NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

[Hutton]

I liked the demo a lot. Of course I didn't play much of NHL08 (always preferred the 2k series of hockey), but 09 is probably the best feeling sports game aside from Choops2k8 that I've played in a long time.

I really liked the addition of the dump ins, major component of hockey, & they actually worked logically. I would gain center ice, dump it, and watch my AI forecheckers actually attack the puck. And I didn't win possession every time either. It didn't feel cheesy at all.

I also love the addition of separate O & D line changes....this is only 10 years too late though....but nice nonetheless.

Graphically on ice it looks superior to NHL2k9 demo IMO. Not even close visually. That said, the camera angle is just slightly too far zoomed out IMO. Not a huge deal, but could be better.

The best part IMO was the off the puck play of my AI teammates. They actually moved around & created some pressure on the forecheck, and were useful in the defensive zone too.

I would like to see more errant passes, & mishandled passes by players, especially when on the move. Maybe the pass slider can fix that up?

The game did seem a bit too bright. The lighting at the Joe is a little more dim, but again that could be my TV settings (all games seem too bright IMO, in general...except for FIFA08 which was pitch black on my screen).

The overall feel of this was just tremendous. So much so that I had to sit back & wonder how the same company that makes Madden & NCAA could make this game. Incredible really.

Can't wait to get my hands on the real thing next week!

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by Hutton

I liked the demo a lot. Of course I didn't play much of NHL08 (always preferred the 2k series of hockey), but 09 is probably the best feeling sports game aside from Choops2k8 that I've played in a long time. I really liked the addition of the dump ins, major component of hockey, & they actually worked logically. I would gain center ice, dump it, and watch my AI forecheckers actually attack the puck. And I didn't win possession every time either. It didn't feel cheesy at all. I also love the addition of separate O & D line changes....this is only 10 years too late though....but nice nonetheless. Graphically on ice it looks superior to NHL2k9 demo IMO. Not even close visually. That said, the camera angle is just slightly too far zoomed out IMO. Not a huge deal, but could be better. The best part IMO was the off the puck play of my AI teammates. They actually moved around & created some pressure on the forecheck, and were useful in the defensive zone too. I would like to see more errant passes, & mishandled passes by players, especially when on the move. Maybe the pass slider can fix that up? The game did seem a bit too bright. The lighting at the Joe is a little more dim, but again that could be my TV settings (all games seem too bright IMO, in general...except for FIFA08 which was pitch black on my screen). The overall feel of this was just tremendous. So much so that I had to sit back & wonder how the same company that makes Madden & NCAA could make this game. Incredible really. Can't wait to get my hands on the real thing next week!

Keep in mind EA Vancouver does NHL and I believe Fifa as well, they are a completely seperate team than the NCAA & Madden guys down at Tiberon in Florida. And really out of all EA's various studios, they really seem to be paving the way when it comes to quality and actually listening to the fans and trying to get issues in the game fixed. Nothing against Ian and his team as I find Madden 09 pretty good too this year, but really the quality we've gotten on the NHL sku the last few iterations has been nothing short of fantastic imo.

[kerosene31]

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

Please tell me we're not going to have another year of "EA's AI cheats because I don't want to play defense" posts. it got really old last year.

Do you think that the AI doesn't cheat, or just not care? You can keep denying it and telling people they suck, but it doesn't make the cheating go away.

All sports game AI has to cheat somehow. Otherwise we'd all have perfect seasons offline.

The loose puck battle is the worst. People who played 08 have to have noticed it, unless you play on pro difficulty. I shouldn't have to poke check the same guy 3 times in a row to take the puck. All the other ones you can compensate for. Just because you can counter them, doesn't make them less annoying.

Although, they seem less drastic in 09. I have to play more games on all star, but it certainly still seems to be there. Loose puck battles are a huge part of the game, and when the CPU magically wins 80% of them, it feels cheap to me, even if you win the game.

It also gets worse when you start messing with sliders. Certain settings just won't impact the CPU players the same way they hinder the human player.

