NHL 07 & NHL 2k7

[MizzouRah]

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/717/717231p1.html

Ok, this game is SOUNDING (key word) like a game that will definitly have me pickup an Xbox 360 for.

Wow, is all I can say after reading that. The game also looks better than any game I've seen so far on a system. The graphics are stunning to say the least.. BUT this is EA, so use caution when getting excited. :)

[aran]

Previews are worthless. It's always profit-pumping, hype-mongering bullshit. Especially for EA games.

[CraigSca]

Man, you're a lot of fun.

[MizzouRah]

Previews are worthless. It's always profit-pumping, hype-mongering bullshit. Especially for EA games.

Considering the lack of new games, at least it's something to read about.

[Maple Leafs]

Ooh, good, super-realistic puck physics!

Did they get around to adding two-on-ones yet? No? What about a vaguely realistic penalty and fighting system? Not yet? Hm. Is there any realistic way to score besides one-timers? Not this time around, eh... crap.

But still... puck physics! Woot!

[ice4277]

Ooh, good, super-realistic puck physics!

Did they get around to adding two-on-ones yet? No? What about a vaguely realistic penalty and fighting system? Not yet? Hm. Is there any realistic way to score besides one-timers? Not this time around, eh... crap.

But still... puck physics! Woot!

But they added 10x Jersey Ripple!!!!

[CraigSca]

Ooh, good, super-realistic puck physics!

Did they get around to adding two-on-ones yet? No? What about a vaguely realistic penalty and fighting system? Not yet? Hm. Is there any realistic way to score besides one-timers? Not this time around, eh... crap.

But still... puck physics! Woot!

Actually, if you read the article, they discuss one-timers and the fact that you do not have to rely on them to score.

[Maple Leafs]

Actually, if you read the article, they discuss one-timers and the fact that you do not have to rely on them to score.
I read the article... and every other beta-based fluff piece that has come out before an NHL game. I'll believe it when I see it.

[Chubby]

Actually, if you read the article, they discuss one-timers and the fact that you do not have to rely on them to score.For the umpteenth season in a row, yet oddly, you STILL have to rely on one timers to score...

[aran]

Man, you're a lot of fun.

Invite me to your next party.

[MizzouRah]

I read the article... and every other beta-based fluff piece that has come out before an NHL game. I'll believe it when I see it.

Me too, but I am interested.

[MizzouRah]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1765810550605111452&hl=en-CA

These controls are a great concept, we'll see what happens.

[KJDelaney]

Honestly.

Has the NHL series from EA been any good? And moreover, has any "video game" with the NHL been worth it.

[MizzouRah]

Honestly.

Has the NHL series from EA been any good? And moreover, has any "video game" with the NHL been worth it.

Yes, 1994 - 2000 - 2002 - if I remember correctly.

[DanGarion]

Honestly.

Has the NHL series from EA been any good? And moreover, has any "video game" with the NHL been worth it.
NHL 94 for the Sega Genisis was awesome.

[KJDelaney]

I stand corrected.

I do agree that the Genesis versions were good.

Mizz, I can't agree with your choices. If I remember correctly, from 97 on, they were sub-standard. In my opinion.

[ice4277]

If I remember correctly, from 97 on, they were sub-standard. In my opinion.

I agree. I think the series hit its peak in '95. '96 was OK, from then on, it has basically sucked.

[MizzouRah]

To each their own. I loved the 2000 version on the ps1. Maybe it was because Pronger was on the cover. :)

[KJDelaney]

I think when they changed the format of the game in 97, the one with Beezer on the cover, it went down hill.

I am just happy that a game like EHM is available. Because for the longest time, aside from the button mashing, there was nothing available for the hockey fan.

BTW,

Mizz, I may be in St. Louis next month; I still owe you that drink.

[ice4277]

To each their own. I loved the 2000 version on the ps1. Maybe it was because Pronger was on the cover. :)

Homer ;)

[MrBug708]

Honestly.

Has the NHL series from EA been any good? And moreover, has any "video game" with the NHL been worth it.

NHL 95 for the SNES was awesome

[KJDelaney]

Never had a SNES, so I can't comment.

However if it was anything like the SG version, I'm sure it was good.

[Maple Leafs]

NHL 92 - The first version. No player names. Still pretty cool for the time.
NHL 93 - Player names, but no team names (it was actually NHLPA 93). Hugely addictive.
NHL 94 - First with names and team, and introduction of one-timer. But they took out fighting!
NHL 95 - Totally new format. Fun, but not realistic. "Pac Man on ice". One timers are everything.
NHL 96 - Another new format. Fighting is back.
NHL 97 - Virtually the exact same game as 96 with new ratings and a new all star skills mode. Marks the end of the golden age.

[Fidatelo]

I played more NHL 92 than I care to think about. My brother and I used to play 7-game series', and we'd log the results of each series. We played well over 100 series'. If a team won 5 in a row they would get retired for awhile. I remember retiring the Oilers 2 or 3 times thanks to Petr Klima.

[TurnerONU22]

There are also new gameplay videos on IGN as well, and as I noticed in the video above, some of the rules are turned off (icing, offsides). A couple things I liked:

1. The puck is no longer sucked up by a player, instead of just magically appearing on a stick. Also, the goalie isn't a human vacuum, the puck bounces off of him and he has to cover it up. It was nice to see him jump on the puck when it was near him and the play stopped INSTANTLY, something that has bugged me forever in hockey games but is common IRL.

Another addition to this was that the puck was never really loose in hockey games, so it was rare to have scrums in front of the net, or rebounds that could be knocked in, but in one of the IGN videos, there is an initial shot, scrum in front of the net, puck stays loose in traffic, but a guy manages to get it and score. Never seen that before in any game (I believe its the Florida video)

2. The defensemen seemed to position themselves very well in their own end, (i.e. you can notice Chara coming and standing in front of the net, and rotating to the side following the puck).

As long as there are sliders to this game (turn up the puck friction a little and speed down a little), this will be the first EA NHL game I've purchased in a long time.

[MizzouRah]

Did NHL 93 have the blood?

[MizzouRah]

I think when they changed the format of the game in 97, the one with Beezer on the cover, it went down hill.

I am just happy that a game like EHM is available. Because for the longest time, aside from the button mashing, there was nothing available for the hockey fan.

BTW,

Mizz, I may be in St. Louis next month; I still owe you that drink.

A Bud select will do me just fine. :)

[KJDelaney]

Mizz,

I'll let you know my schedule.

[Maple Leafs]

Did NHL 93 have the blood?
Yes!

[Maple Leafs]

I played more NHL 92 than I care to think about. My brother and I used to play 7-game series', and we'd log the results of each series. We played well over 100 series'. If a team won 5 in a row they would get retired for awhile. I remember retiring the Oilers 2 or 3 times thanks to Petr Klima.
That's something that bugs me about hockey games (not just NHL). Everyone plays them this way. You get together with your friend(s) and you fire up a seven game series. So why isn't there a "seven game series" quick start? You either have to go through all the trouble of setting up a full playoff tree, or you have to play a bunch of single game (remember when to switch home ice, etc). And of course, you always forget to change the OT setting so at least one of your games ends in a tie.

How hard can it be to just let me instantly do a seven game series, where each game ends and the next one begins? Don't they watch their customers actually play these games?

[MizzouRah]

Yes!

Loved that version!!

[Fidatelo]

That's something that bugs me about hockey games (not just NHL). Everyone plays them this way. You get together with your friend(s) and you fire up a seven game series. So why isn't there a "seven game series" quick start? You either have to go through all the trouble of setting up a full playoff tree, or you have to play a bunch of single game (remember when to switch home ice, etc). And of course, you always forget to change the OT setting so at least one of your games ends in a tie.

