NHL 09 360 Patch #2 Online -- Impressions

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

Well this patch sure helps offline play a ton. AI teammates are more aware of the puck, better positionally, do a much better job of clearing the front of the net.

I've only played one game with the patch so far, but I noticed this as well. My AI teammates were of much more use defensively, in fact I held Dallas to only 20 shots (10 min periods).

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Also CPU goalies do seem to let in more shots. I've only played one game with the patch so far but Turco let in 4 goals to my Bruins...

Ha, despite getting 33 shots of my own, Turco held me to only one goal. I didn't have a lot of great chances -- although I did have two breakaways, stoned on both, but not my forte -- I did have some good ones. Guess he just had a good game, nothing wrong with that. My only goal was a weak wrister by Matt Cooke on a 1-on-2 while I was changing my forwards. It deflected off of the defenseman's skate or stick and Clement also referred to Turco being screened.

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What impressed me the most though was neutral zone play was alot more existant due to the AI on both sides being far more puck aware and far more aggressive in general.

I tend to agree here as well. With puck control at one, I saw a lot of sloppy play and the need to dump the puck. The NZ was definitely a bit tougher to navigate at times. A lot of this probably depends on the AI's forecheck strategy though, as I think Dallas uses one of the more conservative ones by default...

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Thanks to the team for going the extra mile to get us a second patch when most dev teams would just wait til the next product cycle to get these much needed fixes in.

Absolutely. Big thanks to Jason & Co for their dedication to making a great hockey game!


PS - Tweaked the thread title a bit and stickied...

[Ridgeberg]

I downloaded the patch this morning and got in about 5 minutes before I had to go. I noticed more aggression in the neutral zone. Forwards tried to corner my defenseman when he was trying to bring the puck up ice. I also noticed the CPU was more aggressive in the offensive zone, cycling, d-men pinching and trying to set up a nice shot.

So far so good.

[Qb]

Haha, never thought I'd be happy to take a penalty for checking from behind, but it was well deserved. Nice touch...

EA SPORTS World: crushed

[LanteriX]

First game I played online there was a combined 30 PIMs. I didn't have any of them, woo.

[Fiddy]

i just played 2 games vs my cousin Fido1084 (gamertag)..

he beat me 1-0. he scored a goal with 2 secs left, basic wrist shot, i went to block it, it went over my guy and under the glove and in. we both were 0/4 on the PP. MOST interference gets called. a few times it didnt. but all in all good stuff.

game 2 he beat me 3-2 in OT. another solid game and penalties were called tight, he was 1/6 on PP and i was 1/4.

all in all great stuff, we tried and passed through the slot and back to get goalies to flop, we seen it just once. also a ton of crease one timer chances, stoned cold by the goalie. AWESOME.

im glad i dont play a hit everything that moves defense or i would be in trouble. some guys may spend a lot of time in the box now lol.

even hits like 2 secs after puck leaves gets called now..

just be careful and play a more positional defense and you will be fine..

thank you EA!!

[mkharsh33]

i got in one game this morning (offline)...i was pittsburgh playing against the islanders and lost 5-0 (all-star level).

goalie seemed to play smarter...shots were WAY down (good thing) and you have to be smarter with the hits. need to cycle the puck more and make good use of scoring chances.

i'm not a very good hockey video game guy, but i thoroughly enjoy them. most of all i was to play challenging / simulation hockey, and i think the patch really helped this game. i don't play much online as i can't stand playing against people who cheat the game and don't play "realistic" hockey. but i'll get the dynasty going soon once i'm certain i like the feel of my slider set.

[Qb]

Just finished another game, losing to Tampa Bay 4-3 in the shootout. I trailed 3-1 in this one as well after to fluke goals allowed by Fleury early in the 2nd period. One was a harmless shot from the wing that settled between his legs that he kicked in himself when he went into the cover puck animation; the other on a soft wrister from the point that hit his glove before floating over his back and in the net. Looked a lot like the one Ovechkin scored the other night when Craig Anderson misplayed his high shot...

But I rallied to score two goals before the period ended to knot it up at 3-3. A nice bank pass up the boards gave Kunitz a step on the d-man, allowing him to power to net and slide one through Smith's five-hole. Talbot jammed home a rebound to tie it up. I took a few penalties in the 3rd & OT, but Fleury stepped it up to keep me in it. Man was the 4-on-3 kill in OT nerve-wracking!

I suck in the shootout, but took it to the 5th shooter (using manual goalie) before Malone (kick in the groin) slid one in went I went for a desperation save. 3 of their first 4 shooters took wristers with little to no deking, so when Malone pulled it back to the backhand I was a bit out of position. Not sure why I can't score, as I'm usually quite successful against the AI goalie in when I fool around in the edit player free mode.

Overall, I have to say that the patch really improved offline play. I'll probably get some EASHL games in tonight, so that will be interesting. I think our team will be OK with the interference calls since we didn't hit much to begin with, but we'll have to see how everything else plays out...


PS - Almost forgot, hits finished 35-29 in my favor in that last game. The highest individual total for an AI player was 5, while I racked up 8 with Hal Gill, 4 or 5 of which were on the same PK when I was fighting for the puck along the boards like a mad man. A small detail, but so nice to see hits counted more appropriately for all the dynasty/stats guys out there...

[Qb]

Finally picked up my first interference penalty in my fourth game:

EA SPORTS World: interference

Dumb play, correct call and one we rarely, if ever, saw prior to this patch. And for the record, that was the ever-dangerous Zack Stortini that I didn't want to get the puck with two players in good defensive position.