NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360, PS3)

[Splitter77]

dont remember if this was in the game last year, but one of my players got 2 min for high sticking, and 2 minutes for holding on the same play. Did they have multiple different penalties for the same skaters last year?

Also- how can i tell if the hustle button is working? Im on ps3 and it doesnt seem like its working at all. The push puck works great, but I get nothing with the hustle button.

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

About the only thing that bothers me is the new sensitive passing.... But maybe I just need more work with it.

As someone who used manual passing exclusively playing offline in NHL10, believe me, there is a learning curve. But once you "get it", there's no going back. Much more freedom -- try passing ahead of a streaking forward along the boards and skating onto the puck -- and much more rewarding when you connect on the perfect pass for a goal or even when you put it behind your target on a prime scoring opportunity.

Quote: Originally Posted by 06woz

Anyone notice that you are given control of the player you are passing to, really early. I thin it's awesome and allows you to "skate into" your passes more.

It does seem to switch you faster compared to '10. I keep doing dinky one-touch passes to no one after I receive the puck because I'm in the habit of quickly switching to my target after I pass. Looks like I have another bad habit to break...

Quote: Originally Posted by MattyAction

Anyone know how to change the difficulty? I see how some of you have played on SS. I'm not able to change that setting. Thanks again in advance for any help.

You can only do it in Battle for the Cup, not HUT. You can change the difficulty & game style in the pre-game menus before a BFTC game.

Quote: Originally Posted by 06woz

Qb, while you're here, mind telling me how to do the new toe drag?

Not sure off the top of my head. I suggest watching the deking tutorial... which is something I've been meaning to do as well.

Quote: Originally Posted by adayinthelife

Another reason I think having something visual would really help this feature. Other than that I'm really liking it and I was pretty skeptical when I first heard of it.

We asked for that at the community event, but I'm not sure if they were able to do it. We wanted to see something along the lines of guys getting low & really driving their legs.

I know CS says he sees it and I can tell when it kicks in, but I'm not sure if I'm seeing a different skating animation or just recognizing the increase in speed/acceleration. Will have to play around & watch closely.

Quote: Originally Posted by ChitownFan526

TThe skating is different too, and that's a good thing, someone at the Community Day event said "heavier" and that's a great way to put it, more momentum-based perhaps... I do have to admit a little concern over a possible exploit shot... If a forum admin or Redshirt wants to know about it, please PM me and I will share what I've found. Shooting is a bit too accurate in my opinion. I know it's adjustable in the final build, and was likely set to be this way since it's a demo...

1. I said it felt heavier (for the lack of a better description) after playing it in May. I know some guys here who know what they're talking about disagree, but I stand by my opinion. I can see where players seem to "float" a bit, but I think that is more due to decreased agility and the increase in gliding confirmed by Redshirt (which I guess could be looked at as more momentum). It's still not 100% where I'd like to be, but definitely improved.

2. You can either PM your concern directly to Redshirt_EA here at OS or you can PM it to me and I'll make sure it gets to him. I know they want feedback so they can explore potential tuning fixes for release.

3. I agree that shots are too accurate in the demo. I played for several hours yesterday and unless I'm losing it, I don't remember many missed shots at all. I distinctly remember missing wide & high playing at the community event, especially when going for a hard snapshot or slapper at full speed. Maybe it's a demo tuning issue since we only get a five minute period.

Quote: Originally Posted by The Visualizer

Yeah you are right about positioning and angles being more important, and yes the manual pokecheck has always been clunky for me too, I don't think it's user error, the stick just doesn't sweep very easily.

I'd like to be able to disrupt/harass the puck carrier with my stick while skating, not just an all-or-nothing poke check. I believe the manual poke/sweep still stops skating or at least slows down your player significantly which means you can't stay with him. Not sure if I'm explaining it very well, but at times I feel I need another defensive tool to block the passing lanes, combat dekes & contain the puck carrier when I'm skating with him.

EDIT: OK, a little youtube searching and this is the best I can find right now. Keith Acton talks about getting an angle the puck carrier and using your stick to take away his options:



And here's a better one about stick-on-stick defending:

[SinisterAlex]

Quote: Originally Posted by FootballForever

WOW, Oh My WOW, that's all I have to say, I played the Demo last night and I will tell you that in my so many years of sports gaming this game seems to have the tightest game play ever, yes EVER. It played so life like I was shocked, all toughen little things that bothered me no longer seem to existed, again, I was so in aww on how the game played. Just from the drop of the puck until the end of the demo, I loved everything about this game. I can't wait, NHL 11 is number 1 on my list of game I want bad, even more then NBA 2k11. Great JOB EA!!!

I think I have you on my friends list on the 360, when the game releases, we should do some versus or some OTP stuff.

[CS10029]

Quote: Originally Posted by jrgom81

sorry cant search the thread on my phone, but is any one else's goalies giving up really soft goals? I was playing UT and Ryan Miller was my goalie and he let in one shot from center ice and another from the blue line that looked like a dump in..

Yeah I saw this, I checked a guy into the boards at the half wall, he took the hit then fired a shot at miller. He barely got a piece of it and it barely slid inside the post. Definitely something that shouldn't happen.