How hard can it be to just let me instantly do a seven game series, where each game ends and the next one begins? Don't they watch their customers actually play these games?

I agree 100% with the above, but lets go a step further. How come, in the age of hard drives and massive memory cards, user records in many games are worse than they were 10 years ago?

Aside from the NFL game my brother had last year (not the Madden one, a different one) which, to its credit, had AMAZING user records, most of the games we play allow us to create profiles and then seemingly track... NOTHING! I mean, not even win-loss records in some cases. And most frustratingly, we remember playing versions of these same games on sega or PS1 that had tonnes of user records!

In the words of the Hurricane, "Whats up wit dat?"

[GoldenEagle]

I played NHL 97 until my fingers went numb and I have never been a hockey fan. I would create my own team of players and win the series every year.

NHL 98 was decent, I think it was the first year of the national team concept on the PS1.

[aran]

NHL95 amused me for more hours than I dare to count. It's hard to believe that was over 10 years ago.

[MizzouRah]

New video

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=11921&type=wmv&pl=game

I think I'm about ready to pre-order this one although I don't think it'll be necessary.

[Hurst2112]

New video

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=11921&type=wmv&pl=game

I think I'm about ready to pre-order this one although I don't think it'll be necessary.

whoa,

the music behind this video is a band I have worked with. I worked on their ep that got them the Epic record deal.

[MizzouRah]

whoa,

the music behind this video is a band I have worked with. I worked on their ep that got them the Epic record deal.

What's the name of the band?

[Hurst2112]

What's the name of the band?

Quietdrive. I have talked about them a few times around here.

[MizzouRah]

Quietdrive. I have talked about them a few times around here.

Thanks.

They do a remake of "Time after Time"... interesting.

[Hurst2112]

Thanks.

They do a remake of "Time after Time"... interesting.


yeah. pm me if you wanna hear it. its a pretty good version.

I don't like their stuff now. It's not rock...just popular music. they used to be a lot more 'rockin'.

[MizzouRah]

Yeah, I listened to clips off their album and them seem mainstream pop type music/rock.

EA usually does pretty well in getting me to purchase CD's from bands I've never heard of before. :)

I like the song in the video.

Speaking of the video.. how did Koivu miss that wide open net?

[Warhammer]

I remember back in the days of '93 that we played if you scored with Stu Grimson or some other terrible single digit rated player, you won automatically. That set up some hilarious situations.

[Fidatelo]

I remember back in the days of '93 that we played if you scored with Stu Grimson or some other terrible single digit rated player, you won automatically. That set up some hilarious situations.

I love that they used to rate people in single digits, that was awesome. These days the crappiest players are generally in the 50's.

[Hurst2112]

NHL 07 soundtrack

Aritst / Song / Hometown

Anti-Flag / This Is the End (For You My Friend) / Pittsburgh, PA
Bloodpit / Platitude / Tampere, Finland
Cute Is What We Aim For / There's a Class for This / Buffalo, NY
Gatsby's American Dream / Theatre / Seattle, WA
Good Riddance / Darkest Days / Santa Cruz, CA
Goodnight Nurse / My Only / Auckland, New Zealand
Hurt / Unkind / Los Angeles, CA
Inkwell / Ecuador Is Lovely This Time of Year / Winter Park, FL
Mashlin / The Shore / Winter Springs, FL
Mobile / Montreal Calling / Montreal, Quebec
NOFX / Wolves in Wolves' Clothing / Berkeley, CA
Pilate / Barely Listening / Toronto, Ontario
Pistolita / Beni Accident / San Diego, CA
Priestess / Talk to Her / Montreal, Quebec
Protest the Hero / Divinity Within / Whitby, Ontario
Quietdrive / Rise from the Ashes / Minneapolis, MN
The Hellacopters / Bring it on Home / Stockholm, Sweden

the band also got this song on the 'John Tucker Must Die' soundtrack. Label is workin hard for the boys. That's something you don't see everyday.

[MizzouRah]

NHL 07 soundtrack

Aritst / Song / Hometown

Anti-Flag / This Is the End (For You My Friend) / Pittsburgh, PA
Bloodpit / Platitude / Tampere, Finland
Cute Is What We Aim For / There's a Class for This / Buffalo, NY
Gatsby's American Dream / Theatre / Seattle, WA
Good Riddance / Darkest Days / Santa Cruz, CA
Goodnight Nurse / My Only / Auckland, New Zealand
Hurt / Unkind / Los Angeles, CA
Inkwell / Ecuador Is Lovely This Time of Year / Winter Park, FL
Mashlin / The Shore / Winter Springs, FL
Mobile / Montreal Calling / Montreal, Quebec
NOFX / Wolves in Wolves' Clothing / Berkeley, CA
Pilate / Barely Listening / Toronto, Ontario
Pistolita / Beni Accident / San Diego, CA
Priestess / Talk to Her / Montreal, Quebec
Protest the Hero / Divinity Within / Whitby, Ontario
Quietdrive / Rise from the Ashes / Minneapolis, MN
The Hellacopters / Bring it on Home / Stockholm, Sweden

the band also got this song on the 'John Tucker Must Die' soundtrack. Label is workin hard for the boys. That's something you don't see everyday.

Thanks for that.. first song on the album. Do you have that song as well? I'd like to hear the whole thing.

[AgustusM]

"Another change to the game is the fact that there is no more speed burst button. Skating speed is now tied to real-life attributes as faster skaters will accelerate to top speed quicker than slower skaters…it's not about smacking turbo."

This one has me interested - turbo/speed buttons are the bane of sports video games IMO.

[MizzouRah]

"Another change to the game is the fact that there is no more speed burst button. Skating speed is now tied to real-life attributes as faster skaters will accelerate to top speed quicker than slower skaters…it's not about smacking turbo."

This one has me interested - turbo/speed buttons are the bane of sports video games IMO.

Yeah, I posted that on another site as well. I hate having to mash buttons to get my guys to skate faster. I don't know, but it does sound like they are doing something on the 360 for once that's exclusive to 360 owners... and I'm glad it's hockey!

I can't wait to get my Blues on the ice!

[MizzouRah]

New trailer, talks about dynasty mode:

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/nhl07/index.html

Sounds like a lot of fun, I hope they deliver.

[MizzouRah]

FROM IGN:

New Computer AI in NHL 07!!!

Hey Everyone,

By now you’ve no doubt seen the stunning visuals and heard about the innovative new dual analog controls, so now I’d thought I’d talk to you about the new AI in NHL 07 Next Gen.

There’s one word that describes the AI in NHL 07: Authentic. From the moment we started working on NHL 07 Next Gen we focused on making AI players behave as authentic as possible. We’re fortunate enough to have 3 producers on the team who’ve played hockey at high levels (2 pro, 1 NCAA) so there’s no shortage of hockey knowledge on our team. Using that knowledge, we analyzed every situation a player could find himself in and made sure our AI players would make the right decisions from a hockey player’s point of view.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/726/726286/nhl-07-20060817034153192-000.jpg (http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/726/726286/nhl-07-20060817034153192-000.jpg)Image (http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/829/829743/img_3767204.html)

We looked at everything: Offense, Defense, PP’s, PK’s, Forechecking, Backchecking, etc. You name it, we worked on it. Offensively, the AI players try to set up in the offensive zone and pass the puck around to create scoring chances instead of the end to end rushes of previous years. This year the AI will earn its goals and may even teach you a thing or two in the process! Just this morning the CPU scored this goal on me: They passed the puck down low long enough to draw me in to chase the puck, once they recognized that I abandoned my position in front of the net, they cycled the puck up the boards and found the open man in the slot who ripped a wrist shot by my goalie. It left me shaking my head because I knew I had made the mistake and they took advantage of it!

