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

[ryhuz99]

did they get rid of slashing? in nhl 10 u hold left trigger and Y and u could slash people!! i miss it!

[kerosene31]

Finally got a good number of periods in. Allstar difficulty playing for the Cup.

Honestly I wasn't expecting a big difference from NHL10, but this year feels...better. I just don't quite know how to describe it. In a few ways it reminds me of the skating in a different hockey game way back when.

-The new hitting rocks. As a d-man in BAP, all my replays are going to be big hits. (save the hot dog goals for all you cherry pickers).

-The new skating rocks. Sometimes a small change has a big impact.

-Faceoffs... WOW. Not much else to say. I might have to make a center BAP just to take draws, as I will miss out on them on the blueline.

-AI - tough to judge early on, but definitely some improvements. My CPU teammates moved around more on offense without having to draw up a play. I'm a little torn on the defense. They hold their position better, but seemingly sometimes too passively. Instead of going after a loose puck, they circle back to stay home. Overall this predictability will probably play a little better, but sometimes it can look goofy.

The CPU does not give up the middle of the ice easily which makes the game more challenging.

-Skating boost - this really worried me when I heard it, however in the demo I think things are pretty well done. You can use an extra stride or two to get away from a check, but it isn't over the top. I think I'll like it (assuming we don't see 5'8" guys going 300 mph in the EASHL)

-Passing - not crazy about it, but still getting used to it.

-Puck physics seem improved.

Now, things I don't like:

-The line change menu is SOOOOO SLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW. Hopefully this is just a demo glitch or something with auto changes? Changes on the fly are going to be extremely tough if not.

-The CPU still has a bit of a puck magnet. Sometimes a good poke check will barely bother them as the puck stays with them in stride. Sometimes they can seemingly stickhandle right through the skates of your d-man (even great ones).

-Hopefully there is a way to not skate backwards. With the speed burst, the D seem to be easy to catch backpedaling and most can't possibly keep up going the wrong way. They do a pretty good job of pushing the player wide, but you can still make a big S-turn in front of them and shoot.

[SinisterAlex]

Quote: Originally Posted by kerosene31

-Passing - not crazy about it, but still getting used to it.

The passing in this game is set to the Manual Passing, and it can't be turned off in the demo. However, it can be turned off in the full game so you can go back to the NHL 10 style passing.

I used to hate Manual Passing, but after using it in this demo, I can't go back.

[kerosene31]

Ahhh thanks. I usually end up playing in "normal" mode as that is what the EASHL uses.

[actionhank]

I like that the puck coming off of players sticks is a lot less predictable.
You don't exactly know when a hit or check will knock the puck loose.
Also, i love that the push puck trigger is no longer essentially a "give other team the puck" button.
I've actually had break aways where using the push puck, and the sprinting i've been able to squeak through defenders and get a shot on net.
All these little changes have breathed some fresh breath into the game.
It was getting a bit stale for me in NHL10.

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by AtomicLegend

The passing in this game is set to the Manual Passing, and it can't be turned off in the demo. However, it can be turned off in the full game so you can go back to the NHL 10 style passing. I used to hate Manual Passing, but after using it in this demo, I can't go back.

I swear, I think QB and I were like the only two people that actually liked manual passing last year. Seriously like you said once you get really used to it, theres no going back.

[CS10029]

Quote: Originally Posted by kerosene31

Ahhh thanks. I usually end up playing in "normal" mode as that is what the EASHL uses.

Also, you can take back skate off, it's under controller settings.

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

I swear, I think QB and I were like the only two people that actually liked manual passing last year. Seriously like you said once you get really used to it, theres no going back.

I liked it last year, but felt it needed a little more work. Safe to say, I'll be using it this year.

[bukktown]

How do they find the time to add so much into the game?