I didn't mind losing, but I did mind people wasting my time. And doing the same move over and over again, that is wasting my time. And the common argument would be, "If you know what they are doing, just stop it."
And that argument looks legitimate on the surface. The issue was that to stop these guys you would have to abandon playing any offense. If they were given one opportunity, they would go to the default move. Most of these types of players would be on a breakaway and would then pull up at the circles, skate one way, and shoot to the opposite corner. It was preposterous and no fun.
This patch has brought hope to all those who love both the game of hockey and the potential of EASHL. I want to focus on are three very valuable additions to the game that have helped stop the abuse of coding -- yes, I know the unemployed and class skippers among us will find a new way to exploit some aspect of the mode. Let's hope the new glitch is not as pervasive and does not make the game feel like something less than the sport it is supposed to represent.
Stick Lift Shenanigans
The first thing that was fixed is a new feature in NHL 09 that should be used sparingly and have more of a downside. The developers increased the likelihood of a penalty when using the stick lift -- if the stick hits the body. It is about time. I will admit bias here. I get a penalty almost every time and the converse seems to happen when I get my stick lifted: The puck is set free and no arm is raised in the air by the ref.
This fix was overdue and has helped curtail the constant use of the stick lift. I think it is a necessary counter for one timers. However, in the pre-patch game, the stick lift was being overused and exploited. While it still is a useful feature, albeit still a little overused, I'm actually witnessing people heading off to the sin bin after hitting my body rather than my stick.
Next person to say Shenanigans gets stick lifted and checked!
Checking Shenanigans
The developers have balanced the hit power by basing it on size. I have no problem being rubbed off the puck by a guy who is the size of Martin St. Louis; I had a huge issue when my Eric Staal-sized guy was getting obliterated by this member of the Lollipop Guild. It killed the balance of the game. Speed is supposed to be St. Louis' advantage. My slower speed is balanced with my size and ability to stay on my skates when taking a hit.
Prior to the patch I was getting destroyed by the Billy Barty's of the world. Post-patch I have been able to take hits and keep moving when getting hit by the water bugs. They still catch up and hit me again, but it makes me smile when they bounce off.
Long-Distance Shenanigans
The last fix was the key to saving EASHL. It is the one improvement I would have chosen above over all the others if I had been in that position. I cannot describe the goal in question without using profanity, so below is the description of the goal on the EASportsWorld.com website:
"We have fixed the goals from outside shots that people are scoring," said NHL 09 producer David Littman. "We have reduced shot accuracy when on the rush and when turning quickly, and from far out. You will now have to be more conservative when shooting on the rush. If you aim all the way to the left or right, your shot will go wide a lot more. Try aiming more towards the middle to hit the net from outside. This fixes the cross goal where you shoot back the other way, and the goal that goes in with the 'curve' animation, and a few others. There's a reason NHL players don't shoot from outside on the rush very often. Dumping or trying to set up is a better play unless you have an odd-man situation."
The patch, a possible NHL 09 savior to gamers.
That last sentence brought a tear to my eye. Finally, a more realistic interpretation of hockey is available in EASHL. Pre-patch, there were so many games where my team controlled the offensive flow, but then lost the game 4-2 due to all four goals being floating biscuits from long range. As I stated before, I don't mind losing. Nevertheless, when that corner-seeking floaty goal costs me games...
Well, I just get George Costanza-like rage simply thinking about it.
The fixes have helped make the game feel more like hockey, despite what the naysayers might bring to the table in reply. Is it harder to score? Sure. But if it has to be to keep the cheesers from ruining the game, so be it. I'll admit to being biased: The patch has created an environment conducive to my NHL 09 skills and to my team's style of play. We love to cycle the puck, dump it in when people hold the blue line, and have our goalie hold onto the puck to force faceoffs. You know, play hockey.
Now if only there was a way to penalize people on the other team who screech at you on the position select screen: "PICK A GOALIE!"
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