Alright Boyz!!! NHL 08 impressions!!!!!

[MizzouRah]

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/794/794764p1.html

Damn I'm so excited! They are focusing on skating and this time the game will be 60 fps!!

The screenshots look excellent to boot!

My favorite sports console game gets even better.

[Anthony]

but the game doesn't look like that. those aren't actual game shots from the video game. when you play it'll never look like that. those pics mean nothing. obviously they look cool, but for practical purposes they're worthless.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

but the game doesn't look like that. those aren't actual game shots from the video game. when you play it'll never look like that. those pics mean nothing. obviously they look cool, but for practical purposes they're worthless.

I'll respectfully disagree... I have NHL 07 and the game looks just like the pictures did in the preview last year. It's really a beautiful game.

Looks to me like they polished the game this time around.

Of course I do have a 24" LCD, Vga cables and the 360 set to 1920x1080.

[Anthony]

i understand the graphics are top notch. just that those angles shown in the link are not from an actual game where you're controlling the players. if anything maybe it's a replay but the game never really looks like that. it'd be cool if it was possible though.

[Maple Leafs]

Maple Leafs' Theorem of Video Game Hockey Marketing states that any attempt to impress me with how "realistic" a game is will always contain at least one screenshot that demonstrates that the people doing the marketing have no idea about hockey. Like a shot of two guys fighting who never fight, or some guy scoring a wraparound goal with a slapshot, etc.

Hey, is that a shot of Marion Gaborik throwing a crushing hit on Brendan Witt? Nice!

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

i understand the graphics are top notch. just that those angles shown in the link are not from an actual game where you're controlling the players. if anything maybe it's a replay but the game never really looks like that. it'd be cool if it was possible though.

Yeah, I know they do spice them up at times, but I do think most next gen screenies are close to the real thing. I don't play with that close of a camera, but I can watch a replay and see similar screen shots.

[MizzouRah]

http://www.5w-g.com/?p=259

Mark my words, "sports game of the year".

[bronconick]

Tell them to call me when there's a slider to adjust the goalie skill. Idiots.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by bronconick

Tell them to call me when there's a slider to adjust the goalie skill. Idiots.

I hate f'n sliders.

[Fidatelo]

I also hate sliders.

"We couldn't figure out how to properly balance the game, so we decided to just let the customers have a go and tell them its an added feature."

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I also hate sliders.

"We couldn't figure out how to properly balance the game, so we decided to just let the customers have a go and tell them its an added feature."

Yup, pretty much the standard nowdays. Believe it or not, there are games that still play fine on defaults - see NHL 07 and APF 2k8. I've been playing NCAA 08 on defaults (AA) as well and so far, it's been fine.

[Maple Leafs]

I hate sliders, and I want a goaltending slider because I don't trust EA to get it right.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Of course I do have a 24" LCD, Vga cables and the 360 set to 1920x1080.

Are VGA Cables better than the cable that comes with the 360?

[Eaglesfan27]

Todd, I know part of why you love NHL 2007 is the control scheme. 2ksports has announced that NHL 2k8 will also have controls mapped to the right stick including dekes, passing, and shooting. It should be interesting to see how the 2 games compare.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Todd, I know part of why you love NHL 2007 is the control scheme. 2ksports has announced that NHL 2k8 will also have controls mapped to the right stick including dekes, passing, and shooting. It should be interesting to see how the 2 games compare.

FYI.....Bill Abner is going to be meeting with 2K Sports for a NHL 2K8 Q&A session. He's taking question submissions for those that want to know something specific.....

http://sportsgamer.blogspot.com/2007...questions.html

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

I hate sliders, and I want a goaltending slider because I don't trust EA to get it right.

Bingo. My goalie (and theirs) would just occasionally stand there while a non-deflected unscreened slapshot from the blueline went in. Granted, it happened once with Osgood and Cloutier, but every game?

[Carman Bulldog]

It does sound decent. Is it safe to assume that Staal will be bumped off the cover now after his recent fiasco?

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Are VGA Cables better than the cable that comes with the 360?

I don't believe the cables that come with the X360 are capable of 1080p, but I could be wrong. Doesn't matter all that much as I'm not sure there are any games that output that signal yet.

