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

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Member Comments

# 401 aepoc @ 08/19/10 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 06woz


	Anyone notice that you are given control of the player you are passing to, really early. I thin it's awesome and allows you to "skate into" your passes more.

I have noticed that, and I do like it... it's helped in more than one instance.

# 402 aepoc @ 08/19/10 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Segagendude


	I'm really diggin the "action" camera view.........puts me closer to the ice!

Do you notice any slowdowns with that camera angle at all? Mine gets really, really choppy down in the corners. That's the main reason I don't play with that camera angle.

# 403 RoyalBoyle78 @ 08/19/10 10:36 AM

I can't stress how much I want this game now.

# 404 norml @ 08/19/10 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill2451


	I can't stress how much I wish silver members could download the demo already I almost paid 8 bucks for a month gold subscription just so I could play the demo lol

Same here, but my internet connection is so unreliable it would probably take until the 7th to finish downloading.

# 405 Dollar Theater @ 08/19/10 11:10 AM

I love it. Really nothing else to say. It feels better, plays better, looks better and NHL 10 was already very, very good. Day one purchase now for sure.

# 406 ComaFaction @ 08/19/10 11:35 AM

Cool! Just saw the CPU pull their goalie, but I hip checked Hall and broke out, only to see their goalie scramble back to his crease to stop the oncoming shot.

Also on the hip check, Hall was able to jump over it. He lost possession, but stayed on his feet. Same game, on a faceoff in my zone, CPU down 1 with 3 seconds left, they shot off the draw. Pretty impressed.

# 407 Mikey88 @ 08/19/10 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slick589


	hey guys im new to hockey so idk much about it but when is the correct time to go for a regular check? and wen is the correct time to go for a hip check? thanks

It's hard to say when would be a good time to go for a hip check.. For me i think i would try to attempt one when I'm skating backwards into my own zone and i have my opponent lined up along the boards, and he's trying to get by.. i think you should only perform hip checks when you're sure you can do them, otherwise i would hit the regular way in most other cases.

# 408 adayinthelife @ 08/19/10 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikey88


	It's hard to say when would be a good time to go for a hip check.. For me i think i would try to attempt one when I'm skating backwards into my own zone and i have my opponent lined up along the boards, and he's trying to get by.. i think you should only perform hip checks when you're sure you can do them, otherwise i would hit the regular way in most other cases.

Yep, start angling the oncoming player towards the boards in the neutral zone and then go in for the kill once you've closed the gap.

# 409 theglory @ 08/19/10 01:16 PM

Anyone else notice the goalies react really badly v. the "jump over downed players" deke? When you get close they go into butterfly and if you do it at the right time they react like its going to be a shot 5 hole or to the breadbasket.. and skips right over their shoulder.

# 410 Money99 @ 08/19/10 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theglory


	Anyone else notice the goalies react really badly v. the "jump over downed players" deke? When you get close they go into butterfly and if you do it at the right time they react like its going to be a shot 5 hole or to the breadbasket.. and skips right over their shoulder.

Hopefully this is fixed in the final build. Otherwise, it's going to be overused online.

# 411 plaidchuck @ 08/19/10 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theglory


	Anyone else notice the goalies react really badly v. the "jump over downed players" deke? When you get close they go into butterfly and if you do it at the right time they react like its going to be a shot 5 hole or to the breadbasket.. and skips right over their shoulder.

lol never thought about trying this.. also the puck gets "stuck" on the goalies back too much.. they still have some kinks to work out how the puck bounces off the goalies..

# 412 ManiacMatt1782 @ 08/19/10 02:19 PM

Make a new bogus gamertag. New gamertags get live gold free for a month.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill2451


	I can't stress how much I wish silver members could download the demo already I almost paid 8 bucks for a month gold subscription just so I could play the demo lol

# 413 Fiddy @ 08/19/10 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Money99


	Hopefully this is fixed in the final build. Otherwise, it's going to be overused online.

i said this would be abused online from the day they announced it. no matter what they do to it from demo to retail version, this will be abused big time!!

# 414 budsticky @ 08/19/10 03:51 PM

I can't say enough about this demo. I downloaded it for PS3 and I'm definitely sold. I skipped 10, though I did rent it. I didn't buy it because I played the heck out of 09 and some of the problems seemed to carry over..mainly tic-tac-toe laser passing and other assorted AI issues. This will be a day one purchase though.

