What 5 GAMEPLAY improvements/additions would you like to see in 2010?

[Qb]

I thought I would do a bit of a different take on the wishlist idea. We have the all-encompassing one for other stuff like dynasty, online issues, EASHL logistics, etc, so let's keep this to the stuff that happens from the opening whistle to the final horn...

So have at it and share your ideas! I'll get mine up eventually...

[ohyeahbaby123]

5. Puck Physics
I'm sick of the puck acting like a magnet and sticking to the stick of whoever is closes. Make is so the puck just kinda sits there until someone chips it out of the scrum

4. Stick Check
Seen a lot these days.

3. Improved Goalie Play
Make it like 2k's please!!!

2. Better Slap Pass
Trust me, I'm no cheeser, but I want a pass to be able to go cross crease and just deflect off the guys stick and in.

1. Better Neutral Zone play
Still too easy to skate into the zone.

[wsu_gb23]

1. More loose pucks; especially near the boards. Make it so there is a scrum by the boards for the puck

2. Less accurate passes

3. make the game play perfect out of the box...sliders get annoying sometimes

4. more animations

5. more penalties...greater variety....

6. Keep adding to the presentation....how about some gatorade in those bottles! haha. ( I know, that's 6....)

**It was actually difficult for me to come up with 5 things that need fixing for 2010...that just shows how much effort you guys have put into this hockey series...keep up the great work!

[Franchizz]

In no specific order...

- More penalties for both the computer and player, although with better variety and for the love of god call interference.
- More animation and perhaps unique animations for specific teams.
- Better neutral zone play
- Less accurate passing
- A noticeable difference in skill between players (i.e. Begin should not ever in his live mimic Crosby)
- Stick breaking
- Shot blocking can cause injury, as can slap shots

[MC Fatigue]

-Realistic Neutral Zone Play. It's way too up and down as it is; there actually needs to be some neutral zone play. Make it so that entering the zone can sometimes be challenging.

-More Goalie Animations. Way, way more. There aren't nearly enough. Goalies make saves on pucks with animations that have no business being put in motion. Like when they just go butterfly and slide backwards when the puck flutters above them. How about some animations where they actually grab at the puck, instead of letting it roll off their back?

-Better teammate AI. It seems my teammates just stand around doing nothing. I literally stand at the blue line with the puck, waiting for someone to crash the net - I even change the strategy to Crash the Net - and yet players just stand around by the boards picking their noses.

-Better controls. No automatic backwards skating; better dumping of the puck in the zone.

-Less accurate passing. I recall an EA developer making a snarky comment about one of the recent NHL 2k games along the lines of "tape to tape passing"... Well what exactly do you call NHL 2007, 08, and 09, then? In 2k I can turn Pass-Aim Assist to 0 and pass the puck anywhere I want. In EA's NHL it forces the puck towards a player, even if I didn't want to pass to him.

[MizzouRah]

1. Board Play
2. Better goalie play and animations, see 2k9
3. New faceoff system, see 2k8
4. Fighting.. yes.. see 2k9
5. Less tape to tape passing

6. Honorable mention: more goal variety..
7. Presentation!!! I would love to see more stat overlays, maybe a run down of the rest of the league games in between periods.. see NFL 2k5

Overall, I love the game, but 2k sports does a lot right with their game as well.

[bad_philanthropy]

1. Improve puck physics, puck needs far more weight to it.

2. Improve goaltender play.

3. Improve control for offensive play in front of the net. Heavier puck physics might help with this as well.

4. Puck needs to be less magnetic. Would love an auto-pass sensitivity slider.

5. Need a button to scrum the puck down along the boards. If I am under pressure but don't have an outlet with a forechecker coming fast I should be able to just eat the puck (if my player is big enough), take the hit and shield the puck and try to kick it free or bring in another player to help. 2k did have a rudimentary mechanic where those things were possible.

Bonus: Please tone down hitting and bring back the injury slider.

[ChiTownKid]

1. Better AI defense, particularly blue-line checking. It's way too easy to skate into the attack zone if you come in on the wings.

2. Better AI defense of passing lanes, particularly those open when the puck carrier skates behind the net. One-timer opportunities from behind the net to the guy waiting in the slot are damn near money.

3. Fix the damn point-blank slapshot cheese from the side of the net. It's ruining (or has already ruined) online play.

4. Correct the post-patch shot (in)accuracy. It's ridiculous.

5. Decrease the AI's shot-happiness. It rarely sets up and cycles the puck as it should. Far too often, it takes quick, poor-percentage shots instead of passing around and waiting for a better look. As a result, the AI often has laughably high shot totals with not much to show for it in the way of goals.

Bonus Gripe: Kind of the opposite of #1. The offensive AI needs work bringing the puck into the attack zone, particularly on the wings. It's way too easy to check them off the puck at the blue line, or scare them into dumping in, which more often than not results in easy possession for me. Which reminds me. The Dump-and-Chase still has a long way to go before it can be considered realistic. Maybe steal a page from 2K's book and throw in scrums along the boards. As it is, it's simply too easy for the defense to grab a dumped puck.

One last thing: Decrease pass accuracy, or at least include a slider for it. The tic-tac passing gets to be too much sometimes. It's fine for arcade-style action, but simheads like myself would appreciate the option to make things a bit more authentic.

Wait, one more last thing: Can we get some decent fighting please? And could the CPU actually instigate it this time?

Hold on. One more: If a guy gets nailed with a slapshot. He should react to it. I seem to recall this being in one of the old NHL games for the Sega Genesis. Bring it back. While you're at it, bring back the shattering glass from wayward slapshots. And blood on the ice from injuries. That was a nice touch.

No, seriously, one last thing: Include both SIM and ARCADE modes, so that everyone could finally be happy for a change, dammit.

I know I sound like a grumpy old man, but that's because I am.