There is a comparison over at gamespot on the different cables if you do a search.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Todd, I know part of why you love NHL 2007 is the control scheme. 2ksports has announced that NHL 2k8 will also have controls mapped to the right stick including dekes, passing, and shooting. It should be interesting to see how the 2 games compare.

Yes, but I also love the "no speed" burst scheme in NHL 07, not sure if 2k sports is taking that out as well or not.

I am excited to see what 2k sports can do this year as I love how their sports games has so much immersion.

It's just hard to believe with EA having another year to really perfect their control scheme how 2k sports will attempt to close the gap.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Yes, but I also love the "no speed" burst scheme in NHL 07, not sure if 2k sports is taking that out as well or not.

I am excited to see what 2k sports can do this year as I love how their sports games has so much immersion.

It's just hard to believe with EA having another year to really perfect their control scheme how 2k sports will attempt to close the gap.

I'm hoping that's the case as I got $36 worth of trade-in for Forza 2 if I put it all on a pre-order game. Took a chance on NHL '08.

[MizzouRah]

http://blogs.ign.com/EANHL08/2007/08/23/64254/

NHL 08 Producers Blog - Dynasty Mode

Hi Everybody,

My name is Andy Agostini and I am one of the producers on NHL 08. I am responsible for Dynasty Mode and I will be telling you a bit about the new features and what to look for in Dynasty Mode this year.

AHL:

This year we have added the American Hockey League to dynasty mode. The AHL is the top minor league to the NHL. All 29 teams including the Rockford IceHogs, Lake Erie Monsters and the Quad City Flames will be in the game and all will be affiliated with their proper NHL parent club.

My favorite part of this feature is that you have the ability to run both your NHL and AHL teams and play with both. Having the ability to play each and every game on the AHL team’s schedule lets you test out your prospects and see if they are ready for the NHL. Playing well with your AHL team is very important to your player’s growth as they earn more experience when winning the Calder Cup then they would if they do not make the AHL playoffs. With player development becoming a very important part of the NHL due to the salary cap, we wanted to bring this important aspect of hockey into NHL 08. Having the ability to bring players up and down from the minors to replace injured players and give players a chance to win a job by actually seeing their on ice performance is awesome.

With the AHL license we have also gotten the Professional Hockey Players Association license. This lets us have the AHL players who have not yet played in the NHL in our game. I want to clear up some misconceptions we have been seeing on the message boards about which players will be in the game from the AHL. We have the ability to have in our game any player who is on a professional contract in the AHL that has signed a waiver to be used in our video game. So players such as Marc Staal and Carey Price who were not on professional contracts (they played in Canadian Major Junior Hockey last year) but did play with an AHL team will not be in our game when we ship. As soon as these players’ sign a pro contract and provide a signed waiver form we will be putting them in the game. We are just as excited as you guys are to see these great young players in our game.

The AHL will also be going to the new RBK Edge uniform system and we will have these jerseys in our game. They will be available with a code which we will provide when the game ships in September.

One of the most interesting parts of the AHL during our development was the implementation of NHL teams sharing an AHL affiliate which only two teams, Buffalo and Florida, do with the Rochester Americans. For the sake of fun we have arranged it so that you the user who plays with one of these two teams will take over the AHL affiliate fully and the other NHL team will find another team to share in the AHL. The players who leave the franchise will be replaced by free agents that the AHL GM will sign to make sure he has a roster that can play games. As you sign free agents to be affiliated with your team free agents will be released. This is similar to the way the AHL works currently with the AHL GM filling in his roster if there aren’t enough prospects assigned to their team.

Scouting:

This year we have revamped our scouting, you will be able to assign their scout to one of 5 areas of the world and what level of prospects is he will scout while there. These prospects have a projected round in which Scouting Central projects them to be taken in the upcoming Entry Draft.

Each team will be assigned a scout with different levels of expertise in these 5 regions with a rating of 1-10. If the scout goes to a region which he is rated a 10 he will be able to provide information faster and more accurately then if he had a 5 as his rating.

This information will be given to a user as a number between 5 to 10 for each attribute and if the scout hasn’t provided any information on this it will show a question mark.

To change where the scout is assigned to, go to the Scouting Assignment screen and change his location and what level of prospect you want him to scout. When you leave this screen your scout will head off to the next region and report back with information on those prospects.

