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

# 501 SlyBelle @ 08/21/10 06:19 PM

Overall, really liking the game but was wondering if others have seen something.

When my team is leading my 1, the CPU tends not to pull their goalie until 30 seconds left in the game. This is even happens when the CPU is in my end. I would think they would be pulling the goalie minimally around 1 minute mark.

Anyone else seen this?

# 502 Money99 @ 08/21/10 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Seeing it on SS as well Hank. Same thing with pass receiving even though the new ease of receiving slider is in the middle, I'm seeing if my 4th line is out, they're more apt to have a puck explode off their stick on a hard pass or miss it entirely. The refined puck physics seem to play a roll in it as well obviously. Much less magnetism in regards to puck on stick.

Agreed.
And in my last game the CPU actually whiffed on a one-timer. Sweet!

# 503 theglory @ 08/21/10 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SlyBelle


	Overall, really liking the game but was wondering if others have seen something. When my team is leading my 1, the CPU tends not to pull their goalie until 30 seconds left in the game. This is even happens when the CPU is in my end. I would think they would be pulling the goalie minimally around 1 minute mark. Anyone else seen this?

I have seen them pull at like 50-45 second mark, if they have the puck in the attacking zone. I think they were down by 2 also tho. The defenders are very lax on pinching in these situations tho.. So it usually ends up an easy empty netter... =(

# 504 Super Glock @ 08/21/10 07:37 PM

Wow the goalie is a brick wall in this game, how do I score?

# 505 crobert0247 @ 08/21/10 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Glock


	Wow the goalie is a brick wall in this game, how do I score?

Pound shots early to test em', float shots to the net in traffic, cycle down low and look for coverage breakdowns and thread passes in to a breaking forward or pinching D-man, create odd man rushes with stretch plays(long pass), cycle in and look for clear lanes back to your D-men for one timer's, use the hustle function to gain an edge one on one to drive wide or manual deke inside to throw the D-man off balance, and if you manage to get behind the D, the goalies can still be deked fairly easily if your timing is on. Just to name a few.

# 506 BlueNGold @ 08/21/10 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gagnon39


	After hours of play on this demo I feel like I might actually be able to play this game on All-Star and get realistic results. I've been playing on All-Star the past few games and have found that I NHL 11 is in fact, much more difficult than NHL 10. The CPU AI is much better, they make moves, create plays, etc. I'm getting pumped for this game. Is anyone else playing on All-Star and noticing the improved offensive CPU AI?

Yes. I've played mostly all of my Battle for the Cup games on All-Star. I've only played once or twice on Superstar because I don't think I'm ready to make that jump yet. It's still difficult for me to get wins on All-Star.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Money99


	The more I play the more I like. I need to play a few more HUT games because I'm not sure I'm seeing this right and I'd appreciate some feedback from OS members for verification. I really noticed in the last HUT tourney I played how threading passes or intercepting really depends on the players skill. With some of my weaker players they had a harder time sneaking passes through. Meanwhile, players like Backstrom and Daughty were able to thread quite a few through. But against defenders like Pronger or Keith, it wasn't nearly as easy. And this proved vice-versa when going up against the CPU. Crosby was able to thread some passes through guys like Gomley (69 OV). I need to keep playing because I don't want this to be my eyes decieving me. But so far I feel I'm seeing more player separation on this demo (at least on Pro level).

Yeah I noticed this too but didn't think to post about it. Pronger was really solid at keeping cross crease passes away and knocking them away or intercepting them, while some of the other lesser D-men I've noticed haven't been able to do the same.

# 507 BleacherCreature @ 08/21/10 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottdau


	Nope you are right Hank. The good players really can do more. Keith and the good D guys would stop more passes and control it too. It is really cool. I am very pumped for this game now. *Player separation is finally here* the way I like it. I made this sweet game winning goal in HUT with Backstrom. It was in OT and he got around the Dman and used the hustle and then did a sweet deke and got the goalie to commit to that side and then I roof it in for the win! It was bad *** and felt so good. I love the controls.

