NHL 11 News Post

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

06:32 AM - August 17, 2010 by Lubey

EA Sports NHL 11 demo is now available on Xbox LIVE and the PLAYSTATION Network. Powered by a revolutionary real-time physics engine, the franchise that has won 22 sports game of the year awards over the past three years will showcase two game modes in the demo: Battle for the Cup and the all-new Hockey Ultimate Team.

Battle for the Cup:

In Battle for the Cup, players will experience all the emotion and drama of the third period of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup� Championship between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks. The mode features an all new faceoff system, new quick dekes and the ability to score amazing goals even while lying on the ice.

Hockey Ultimate Team:

The all-new Hockey Ultimate Team brings Online Dynasty play to the EA SPORTS NHL franchise for the first time ever. In the demo, players will be able to pick up a starter pack of cards to build their Ultimate Hockey Team. Take your new team to the ice and play against either the Canadian Hockey League�s Windsor Spitfires, or the NHL�s Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers. Play and win games in the demo with your Ultimate Team and earn up to two additional packs in the full version of NHL 11, when it is released on September 7, 2010.

The demo will also feature an interactive tutorial that will allow those new to the franchise to learn the controls, and allow long-time fans to practice some of the new controls in the game, including Faceoffs.

Game: NHL 11Reader Score: 7.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 36 - View All

NHL 11 Videos

Member Comments

# 241 SinisterAlex @ 08/17/10 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComaFaction


	Thanks guys - that's reassuring. I've bombed slappers into guys, pounded guys into the boards and done anything possible to injure someone, but with no luck!

Haha sucks to be you

Nah, I'm guessing injuries happen and occur differently with the new physics engine than they did in NHL 10.

# 242 Gagnon39 @ 08/17/10 10:35 PM

I can tell one thing for sure, I'll be bouncing back between All-Star and Super Star for a month or two when this game comes out.

# 243 06woz @ 08/17/10 10:41 PM

Wow, insane disallowed goal. I was playing against Canada.

Richards took a shot, which took a hard bounce off the pads out to the point. Nash then attempted a wrist shot but due a poke check it hopped up to about head height, and Crosby deflected it down and five hole. Ref waived it off, and it stayed that way. No Goal!

The moments in this game that are so rare really immerse you in the gameplay.

# 244 SinisterAlex @ 08/17/10 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Sliders will make all the difference in the world no doubt. I'm starting to get the hang of things though, trying not to hit as much and being better at blocking passing lanes is the way to go. Personally I think the CPU AI even on the base sliders is improved 10 fold over NHL10 but maybe thats just me.

I started on Superstar and stayed on that for as long as I could, but without being able to change sliders, it was hard for me to setup plays because the CPU just took everything away. So now I'm on All-Star and I'm enjoying it alot, even though I miss Superstar...

But I am liking this Manual Passing setting, but it seems to be a delay in when I push/ hold the trigger to the time the puck leaves my stick. I like the soft and hard passes, really mix up the gameplay a lot.

# 245 Gagnon39 @ 08/17/10 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Sliders will make all the difference in the world no doubt. I'm starting to get the hang of things though, trying not to hit as much and being better at blocking passing lanes is the way to go. Personally I think the CPU AI even on the base sliders is improved 10 fold over NHL10 but maybe thats just me.

Are you playing on Super Star?

# 246 Lordofthething @ 08/17/10 10:42 PM

Another "good" I forget to put in my impressions is the cpu knocking down, or at least attempting to knock 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...

# 247 onlybygrace @ 08/17/10 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 06woz


	Wow, insane disallowed goal. I was playing against Canada. Richards took a shot, which took a hard bounce off the pads out to the point. Nash then attempted a wrist shot but due a poke check it hopped up to about head height, and Crosby deflected it down and five hole. Ref waived it off, and it stayed that way. No Goal! The moments in this game that are so rare really immerse you in the gameplay.

NHL 11 Flu: 105.3

# 248 Perfect Zero @ 08/17/10 10:54 PM

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).

# 249 06woz @ 08/17/10 10:57 PM

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.

# 250 cheechoo98 @ 08/17/10 10:57 PM

( 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?

# 251 Gagnon39 @ 08/17/10 10:58 PM

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.

# 252 Flyermania @ 08/17/10 10:59 PM

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.

# 253 cheechoo98 @ 08/17/10 11:00 PM

re: the HUSTLE button

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

# 254 Flyermania @ 08/17/10 11:00 PM

Oh, and for scottdau --- in case you hadn't played it or heard, there are 5 man celebrations.

# 255 BigBlue10989 @ 08/17/10 11:10 PM

Hustle button works for me. I used it with Getzlaf and absolutely avalanched Crosby. I got a charging penalty but it was def. worth it.

# 256 cheechoo98 @ 08/17/10 11:16 PM

Sounds like you are talking about the R3 button? That's for Hip checks.

Or are you talking about the L3 button for a speed burst...?

# 257 Gagnon39 @ 08/17/10 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Hey whatever works for ya. The game has no cpu attribute boost with cpu difficulty on zero. I feel your pain though in regards to 10, I had cpu diff at 3, was running a NY Rangers GM waiting for NHL 11 to come out and went something ridiculous like 33-1-1 on superstar before the demo dropped. The AI was definately flawed in 10, I'm just excited that it doesn't seem to be an issue this year so far.

Don't take this the wrong way, but, I don't see how you can say that there's no attribute boosts on superstar (even with CPU difficulty all the way down). I played over a season and a half on superstar last year, with CPU difficulty all the way down, and there was/is definitely a boost for the CPU in the speed category. I had Kane caught from behind multiple times by players that had no business doing so. I could push the puck up the ice 2 times and still not gain an inch on a backchecker.

# 258 Redshirt_EA @ 08/17/10 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gagnon39


	Don't take this the wrong way, but, I don't see how you can say that there's no attribute boosts on superstar (even with CPU difficulty all the way down). I played over a season and a half on superstar last year, with CPU difficulty all the way down, and there was/is definitely a boost for the CPU in the speed category. I had Kane caught from behind multiple times by players that had no business doing so. I could push the puck up the ice 2 times and still not gain an inch on a backchecker.

With CPU Difficulty Adjustment on zero they don't get speed boosts, and this is the default now for all game styles. So the most extreme challenge from the computer would be Superstar with CPU Difficulty Adjustment maxed out, but if you don't want them to have an physical edge you can just leave it on the defaults.

# 259 crobert0247 @ 08/17/10 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Thanks for clearing that up Redshirt. Btw if you had a major hand in the AI tuning this year, if I'm ever in Vancouver I wanna buy you a beer. Good stuff!

I'd buy that whole team a beer for sure.

# 260 Gagnon39 @ 08/17/10 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redshirt_EA


	With CPU Difficulty Adjustment on zero they don't get speed boosts, and this is the default now for all game styles. So the most extreme challenge from the computer would be Superstar with CPU Difficulty Adjustment maxed out, but if you don't want them to have an physical edge you can just leave it on the defaults.

Well, alright then. What is it? What causes the lack of space?

« Previous 1 2…10 11 121314 15 16…37 38 Next »

More Links

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