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by kerosene31

Do you think that the AI doesn't cheat, or just not care? You can keep denying it and telling people they suck, but it doesn't make the cheating go away. All sports game AI has to cheat somehow. Otherwise we'd all have perfect seasons offline. The loose puck battle is the worst. People who played 08 have to have noticed it, unless you play on pro difficulty. I shouldn't have to poke check the same guy 3 times in a row to take the puck. All the other ones you can compensate for. Just because you can counter them, doesn't make them less annoying. Although, they seem less drastic in 09. I have to play more games on all star, but it certainly still seems to be there. Loose puck battles are a huge part of the game, and when the CPU magically wins 80% of them, it feels cheap to me, even if you win the game. It also gets worse when you start messing with sliders. Certain settings just won't impact the CPU players the same way they hinder the human player.

Honestly man, I think its much improved in 09, mostly due to your AI teammates not being completely brain dead this year. I find at least in the demo, I win prolly 50% at least of loose puck battles, but I'm quick about switching to the closest man especially in front of the net on offense trying to bang home a rebound or what have you. I just don't see the CPU magically winning them. I've actually scored more garbage goal rebounds in just the few hours that I've had with the demo than I think I did all year last year with 08 due to the better puck physics and the less suction the goalies seem to have this year. To me thats a huge improvement.

When the AI has scored on me it hasn't felt cheap at all, most of the time its because I gave them too much room or gave a player like Crosby or Zetterberg too much open room in the zone and got burnt for it. The game feels far more sloppy and organic this year, yes passing on the whole is still too tape to tape for my liking but when a guy is pressured I do see misfired passes, I also see far more breakups in both the neutral zone and the offensive zone, along with some pretty decent cpu ai forechecking. Is it perfect? no, I'm just not seeing the AI magically win battles any more than I'm winning them. Maybe it's just me I don't know. I did play a ton of 08, maybe I'm just more accustomed to how things work in EA's game at this point.

I'm really just not one of those guys who buys into the whole AI catchup logic theory on the whole to begin with, and less so with the NHL game since you can see pretty obviously how much effort the devs put into trying to make the AI actually play real hockey while still having the game be accessable to casual fans. I think that should be commended personally.

[ohyeahbaby123]

Quote: Originally Posted by kerosene31

Do you think that the AI doesn't cheat, or just not care? You can keep denying it and telling people they suck, but it doesn't make the cheating go away. All sports game AI has to cheat somehow. Otherwise we'd all have perfect seasons offline. The loose puck battle is the worst. People who played 08 have to have noticed it, unless you play on pro difficulty. I shouldn't have to poke check the same guy 3 times in a row to take the puck. All the other ones you can compensate for. Just because you can counter them, doesn't make them less annoying. Although, they seem less drastic in 09. I have to play more games on all star, but it certainly still seems to be there. Loose puck battles are a huge part of the game, and when the CPU magically wins 80% of them, it feels cheap to me, even if you win the game. It also gets worse when you start messing with sliders. Certain settings just won't impact the CPU players the same way they hinder the human player.

LEARN TO PLAY DEFENSE!!!!11!!!!

Haha, I kid I kid.

But in all honesty, I don't think the AI cheats. It just adapts to what you do... After I learned to use the defensive controls last year, I rarely had trouble with these so called "AI comebacks."

[tmac55]

Does anyone else with a Widescreen HDTV agree that classic camera is probably the better option in terms of zoom and being able to follow the play.

It's not ideal but it seems to work the best for me at the moment. Maybe in a patch they could address the zoom levels

[kerosene31]

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

I'm really just not one of those guys who buys into the whole AI catchup logic theory on the whole to begin with, and less so with the NHL game since you can see pretty obviously how much effort the devs put into trying to make the AI actually play real hockey while still having the game be accessable to casual fans. I think that should be commended personally.

Just a note, I'm not talking about catchup logic. I have not seen catchup logic in EA games for a few years now. It just comes down to that "automatic" play which can happen anytime.

09 is improved in this area. Sometimes my hatred for Fifa spills out onto NHL unfairly.

Overall they have a decent balance to the game.

[tgalv]

the people constantly complaining about the AI cheating are just making up stuff so that they can better accept losing. but if it's them coming back to win, then everything was obviously on the level.