This is the biggest change I notice so far with the demo.
On one of my HUT's I had Malkin centering someone rated like 68 or something and you can really see the skill difference between the 2.
Malkin was all over the ice getting scoring chances, setting up plays while the 68 guy (whose name escapes me) was like a lump out there basically taking up space. As a Ranger fan I expected his name to be Jokinen or Higgins but it was not.

# 508 BleacherCreature @ 08/21/10 09:39 PM

Especially off the goalie.
Makes for some hectic moments in front of the net.

I think I'm more excited for the video game than I am the real NHL season.
Being a Ranger fan might explain that though.

# 509 Vince @ 08/21/10 09:40 PM

EA Canada has done it again...

I can safely say this is the best hockey game ever.

Simply brilliant. I have no complaints so far.

# 510 BlueNGold @ 08/21/10 09:42 PM

Speaking of the puck taking crazy bounces now, I scored a nice goal with Nik Backstrom because of this.

I came into the zone, snapped a quick wrister up high and it smacked off the goalie's mask out in front of the net and Backstrom grabbed his own rebound and tucked it in the net.

Loving how the puck takes different bounces depending on where it hits the goalie.

# 511 crobert0247 @ 08/21/10 10:03 PM

I am really enjoying what the Hustle feature has brought to NHL 11 so far. I mean, when you are going full tilt on the forecheck or tracking back, it feels like watching a real NHL'er out there going FULL STRIDE. You can notice the player start skating harder and moving faster in a realistic way. No more pre-NHL 11 half stride when a player is right out the gate. You can turn on the jets now. I'm becoming a big fan of Hustle.

# 512 crobert0247 @ 08/21/10 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Same here, I was weary of seeing a sort of speed boost readded to the game, but the way hustle is implimented is realistic, makes sense, and works well for what it's intended to do.

Well said. I was also worried when it was announced. But thankfully(

), it seems to have been implemented in just the right way.

# 513 crobert0247 @ 08/21/10 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottdau


	I love the hustle and being able to protect puck and go behind the net for a wrap around try with a fast skater.

I really like using it when Mikkel Boedker or Nick Backstrom jumps the bench to get up on the forecheck.

# 514 Vince @ 08/21/10 10:27 PM

anyone notice how saves look more realistic this year too?

# 515 sroz39 @ 08/21/10 10:45 PM

I know I'm late to the impressions party but I wanted to get a good amount of time in before making any "best game ever" statements. But truly, after many 3rd periods of the demo, this is the best hockey game ever, IMO.

Random thoughts:

- loving the skating. Those that are saying it's heavier are spot-on. There's more weight to the players and it takes longer to start and stop, especially when completely changing directions. Dare I say, it's very 2K-like without feeling like you're skating in quicksand a la 2K10 pre-patch.

- physics are a definite step in the right direction. Is it perfect? No, not by a long shot. In fact, there are still times where the physics don't kick in quite right. But they are mostly spot-on about 90% of the time, especially on light bumps and whatnot. Hip checks? Way too easy and need a release day tuner to nerf them a bit though. Looking forward to seeing year two and three of the physics implementation but the major positive to come out of this is that this should greatly limit how many 5'7" guys you see out there in OTP/EASHL play because if that's anything like the demo, those guys will get absolutely annihilated (as it should be)

- the fleshing out of certain animations really adds alot. The dekes look and feel great and it SEEMS like top tier players have an easier time with them than 3rd and 4th liners. Remains to be seen in the retail version if this holds true. Another thing that's been mentioned is the protect puck animation that's much better than before. Love the auto animations your player will do. So many occurences, it's tough to go through them all but off the top of my head, I had a guy knock the puck up to himself when I dumped it in and it bounced off the boards as I was skating by, saw a guy try to knock the puck down on to his stick on another dump but from my defensive zone and he was at the offensive blue line and the coolest one was when I knocked a guy down and as I was skating by with the puck while he was on his back, he desperately took a flail at the puck/my feet and tripped me, getting a penalty. Speaking of penalties..

