06:45 AM - August 20, 2009 by VeryEvilAsh
The NHL 10 demo is available for the Xbox 360. Post your impressions here. The PS3 demo will be available next week.
NHL 10 News Post
06:45 AM - August 20, 2009 by VeryEvilAshNHL 10 Videos
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*****
A little birdie just shared a nice nugget of info with me. We'll see user goalies in online versus shootouts in NHL10 (and for penalty shots). Better start practicing, boys...
# 243
CarryTheWeight @ 08/21/09 04:45 PM
Played Battle For The Cup at least 10-12 times last night and I have to say I'm pretty impressed.
-Hardcore passing is the best thing that could have happened to this series. It took me a long while to get used to (and I'm still getting used to it, quite frankly) but there's so much more control you have now. Variable speeds based on pressure is frustrating at first but it gives you so much more control over what play you want to run. Just the speed of a pass can cause you to overcommit.
-The new board play has made me look at the gameplay a lot more realistically. Instead of crushing an opponent along the boards whenever they came into hitting range like I did in NHL 09, board play gives those who can't hit an opportunity to jar the puck loose while getting a chance to set up some rushes (which I particularly liked...Sykora was pinned along the boards, kicked the puck behind the Penguin net with two defensemen waiting and began the rush to the Wings' end). Great addition, it adds a lot of strategy to the game.
-The crowd! I thought the towel-waving was only a pre-game cutscene. Boy, was I wrong. Seeing the Joe on its feet and towels waving with one minute to go in a tied Cup Finals Game 7 is unlike anything I've seen in a video game. I wish Gary/Bill would also play up how much the fans are going crazy but that's for next year I guess. What they did is fine with me. Chants are awesome as well. A++ in this department.
-I did not hear the booing of opposing star players (I have not had an injury yet so I haven't had that scenario happen), especially when carrying the puck coast-to-coast on a rush with Crosby. Maybe I didn't notice since there's so much other incidental noise in the arena.
Overall I'm very impressed and it only reinforces that this will be a day-one deal for me.
-Hardcore passing is the best thing that could have happened to this series. It took me a long while to get used to (and I'm still getting used to it, quite frankly) but there's so much more control you have now. Variable speeds based on pressure is frustrating at first but it gives you so much more control over what play you want to run. Just the speed of a pass can cause you to overcommit.
-The new board play has made me look at the gameplay a lot more realistically. Instead of crushing an opponent along the boards whenever they came into hitting range like I did in NHL 09, board play gives those who can't hit an opportunity to jar the puck loose while getting a chance to set up some rushes (which I particularly liked...Sykora was pinned along the boards, kicked the puck behind the Penguin net with two defensemen waiting and began the rush to the Wings' end). Great addition, it adds a lot of strategy to the game.
-The crowd! I thought the towel-waving was only a pre-game cutscene. Boy, was I wrong. Seeing the Joe on its feet and towels waving with one minute to go in a tied Cup Finals Game 7 is unlike anything I've seen in a video game. I wish Gary/Bill would also play up how much the fans are going crazy but that's for next year I guess. What they did is fine with me. Chants are awesome as well. A++ in this department.
-I did not hear the booing of opposing star players (I have not had an injury yet so I haven't had that scenario happen), especially when carrying the puck coast-to-coast on a rush with Crosby. Maybe I didn't notice since there's so much other incidental noise in the arena.
Overall I'm very impressed and it only reinforces that this will be a day-one deal for me.
# 244
bad_philanthropy @ 08/21/09 04:51 PM
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I'm loving the demo, and the hardcore mode is the best way to amp up the difficulty as far as I'm concerned. I've been forced to try new ways of scoring and it's great to see some realistic deflections on shots from the point. I'm doing things on the 360 for the demo cuz the ps3 version wasn't available yet, but I'm wondering if the poke ahead conrols are different. I thought I read somewhere that litty said they were changing that to a different button. Has anybody found this out yet?
# 248
Redshirt_EA @ 08/21/09 07:20 PM
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Edit: Corrected LB to RB.
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I think I remember hearing Litty say something about "rimming the puck around the boards" in one of the raw gameplay videos, is this done by flicking the right stick, without the LB modifier, in the defensive zone, in the direction you want it, or is there more to it? Also, is there a way to send the puck harder around the boards in the offensive zone or are we limited to saucer pass (RB) or regular pass (RT).
Thirdly, does holding down vision control (LT) help direct passes (like when you shoot) or is that my imagination?
# 250
bad_philanthropy @ 08/21/09 08:02 PM
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Ridgeberg, RealmK, thanks for answering some of my questions.
I'm dying to play this game myself. Only 4 more days.
So after a few more hours with this badboy are you still stoked?
It sounds like the game is far more organic.
And I love hearing how the CPU can't do the same things with lesser players as it can with it's stars.
I hated watching Sean O'Donnell turn into Bobby Orr.
