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

[mkharsh33]

Am I imagining things, or does it feel like the whip-action on the sticks while shooting this year feels more realistic? Seems to me like it's a subtle thing, but I notice it (or maybe a placebo effect because we're all just giddy here )

[kerosene31]

I seem to remember in past years the demo is usually easier for each difficulty, and then in the final game they ramp things up a bit.

[Azamien]

Quote: Originally Posted by plaidchuck

At the same time I think the AI still tries to cycle far too much without taking a shot.

Since I watched at least 80 Habs games last season, that seems realistic to me!



Anyway, on topic, I love the demo and the game went from "probably skipping" to "pre-order now!" after playing it.

[Steven547]

Finally got the demo. I like what I've seen so far. The pucks not being so "glued" to the CPU's sticks is a good thing. Makes the CPU feel more "human". The hitting is nice, especially when you knock a player down, and he crawls to get back up.

Maybe I'm hitting a button too soon, but the celebrations seem extremely short. Spotlight on the player lasts about 2 seconds, then you're at a faceoff already.

I love the stat overlays.

I see they didn't fix the mass fighting at the end of a play. The part where you check one of their teammates, and they all start fighting. At the end of a fight, it's cool to see the split screen of the two involved, but wouldn't it have been nice to see the bruising or the roughed up look from just having a fight?

Hopefully the sliders have more of an effect this year. It's too bad there aren't more strategies for us to choose from. Was hoping EA would implement more than just 3.

Overall, not a bad game. Improved over NHL 10, but not greatly. And I'm still not sold on the Ultimate Card game. It's just a fantasy draft really.

[ch46647]

Quote: Originally Posted by Qb

Redshirt said it the gameplay is very close to what will be "on the disk". In other words, if you're not connected to Live/PSN and never download a tuner set or update, the game will play very much like the demo. However, gameplay tuning is a continuous process and he said they will likely do some post-ship tuning based on demo feedback. He also said they have "an insane amount" on tuning options this year.

Did he mention if the gameplay will be the same speed? I am talking about on-line play because I realize that it can be changed off-line. I dont mind the speed of the demo but I feel like it could be a tad faster...

Also, do you know what play style they use for on-line? I assume they use "default" or "normal".

[plaidchuck]

Anybody notice on Casual you don't change lines? Is that something new?

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by ch46647

Did he mention if the gameplay will be the same speed? I am talking about on-line play because I realize that it can be changed off-line. I dont mind the speed of the demo but I feel like it could be a tad faster... Also, do you know what play style they use for on-line? I assume they use "default" or "normal".

No, we didn't talk about game speed. I think online uses the "normal" game style. Maybe Redshirt can confirm next time he stops by.

[mikko1995]

The Demo feels much more realistic than NHL10, the new dekes are good, new faceoff system is great! After the first hip check, I was like WOW! It was better than I expected, can't wait to buy this game, I will look if I can pre-order the game from a local store.