- so much more organic looking. It doesn't seem like a canned animation (though they mostly are) but I've yet to see a tripping call on a poke where the stick was nowhere near the guy's feet. Instead, they're in a much more realistic context. Same with hooking calls. Someone mentioned this earlier, but I saw a guy get hooked with the puck but continue skating with one hand on his stick. Really cool. I've yet to try hitting someone without the puck below the hash marks to see if they actually took that out. Worries me slightly for EASHL play.

- love that dangerous spots in real life are dangerous spots to score from in the demo, for the most part anyways. I'm sure as the physics get implemeted more and more heavily over the next two years and it becomes more and more difficult to get into the slot, the goalies will become even more realistic to shoot at. As it is, I'm happy with Year One.

- love the passing. I have some comments on it for online play later on but I really like the way it's done. Not even sure what's so different about the passing in the demo from "Hardcore Passing" in 10 but it's just better.

- really like how to dump it in high, they cut down how long you have to hold RB for. Playing on an EASHL team that uses the dump and chase as our main offensive strategy, it sucked last year having to pre-determine well in advance when to dump and when to not. Sometimes, when you want to carry it in cuz you see a lane but it closes up quickly, your only option was to get levelled, make a risky pass or dump it in very low with no chance of recovering it anyways. Great to see this tuned.

- playing 90% of my club games last year in net, I can tell you there's not really that much different playing net in the demo (locked on goalie for a few games). They took the auto-cover out that led to some goals last year where your player looked like he was playing Hungry Hungry Hippo trying to cover a moving puck. You now have to hit Y instead of just sitting in butterfly. Still seeing too much of the spinning around animation too.

- like the way the ice looks, especially the degradation over the course of the period.

- commentary is a bit stale, but it's still better than many games out there so I can deal.

- presentation looks like it got a slight upgrade. Would like to see more done here but I'm glad the team is focusing on gameplay, so I can take a bit of my presentation beefs. Who knows, might be more to see in the final product too.

- Ultimate Team is really cool. I'm personally not going to play this mode much (mainly club play and BAGM for me) but I could see me goofing around with this mode. Love the simplicity of the ratings and the way the potential is done. I'm sure a ton of people are going to get alot out of this mode. Good job EA.

As for some of my concerns, they are mostly related to online play. Already mentioned the hip checks, could see that being a pain in OTP/EASHL play. There's other little things. I'm not the greatest glitcher by any stretch, as it's not something I employ as part of my arsenal (and our club has a zero-tolerance "no-glitch" policy) but having watched people do different glitches in 10 and 09, I tried doing some of them in the demo and the whip shot from 10 is effective and surprisingly, the curve shot from 09 works again too. Who knows what it'll be like online and not overly concerning to me personally, as my club is a strictly 6's only club, but still sucks a bit those are back.

Other than that, it's mainly curiousity as to what EASHL play entails. Maybe Redshirt can chime in on some of these questions:

- what is the difference between Amateur/Pro/Elite? Will gamestyles be different between the divisions? I've heard Elite is stricly 6v6. Is this true?

- is EASHL passing like passing in the demo? I think it would truly seperate the average passers from the great passers. I took alot of time learning how to use the manual saucer pass last year and it was really time wasted as I found I only needed to use it once every few games. But if all passing was this way, it would truly make playmakers valuable and also nerf some of the cross-crease stuff.

- has the faceoff loop been eliminated?

- is the practice mode free-form where there's just a bunch of pucks lying around and your teammates can drop in and out at will or is it a structured thing, similar to Practice mode offline?

- very curious to see how the Hustle Button has been implemented online. It's tied into to Fatigue, which is all well and good, but how does that work in EASHL play where there's no line changes? Does it reset after every faceoff? Time elapsed?

Two more things and then that's it for me. I would love to see, in EASHL/OTP play, having the BAP camera locked in. Meaning you have to use it. It's a really cool camera but you're really putting yourself at a dis-advantage if you use it as a forward or even Dman, because you see so much more of the ice with the other cameras. But if you truly want to feel like it's you out there, BAP cam is the only way to go and if everyone was FORCED to use it, there would be no disadvatage. And this way, chemistry would play a big part in EASHL play as knowing where your teammates are off screen would be important and making those passes behind you would be more rewarding.

