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NHL 09 Preview

02:39 PM - June 11, 2008 by Steve_OS

Last month Operation Sports visited the EA Canada studio in Vancouver, British Columbia. We sat down and listened to what NHL 09 Line Producer, David Littman, had to tell us about the game. We were impressed.

Patrick Williams has put together a very in depth preview of NHL 09.

Quote:


	"For the third year in a row on the next gen consoles the skill stick has evolved to include more of a dynamic factor in the offensive and now defensive game. Skilled players have more control this season. These players can try to deke around defenders and goalies alike, but must be aware that sticks and skates are truly and totally interactive this year. Such an example is Cup winner Pavel Datsyuk coming in one on one with a goalie and cutting one way as he drags the puck with one hand on the end of his stick around the goalie for a nice slide in style goal."

Game: NHL 09Reader Score: 9/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PC / PS2 / PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 47 - View All

NHL 09 Videos

Member Comments

# 21 Flyermania @ 06/12/08 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie1967


	Not that I don't believe you but is that in the article?

From Littman's blog entry:

Quote:


	NHL 09 Producer Blog Hi there, David Littman here, producer of NHL 09. This is my favorite time of year. The weather is nice. The Stanley Cup finals were awesome to watch. And we finally get to talk about our game. More than any other year, I can honestly say that many of the features in NHL 09 come directly from your (the NHL community) feedback. The two most asked for features were better defensive controls and superstar mode. I don't need to go into those here, since you will be reading about them elsewhere. As you have heard, Dion Phaneuf is our cover athlete. He is a perfect choice for NHL 09, not just because he loves playing the NHL series, but because he is one of the best young defensemen in the NHL. Taking control of Dion and stepping up on an opponent in the neutral zone is a beautiful thing. Some things you might not read about over the next couple of weeks are: - Yes, we are fixing bugs that have been called out in all of the forums, like the dynasty bug where released players ended up back on your roster and: - The ability to turn off CPU trading in Dynasty - PS3 locked at 60 FPS - The bug called fighting - Oh yeah...less hip checking - The dump and chase style will be a genuine way to win a game. (The new flip dump will sometimes bounce over the defensemen's stick and get him in all sorts of trouble. Then you can use the lift stick or the new checking system to get the puck back using one of the new forecheck strategies). - Lower skilled players will have a tougher time deking and scoring than in previous years. - Did you watch Sydney Crosby protect the puck with one hand on the stick when powering his way to the goal? You can do that too. - Separate line changes for forwards and d-men (finally) - We are adding features that will help newcomers to the series. Features like an interactive tutorial and a simplified control scheme. The reason for this is simple. We want to grow the sport of hockey. Hockey has great momentum right now, and we should all be working together to bring new fans to the sport. Hockey is truly a global sport and this game sells very well overseas as well as in NA, so we added new teams from top leagues around the world. - We will have lots of retro jerseys in the game (Seals, North Stars, etc) and we are doing something even more special with one of the NHL franchises.

# 22 bigwill33 @ 06/12/08 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddie1967


	Not that I don't believe you but is that in the article?

Yeah I mentioned being able to change the D lines separate from the O in the article.

# 23 bigwill33 @ 06/12/08 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joborule


	Good write up man.

Thanks jobo!

# 24 meh @ 06/13/08 07:31 AM

If all of these add-ons are implemented without taking away the quality shown in 08 - then wow, this could easily be the big game of the year!

Really looking forward to this one..... problem is, I want it now

# 25 Splitter77 @ 06/13/08 07:46 AM

if they make somebody like donald brashear (or the other scrubs) a 35 or so for an overall rating- then I'll get really excited about the game. What this game needs is variation between the stars and scrubs.

# 26 wildhockey19 @ 06/13/08 10:31 AM

Not to sound like a homer, but with a newly revamped fighting system I hope that it follows that the "true" fighters are much better at it then any other player. By that I mean if Boogaard were to square off with Ian Laperriere (to bad he's a puss and has public said that he has no intention to ever do so) the fight shouldn't last 30 secs. Just hoping that the fighting system is much like the deking system where the true skilled players at is excel much more noticably than the others. Peace!

