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

# 521 crobert0247 @ 08/22/10 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottdau


	I really love having the ability to make a pass hard or soft. It is a great feature and the stud passers can really get those passes in tight spots.

I agree. This is, yet again, another subtle and simple feature that just makes things a lot better on the ice. It makes an outlet or a horizontal cross-ice pass a lot more easier to execute or attempt. You don't necessarily have to rely on the flip/saucer(RB) pass. It is a lot more fun this way. With the proper slider adjustments in the full game, I'm sure you can even make it so you can't exploit the AI using it. In fact, the defensive AI in the demo has picked off plenty of passes I have attempted so...

# 522 sroz39 @ 08/22/10 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Yeah you hit the nail on the head with the comparison of the two Sroz. The other major difference is polish. Even with the way penalties were called in 2k10 had me scratching my head alot, oft times a particular call in the game wouldn't even be considered a penalty in real life, as just an example. When you add all the elements together, the unresponsive controls, the sluggish skating, the warping goaltenders, the lack of presentation during play and most importantly the lack of overall polish and it feeling like yet another last gen effort pieced together with code from past 2k iterations well ya get the idea why I wasn't a huge fan. In regards to hardcore mode, thats a pretty spot on analysis. I'm one of the few that actually enjoyed hardcore mode last year mainly due to having full control on where passes went. Once I got used to it there wasn't any going back. I think its better refined this year and feels much better imo anyway.

I remember, Realm, you making a post basically saying that 2K needs to just straight copy EA's Skill Stick layout and go from there because their variations on the Skill Stick were just so half-baked and unintuitive, they may as well not have bothered. I agreed with you then and even moreso now, as I believe if they did this for 2K8 (best current-gen iteration of 2K hockey and the first one to change the control scheme) they would be releasing a 2K11 on the 360/PS3 this year because even though maybe their games still wouldn't be as good as the NHL series, but at that point, you at least have given your audience the control scheme that makes most sense and is the most fun to use. Instead, they went half-way every year and were left in no-man's land and have found themselves searching for answers.

But I digress. I'm gonna give Hardcore mode a try tonight, see if I can notice some differences that make it more enjoyable for me. Love the passing as it is, so maybe I'll like it more in general as I like the idea behind Hardcore Mode.

# 523 Brian_OS @ 08/22/10 12:27 AM

Redshirt EA, whoever you are. Is online co-op in or out this year? My visa card awaits your response.............

# 524 crobert0247 @ 08/22/10 12:44 AM

Geno is a beast in the demo just like in the game every year.

# 525 Money99 @ 08/22/10 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sroz39


	I remember, Realm, you making a post basically saying that 2K needs to just straight copy EA's Skill Stick layout and go from there because their variations on the Skill Stick were just so half-baked and unintuitive, they may as well not have bothered. I agreed with you then and even moreso now, as I believe if they did this for 2K8 (best current-gen iteration of 2K hockey and the first one to change the control scheme) they would be releasing a 2K11 on the 360/PS3 this year because even though maybe their games still wouldn't be as good as the NHL series, but at that point, you at least have given your audience the control scheme that makes most sense and is the most fun to use. Instead, they went half-way every year and were left in no-man's land and have found themselves searching for answers. But I digress. I'm gonna give Hardcore mode a try tonight, see if I can notice some differences that make it more enjoyable for me. Love the passing as it is, so maybe I'll like it more in general as I like the idea behind Hardcore Mode.

sroz39, you me and Realmk have been saying this for years.
It's amazing to me how 2K refused to copy Skill stick. That alone put EA's hockey series back on the map and even attracted non-hockey fans to the series.
How do you not take something as innovative and well-received and not make an attempt to duplicate it yourself?

Anyway, NHL11 is the real deal. The only complaint I have is with the stale commentary. But it's not like it's distracting. It's still one of the best games as far as commentary go. It just needs to spice it up a bit for NHL12.

# 526 sroz39 @ 08/22/10 12:57 AM

I turned the commentary off after a month or so anyways so it's not a deal-breaker for me either. Presentation is more important anyways, and it looks like it's been touched up some in the demo. Hoping that the final build has some surprises in store for us as well.

Realm, I see you changed your avatar from a 360 case to a PS3 case. Does that mean you're going with that version?