If a user hasn’t scouted a player he will still have a scouting Central list that is updated during the season letting him know where the NHL has ranked each of the prospects just like the real life NHL Central Scouting provides to the NHL teams.

Free Agency:

In the past the free agency model used by the NHL franchise was quite simple. Talk to a player and keep offering him contracts until he signs or he doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. This is no longer the case. After two years of the salary cap world in the NHL we wanted to build an authentic model in which players had as much input into where they would like to play as the owners.

With this in mind the players have a few things they look at when determining if they would be interested in playing for a team.

Things such as how good a team is, how much competition is there for a job on the team and the average age of the team plays into the players decision. He will also consider what stage of his career he is in to see if he wants to play for a contender or a rebuilding franchise.

The new bidding system allows the CPU to compete with the user in signing players to their franchise. So unless you are willing to overpay for a player by a large amount the player is aware of who is offering him a contract and will take that into account and make a decision based on all the factors he cares about. The players are pretty smart and take their time to make the right decision for themselves. When you put in a bid the player will usually make his decision within a few days giving himself more time to have the bidding go up.

This adds a new dimension to free agency as all teams are trying to improve themselves at the same time.

Ratings:

Ratings are always one of the biggest talking points of any sports game due to the passion that the fans have about their favorite players in the game.

This year we had our NHL and AHL ratings done by a hockey analyst who has done pro scouting and junior scouting for NHL teams as well as scouts in Sweden and Finland doing the Elitserien and SM-Liiga ratings.

Trying to be as authentic as possible we added new ratings to the players this year. Ratings such as Defensive Awareness which determines how hard players back check or try to get back into the play this is where you will see the difference in a Rod Brind’Amour and a Todd Bertuzzi. While goalies got Vision which is the goalies ability to see thru screens which is extremely important this year with the addition of deflection and tipins as traffic around the net is much more evident than in last year’s game.

Players received the following ratings:

Offensive Awareness
Defensive Awareness
Shot Blocking
Deflections

Goalies received the following ratings:

Vision
Puck Playing Frequency
Angles

The new rating that we added to both Players and Goalies is the Poise rating. This rating is how poised this player in pressure situations. Examples of great poise players are Martin Brodeur and Joe Sakic. These players have taken their teams to the Stanley Cup and consistently shown the ability to step it up in big games. You will notice the difference between an AHL player with little NHL experience and a player who has been around the NHL for a while. Poise is a factor with the Overall rating as a player with high poise will still have a bit of a higher OV as it shows the intangibles they can bring to their team. On the other hand great young players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin might have slightly lower overalls because they haven’t proven themselves in the playoffs yet. Now the difference won’t be drastic, just enough to know that the great players have something more to them.

Another interesting thing about the ratings this year is that the Overall can be deceiving as each rating is extremely important in terms of gameplay. Players like Maxim Afinogenov might not be the highest rated OV players but their offensive game is top notch with great speed and deking ability as well as offensive awareness. So looking at a player’s makeup in all their ratings definitely helps you determine what role the player will be best at in your game plan.

With the AHL in the game this year people will notice some of the AHL players rated higher than some NHL’ers in the game. This is true in that the only thing holding some of these players back are a weakness in one area of their game or their physical size. We have noticed some players dominate in the AHL and then as soon as we bring them up to the NHL they get manhandled or their weaknesses stand out a lot more. True to real life and a lot of fun to see.

To list a few more of the improvements:

- The Player Progression bug has been fixed.

- Some injuries are playable at the risk of slowing down the player’s healthy return.

-When you make the play-offs, look for the sea of red in Calgary [and there are others too].

- Ever wanted to see a franchise player like a Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin show up in a draft? We have added that into this year’s game. Look out for the franchise player during your scouting.

- Don’t like what your goalie is wearing for pads? Change it and then color them to any color scheme you want. You can edit player’s equipment during dynasty mode. Ratings can only be edited outside of Dynasty. I wouldn’t want you guys cheating.


Hope you liked getting the scoop on some of the new features and improvements we made to dynasty. Good luck winning the Stanley Cup or the Calder Cup!