# 27 meh @ 06/13/08 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splitter77


	if they make somebody like donald brashear (or the other scrubs) a 35 or so for an overall rating- then I'll get really excited about the game. What this game needs is variation between the stars and scrubs.

that is an interesting point and i think that covers most sports games - are the top players that far enough apart from the average everyday players in how the game rates them?

is 89 OVR to 70 OVR a big enough gap to warrant a star over a basic player (just for illustrative purposes)

maybe a radical overhaul of the ratings sytem is a way off yet, but that would most probably add another dimension when factored into the AI/Gameplay development

# 28 Splitter77 @ 06/13/08 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meh


	that is an interesting point and i think that covers most sports games - are the top players that far enough apart from the average everyday players in how the game rates them? is 89 OVR to 70 OVR a big enough gap to warrant a star over a basic player (just for illustrative purposes) maybe a radical overhaul of the ratings sytem is a way off yet, but that would most probably add another dimension when factored into the AI/Gameplay development

by spreading out the ratings more, it would make for a much more realistic game.
Not just for overall ratings, Im talking passing, shooting, etc.
When somebody like brashear tries a cross-ice pass, I want that thing off target at least 50% of the time, and picked off as well, whereas if somebody like lidstrom or thornton makes that pass, its almost perfect 80-90% of the time.

You get my point, but hopefully they make a total overhaul of the ratings

# 29 meh @ 06/13/08 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splitter77


	by spreading out the ratings more, it would make for a much more realistic game. Not just for overall ratings, Im talking passing, shooting, etc. When somebody like brashear tries a cross-ice pass, I want that thing off target at least 50% of the time, and picked off as well, whereas if somebody like lidstrom or thornton makes that pass, its almost perfect 80-90% of the time. You get my point, but hopefully they make a total overhaul of the ratings

Yeah definately, something that generally gets overlooked (usually by the inclusion of sliders) - if the individual players are more diverse in their abilities, then the game will adjust and play with the benefits/handicaps each player brings

Something that hopefully gets looked into at somepoint

# 30 bigwill33 @ 06/13/08 01:23 PM

While the new ratings would be nice, you have to remember that EA is trying to sale a game to everyone on the market. A lot of people that buy these games would get frustrated if their team was filled with 50 overall rated players and such.

Honestly, and not to sound like a homer here, I think it works pretty well the way it is. In my franchise the people who score goals do more than the scrubs on my team. Even online you see the star players generate most of the offense, even though goons and 4th liners can make those passes you are all talking about at times.

Bottom line is this, these players are all in the NHL for a reason, nobody should be rated a 35 unless they put me in the game haha. When you play a game you notice a clear difference between Sidney Crosby and a Georges Laraque, and that is what is most important.

Besides, be careful what you wish for. It wasn't all that long ago that EA gave superstars a special rating for dekes and moves, and it was just crazy stupid and unrealistic.

# 31 sabresfan @ 06/13/08 01:37 PM

Haha, I think I would like a 35 overall. He may suck compared to most NHL players, but you know he's still one of the best 1000 or so hockey players in the world right now.

What I really want is for the game to not have all the Euro players as free agents so every team but mine ends up with way overpowered forwards and goaltenders who would never come close to making the NHL like that in real life. You need to either lower their ratings or lock in the contracts.

# 32 Splitter77 @ 06/13/08 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwill33


	While the new ratings would be nice, you have to remember that EA is trying to sale a game to everyone on the market. A lot of people that buy these games would get frustrated if their team was filled with 50 overall rated players and such. Honestly, and not to sound like a homer here, I think it works pretty well the way it is. In my franchise the people who score goals do more than the scrubs on my team. Even online you see the star players generate most of the offense, even though goons and 4th liners can make those passes you are all talking about at times. Bottom line is this, these players are all in the NHL for a reason, nobody should be rated a 35 unless they put me in the game haha. When you play a game you notice a clear difference between Sidney Crosby and a Georges Laraque, and that is what is most important. Besides, be careful what you wish for. It wasn't all that long ago that EA gave superstars a special rating for dekes and moves, and it was just crazy stupid and unrealistic.

i remember there were players ranked in the 30s in nhl 92 and 93 for sega. Thats why those games were so damn good.