Hank, I was wondering if anything you mentioned to the devs at last year's community day that didn't make it into 10 made it in to 11?

# 527 sroz39 @ 08/22/10 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottdau


	Hank went to the community day thing? Also, next year they need to have the skaters come out of their logos. If they do in real life. Like the Sharks come out of the Shark head or the Stars come out of that giant star. That would go a long with me.

Somebody from here did. I thought it was Hank. Maybe I'm mistaking my OS regulars

lol.

# 528 sroz39 @ 08/22/10 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	It was QB.

That was this year, right? Who went last year? I thought somebody from here did.

# 529 sroz39 @ 08/22/10 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Yeah, don't currently have a gold live sub and may do some OTP at some point. Though I generally do more BeAGM than anything else really.

I was going to say, if you do mainly offline, it shouldn't make much difference but if online is a big part of your NHL playing, 360 is definitely the way to go.

I'm going to DL the demo on the PS3. Curious about these frame rate hiccups you and others have mentioned. I know that I get frame rate drops on BAP camera online when I go into my defensive zone corners. It has a little bit to do with the tv you have and the cables you're using as some people get it worse than others.

# 530 sroz39 @ 08/22/10 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottdau


	The two that I know of were Qb and flyermania* (spelling)?*

THAT'S who it was. NM Hank lol.

# 531 Super Glock @ 08/22/10 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crobert0247


	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.

Thanks for the info.

# 532 ComaFaction @ 08/22/10 02:05 AM

Geno is a beast, indeed! If you get him in any prime scoring zones, it's almost automatic. I played a game of NHL '10 online today and felt totally stifled, control wise. It feels so unnatural after so much time with the demo.

They really did change the feel of the game. I'm so pumped for the retail.

# 533 wrigleyville33 @ 08/22/10 02:24 AM

This is a fantastic game of hockey. I can see myself buying the retail.

# 534 zeppelin89 @ 08/22/10 03:12 AM

Does anyone know how to change the difficulty level of the Ultimate Team thing?

Thanks.

# 535 BlueNGold @ 08/22/10 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeppelin89


	Does anyone know how to change the difficulty level of the Ultimate Team thing? Thanks.

You can't unfortunately.

That and not being able to really skip the Stanley Cup celebration unless you lose are my only 2 issues with the demo to be honest.

# 536 SinisterAlex @ 08/22/10 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueNGold


	You can't unfortunately. That and not being able to really skip the Stanley Cup celebration unless you lose are my only 2 issues with the demo to be honest.

If you haven't done this already, just quit 2 seconds before the game ends. I've been doing this the whole time to skip the celebration stuff.

# 537 Super Glock @ 08/22/10 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicLegend


	If you haven't done this already, just quit 2 seconds before the game ends. I've been doing this the whole time to skip the celebration stuff.

Lol, I have been doing the same thing.

# 538 Vikes1 @ 08/22/10 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicLegend


	If you haven't done this already, just quit 2 seconds before the game ends. I've been doing this the whole time to skip the celebration stuff.

Yep, I've been do this too.

Kind of odd that they didn't give us the option to skip it.

# 539 Money99 @ 08/22/10 09:09 AM

My biggest concern right now is which system to get it on.
If BaGM is online I might have to get the PS3 version. I have a lot more friends who'll buy this game for the PS3 (Realm being one of them) so the chances of getting into an online league with people I know and trust is greater.

However, the two biggest concerns I have for the PS3 version are this:
1. Framerate.
2. We use the PS3 primarily as a Bluray player. What if my wife wants to watch a movie in the bedroom and I want to play NHL11? That scenario doesn't present itself very often, but it would be nice to have the option of having both systems available for separate reasons.

Realm, you said that the PS3 demo had a noticeable difference in framerate to the 360?
Also, I'm so behind on the times. Do we now need to pay for online service with PSN?

# 540 Money99 @ 08/22/10 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	PSN is totally free. As for the framerate most of the time its smooth. Though at times when both teams are changing it does dip a little bit, its definitely plenty playable, just a tad annoying is all. I'm not sure that BAGM is online, I thought I had read that in the splash screen when you finish a game but I was way over tired that first night and may have mistaken the mention of EASHL Dynasties for BAGM, so who knows. Hoping its that "big announcement" for GM mode that we've still yet to hear about though.

Same here. It's something I've wanted for years.

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