[Splitter77]

another sweet thing i saw- the cpu took a shot with seabrook from the point and his stick shattered, I pick up the puck, and he starts backchecking without a stick. While in the defensive zone madden gives him his stick. The haeks break me up, and rush up the ice. The puck comes back to seasbrook at the point, playing with a wrong handed stick, and his slapper misses the net wide by the faceoff circle, and doesnt leave the ice.

[CS10029]

Quote: Originally Posted by Qb

I know CS says he sees it and I can tell when it kicks in, but I'm not sure if I'm seeing a different skating animation or just recognizing the increase in speed/acceleration. Will have to play around & watch closely.

It doesn't really happen right away, but once he is almost up to full speed you can see the difference in the players legs.

EDIT- Also wanted to share something I saw. I took a shot from sorta deep, the puck popped up right in front of Leighton, and Tavares made a really nice stick play to tap it in 5 hole. It's kinda tough to explain, but once you see it you'll be like, "Yes, thank you EA."

[BobSacamano]

Here are a few of my thoughts:

Overall, it doesn't really "feel" all that different from NHL '10 off the bat. That's not a bad thing, IMO, since all '10 needed to be perfect was some better AI, IMO.

Pros:
- When you go after a bouncing puck in the corner your guy can actually pick up the puck before the CPU swoops in. This really bothered me in '10 so I'm glad to see it was fixed.
- I can't get anything cross-crease unless I have an open lane. This is great. I haven't had many chances to see how this works on the CPU's end, so hopefully THEIR passes are just as difficult as mine.
- CPU is definitely more aggressive in their offensive end. They haven't made any backwards passes on an odd-man rush yet, so that's very nice.
- I had a puck hit a broken stick. That was very cool.
- Goalies do not seem as superhuman. I'll take goalies that are too weak over goalies that don't let in anything that isn't a cross-crease pass.

Cons:
- CPU is still not very aggressive when I'm controlling the puck in my offensive end. When I'm on the rush they're better at forcing me to the boards or clogging the passing lanes, but I can still skate circles around them with the puck in the offensive end. This is particularly glaring on the powerplay. Of course they're going to stay "home" a little on the PK but they're also going to pinch eventually.
- I've seen a broken stick every period I've played. I see there's a slider for this, so this shouldn't be a problem.
- That weird backhanded-wrister-one-timer thing is still in the game and still seen frequently.
- That awful "canon" line is still in the game (I have no idea what the play-by-play guy is saying, it sounds like "It's a Kennedy!").
- I, too, am not really "getting" the hustle button. It's very awkward pressing L3 when I'm already pointing the L-stick in the direction I'm skating. It is L3, right?

[SuperDave21]

I have been waiting for the game/demo to come out for a long time now. My expectations were a little high so it may differ from some people on here. I am a huge hockey fan and buy the EA NHL series every year. With all that said, here are my thoughts...

Pros

-Hitting. Wow, what an upgrade! The new engine is alive and kicking for sure. A lot of thought went into the engine and it shows. This is why I was looking forward to NHL 11 for so long. The new hip check maneuver is a welcome addition because it takes more timing and patience to line up a hit check now.

-Pace and flow. It is definitely slower this year, but I like it. At first I was a little skeptical because hockey is very fast game. However, the new pace allows more plays/lanes to open up. I tried it on the Casual setting (no idea what it means because I was playing only on Pro since I couldn't find the more difficult settings) and that seemed to speed it up a bit more. So it's a dynamic pace that can altered.

-Goalies. Goalies seem a little more on their toes this year. The robo-goalie is gone and he is replaced with a goalie who knows (or at least should) the angles.

-The new dekes. Unbelievably awesome! I love the new toe drags and side steps that were implemented. It feels like I have a chance once a Dman closes in on me.

-The A.I. Like everyone else, I used to sprint down the wing and gain the zone with ease. Not this year. The first time I tried, I thought Pronger would keep backing up as always. I found myself completely laid out by a monster hit and suddenly it felt like real hockey. The cpu passing is more realistic, the set up is more fluid, and I didn't feel like any goal against me was cheap in any way for a change.

-New penalty animations. Tripping, hooking, etc, all feel more realistic. The diving trip animation is finally gone and a real one was put in place.

-Goal celebrations are amazing. The spot light was a nice touch.

-Ultimate Team. Enough said.


Cons:

-Scoring. It feels...different. The last iterations of this franchise felt more like a forward's game to me. Scoring was easier (if done correctly) between the circles with a move or two and/or a pass in the slot for a one timer. However, I found myself scoring ridiculous goals from out side the circles on bad angles. I can't get into replay so I don't know if the goalie was screened or what. I scored two goals in about 15 seconds by winning the face off forward, gaining the zone, and just snapping it between the two Dman above the circles. Other times, I feel like I have the goalie dead to rights only to have him make an incredible stop.

-Hip checking. I think if it's perfected, it can be abused. I was able to up end about 3 players in a row too easily. Hip checking in real life takes precision and timing. I felt that if I just sorta made contact with a hip check, I would flip a guy...that happens maybe 10 times a year or so in the NHL.

-Fighting needs to be revamped.


That's all I got so far. I really, really, really enjoyed my time with the demo and I will be picking this up day one as always. I hope online play has been improved as well. I love OTP a ton and playing with a group of friends is a total blast. September 7th can't come soon enough!