Defensively, things have been revamped as well. Players are in position to check the puck carrier and block passes more than ever. They even watch out for cherry picking forwards at the far blueline so you’ll definitely have to work to earn your breakaways. And all over the ice you’ll have to keep aware since the AI is always on the lookout for chances to poke or bump you off the puck. The defensive AI actually improves as you move up in skill levels, so while they’ll always be positionally sound, you’ll find that they bring more backside pressure and will be quicker to react as you move up in skill levels. On Superstar (the highest skill level) you actually have to think like an NHL player to generate the time and space for good scoring chances. The result is a CPU defense that’s much more aggressive than NHL 06, but not nearly as over the top as NHL 2005.

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/726/726286/nhl-07-20060817034151129-000.jpg (http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/726/726286/nhl-07-20060817034151129-000.jpg)Image (http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/829/829743/img_3730243.html)

Ultimately, NHL 07 Next Gen feels more like real hockey than any other hockey game before it. At both ends of the ice players will be doing things you’d see every night in the real NHL. Someone who truly understands hockey and how it should be played will now have a competitive edge have an edge over someone who is just learning the fundamentals.

Till next time,

Wonger

[Pumpy Tudors]

I just hope the AI good

[jbmagic]

I just hope the AI good


Why would anyone want an AI that sucks? :)

[RPI-Fan]

Heard the demo for this game should be available any day now... I'm REALLY psyched for it!

[jbmagic]

Looks like NHL 2k7 by 2K sports will be the better game.

http://www.2ksports.com/games/nhl2k7/

[Pumpy Tudors]

Looks like NHL 2k7 by 2K sports will be the better game.

http://www.2ksports.com/games/nhl2k7/
Well, this clears it up for me!

[ice4277]

Well, this clears it up for me!

NHL® 2K7 reigns supreme as the category leader in innovation, design and critical acclaim with 4 straight years as the #1 rated* NHL video game.

Duh, it says so right on the site!

[Icy]

Has the EA NHL game a SS mode like Madden? it could be fun in a hockey game to only manage your player.

[RPI-Fan]

Looks like NHL 2k7 by 2K sports will be the better game.

http://www.2ksports.com/games/nhl2k7/

???

[MizzouRah]

Looks like NHL 2k7 by 2K sports will be the better game.

http://www.2ksports.com/games/nhl2k7/

What a morning, my 3rd response to your posts.

:confused: Is all I can say as well... Maybe it's a bad morning, but nothing you have said lately makes any sense to me.

[CraigSca]

I think Jbmagic is out-jbmagic'ing himself.

[Izulde]

Any remember NHL Powerplay 98? That was a a fun game and better than NHL in my opinion.

[MizzouRah]

FROM OS about the demo:

David Littman has spoken.

http://forums.ea.com/mboards/ann.jspa?sls=2&annID=280 (http://forums.ea.com/mboards/ann.jspa?sls=2&annID=280)

"Hi everyone…David Littman here.
There have been a lot of rumors and speculation lately, so I would like to set the record straight.
The NHL 07 producers do come on the boards [EA Sports, IGN, Double Minor, and many others] and read your posts.
In fact, our design direction for the 360 version was based on much of your feedback from last year.
I would like to call out a few things:

We did want the 360 demo to come out last week. It is fully finished and has been since then. It has gotten caught up in a bit of red tape and will be out soon. Check in with the NHL 07 website over the next little bit and we will let you know when it is out. By the way, the demo is a shootout. Its main purpose is to get the new controls in your hands and practice your moves. Since you only have to worry about one player at a time, it is the best way to learn the new controls. Oh yeah, it is also a lot of fun.

2. NHL 07 will be shipping on September 12th in North America and on September 15th in Europe.

3. Yes, there is co-op play off-line. 4 people can play at once in any combination [including locked to players or goalies]. You can have up to 4 users on one team, even in a Dynasty mode game.

4. The player ratings will never be perfect. If you do not agree with a rating, you can change the player attributes in the Edit Player feature. As a matter of fact, after reading your posts, I have raised some of Prucha’s attributes in my Edit Player [you will have to do the same].

5. NHL 07 for the 360 is striving to be the most authentic hockey game ever made. We plan on building on this for many years to come. Keep posting comments and feedback because we do listen. That said…NHL 2K is also doing their best to make a great hockey game. Whether you like the NHL series or the 2K series, let’s all remember that we are all on the same side. We all love hockey more than life. Instead of arguing over which game is better, let’s all grow the hockey market together and convert non-hockey fans into hockey fans.

I hope that clears a few things up. We can’t wait to get this game in your hands and hear your feedback.

-Litty"
<!-- / message -->

[SackAttack]

Has the EA NHL game a SS mode like Madden? it could be fun in a hockey game to only manage your player.

Will penalties pass at 4x normal speed while the game clock ticks down normally?

Hel-LO, 30 second roughing penalties!

[General Mike]

Will penalties pass at 4x normal speed while the game clock ticks down normally?

Hel-LO, 30 second roughing penalties!

Or how about the 2 minute minors that count down in regular time while the game clock is going at 4x normal speed.

All these games are buggy, but I can get by that when its $19.99. Not for $59.99 tho. I'm glad I didn't buy a 360 yet.

[bronconick]

I know you can edit the player ratings, but good god are they brutal. I'm not entirely sure who did those, but I'm pretty sure they didn't stay up to watch any west coast hockey. They're having a field day with the Sharks' ratings. Matt Carle is a 98 in speed, while Milan Michalek is a 73.

[MizzouRah]

Or how about the 2 minute minors that count down in regular time while the game clock is going at 4x normal speed.

All these games are buggy, but I can get by that when its $19.99. Not for $59.99 tho. I'm glad I didn't buy a 360 yet.

If you're buying one for sports, yes.. wait. I've been having lots of fun with Oblivion and Saints Row though.

[TurnerONU22]

Demo is up on Marketplace, and I will be downloading it as soon as I get home from work, trying to master these new controls

[TroyF]

If you're buying one for sports, yes.. wait. I've been having lots of fun with Oblivion and Saints Row though.

I'll repeat it for the thousandth time just in case there is one person out there who enjoys basketball games but for some reason hasn't tried it yet. . . NBA2K6 may be one of the top three graphical sports games ever made. It's that good.

If you are a football fan, still nothing in the great territory for the 360. Hockey may have a shot this year. (last years 2K6 for hockey wasn't that great) Baseball? Egads. . . terrible. But basketball is there and is one of the best ever.

[MizzouRah]

I'll repeat it for the thousandth time just in case there is one person out there who enjoys basketball games but for some reason hasn't tried it yet. . . NBA2K6 may be one of the top three graphical sports games ever made. It's that good.

If you are a football fan, still nothing in the great territory for the 360. Hockey may have a shot this year. (last years 2K6 for hockey wasn't that great) Baseball? Egads. . . terrible. But basketball is there and is one of the best ever.

Sorry Troy :( ... I'm not an NBA fan.. but yes from you and EF's impressions, it's the game to get if you are and have a 360. :)

[MizzouRah]

Demo is up on Marketplace, and I will be downloading it as soon as I get home from work, trying to master these new controls

YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!!!


Thanks!

[jbmagic]

Sorry Troy :( ... I'm not an NBA fan.. but yes from you and EF's impressions, it's the game to get if you are and have a 360. :)

But you bought TPB 2005.

[MizzouRah]

But you bought TPB 2005.

As it was sooo good after I played the demo.

[MizzouRah]

Ooohhh... impressions from someone I trust:

I'd like to echo the sentiments of those who have already commented on the demo in saying that it matches the expectations based upon all of the early videos.