Thanks,

Andy

[gstelmack]

Does he actually mean it when he says it is important to play out your AHL games to develop your players? So a season will take twice as long to get through?

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Does he actually mean it when he says it is important to play out your AHL games to develop your players? So a season will take twice as long to get through?

I know I won't be playing but a game here and there, to check out the players and what not.

I think he means, the more games you do play with your AHL team, the better you will be at picking out the better talent. Although he also says when you bring players up to replace injured players, you'll obviously be able to judge them where it counts, the NHL.

That's how I did it last year with the reserve roster.

[TroyF]

I know you loved NHL '07 Todd. I thought it was far worse than 2K's version, control scheme be damned.

I love sliders, so we disagree on that one too.

I thought EA's game had far better controls last year, I just hated the AI. I felt like I was watching a series of five year old defenseman skating around. I'm making no prejudgements this year. I'll read the reviews, take everyone's thoughts and make a decision.

The great thing about this is that with the NBA and NHL we actually have competition. I wish the NFL and MLB were the same.

[TurnerONU22]

I am excited for the online leagues this year, I will plunk down the money to get Live if we can get a FOFC league going (and I can be the Jackets).

[Maple Leafs]

I get nervous just about every time EA does a new feature like the "Poise" rating. It's a cool idea, like most of their new features, but at this point I just assume that they'll overdo it to the point that it's annoying, and then work it down to something usable over the next few releases.

I can just picture players shooting pucks into the stands and goalies giving up 15 goals in a playoff game because they don't have a good "poise" rating.

[Icy]

I want to get an nhl and nba game this year for sure but still undediced between 2k and EA versions for both games. Will probably wait a couple of weeks to see how important are the bugs on each one, as both promisse a lot, but for sure both will have some stupid franchise killing bugs.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Icy

I want to get an nhl and nba game this year for sure but still undediced between 2k and EA versions for both games. Will probably wait a couple of weeks to see how important are the bugs on each one, as both promisse a lot, but for sure both will have some stupid franchise killing bugs.

NBA Live has been terrible for several years now. I think you should go with 2K's NBA game for sure. As far as NHL, it really comes down to personal preference. I have both of the NHL games from last year, and I have no idea which one I liked more. They were both decent to me, but I didn't really love either. Picking an NHL game would be a much tougher decision than picking an NBA game.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

NBA Live has been terrible for several years now. I think you should go with 2K's NBA game for sure. As far as NHL, it really comes down to personal preference. I have both of the NHL games from last year, and I have no idea which one I liked more. They were both decent to me, but I didn't really love either. Picking an NHL game would be a much tougher decision than picking an NBA game.

I bought NBA2k7 past year and loved it, but after reading previews of both games for 2008, i must admit that Live looks better on the paper, with way more deep in the franchise mode. That is why i want to wait, i know gameplay should be better in 2k, but if franchise is as good as it's said in live...

[MizzouRah]

Live does look like they are finally giving a shit about the series.

Troy,

A wait and see is a great approach.. you'll definitly have impressions from me on NHL 08 the day it comes out.

I've read that watching the CPU cylcle the puck on the powerplay is a thing of beauty.. we'll soon see.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Icy

I bought NBA2k7 past year and loved it, but after reading previews of both games for 2008, i must admit that Live looks better on the paper, with way more deep in the franchise mode. That is why i want to wait, i know gameplay should be better in 2k, but if franchise is as good as it's said in live...

When it comes to the hockey games, I'll read comments from people I respect and make a decision based off of that.

When it comes to the NBA games, I'll buy 2K the day it comes out, no questions asked.

If Live ends up being much improved and 2K's equal, I'll go ahead and give it a shot.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by TroyF

When it comes to the NBA games, I'll buy 2K the day it comes out, no questions asked.

Same here. NBA 2k7 and College Hoops were the 2 best console sports game of the last year in my opinion. The only reason I might skip them this year is because I'm so attached to my College Hoops career (even though it is has had a short hiatus thanks to Biosphere and to a lesser extent Madden/NCAA.) However, if I'm going to buy a basketball game, it will be NBA 2k8.

[TurnerONU22]

Just read on HFBoards that the 360 demo is up!!! Can't wait to get home and download it and play.