+ CPU AI has been much improved. The offense no longer does the robo laser passing. I also saw the offense play the dump and chase game on many occasions. I don't remember them doing that in previous versions. At times I feel like the defenders can stick to me like glue and almost be clairvoyant in knowing when I'm going to make a turn, but it hasn't bothered me too much yet.

+ The game feels more natural than I remember. Maybe it's the new physics engine, but even the skating feels more natural and less like gliding.

+ I feel more of a differentiation between players. The scrubs on my UT feel like scrubs. The one star player I did happen to get on my UT stood out when he was on the ice (Malkin).

+/- Speaking of UT, this actually seems like it could work for this game, but it's too early to tell if this will be a positive for me or not. It is certainly addictive, but the main thing it might have going for it is that it looks like you can actually make some progress just from playing the game. I'm not sure how much the good packs are going to cost, but it seems like you earn a decent amount of pucks for everything. Even when my UT lost I still got like 160 pucks. If it is out of reach to get good packs without using real money though, I'll probably mostly ignore this mode. I also hope there is some sort of system in place for when you play online to try and match you up fairly. I don't want to take my 78 rated new team online and have to play some guy who has a 99 team. Hopefully they can put you within 5 points of your team's rank or something like that.

- Please have Thorne and Clement record some new commentary. I'm still hearing lines from 09 regularly on this game.

- It looks like I'm not the only one getting the occasional frame rate drop on the PS3.

All in all this is a great job and I will be buying on day one. I just hope that the UT feature can be played competitively by those that don't want to spend real money on it. I've ignored UT on all other EA games because this wasn't true. Even still, the game will have more than enough value for me.

# 415 Qb @ 08/19/10 04:09 PM

Bud, I believe there are matchmaking filters that favor closely ranked teams in EAUHL.

# 416 Gagnon39 @ 08/19/10 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by actionhank


	I was happy to have just scored a wrister past the goalie. No deke, just pulled back and fired. It was on a breakaway, but still. Very nice.

What level?

# 417 swil @ 08/19/10 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crobert0247


	Anyone notice that the protect puck button(A) has been given some treatment? There is actual skating with this feature and not just the curl and hold arm out from previous years.

i did- makes a world of difference

# 418 Gagnon39 @ 08/19/10 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Its doable on SS, I've done it on both breakaways and on goalies who are slightly screened. Honestly tenders may still need a tweak or two slider wise, but I think the new puck physics really make a world of difference this year. Seems to be far less suction in just about all aspects of the gameplay this year.

Well, you read my mind, because that's all I really want to know. For every hockey game there's always just a few questions that I have to know that allows me to enjoy the game completely. (NHL 09 and NHL 10 did this perfectly).

1) Can you score on non-screened, blue line slap shots (every once in a while)?
2) Can you score on straight wrist shots (every once in a while)?
3) Can you successfully deke the goalie and score?

All of these questions apply to the super star level. I know these are all possible on rookie and pro.

I'm guess the answer is yes for all the in NHL 11.

# 419 meep316 @ 08/19/10 09:20 PM

My favorite part of NHL 11

I would never play against the computer, not since like NHL 06, before the skill stick was introduced. Why? Because they were like robots, and had absolutely NO creativity with the puck. No dekes, toe drags, nothing, it was the most boring, cardboard, stale experience ever playing against the CPU, I've been strictly and online player except for a Be A Pro in NHL 09.

That changes this year. I've played a ton of games in the demo, and the CPU is making some very, very nice moves. Stickhandling, trying to go short side on a backhand when streaking down the wing all alone, I've been dangled out of my skates.

That's the fun for me in these games, is how creative you can be with the puck, and now the computer actually plays similar to how I play, I love it.

# 420 adamgod8 @ 08/19/10 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted 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.

I wouldn't call it revolutionary, IMO I actually I wouldn't even call it very good at all. I was very under-impressed with the "real physics"...they aren't always on it has to detect a collision and it just doesnt feel as smooth as NM's physics engine. Maybe I just had too high expectations, but I was very under-whelmed with how well the physics worked and looked

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