Once the dual analog mode 'clicks' (and it didn't take too long) the duel between shooter and goaltender becomes pretty entertaining. I'd say that the challenge is about right, with goaltenders playing their position very well and the computer scoring ability being right around where I'd like it to be on breakaways. I liked that slapshots seemed to be timing sensitive and I saw a number of them shot wide and high of the net. Good stuff overall. The sound effects for well driven slapshots off the glass and boards were nice as well as the sound off the pipes.

The game is beautiful to look at with some of the best ice textures and reflections to date. All of the player model detail looks exceptional with stitching on the jerseys and goaltenders that are better articulated than any before. The cutscenes are well done and really enhance the atmosphere and the commentary seems fairly fluid for a shootout.

Some additional plusses include a confirmed 2vs2 mode, which was inexplicably dropped from Madden 06 and not restored in this year's version either. The demo includes Edmonton's alternate sweater so hopefully that bodes well for inclusion of third jerseys in the shipping version of the game.

There have been a couple of negatives, though I think the sum of parts far outweighs them.

The animations, while largely good, do appear jerky from time to time and I think a disproportionate number of CPU shooters end up falling to the ice after bumping the goaltender during their shots (though the shots themselves tend to be well-conceived). Hopefully this doesn't become an all too frequent occurrence in 5vs5 play. I have seen players warp in space slightly to make certain animations work, particularly when skating around the net or between the goalie and the net. I managed to score on a rebound once although I might possibly chalk that up to the default of RULES OFF. I couldn't repeat this after setting RULES ON. The rebound goal highlighted a couple of minor quibbles. Though the rebound itself was a good one with a nice subtle redirect of a sliding puck, there were significant clipping issues as the shooter's stick and leg moved through Roloson's pad in order to reach the puck. Certainly somethig I could live with, but others might be more picky. Also, the rebound was caused when a wrist shot caught Roloson up high while in the butterfly and it proceeded to bouce from chest to back of stick to inside of left leg as he drifted back towards the net for about 5 feet. I like the vastly improved physics but at some point Rolie should have probably tried to pounce on it. Overall though, I'd say there wasn't much to criticize in the goalie's play which is good. Lastly, the CPU shooter once started his attempt by dumping the puck in the corner and proceeded to skate in circles at the blueline. I hoped the attempt would timeout, but didn't seem to after close to a minute. The only way I could get the demo to continue was to switch sides at skate the shooter down to touch up the puck, which then caused a whistle.

Overall, there was nothing to deter me from getting the game next week. Kudos to EA for making a demo that is easy to jump back into without having to drop down to the dashboard between every play. Got sucked in for probably 45 minutes or so. Good stuff.



Now, if 5 v 5 is good and the franchise mode is good, I'll be in hockey heaven on my 360.

[MizzouRah]

dola,

WOW!, WOW!, WOW!

The most beautiful game I've seen thus far next to Oblivion. The shootout is quite fun to learn the controls and I feel this game is why I bought a 360.

That is all.

[Eaglesfan27]

dola,

WOW!, WOW!, WOW!

The most beautiful game I've seen thus far next to Oblivion. The shootout is quite fun to learn the controls and I feel this game is why I bought a 360.

That is all.


I can't wait to read your impressions of the full game. If I can find time outside of NBA 2k7, this game is still a might buy for me.

[CraigSca]

Aww man! The demo comes out and I'm out of town! No big deal, I guess, as I'll have this in my hands by next Wednesday. I look forward to getting into hockey again this year...

[EagleFan]

I hope this finally returns the series to playable for me. I lost interest several years back when gameplay seemed to take second billing to graphics.

If they had a Superstar mode like Madden, it would have been a definite buy. For now I will have to wait to hear feedback after people have the game.

[MizzouRah]

I'm a little over excited.. who knows how an actual game will play, but man this game has some eye candy.

[TurnerONU22]

I'm a little over excited.. who knows how an actual game will play, but man this game has some eye candy.

Totally agree with you, I played about 25 shootouts yesterday, and was just thrilled with how it looked and played. It truly felt like I never scored the same goal twice, and it never felt like there were 'money goals'. Also, I felt like I could score going left, going right, and going through the 5-hole, and to my amazement, some nice wristers got under the goalie's glove, and in the net. It felt like REAL hockey, something I've never experienced in a game before. You can control the goalie as well, which was fun as well.

If the regular game is this exciting, I'll just trade in NCAA 07 and Madden 07 right now, because they'll collect dust.

[MizzouRah]

Totally agree with you, I played about 25 shootouts yesterday, and was just thrilled with how it looked and played. It truly felt like I never scored the same goal twice, and it never felt like there were 'money goals'. Also, I felt like I could score going left, going right, and going through the 5-hole, and to my amazement, some nice wristers got under the goalie's glove, and in the net. It felt like REAL hockey, something I've never experienced in a game before. You can control the goalie as well, which was fun as well.

If the regular game is this exciting, I'll just trade in NCAA 07 and Madden 07 right now, because they'll collect dust.

That last sentence is also true for me.

[dervack]

When I was on live earlier, it looks like the NHL 2K7 demo from Take-2 was up too. I'm going to download both of these tonight.

[MizzouRah]

Yes, both of them are up!

NHL 07 is just shootout mode and NHL 2k7 is actual game play.

[MizzouRah]

Well.. well.. I really like the gameplay of 2k7. I don't really understand the music choice.. but I love the camera angles and gameplay quite a bit.

[TroyF]

Well.. well.. I really like the gameplay of 2k7. I don't really understand the music choice.. but I love the camera angles and gameplay quite a bit.


They've consistently been better than EA for quite awhile. Last years 360 version wasn't great and by the time I got around to wanting to get it for the Xbox or PS2, NBA2K6 had come out. That ended any hope of hockey last year.

I downloaded and played both demos today. I think I enjoyed 2K more, but I think a lot of that has to do with the control scheme. I'm just not really used to the new EA one. I'm not sure if I'll like it or not.

I'll await everyones reviews and if one is a superior, incredible game, I'll head out and purchase it. If they are ok to slightly above average, I'll just skip hockey this year.

[Maple Leafs]

Did anyone see the NHL 2007 ad that ran over and over during football yesterday? I can't remember if it was a US station so it may have been Canada only, but it was running often. It was one of those ads with guys trash-talking each other, similar to the Chad Johnson touchdown ad for Madden.

So here's a summary: guy comes into the zone, skates behind the net, and heads out front for a wraparound. He takes a slap shot (!) from three feet in front of the net. The goalie goes down in a butterfly, but then opens his legs and tries to stop the puck with his glove. It stops for a second, then kicks into the net on its own.

And I'm thinking... if this is the gameplay they put in the ad, what's the rest of it like?

I know that the marketing department is not the development team, but if there isn't anyone at EA who could raise their hand and say "um, maybe we shouldn't show that" then my hope is starting to fade a little on this one.

[Greyroofoo]

I bought Madden 07 and I've regretted it ever since.


My money will be going nhl 2k7

[Greyroofoo]

i just played the nhk 2k7 demo and I must say I am impressed

[finkenst]

nhl 2k7 is ea? if not, could you post a link to the demo?

[Pumpy Tudors]

nhl 2k7 is ea? if not, could you post a link to the demo?
No, NHL 2K7 is a 2K Sports game, and the demo is for the XBox 360 version. There will be no PC version.

[finkenst]

hmm. do you burn that to a DVD on your pc then? I wonder if i should open my colleagues xbox360 and "test" it out.

[jbmagic]

2k sports is always better than EA

[Pumpy Tudors]

2k sports is always better than EA
You don't play baseball games, do you?

[Pumpy Tudors]

hmm. do you burn that to a DVD on your pc then? I wonder if i should open my colleagues xbox360 and "test" it out.
Sorry, missed this. You get the demo through XBox Live.