I have a guess as to what QB is alluding to as far as an announcement goes with BAGM. Knowing he knows what makes this community giddy, I think EA has allowed 30 team control, and allowing you to play every game on the sked as well as set the sked length. I know he can't say yay or nay but that's my guess anyways.

# 516 sroz39 @ 08/21/10 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottdau


	Wow that is a lot of impression Stro. I agree this is a really good and fun game. I love the Ice and the skating is really smooth. Just think this is the first year of a three year plan with real physics too.

Yes, I have no life.

"I don't always post, but when I do, I prefer super-long ones. I am the most boring poster in the world.

Stay mind-numbed, my friends"

# 517 sroz39 @ 08/21/10 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottdau


	No I am just giving you a bad time. I have always loved writing your novels on here. You have a lot of great insights, so thanks again for your impressions. The game is really fun to play too. And it does have that organic feel too it. I love the goalies reactions this year.

IIRC Scotty, you were mainly a 2K guy but enjoyed BAP with the NHL series, correct? How are you enjoying the demo in comparison to 2K10? And even the staple of the 2K series, 2K8?

I do NOT intend to start a flame war with my question, guys. Simply curious how Scott feels about the dark side

# 518 Redshirt_EA @ 08/21/10 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sroz39


	Other than that, it's mainly curiousity as to what EASHL play entails. Maybe Redshirt can chime in on some of these questions: - what is the difference between Amateur/Pro/Elite? Will gamestyles be different between the divisions? I've heard Elite is stricly 6v6. Is this true?

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the answer to this. Casual/Pro last year was just a self-selecting mechanism, I don't know if it is anything more than that this year. There are no gameplay differences in any case.

Quote:


	- is EASHL passing like passing in the demo? I think it would truly seperate the average passers from the great passers. I took alot of time learning how to use the manual saucer pass last year and it was really time wasted as I found I only needed to use it once every few games. But if all passing was this way, it would truly make playmakers valuable and also nerf some of the cross-crease stuff.

Yes, the passing in the demo is the passing for online play. If it is different at all it would be minor tuning.

Quote:


	- has the faceoff loop been eliminated?

I really wish we'd explain what is going on with the "face-off loop" better. It should come up with a pop-up that says that the game has become desynchronized and it is attempting to recover. There is no single cause for the problem which is why it is something that has persisted across years. The worst case is of course when people find a deliberate way to desync the game and to my knowledge all known ways to do that have been fixed.

Quote:


	- is the practice mode free-form where there's just a bunch of pucks lying around and your teammates can drop in and out at will or is it a structured thing, similar to Practice mode offline?

One puck. It can be structured or unstructured.

Quote:


	- very curious to see how the Hustle Button has been implemented online. It's tied into to Fatigue, which is all well and good, but how does that work in EASHL play where there's no line changes? Does it reset after every faceoff? Time elapsed?

-Hustle works the same online, but recovery from fatigue is different. Without line changes you need to recover on ice a lot faster, but it is still a resource you need to manage and putting attribute points into Endurance will have a big effect on how much you can use Hustle.

Quote:


	Two more things and then that's it for me. I would love to see, in EASHL/OTP play, having the BAP camera locked in. Meaning you have to use it. It's a really cool camera but you're really putting yourself at a dis-advantage if you use it as a forward or even Dman, because you see so much more of the ice with the other cameras. But if you truly want to feel like it's you out there, BAP cam is the only way to go and if everyone was FORCED to use it, there would be no disadvatage. And this way, chemistry would play a big part in EASHL play as knowing where your teammates are off screen would be important and making those passes behind you would be more rewarding.

I see where you are coming from, but I don't think the BAP camera is good enough to force it on everyone. It still has a number of issues in my opinion (I don't use it) including field of view changes, not showing what you should be able to see some times, frame rate issues in spots and disorienting transitions on occasions. Don't get me wrong, they do a good job of an extremely difficult problem, I just don't think most people would take to having them forced.

If I was recommending a camera for EASHL it would be classic or overhead.