I believe it is 3rd period of 5v5 with Ottawa and Anaheim, if I remember right. Also, it is on Pro mode

[Icy]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Just read on HFBoards that the 360 demo is up!!! Can't wait to get home and download it and play.

I believe it is 3rd period of 5v5 with Ottawa and Anaheim, if I remember right. Also, it is on Pro mode

This is what i hate from owning a Ps3. I wonder why the demos take 1 month to come to Psnetwork.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Icy

This is what i hate from owning a Ps3. I wonder why the demos take 1 month to come to Psnetwork.

I personally think demos are a problem in the industry. I know that gamers love to play a snippit of the game to wet their appetite, but I've seen more than one developer comment on how much of a hinderance it is to getting everything done in a timely fashion.

A glaring example of that was Gears of War. Microsoft pushed the developers to create a demo. The developer's response was that Microsoft could have a demo by the end of the year or a fully complete game by the end of the year, but not both. Wisely, Microsoft chose the full game over a demo.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I personally think demos are a problem in the industry. I know that gamers love to play a snippit of the game to wet their appetite, but I've seen more than one developer comment on how much of a hinderance it is to getting everything done in a timely fashion.

A glaring example of that was Gears of War. Microsoft pushed the developers to create a demo. The developer's response was that Microsoft could have a demo by the end of the year or a fully complete game by the end of the year, but not both. Wisely, Microsoft chose the full game over a demo.

From a marketing standpoint, demos can be incredibly important. There is no doubt in my mind that games like Bioshock, Stranglehold and Overlord will see (or have seen) increased sales because of a strong demo.

[jaygr]

I wouldn't have purchased Bioshock without having played the demo, even after hearing how great it was. I think I would have just read a description about it and thought, eh doesn't sound like my kind of game.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Just read on HFBoards that the 360 demo is up!!! Can't wait to get home and download it and play.

I believe it is 3rd period of 5v5 with Ottawa and Anaheim, if I remember right. Also, it is on Pro mode

Thanks for this!

I love demos, I just think they release them early if they think they have a great game on their hands.. which makes sense.

Downloading now!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TurnerONU22]

Played it for an hour or so tonight, and I might as well go ahead and trade in NCAA and Madden for NHL, its that good. They fixed most of the problems that made last years game frustrating at times.

I LOVE the AI this year on both ends of the ice. On offence, the defenders actually help out in the play, and when a winger carries the puck back to the blueline, one dman will go down low and help out. Guys stand in front of the net to create traffic. Shots from the point are very realistic and the rebounds as well. Its very satisfying to cycle (yes, you can actually cycle the puck) around and then find an opening in the slot and score.

On defense, the D-men are in perfect position, and the wingers help out up top. Its very hard to get a shot through unless you work the puck around to an open spot.

Special teams is even better! I was on the PK, and they started nice and wide in an umbrella, then worked their way tigher and closer, passing the puck nicely around and finally taking a one timer from the point and scoring on a rebound.

Also, another goal scored against me was a shot from the point that deflected off a skate and completely fooled the goalie.

It took me a while to not play it like I did last years game, because this game's AI is MUCH smarter and I agree that the Pro AI is 10x better than the Superstar AI from 07. I can't imagine when I actually get the game and turn up the settings that I like (shots are still a little too hard, and the puck control is still too much). Its going to be great!

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Played it for an hour or so tonight, and I might as well go ahead and trade in NCAA and Madden for NHL, its that good. They fixed most of the problems that made last years game frustrating at times.

I LOVE the AI this year on both ends of the ice. On offence, the defenders actually help out in the play, and when a winger carries the puck back to the blueline, one dman will go down low and help out. Guys stand in front of the net to create traffic. Shots from the point are very realistic and the rebounds as well. Its very satisfying to cycle (yes, you can actually cycle the puck) around and then find an opening in the slot and score.

On defense, the D-men are in perfect position, and the wingers help out up top. Its very hard to get a shot through unless you work the puck around to an open spot.

Special teams is even better! I was on the PK, and they started nice and wide in an umbrella, then worked their way tigher and closer, passing the puck nicely around and finally taking a one timer from the point and scoring on a rebound.

Also, another goal scored against me was a shot from the point that deflected off a skate and completely fooled the goalie.