[MizzouRah]

2k sports is always better than EA

Let's see: and the comparsion is when both companies had products released

NFL - 2k Sports
NCAA FB - EA
Hockey - ?
Baseball - EA
NCAA BB - 2k
NBA - 2k

Imho, 2k leads 3-2, BUT which hockey game will be better this year?

[TroyF]

To this point, 2K hockey has always been better. Better overall gameplay, more realistic, more ways to score, etc.

I don't know how the battle plays out tomorrow, but even with the new control system, I'd put my money on 2K having the better game.

For once in his life, jb is probably correct. (2k only gave one or two half assed efforts at college, they never really developed the series and then EA bought the lisence and that was all she wrote)

[RPI-Fan]

To this point, 2K hockey has always been better. Better overall gameplay, more realistic, more ways to score, etc.

I don't know how the battle plays out tomorrow, but even with the new control system, I'd put my money on 2K having the better game.

For once in his life, jb is probably correct. (2k only gave one or two half assed efforts at college, they never really developed the series and then EA bought the lisence and that was all she wrote)

Even though back when EA and 2k were really competing in hockey, NHL 2k3/NHL 03, I was a huge 2k fan. I honestly tried NHL 03 but it just didn't get it done for me -- gameplay was simply not fun (even if more realistic than the very arcade-y NHL 2k3).

This year I get the opposite sense. While 2k7 is going for flashy "fog" graphics and weird music tracks, EA seems to be disregarding all that and focusing on making it's new control system effective and fun.

I didn't give the 2k7 demo much play because you had to go back through the dashboard to start over (in fact I only played 1 game of it), while I played the crap out of the NHL 07 demo. I hold out hope that NHL 07 will have fair (doesn't need to be great) AI and gameplay and will shine this year. I may or may not purchase it tomorrow.

Does anyone know of stores that are supposed to have NHL 07 tomorrow?

[CraigSca]

I pre-ordered mine from Gamestop, but never received the call today. Therefore, I'd say the local Gamestop is a no-go for tomorrow.

[RPI-Fan]

I pre-ordered mine from Gamestop, but never received the call today. Therefore, I'd say the local Gamestop is a no-go for tomorrow.

Thanks. I'll assume I won't be able to get it until Wednesday (at best).

[MizzouRah]

Woot! IGN review of NHL 07 is up!!

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/732/732023p1.html



Closing Comments
NHL 07 is a great hockey game, pure and simple. When you receive a pass in the slot, you feel the same rush of adrenaline that a star center feels. As you wind up a wrister, you know the only thing that can stop you is a great save from the goalie. With the dynamic puck physics, rebounds and deflections can change the course of a game. On a breakaway, you no longer wait for a teammate to try for a one-timer. You triple-deke and go top shelf. You beat the goalie. You feel it. Hockey has been waiting for this kind of innovation for a long time.
Visually, the animations at times can be a bit chunky, but the replays and cutscenes are absolutely gorgeous, the best we've seen yet in a sports title on the 360. The commentary is solid, yet a bit repetitive. The sound effects like player chatter, the crowd and especially the puck hitting the post suck you right on to the rink and make for an immersive hockey experience. You'll blow through ten games at a time, look up and wonder where the time went. The Dynasty mode is deep and fun, including a player-development system in the minors and concession prices. EA's online mode is still terribly thin. At this point, sports gamers expect online leagues and online seasons. Ranked and unranked matches suffice, but they don't cut the mustard. On the ice, however, NHL 07 represents the first truly next-generation gameplay innovation.

It received an 8.7 BUT the biggest subtraction was for the limited online options, which mean squat to me.

Can't wait to pick this one up tomorrow!!!

[CraigSca]

Suh-weet, Todd! Of course, if this game turns out to stink I'll blame you and your mad hype skillz! :D

[MizzouRah]

Suh-weet, Todd! Of course, if this game turns out to stink I'll blame you and your mad hype skillz! :D

Remember my kids man. :D

[jbmagic]

IGN and Gamespot sucks for reviews.

IGN is not be trusted since there are alot of insider deals with some of the big publishers Gamespot is similar.

You guys making a big mistake if you get the EA version over 2k sports version.

Didn't you learn anything from NCAA and Madden 2007 this year?

[CraigSca]

Personally, I love NCAA this year, but thanks for talking to me like I'm a child, anyway. It really becomes you.

[MizzouRah]

IGN and Gamespot sucks for reviews.

IGN is not be trusted since there are alot of insider deals with some of the big publishers Gamespot is similar.

You guys making a big mistake if you get the EA version over 2k sports version.

Didn't you learn anything from NCAA and Madden 2007 this year?

*Yawn*

I can make my own decisions thank you. :rolleyes:

You don't even own a 360, why does it matter to you?

[jbmagic]

*Yawn*

I can make my own decisions thank you. :rolleyes:

You don't even own a 360, why does it matter to you?



I own one when I get the NBA game.

I am getting NBA 2k7 and college hoops 2k7 for sure.

Going to wait on NHL. But from all I read so far NHL 2k7 is the version to get over EA. Troy is right.

You will probably end up trading it for the 2k sports version after.

[TroyF]

Hey, don't include me in this.

I'm basing my comments off of past history. 2K has consistently been better and in most cases it hasn't been close.

But all I've seen are the demos of the two games. Me? I'm not getting sucked into either game until I see some comparable reviews on each. Based off of history, my money is on 2K to have the better game. What I know of Todd, I'd double that bet. Realism is important to him and I think 2K wins in that area hands down, year in, year out.

But Todd's a big boy and can make decisions for himself. If he wants to drink the EA Kool-Aid, good for him. And you know what? Maybe this year EA nails it. Maybe they do have a better hockey game than 2k.

I don't know and neither do you, unless you've been playing review copies you aren't talking about.

One thing you may want to be concerned about Todd. . . IGN gave Madden '07 for the 360 an 8.5

That said, good luck. I'll await the reviews of the people here as well as the game sites. I'm still 25/75 on even getting a hockey game this year.

[MizzouRah]

I don't HATE Madden 2007, actually against friends, it's a fun game, but my free time is getting shorter by the day and I know I won't play it much after I settle down with one of the hockey games... and FOF is still fun to play. Might as well trade it in and get something while it's hot.

jb - you haven't read anything because neither game is out until tomorrow.. maybe you could paste some demo impressions!

[jbmagic]

I don't HATE Madden 2007, actually against friends, it's a fun game, but my free time is getting shorter by the day and I know I won't play it much after I settle down with one of the hockey games... and FOF is still fun to play. Might as well trade it in and get something while it's hot.

jb - you haven't read anything because neither game is out until tomorrow.. maybe you could paste some demo impressions!

Todd

Ea games are always more arcade , while 2k sports games are more realistic simulation game.

Its your choice. I guess your going back and forth now on which NHL game to get.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I want a good franchise mode, and with the exception of NBA and the most recent College Hoops game, 2K Sports is really shitty for franchise mode. I know there have been problems with the stats in EA games, but at least you can get through a few seasons without stuff being all screwed up. The last 2K NHL game I got (2K5, I think) was horrible. The gameplay was good, but the franchise mode was worthless. 2K Sports hasn't really failed me with basketball, but I'm wary of baseball and hockey from them after my past few experiences. To this point, MLB 2K6 is the only XBox 360 game I've traded in.

Anyway, I haven't made a decision on if I'm getting a hockey game this week or not. I'll definitely get one of the two games, but I don't know when. Honestly, I think either game would be "good enough" for me, but if there are screwups that keep you from continuing in franchise mode (2K5 burned me badly), I think I'd have to go with the one that'll let me play a few seasons without worry.

[MizzouRah]

Todd

Ea games are always more arcade , while 2k sports games are more realistic simulation game.

