[Eaglesfan27]

Just a post from a guy on EAsport's board that I thought was interesting. He made a bad draft day trade if you go buy the NFL value chart. Hopefully, the AI won't accept that deal in reverse. The proficiency with plays as you practice them sounds interesting. Hopefully, there is some time limit to how long you can practice. Very small sample size, but the instructions and their actually being implemented in 3 sounds encouraging. I wish there was some form of team chemistry, but I'd rather their be no team chemistry than poorly implemented team chemistry in this version.

Anyway, here is his post:


I went to E3 today for the first time...WOW! If you ever get a chance to go, do whatever you can get out here to L.A. I got about 30 minutes playing NFLHC with the EA Sports rep right next to me walking me through it. I gotta say, it lived up to my expectations. Here's a basic walkthrough of what I did:

1. Tried the draft. Played around a bit and traded my first overall pick for a mid 1st and 2nd rounder. I figured that it would be anti-climatic to just pick Reggie Bush. I liked having Mel Kiper in there, it provides a great atmosphere. The one thing that bothered me was that there wasn't a trade block for my pick. I had to shop each team individually to find a taker. All the while, the clock is ticking. 5 minutes goes by fast.

2. Tried a practice. Went through a number of drills and plays working different teams. You control both the defense and offense in each drill, so both sides of the ball improve each time you run a play. There is a little meter in the top right hand side of the screen that says "Money Play ##%" that goes up for the play each time you run it representing your team's proficiency at that play. Example: I ran a HB slam against a basic 4-3 cover 2. After the play, it read Money Play 20% HB Slam, Money Play 20% 4- 3 Cover 2. I ran the same offensive play against a nickel cover 2 and it said Money Play 40% HB Slam, 20% 4-3 Cover 2, 20% Nickel Cover 2. This looks like a serious investment in time if you want to work every play to perfection, but, from the other threads I've read, we're a pretty dedicated group and won't mind!

3. Played a game. Chewing out your players is a lot of fun and the strategies that you can give them while on the sidelines are deeper than I could've imagined. The players react to what you tell them and the results on the field are immediate. After getting sacked and going 3 and out, I told Roethlisberger to get rid of it faster and focus on shorter passes and...ouila...a quick out to the TE for 6 yards.

4. Asked some questions.
a. You don't have to play an entire 30 year career to make it into the HOF. There is a continuously updating feature that shows how you stack up against the greats.
b. You can't take your custom playbook on- line for head-to- head...stock plays only.
c. There isn't a team chemistry rating or any other feature that will cause the big impending moves to happen automatically, i.e. TO leaving the Eagles, Culpepper out of Minnesota. The AI controls all the moves and those things may or may not happen. This also means that there are no scripted events...YEAH!

I discussed the game with the guy for quite awhile, as there weren't a lot of folks in line to check it out. It was kind of hidden in Microsoft's enormous XBox display. It was not at the main EA booth (which, by the way, was un-friggin real!) or Sony's booth. I can't think off hand of what else we talked about, but if you think of something, go ahead and ask and I'll tell you if it rings a bell. I'm definitely going back next year!