# 33 Eddie1967 @ 06/13/08 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Seperate line changes, along with fully controlable stick lifting, and defensive sweepchecking more along the lines of how it is in NHL2k. A new fighting engine, more types of penalties including pucks over the glass and checking from behind etc. Thats not even mentioning the 75 or so new goalie animations including desperation types of saves, no more lock on hitting, its now all physics and momentum based. One handed dekes that only star players can pull off with any regularity. a dedicated dump with forechecking options for how many guys you want to send in behind the puck. And to top that all off added presentation like breakdowns of what you did right or wrong during replays. I think you owe it to yourself to at least give the game a chance this year, you may be suprised.

My pal RealmK(lol), I will probably give it a chance this year.. I have to admit it does sound like it's going to be a great game. The last hockey game that I truly loved was EA's nhl 2004. If only one game could truly put it all together, animations, presentation, FIGHTING, line changes, board play, etc. I would be in hockey video game heaven. 09 is starting to sound like a must buy.............

# 34 Eddie1967 @ 06/13/08 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flyermania


	From Littman's blog entry:

WOW, Sounds great.

# 35 ianlast @ 06/13/08 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baa7


	I've been doing that with NHL 08. When I have an hour, I take one team and lower the ratings of most players all the way down to the minimum (50). The few stars on the team I lower ratings here and there, but not as much. HUGE difference in the gameplay. The thing is, it also fixes some aspects of the programming. For example, the CPU doesn't pass tape-to-tape all the time. Plus scrubs have a tough time scoring on the higher difficulty levels, which doesn't happen with default ratings. I'm thinking of doing this with NHL 09 and making a roster available, the game plays so much more realistically IMO.

Interesting...so does this make it possible to play 15-20 minute periods with realistic stats?

# 36 ianlast @ 06/13/08 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splitter77


	i remember there were players ranked in the 30s in nhl 92 and 93 for sega. Thats why those games were so damn good.

Haha, so true. Shawn Chambers rating of 1 overall in NHL 93 FTW.

Seriously, though, my guess is that fringe players being rated 70-75 overall (as opposed to 30-40 overall back in the day) is an NHLPA thing, they probably don't think it's great for the image of their members to have them rated that low. Just speculation, but it seems logical.

# 37 bigwill33 @ 06/13/08 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianlast


	Haha, so true. Shawn Chambers rating of 1 overall in NHL 93 FTW. Seriously, though, my guess is that fringe players being rated 70-75 overall (as opposed to 30-40 overall back in the day) is an NHLPA thing, they probably don't think it's great for the image of their members to have them rated that low. Just speculation, but it seems logical.

I think it is just the way ratings work now. I mean a player that is a 62 and in the minors is pretty close to a 30 back then. Players that are about 70 and in the NHL on these games would probably be rated in the 50's back then.

So that means the gap between 95 and 62 is probably roughly equal to the gap between 99 and 30 back in the early days of the series. It is just how they have tweaked the ratings over the years that makes it look different.

On the scale they use now a player rated in the 30's couldn't even be on the same ice as the 90+ players, it would just be cheese city and no fun to anyone.

# 38 ianlast @ 06/13/08 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwill33


	On the scale they use now a player rated in the 30's couldn't even be on the same ice as the 90+ players, it would just be cheese city and no fun to anyone.

True enough...but one of the things I loved about NHLPA '93 is that, if you had some plug rated in the 30s or 20s (the then-expansion Lightning and Sens had several in the 10s and single-digits

) out on the ice, you were forced to play more conservatively. You knew Mike Peluso and Link Gaetz would never score, so your best bet was to just hang back with these guys, and maybe pick some fights.