Its your choice. I guess your going back and forth now on which NHL game to get.

Actually, I'm picking up NHL 07 tomorrow if it's out. That's the EA version of the game in case you haven't read any of my posts in this thread. The new controls alone are going to make me try this game out first hand. I know what I'm getting with 2k7.

[jbmagic]

Actually, I'm picking up NHL 07 tomorrow if it's out. That's the EA version of the game in case you haven't read any of my posts in this thread. The new controls alone are going to make me try this game out first hand. I know what I'm getting with 2k7.


I guess you settle after making this quote.

[QUOTE=MizzouRah;1244392]I don't HATE Madden 2007, actually against friends, it's a fun game, but my free time is getting shorter by the day and I know I won't play it much after I settle down with one of the hockey games... and FOF is still fun to play. Might as well trade it in and get something while it's hot.

[MizzouRah]

Gamestop is telling me it's been delayed a week due to something or another.

I'll call a few other places.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Gamestop is telling me it's been delayed a week due to something or another.

I'll call a few other places.
Ouch. That doesn't sound good. :(

[CraigSca]

Huh?! That's weird. Even the movie introduced yesterday states "available September 14th"

[dervack]

Jb, didn't you ask last week "which review site good with ai" or something to that effect, and now you're saying that "IGN is not be trusted since there are alot of insider deals with some of the big publishers Gamespot is similar."

So, how did you investigate the two sites? Did you ask former members of the sites, stockholders, random women on the street? Fact of the matter is, all game magazines, websites, and anything gaming related requires advertising dollars, from the game companies. If you don't think that just about every magazine and site rates games a little higher to prevent the cash flow from stopping, you're about as clueless as someone who asks how the AI is for a bowl of cereal.

[dervack]

Gamestop is telling me it's been delayed a week due to something or another.

I'll call a few other places.
I just got back from EB, and the manager said that it'll be there tomorrow. Got my pre-order all set and have liked the reviews that I've seen so far.

[MizzouRah]

Thanks dervack!

Don't get me wrong and I'll go on the record as saying the NHL 2k series has been hands down the best hockey in recent years. I'm just more interested in the new control scheme in NHL 07.

I did read some good things about 2k7 though and if NHL sucks, I have no quarlms going and picking up 2k7.

[CraigSca]

I got the call from Gamestop tonight and I'll be picking this up tomorrow afternoon.

[TroyF]

hxxp://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/sports/nhl2k7/review.html?sid=6157500

Gamespot review of NHL2K7

[CraigSca]

Hmm...

2K7 gets an 8.9 from IGN while NHL 07 gets an 8.7.

[jbmagic]

Hmm...

2K7 gets an 8.9 from IGN while NHL 07 gets an 8.7.

Now your seeing the light. :)

[CraigSca]

It looks, however, that it got a better score because of the additonal online and solo options. Personally, I don't care for mini-games and don't have enough time to play in a full online league.

[RGunner]

I haven't really been looking at all the comparisons for these games, but whats the major differences between them? i plan on getting one or the other most likely but i havent really played a hockey game for a while....and i just got a 360 last week so im new to it

[MizzouRah]

Now your seeing the light. :)

IGN dealing in EA pocket

[MizzouRah]

I got the call that NHL 07 will be in tomorrow... the guy at Gamestop still tells me it will be a week.

[CraigSca]

It seems both games are getting really good reviews. However, while 2K7 seems like last year's game with better graphics, NHL 07 is getting a huge amount of kudos for the gameplay, analog stick and physics engine. Rather than one-timing the heck out of the puck, I'm definitely going to go with NHL 07 this year.

[Bee]

Now your seeing the light. :)



IGN is not be trusted since there are alot of insider deals with some of the big publishers Gamespot is similar.




:D

[Pumpy Tudors]

And this is why the man doesn't have an edit button.

[MizzouRah]

NHL 07 360 will be in today so says the man at Gamestop, he told me it was 2k7 that has been delayed until October? Anyhow, I will be playing the heck out of this game tonight if GS indeed gets the game!

[Pumpy Tudors]

NHL 07 360 will be in today so says the man at Gamestop, he told me it was 2k7 that has been delayed until October? Anyhow, I will be playing the heck out of this game tonight if GS indeed gets the game!
The guy's out of his tree. There are three Best Buy stores in my area that already have 2K7 in stock. They don't have EA's game yet, though.

I hope you enjoy the game. I'll stop at Wal-Mart sometime today to see if they have NHL 07, but I don't expect them to have it. I'll probably just try EB or GameStop over the weekend (once they release any preordered copies that didn't get picked up).

[MizzouRah]

The guy's out of his tree. There are three Best Buy stores in my area that already have 2K7 in stock. They don't have EA's game yet, though.

I hope you enjoy the game. I'll stop at Wal-Mart sometime today to see if they have NHL 07, but I don't expect them to have it. I'll probably just try EB or GameStop over the weekend (once they release any preordered copies that didn't get picked up).

Yeah, I've read where some people have 2k7 (360), I think it's the ps2 version that's pushed back.. who knows.

I also read where someone from St. Louis said his Gamestop told him tomorrow, so I guess I'll see this afternoon when I go by mine to see if it came in.

[dervack]

It seems both games are getting really good reviews. However, while 2K7 seems like last year's game with better graphics, NHL 07 is getting a huge amount of kudos for the gameplay, analog stick and physics engine. Rather than one-timing the heck out of the puck, I'm definitely going to go with NHL 07 this year.
I love how the IGN review gave 2K7 a great score despite being able to score one-timers at will it seems. I scored 2 one-timers in the 360 1 period demo, I'd hate to see how many I'd score in the actual games. Meanwhile, I didn't score a goal till like the 5th shootout I played in the Nhl 2007 demo. The controls are so much more exciting, and the Franchise mode on NHL 07 sounds better. I think I'll skip jb's opinion(the shock) and go with my gut. Now, I just have to wait till they get it in at Eb.

On a side note, the manager at the Eb games I'm picking this up from was really cool with the trade in special yesterday. Instead of charging me $20 dollars for the 2 games I was picking up for the 360 (star wars and NHL 07), he just charged me 10 for the NHL. Very cool thing on his part.

[dervack]

Yeah, I've read where some people have 2k7 (360), I think it's the ps2 version that's pushed back.. who knows.

I also read where someone from St. Louis said his Gamestop told him tomorrow, so I guess I'll see this afternoon when I go by mine to see if it came in.
PS2 version has been pushed back till October, so maybe that's where he's making his mistakes at.

[MizzouRah]

Yeah, I think that is what he thinking.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Wal-Mart had it, and now so do I. I'll be playing NHL 07 when I get home tonight. :)

[MizzouRah]

Wal-Mart had it, and now so do I. I'll be playing NHL 07 when I get home tonight. :)

Nice!! Hopefully the both of us will have some impressions to post tonight! :D

[dervack]

Just got back from picking it up, but sadly, like most games I buy, will play more tomorrow instead of today. Stupid work.

[RPI-Fan]

Just picked it up, impressions forthcoming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jbmagic]

I predict Todd's and most people impressions on EA NHL 2007 will be great.

When you have your heart set on a game fopr awhile, its very hard to turn away and have any negative impressions once you put down money on the purchase.

Its human nature to defend the game and have any negative toughts after playing it.

[RPI-Fan]

I predict Todd's and most people impressions on EA NHL 2007 will be great.

When you have your heart set on a game fopr awhile, its very hard to turn away and have any negative impressions once you put down money on the purchase.

Its human nature to defend the game and have any negative toughts after playing it.

Whatever, jackass.

This is the second video game I've bought in about 3-4 years (not counting PC sim games), and even when I was in the store buying the game I was debating between 2k7 and 07. If I don't like 07 I will go to the store about buy 2k7.