I'm dying to play this game myself. Only 4 more days.
So after a few more hours with this badboy are you still stoked?
It sounds like the game is far more organic.
And I love hearing how the CPU can't do the same things with lesser players as it can with it's stars.
I hated watching Sean O'Donnell turn into Bobby Orr.
# 252
bad_philanthropy @ 08/21/09 08:42 PM
Small observation, the other prospects in the prospect game are rated much higher than the typical top prospects from dynasty mode draft in year's past.
I'm not sure if this is indicative of the talent levels we'll see in the first round of the draft in BaGM, but if it is, I like it. Lots of low 70's and a couple 77 guys.
I'm not sure if this is indicative of the talent levels we'll see in the first round of the draft in BaGM, but if it is, I like it. Lots of low 70's and a couple 77 guys.
# 253
kerosene31 @ 08/21/09 09:00 PM
My demo impressions:
The performance on 360 is ABYSMAL. Hopefully this is a demo only issue. With the overhead camera, the game is really choppy. I get terrible pauses. Am I the only one getting this? Again, hopefully just a demo issue.
I played hardcore mode on all-star difficulty.
-Hardcore passing:
Overall it feels way too slow. Am I the only one? I like what they are trying to do, but making fast and quick passes takes far too long. You need to move the puck in a hurry in this game and you don't have time to hold down the button that long. The CPU seems to not have this problem as much, as they can zip fast passes around more quickly. I do like how you can make bounce and lead passes, but holding down the trigger that long to pass is not good. I don't want laser passes from 09, but the skilled players in the game should be able to move the puck quickly. Lidstrom doesn't need to sit and think about his pass. The puck is off his stick and where he wants it in the blink of an eye.
-Puck physics:
Overall, a huge improvement from 09. I never liked the puck physics in 09, but now I realize just how badly they were needed. Honestly, there's still a lot of room for improvement, but still I like what they've done. I finally feel like shooting the puck on goal may reward me with a good bounce. We finally get those "oh *bleep*" moments when the puck hits something and almost goes in the net (or does go in). That's the exciting thing in hockey that was too infrequent last year. Every shot on goal from far away is potentially a scoring chance.
For example I had the puck along the wall by the faceoff circle with Holmstrom. I had a lane for a low percentage shot so I fire a slapper. The puck had little chance of going in, but it hits Fleury and bounces along the crease. One of my guys was in front fighting for it, but a Pens D-man got control first. That kind of thing was rare in 09. A scoring chance generated from a poor angle shot. Great stuff.
Now, firing the puck into a crowd is an unpredictable event, just like in real life. We are going to win and lose games based on lucky(unlucky) bounces, just like real life. You want to block those point shots so they don't get close to goal and into a situation where a bounce can kill you.
-Game pace (hardcore):
I like it. It doesn't play like pinball, but NHL hockey.
-Board pinning:
This is ok, but a little disappointing. I wish it happened naturally, rather than forcing the player to hold a button. Still, a nice addition to the game. It would be nice if the teammate AI was a little more willing to get in there and help you when you are pinned. Sometimes, they just stay in the slot and don't move.
-Overall gameplay (hardcore only):
Other than the passing speed, the pace and flow of the game is much more realistic. Not up and down tic tac toe passing and rushing up and down the ice. The game doesn't set up every play in the zone like a powerplay. You still move the puck around the zone, but you do't get those rediculous 4 minute stretches of one team moving the puck around.
Goal scoring variety is going to be much better this year. You're not going to skate around looking for the perfect pass all day like in 09. I think we're going to want to generate scoring chances in more realistic ways, especially when top skilled lines aren't out there. The puck physics make this a much, much better game.
My biggest problem so far is that while the CPU seems to do a great job taking away your passing options when breaking through the neutral zone and inside the zone, they seem to be far too soft on the puck carrier. I find myself "hot-dogging" the puck rather than passing it, and getting rewarded for it, not punished. 09 had too much passing, 10 so far has to little. I'm only on all-star difficulty, but that's what I played on 09.
I love the after the whistle scrums. I took a shot on goal after the whistle, and someone came up behind me and started trying to smash my leg! Then he fasewashed me and I didn't retaliate and drew a penalty (hopefully this isn't too exploitable).
I really wish the sliders were available in the demo. The options seem great, but I noticed that shot blocking seemed to be missing (unless I missed it). I wish that players on both sides blocked more shots.
-The dilemma:
Hardcore mode is a nice option, but I don't know if I can go back to "normal" mode and play in the EASHL. Going back and forth is going to be weird to say the least. I'm not faulting EA for giving us more options, but I really hope we can look into a hardcore EASHL next year. I can see myself only playing this game offline, which isn't really a bad thing, but I don't want to skip the EASHL either.