With NHL 08, for all its great gameplay, I just never get that feeling. I play with the Wild alot, and I never feel that having Derek Boogaard out on the ice is a liability (which it is in real life). Heck, I've even scored some goals with him, just parking his fat *** in front of the net and feeding him a one-timer. In real life, Derek Boogaard is too ungainly to even keep up with the play and get in a position like this, much less fire off a onetime shot.

# 39 catcatch22 @ 06/13/08 07:51 PM

See in my opinion ratings are not the problem, defense is. In all sports video games besides basketball and baseball. Defense in relation to time is not accurate. Defense is alot easier to play in Hockey for a NHL player than offense is. However in almost every hockey game I have played no one has made it that way for sake of keeping people from having to play 20 minute periods to score at a normal rate.

The only thing that needs to be adjusted for hockey games is to make the players play better defensively and be worst offensively. However it's offense that sells.

When you watch a game and see a highlight reel offensive move or pinpoint accurate pass lead to a scoring opportunity, it happens in a sea of several many possesions. In Football and Hockey games the possesions needed for success offensively is far less.

In the old days there just wasn't much moves offensively you could do and defense was much easier to play. Most players were rated strictly based on offense.

Now the games give the offense so high an advantage to give reaslistc results and scores in less time than a full 60 minute game in football or hockey.

Too many players are rated to high offensively and too low defensively.

# 40 ianlast @ 06/14/08 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Its a fine line to cross trying to appeal to the casual base that makes up a majority of your sales who would hate the game that way, and us sim players who would relish it. I'd love to see them do it through sliders or at least have slider settings that really make a difference pending on which end of the bar its set to. Something like setting pass accuracy to zero would make it very difficult to make crisp passes when teammates aren't in open ice, as opposed to setting it on say 5 or 6 would add that magnetic puck to stick property for the casual guys that just want to play to score or what not.

In this day and age of sports gaming, it still amazes me that there are no games that optimize the gameplay to suit period/quarter length.

I know that you can't capture all the nuances of a 20 minute hockey game in video game form...but it can't be that hard to create gameplay that will deliver realistic stats and a gameplay flow that is appropriate for the corresponding period length. In NHL 08, for instance:

5 minute periods: Basically, the default sliders. These tend to give very realistic stats for 5 minutes periods (save for the number of penalties called, they would have to make it much more sensitive in order to see the average 8-9 penalties called per game). Perfect for those who want a quick, arcadish style of game.

10 minute periods: Look no further than Catch's sliders. These give extremely realistic numbers and overall gameplay flow for 10 minute periods. Only problem is hits, which tend to be a bit overdone (I usually have an average of about 45 hits/game on these sliders, CPU about the same, it should be more like 25). Simply develop more ways to jar the puck loose and make puck battles a bigger part of the game, and this problem disappears. Also, penalties would have to be more sensitive than they are currently with the slider maxed out.

15 minute periods: Catch's sliders are good for overall game flow on 15. The tweaks would be in the areas that everyone has already discussed, namely: a) no more tape-to-tape passing b) no more insane puck retention by the CPU in the offensive zone, actually make it possible to engage the CPU in puck battles along the boards c) loosen up the overall puck retention by all but the very best stickhandlers.

20 minute periods are still very much a pipe dream, unless you consciously play a sim style on lower difficulty and purposely pass up scoring opportunities.

What frustrates me the most is that game developers obviously have the ability to work these nuances out. For instance, almost all NBA games nowadays, with minor slider tweaks, will deliver realistic FG%, FG attempts, and point scored on 12 minute quarters...why is it that we almost have to reprogram the game to get realistic foul totals and fewer dunks in traffic? Madden '05 delivered extremely realistic gameplay for 15 min quarters, accelerated clock...why did things as simple as a fatigue bug and non-existant PI calls have to mar this?

I realize sports game developers are always trying to pander to non-sport gamers as well as their harcore followers, so it's always a balance...but how many newbie sports gamers will reject a game for reasons like "there's not enough hits", or "there's barely any dunks"?

Anyway, my mini-rant is complete...all I can say is, it's great to be out of the dark days of NHL on the CG consoles

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