Please do everyone a favor and stay the fuck away from this thread.

[dervack]

I predict Todd's and most people impressions on EA NHL 2007 will be great.

When you have your heart set on a game fopr awhile, its very hard to turn away and have any negative impressions once you put down money on the purchase.

Its human nature to defend the game and have any negative toughts after playing it.
Or maybe, we just like the game. Everyone is looking for something different in every game. Just because someone else doesn't like it, doesn't mean I will hate it too. And the same goes for everything else in the world. For example, you jb, like shitty tv shows. I hate them. But you continue to watch them. Why? Because you like it. I like NCAA, I like the Madden so far, and the very little I played of NHL, I like it too. Why? Because I don't go into the games looking for the little things that someone else hates.

[dervack]

One of the things I like about the game, for those who haven't played the demo, is that they start with an explaination of the new controls in a video, and then you go right to a shootout to try them out. That being said, I still suck at trying to score that way.

[TroyF]

I predict Todd's and most people impressions on EA NHL 2007 will be great.

When you have your heart set on a game fopr awhile, its very hard to turn away and have any negative impressions once you put down money on the purchase.

Its human nature to defend the game and have any negative toughts after playing it.

Like you with the Raiders?

I predict Todd's and most of the people playing it will have a great time with the game initially. The more they play it, the more they'll hate it. It's like that with most EA games.

But this is a prediction, nothing more. There is a chance the guys playing NHL 07 will love it and that it'll be the game to own this year.

I disagree with Todd a lot on game purchases. A ton actually. How many times did I try to tell him that the 360 was the bomb. . . And I'm sure he thinks I'm a moron on things. But your continual bashing of him because he happens to want to try a game is getting nauseating.

He'll get the game he wants, play the game he wants and give the reviews he feels are relevant. If he says it's the greatest hockey game ever made and that I MUST try it, I'll probably get it. I trust what he has to say about it. We all know who Todd is and we know if we trust his reviews or if we don't.

This isn't some new forum member who walked in here last week. We don't need you being a watchdog for us.

[DeToxRox]

I predict Todd's and most people impressions on EA NHL 2007 will be great.

When you have your heart set on a game fopr awhile, its very hard to turn away and have any negative impressions once you put down money on the purchase.

Its human nature to defend the game and have any negative toughts after playing it.

Quit causing problems.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I have not played NHL 07 yet, but it's great. All I had to do was look at the DVD case. It says it all. It is the hockey game to get this year. I have not played it yet, but I assure you that this game is fantastic. I have not played it yet, but you all have to go and buy this game. NHL 2K7 sucks, although I have not played that either.

I have not played either of the new hockey games yet, but EA NHL 07 is the game to get this year. My impressions are that the game is great.

I'll let you guys know more after I finally play it.

[jbmagic]

Nothing Wrong with Todd and Eaglefan27 reveiws. Most of the time their right on and sometimes they are way off.

They usually are great and postive reviews at the beginning because its human nature to feel like that when buying a new game. Your blind to see anything negative at first. I guess thats how it is when you buy a new game that just game out and had your heart set to it.

But after while they start to find things they don't like and all of a sudden there not playing it and not liking the game no more. Like EA Madden and NCAA 2007, Head Coach are examples where they loved the game. Go look at there intial impressions.

[DeToxRox]

Nothing Wrong with Todd and Eaglefan27 reveiws. Most of the time their right on and sometimes they are way off.

They usually are great and postive reviews at the beginning because its human nature to feel like that when buying a new game. Your blind to see anything negative at first. I guess thats how it is when you buy a new game that just game out and had your heart set to it.

But after while they start to find things they don't like and all of a sudden there not playing it and not liking the game no more. Like EA Madden and NCAA 2007, Head Coach are examples where they loved the game. Go look at there intial impressions.

Dr. Phil no one cares. Be gone. Seriously. It's getting obnoxious. It has nothing to do with your grammar, or your questions, it's just you being an arrogant prick on a message board.

[TroyF]

Nothing Wrong with Todd and Eaglefan27 reveiws. Most of the time their right on and sometimes they are way off.

They usually are great and postive reviews at the beginning because its human nature to feel like that when buying a new game. Your blind to see anything negative at first. I guess thats how it is when you buy a new game that just game out and had your heart set to it.

But after while they start to find things they don't like and all of a sudden there not playing it and not liking the game no more. Like EA Madden and NCAA 2007, Head Coach are examples where they loved the game. Go look at there intial impressions.

OK jb. Everyone gets it. Now let us all discuss the hockey games in this thread now, ok? And no comments telling people how their choices sucked if you haven't played both of them. Is that to much to ask? Please don't answer that question or respond to my post in anyway, this threat has been hijacked enough already. Just let the people play and review their games.

Thanks.

[CraigSca]

/Agreed. You went from impish questioner-deluxe to tiresome critic of everything. It gets old.

[CraigSca]

Ok - time for some impressions.

Mind you, I haven't played any video hockey for a couple of years.

My first game was Washington (me) vs. Montreal. Using the new controls takes a good getting used to (just like every review said). In the first period on the pro level I had a grand total of 4 shots (with 10 minute periods). By the end of the game, however, I was starting to pick up checking as well as how to pass (and shoot), though I am still clueless when the net I'm shooting for is along the bottom of the screen (in period 2).

Anyway...Montreal leveled 59 shots against me and I had 25. NO GOALS. Maybe it's the level I'm playing...I sucked at defense and I would have thought Montreal would have lit me up with that barrage of shots. Eventually, I won, 1-0, in overtime as Zubrus scored a goal. The goal was kind of nice - Zubrus passed it back to the point where the defenseman took the shot - it rolled off the Canadien's goalies stick onto Zubrus' and he tucked it in behind him for the game-winner.

Pros-
The graphics are awesome. The cut scenes and the commentary seemed very good.

Gameplay seems pretty good, though I am extremely out of practice.

The new controls are rock-solid, though will take some time to get used to.

It was "fun".

No slowdowns or kooky animations from my viewpoint. I never saw what I believed to be missing frames.

No turbo skating!

Cons-
Only one goal on a combined 83 shots. Was it the skill level? Mind you, the great majority of my shots were these little wieners directly into the chest of the goaltender due to my anemic aiming. However, 59 shots by the Canadiens, and not one goal?

I managed over 50 hits on the Canadiens while they "hit" (I assume these are checks) me 10 times. Again, maybe a level issue?

Maybe it's me, or maybe it's my lack of hockey play the last few years, but the skaters seem really fast, and that's without turbo (then again a lot of the Capital's skaters were as slow as molasses). This, however, might just be my misconception of hockey play - I admit I haven't watched much the past few years.

[CraigSca]

Oh, one other gripe:

In the game summary is said the Canadiens had 59 "shots". However, Kolzig only had 49 saves. I looked all over for a shots on goal but didn't see it. Are shots and shots on goal equivalent (in the game)? If so, it's a bug, right?

[Pumpy Tudors]

As far as "shots" and "shots on goal" are concerned, I find it peculiar for a game to track shots that aren't on goal. Maybe this game does it, but if so, they should have a separate stat for shots on goal. If they don't, that's a problem. It's going to screw up players' shooting percentages if it counts shots that miss the target.

I've found that all hockey games have the players moving too fast on the default settings (at least the games I've played, anyway). I guess the developers think that people would get bored if the players moved more slowly. The fact that the Habs got 59 (or 49) shots on you is probably evidence that the players are too fast. They have more in the offensive zone to take more shots.

I'm glad you had fun playing the game, though. These days, sliders need to be tweaked for pretty much every sports game, so if there's a way to turn the skating speed down, it should be OK.

I'll be playing within a couple of hours.