Quote:


	I have a guess as to what QB is alluding to as far as an announcement goes with BAGM. Knowing he knows what makes this community giddy, I think EA has allowed 30 team control, and allowing you to play every game on the sked as well as set the sked length. I know he can't say yay or nay but that's my guess anyways.

It isn't 30 team control unless I missed something during development (always possible).

# 519 sroz39 @ 08/21/10 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottdau


	Yeah I liked 2k10 better last year, but I did like BAP. This is demo is really really good. I was planing on not getting it and just going with 2K10 instead, but after I played this demo. I just can't go back to 2K10. I am on board with this game. The controls and the response to those controls are amazing!

I think aside from some gameplay and animation differences, by farthe biggest difference between the two games (and I know Realm would agree 110% here) is the controls and how responsive and "next-gen" they are on the NHL series and how unresponsive and "last-gen" they are in 2K's hockey game. In a nutshell, I think that's the best way to describe the two series. Glad you're enjoying it, Scott. Lack of choices suck, no matter what side of the fence you sit on. It's great that you've found enough in the demo to allow you to enjoy the most current hockey game available.

As for Hardcore, maybe Redshirt can better explain the intricacies, but I know in last year's game, on Hardcore the game played a little slower, a little more sloppy and a little more on the realistic side, not to mention the passing was fully manual. I personally didn't enjoy it, as it seemed tacked-on and not fully fleshed out, but some really enjoyed it. Hopefully they tuned it further this year.

# 520 sroz39 @ 08/22/10 12:00 AM

[quote=Redshirt_EA;2041502025]

Quote:


	I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the answer to this. Casual/Pro last year was just a self-selecting mechanism, I don't know if it is anything more than that this year. There are no gameplay differences in any case.

Really surprised at the lack of info regarding the EASHL. It's widely played and is quite a cash cow for EA, considering all the boosts and such. It's not your fault, Redshirt, as it's not your jurisdiction. I'm just commenting. Aside from bullet point statements about the practice mode, lack of camo gear and the three divisions, what have we gotten from EA on this? Disappointing.

Quote:


	Yes, the passing in the demo is the passing for online play. If it is different at all it would be minor tuning.

Quote:


	I really wish we'd explain what is going on with the "face-off loop" better. It should come up with a pop-up that says that the game has become desynchronized and it is attempting to recover. There is no single cause for the problem which is why it is something that has persisted across years. The worst case is of course when people find a deliberate way to desync the game and to my knowledge all known ways to do that have been fixed.

I can totally appreciate the difficulty in pin-pointing the problem. Definitely appreciate that you guys eliminated known intentional causes from 10. That's a plus. And even though our club has found a counter that's almost 100% effective, it'd be great to not have to deal with all the bs. Fingers crossed here.

Quote:


	One puck. It can be structured or unstructured.

That's terrific news. Private 6 on 6 inter-club play just wasn't cutting it anymore.

Quote:


	-Hustle works the same online, but recovery from fatigue is different. Without line changes you need to recover on ice a lot faster, but it is still a resource you need to manage and putting attribute points into Endurance will have a big effect on how much you can use Hustle.

Still quite worried about this here lol. I'd hate to see such a great idea get abused. I guess we'll all see release day how this goes. Luckily with Tuner Sets, you guys can make quick fixes to potential problems like these.

Quote:


	I see where you are coming from, but I don't think the BAP camera is good enough to force it on everyone. It still has a number of issues in my opinion (I don't use it) including field of view changes, not showing what you should be able to see some times, frame rate issues in spots and disorienting transitions on occasions. Don't get me wrong, they do a good job of an extremely difficult problem, I just don't think most people would take to having them forced. If I was recommending a camera for EASHL it would be classic or overhead.

Point taken. It only takes a trip to the Backbreaker forums on here to realize people like choice when it comes to vantage point.

Quote:


	It isn't 30 team control unless I missed something during development (always possible).

Colour me stumped lol. I thought I was so smart

As usual, Redshirt, thanks for responding as best you can. Words can't express how much your involvement means to guys like myself on here, who absolutely love this game (and even some who don't).

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