NHL 2K11 Hands-Off Impressions: Wii Stand Alone

[ChaseB]

I got to see NHL 2K11 for a very short amount of time, and so I really don't have much to say after such a brief viewing. However, I can at least relay some of what was told to me with a quick comment or two thrown into the mix.

The new one-to-one controls in the game are being dubbed as MotionPlus 2.0. These new controls are obviously there to give you more control over your player -- hence that whole one-to-one thing. You can do moves or move your stick side to side in this fashion, and you can even do a nifty new move where you flip the puck up onto your stick and carry it Ovechkin style. That move in particular looked like it was pretty easy to pull off, but until I actually play the game, I won't worry about it too much.

On defense you can use these same refined controls for poke checks, stick lifts, blasting people with checks, rejecting passing lanes, etc. There are also broken sticks in the game, so clearly the broken-stick arms race has begun in the hockey world. In fact, I am eager to see if it leads to a Cold War between 2K and EA.

Skating has been refined as well, but until I actually play the game, it's hard to really say how the weight of skating and the various animations have changed. However, from a visual standpoint, I thought the skating animations left some room for improvement. It did not seem like the skaters were really pushing off each leg, rather just floating a bit more along the ice. But again, until I actually play the game, I'm really just commenting on what my eyes were telling my brain.

The development team has also been working on responsiveness along the boards, updating the commentary, arenas, lighting, and, in general, trying to bring the presentation more in line with what the NBA 2K series is offering.

Look for more info on this title in the coming months.

[Money99]

Good stuff Chase. Thanks for posting. Was anyone allowed to play it?
Did the AI look good? Any nice goals or plays you can remember?

Thanks!

[Scottdau]

Good info Chase. Thanks. How is the AI? That is one thing I love about 2k10 is the AI, especially on offense.

[onlybygrace]

Wouldn't you know that as soon as we get awesome presentation in hockey games, it would be on a wonky arcadey game...and a Nintendo game at that.

Carrying the puck on the stick looked downright stupid. In fact, I think we have record levels of 'cheeziness' being recorded here...uh...yup...new record for sure.

I'll be sure to tell my younger cousins about the game...I'm sure they'll love it.

[CarryTheWeight]

As long as we'll be (hopefully) seeing something completely different on PS3/360 in 2011, I'm not complaining about the approach this Wii-only iteration in the series will be taking, as I won't be playing it. Despite my fondness for the steps 2K9 took in its first year under VC, I was not at all impressed with 2K10's end result. I can only hope that a year off will do wonders for this series and that we can get two solid, fun and realistic titles on Microsoft and Sony's consoles.

As for 2K11 on Wii, let's just hope this is the last gasp for this dated engine and that VC is hard at work on making something fresh or even groundbreaking for 2K12 on "next-gen".