The performance on 360 is ABYSMAL. Hopefully this is a demo only issue. With the overhead camera, the game is really choppy. I get terrible pauses. Am I the only one getting this? Again, hopefully just a demo issue.
I played hardcore mode on all-star difficulty.
-Hardcore passing:
Overall it feels way too slow. Am I the only one? I like what they are trying to do, but making fast and quick passes takes far too long. You need to move the puck in a hurry in this game and you don't have time to hold down the button that long. The CPU seems to not have this problem as much, as they can zip fast passes around more quickly. I do like how you can make bounce and lead passes, but holding down the trigger that long to pass is not good. I don't want laser passes from 09, but the skilled players in the game should be able to move the puck quickly. Lidstrom doesn't need to sit and think about his pass. The puck is off his stick and where he wants it in the blink of an eye.
-Puck physics:
Overall, a huge improvement from 09. I never liked the puck physics in 09, but now I realize just how badly they were needed. Honestly, there's still a lot of room for improvement, but still I like what they've done. I finally feel like shooting the puck on goal may reward me with a good bounce. We finally get those "oh *bleep*" moments when the puck hits something and almost goes in the net (or does go in). That's the exciting thing in hockey that was too infrequent last year. Every shot on goal from far away is potentially a scoring chance.
For example I had the puck along the wall by the faceoff circle with Holmstrom. I had a lane for a low percentage shot so I fire a slapper. The puck had little chance of going in, but it hits Fleury and bounces along the crease. One of my guys was in front fighting for it, but a Pens D-man got control first. That kind of thing was rare in 09. A scoring chance generated from a poor angle shot. Great stuff.
Now, firing the puck into a crowd is an unpredictable event, just like in real life. We are going to win and lose games based on lucky(unlucky) bounces, just like real life. You want to block those point shots so they don't get close to goal and into a situation where a bounce can kill you.
-Game pace (hardcore):
I like it. It doesn't play like pinball, but NHL hockey.
-Board pinning:
This is ok, but a little disappointing. I wish it happened naturally, rather than forcing the player to hold a button. Still, a nice addition to the game. It would be nice if the teammate AI was a little more willing to get in there and help you when you are pinned. Sometimes, they just stay in the slot and don't move.
-Overall gameplay (hardcore only):
Other than the passing speed, the pace and flow of the game is much more realistic. Not up and down tic tac toe passing and rushing up and down the ice. The game doesn't set up every play in the zone like a powerplay. You still move the puck around the zone, but you do't get those rediculous 4 minute stretches of one team moving the puck around.
Goal scoring variety is going to be much better this year. You're not going to skate around looking for the perfect pass all day like in 09. I think we're going to want to generate scoring chances in more realistic ways, especially when top skilled lines aren't out there. The puck physics make this a much, much better game.
My biggest problem so far is that while the CPU seems to do a great job taking away your passing options when breaking through the neutral zone and inside the zone, they seem to be far too soft on the puck carrier. I find myself "hot-dogging" the puck rather than passing it, and getting rewarded for it, not punished. 09 had too much passing, 10 so far has to little. I'm only on all-star difficulty, but that's what I played on 09.
I love the after the whistle scrums. I took a shot on goal after the whistle, and someone came up behind me and started trying to smash my leg! Then he fasewashed me and I didn't retaliate and drew a penalty (hopefully this isn't too exploitable).
I really wish the sliders were available in the demo. The options seem great, but I noticed that shot blocking seemed to be missing (unless I missed it). I wish that players on both sides blocked more shots.
-The dilemma:
Hardcore mode is a nice option, but I don't know if I can go back to "normal" mode and play in the EASHL. Going back and forth is going to be weird to say the least. I'm not faulting EA for giving us more options, but I really hope we can look into a hardcore EASHL next year. I can see myself only playing this game offline, which isn't really a bad thing, but I don't want to skip the EASHL either.
My only real disappointment to the demo is they didn't include the use of goalies in the BAP mode.
Overall I think it's a nice step up from NHL09 and look forward to getting the actual game.
Overall I think it's a nice step up from NHL09 and look forward to getting the actual game.
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So how do they determine who drafts you? Is it random or based on how you do in the game? In other words, if I play really well will I go early and get "rewarded" by getting drafted by a bad team? Likewise, if I stink it up will I get "penalized" by getting picked in later rounds by the better teams?
Also, I asked it before but maybe it was too soon for the question:
Is comeback AI or comeback logic still in the game in the last 5 minutes? Anyone?
Is comeback AI or comeback logic still in the game in the last 5 minutes? Anyone?
# 258
kerosene31 @ 08/21/09 09:50 PM
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The problem with this demo is you usually start by 2 goals up or down, so you don't spend much time playing tied to compare.
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Like I say, I understand the concept, it just became more annoying than successful last year. Good to hear it got axed.
# 260
kerosene31 @ 08/21/09 09:59 PM
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Most of the goals have been deflections or lucky bounces so far.
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