It took me a while to not play it like I did last years game, because this game's AI is MUCH smarter and I agree that the Pro AI is 10x better than the Superstar AI from 07. I can't imagine when I actually get the game and turn up the settings that I like (shots are still a little too hard, and the puck control is still too much). Its going to be great!

Just what I wanted to hear.

I'm about 50% done on the d/l. Seems like the few gripes I had are gone or have been fixed. Can't wait to see it in action.

[MizzouRah]

Not much to add to Turner's thoughts.

I want this game yesterday. If there is any sport game you can tell the difference between 30 fps and 60 fps, hockey is it. Gameplay is as smooth as silk. I've played 07 so much, PRO difficulty isn't much of a challenge for me, but it's quite nerve racking when the other team is on a PP this year.

If there are no major bug-a-boos, I might not take this game out of the 360 all season long.

[Maple Leafs]

I got to try the demo for a few periods last night and I was pretty impressed. The tweaked the skating controls just enough that you no longer feel out of control in your own zone, and the defencemen finally know how to stay at the point and not put themselves offside whenever you pass to them. Those two changes add up to offensive zone play that feels more strategic than any previous game.

If anything, it may go too far -- some of the 5-on-5 play ends up feeling like a power play because the offense is passing it around the perimeter so easily and the defense just sets up and waits. Maybe that was just a result of being on Pro level.

This thing is going to be huge fun against other players.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

How in the world can EA manage to leave the glaring AI bugs that were pointed out in LAST year's build in this year's build. Even when consumers publicly point out problems in their AI, they still don't fix it. Amazing.

From the SportsGamer blog:

Then I played the NHL08 demo. Bill Harris had told me that this really looked like a winner for EA this year. Then I saw that one of the biggest issues from last years game is still there. All I did was control the puck and skate to the faceoff dot to the right of the goalie. I let go of the stick so my player just stands there. No one came after him. Not one guy. He'll just sit there until the clock runs out. Ugh. That's just horrible AI. Here's a very similar video of the same thing happening with last years game.

Here's the video from last year's game......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhokV_NHGxg

EA, it's called Testing 101. If it was a problem in last year's build, test the same scenario on this year's build to make sure it doesn't get through.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I should've known what I'd find when I saw that Mizzou B-ball fan was the last person to post in this thread.

[CraigSca]

I heard this only occurs because the PS3 is so difficult to program.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I should've known what I'd find when I saw that Mizzou B-ball fan was the last person to post in this thread.

He's kind of like a newer version of jbmagic, except he uses coherent sentences and puncuation?

[TroyF]

In all fairness to B-ball, that is simply horrible. Watching the guy simply stand there for minutes on end with the defense watching him in a 5 on 5 situation is a bit moronic. The defense is what I took issue with last year as well. I thought the AI was horrific.

I played around with the demo and found the game to be a lot of fun. This is a bug that can be worked around (by not standing in one spot for twenty minutes but I'm sure there is a slider for defensive aggressiveness that could improve that as well). Still, it's an asinine bug to be in the game.

[rowech]

I don't see this as a big deal. Simply don't do it. I can't see the score of the game but I wonder about that as well as what defensive aggressiveness slider (if there is one) is set on. Who knows. To me though it's not a glaring problem unless you simply abuse that one. Unlike some of the other games' problems.

[CraigSca]

Can anyone get this to occur on their copy? I don't have NHL07, but reading some of the comments on youtube (which are well-thought out and carefully written like most comment sections on the Internet) make it sound like it's hard to replicate.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by rowech

I don't see this as a big deal. Simply don't do it. I can't see the score of the game but I wonder about that as well as what defensive aggressiveness slider (if there is one) is set on. Who knows. To me though it's not a glaring problem unless you simply abuse that one. Unlike some of the other games' problems.

I don't think that standing there doing nothing is an 'abuse' of the game. 'Abuse' would be be a situation to exploit a flaw to score 20 goals in a game. This is just a situation where they simply showed a hole in the defensive AI that never should occur. The reason this annoys me more than anything is because my job by day is to thoroughly test code. Letting something like this through is inexcusable, especially when it was flawed and noted in a build nearly one year ago.

Also, if this got through, it should open up major concerns as to how much (or how little) testing was done on this project. The frightening thing is that they actually pay contractors good money to test these games.