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

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gagnon39

Are you playing on Super Star?

Yes, I just beat Chicago 5-3 going into the 3rd tied 2-2. Last goal being an empty netter. It comes down to abandoning what worked for you in 10 where you could easily deck the cpu off the puck or easily strip it coming into your zone. I love that I actually have to play hockey defense and be patient to cause a counter attack rather than the usual video game hockey tactics.

Like I said maybe it's just me but I really like the AI this year very very much.

[Perfect Zero]

Well, last year I attended a number of minor league hockey games and became hooked. After playing the demo though, I realize I have a lot of work to do. I'm passing and defending well, but I can't produce past the blue line to save my life. Still, this is a really good demo, and I might just have to buy the game (which comes out on my birthday).

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lordofthething

Another "good" I forget to put in my impressions is the cpu knocking down, or at least attempting to know down pucks with their sticks. Last year they would only swat at pucks in the air, now they'll try and knock it down and take control...although I noticed swatting at the puck is still there in desperate situations...

Noticed that as well Lord, thought it was a neat touch, now if I could figure out how the new dekes work I'll be all set.

[06woz]

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

Noticed that as well Lord, thought it was a neat touch, now if I could figure out how the new dekes work I'll be all set.

Quick dekes = LB/L1 and flick a direction on the right stick. Play around in the deke tutorial.

[cheechoo98]

( I just beat Philly down 2-3 to start the 3rd. I won 7-3!!! sweet!!! )

COMMENT: I don't think the HUSTLE button working though (PS3). I press down into L3, pressed it once, nothing, twice, nothing, pressed it 3 times, no difference. I tried it on a chase for a lose puck and pressed it 3 times, and there was no difference in the speed of my player nor the animation...

Is it not working in the PS3 demo?

[Gagnon39]

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

Yes, I just beat Chicago 5-3 going into the 3rd tied 2-2. Last goal being an empty netter. It comes down to abandoning what worked for you in 10 where you could easily deck the cpu off the puck or easily strip it coming into your zone. I love that I actually have to play hockey defense and be patient to cause a counter attack rather than the usual video game hockey tactics. Like I said maybe it's just me but I really like the AI this year very very much.

Well, if the overall AI is improved, that's always a good thing. If it is, I hope I can play and get good results (lose more than 2 games a year), with it set to All Star. I never like to play on the highest difficulty in any sports game because all that happens is the CPU players get attribute boosts, period. NHL is no different. I'm not saying that I'm the best NHL player around, but I got way too good to play on All-Star last year. I never lost and I dominated my opponent, every single game. Super Star was my only option. I traded realism for better final results. This year I hope I can play on All-Star, where Patrick Kane will actually be faster than most players.

[Flyermania]

OK, time for some impressions!

It's hard to tell a lot from the demo as usual as the sliders are unavailable for the most part. The sliders do look to be pretty much the same from last year with some small additions.

I played on All-Star, and the CPU did seem to be improved in the AI area. After a few games (periods), I think I will need to bump it to Superstar to get a good challenge though. Passing was all manual, so it took a bit to get used to holding the trigger for pass speed. The new faceoffs are cool (nice tutorial BTW), but I don't see why they didn't add a player being able to be thrown out since they obviously spent a lot of time in that area.

CPU-controlled teammates do seem to be smarter, cutting to the net, creating traffic, etc. I have seen several cool deflection goals so far.

The CPU offense no longer does the frantic pass between the circles and blue line like in NHL10, which is a very good thing. The checking was pretty cool to see, but not overdone at all.

Dump and chase still didn't seem to be as effective as it should be, but is better than last year. I didn't feel that the goalies were all that different than NHL 10 either. My biggest issue is the skating...the skating seemed very loose and made players hard to control at times. It's like they have less "weight" than ever before. Maybe this can be tweaked with some sliders.

On a side note, Leighton's correct pads are in the game. And they updated a lot of the player photos.

I did try the new "Ultimate Team" mode, but it's hard for me to get excited about it because I really have no interest in it. If you're into that type of thing, you'll probably love it.

Overall there are a lot of subtle improvements, but don't expect it to be a ton different than NHL10 --- not a bad thing as the game didn't need to be overhauled, but rather fine tuned.

[cheechoo98]

re: the HUSTLE button

I also tried it lots of times whenever I have the puck, and still nothing different..
anyone else notice this?