[CraigSca]

Let me check to see - I know you can change the skill level of the teams (I guess to even them out if you're playing against someone). I think you can slow the puck as well...

[Pumpy Tudors]

Let me check to see - I know you can change the skill level of the teams (I guess to even them out if you're playing against someone). I think you can slow the puck as well...
Puck friction is something to look for. If it lets you turn up the friction, it'll slow down some of the passes, and that should help things. It should also cut down on the icing calls (on default settings in previous games, there's usually too much icing).

[RPI-Fan]

Just played my first game... (360)

Exhibition game, NYI (me, of course) vs. Montreal 5 minute periods Pro level

I won it 1-0 on a 3rd period goal by Robert Nillson. The Canadiens won the faceoff, but we overloaded the defender with the puck, he made a mistake and turned it over. Nilsson strafed into the slot area, held the puck until there was a shooting lane, then pulled back a wrister and ripped it in off the far post.

General comments:

/ 5 minute periods too short... will switch to 10 minute periods
/ Knocked the game speed down a couple notches to get it to feel better
+ Lots of errant passes
+ Players get tied up along the boards (it's not an "official" tie-up, the physics just work perfect so it's like a real life situation where you have to use some clever decision making)
/ Skill stick takes some adjustment
+ Lots of good camera options
+ Automatic replays are appropriate and well done
+ Goalies cover the puck when required, and when they do the whistle blows quickly (don't have to wait 5 seconds or whatever like in the past)
+ Goalies are very inaccurate passing the puck

Don't really have any negatives so far... am going to play another game with 10 minute periods & All-Star skill level, will report back!

[CraigSca]

Check that - you can change the speed of the game. I just minimized game speed and it plays a much more realistic brand of hockey (YMMV).

[RPI-Fan]

Ok - time for some impressions.

Mind you, I haven't played any video hockey for a couple of years.

My first game was Washington (me) vs. Montreal. Using the new controls takes a good getting used to (just like every review said). In the first period on the pro level I had a grand total of 4 shots (with 10 minute periods). By the end of the game, however, I was starting to pick up checking as well as how to pass (and shoot), though I am still clueless when the net I'm shooting for is along the bottom of the screen (in period 2).

Anyway...Montreal leveled 59 shots against me and I had 25. NO GOALS. Maybe it's the level I'm playing...I sucked at defense and I would have thought Montreal would have lit me up with that barrage of shots. Eventually, I won, 1-0, in overtime as Zubrus scored a goal. The goal was kind of nice - Zubrus passed it back to the point where the defenseman took the shot - it rolled off the Canadien's goalies stick onto Zubrus' and he tucked it in behind him for the game-winner.

Pros-
The graphics are awesome. The cut scenes and the commentary seemed very good.

Gameplay seems pretty good, though I am extremely out of practice.

The new controls are rock-solid, though will take some time to get used to.

It was "fun".

No slowdowns or kooky animations from my viewpoint. I never saw what I believed to be missing frames.

No turbo skating!

Cons-
Only one goal on a combined 83 shots. Was it the skill level? Mind you, the great majority of my shots were these little wieners directly into the chest of the goaltender due to my anemic aiming. However, 59 shots by the Canadiens, and not one goal?

I managed over 50 hits on the Canadiens while they "hit" (I assume these are checks) me 10 times. Again, maybe a level issue?

Maybe it's me, or maybe it's my lack of hockey play the last few years, but the skaters seem really fast, and that's without turbo (then again a lot of the Capital's skaters were as slow as molasses). This, however, might just be my misconception of hockey play - I admit I haven't watched much the past few years.

Re: the hitting... the CPU doesn't technically check you that much, but they play well positionally and use the poke check effectively. Meanwhile, every time you bump a CPU player it gets counted as a hit for you. So I'm not worried about that one.

Scoring does seem to be a little bit low overall, but there are a lot of easy adjustments to fix that up.

There's an option to change the controls to "Camera Relative" or "NOT Camera Relative"... I assume the latter would fix your problem with when you're at the bottom of the screen.

[CraigSca]

Ah, thanks for the camera relative heads-up! I think I may move to have the computer automatically target shots for me (as I'm a relative noob). Again, the majority of my shots are directly at the goalie.

[DeToxRox]

As far as hitting goes guys:

In the NHL it's rare to see teams get credited with many more then 15-20 checks. Especially in the new NHL it just doesn't happen. So expect more for you when you play because in any NHL game .. you gotta' hit.

[CraigSca]

2nd game: Lightning 1, Caps 1 (Lightning wins on SO)

Man, there is very little scoring in this game. I'm going to have to dumb-down the goalies.

[TurnerONU22]

Picked up the 360 version and played a game of Carolina vs. Columbus, on all-star mode, and with 10 minute periods. I ended up losing 5-3, with the 5th on an EN goal. I'm excited to play some more when i get a chance, but it just felt like a FUN game to play, and that's what matters.

I thought the defensive AI was better than advertised, and on the PP, at least the guys know where to be, unlike on 2k6 last year, where it felt like you couldn't pass it back to the point. I scored some nice goals, as Fritsche got a nice garbage goal from in the front ('kept slamming the puck and it got by Ward), Modin stole the puck from behind the net, came around the right and wristed it up left to score. The 3rd was from the point, with a bunch of traffic in front to screen the goalie. NO ONE TIMER GOALS!!!!!! The passing feels realistic as well, icings occur about as frequently as in real life, and the goalie freeze time is realistic (unlike 5-10 seconds as is in the 2k series). The only con is that the shots go at an unrealistic speed, they are waaaaayyy too fast, and I don't see a slider to adjust it. I'm not worried about that though, because that was more fun than playing 2k6 last year.

It might be time to trade in Madden and NCAA for me...

[RPI-Fan]

Picked up the 360 version and played a game of Carolina vs. Columbus, on all-star mode, and with 10 minute periods. I ended up losing 5-3, with the 5th on an EN goal. I'm excited to play some more when i get a chance, but it just felt like a FUN game to play, and that's what matters.

I thought the defensive AI was better than advertised, and on the PP, at least the guys know where to be, unlike on 2k6 last year, where it felt like you couldn't pass it back to the point. I scored some nice goals, as Fritsche got a nice garbage goal from in the front ('kept slamming the puck and it got by Ward), Modin stole the puck from behind the net, came around the right and wristed it up left to score. The 3rd was from the point, with a bunch of traffic in front to screen the goalie. NO ONE TIMER GOALS!!!!!! The passing feels realistic as well, icings occur about as frequently as in real life, and the goalie freeze time is realistic (unlike 5-10 seconds as is in the 2k series). The only con is that the shots go at an unrealistic speed, they are waaaaayyy too fast, and I don't see a slider to adjust it. I'm not worried about that though, because that was more fun than playing 2k6 last year.

It might be time to trade in Madden and NCAA for me...

There's a slider in there to adjust shot speed...

[CraigSca]

You scored 3 goals?! Whoa, I stink!

[MizzouRah]

Thought I would take some time away from playing and post my thoughts.

Played a few games (everything on defaults) and my last game was probably my best sports 360 console game to date - at least the fun factor is really high so far.

Blues (me) vs Sharks

The whole game just felt like a real hockey contest between the two teams. San Jose would keep the puck in my zone using force and checking, really resemembled the Sharks team. They scored in the first minute to take a 1-0 lead, but Weight would put one past Nabokov(sp?) to tie the game at 1-1 in the first. The second period San Jose would score again on a wicked wrister that bounced high off of Sanford's right pad and take a 2-1 lead heading into the 3rd period. Tkachuck would light the lamp with is own wrister right through the 5 hole to tie the game. From there it was back and forth and quite nerve racking. The game went into overtime and with major pressure, the Sharks would win the game on a put back after Sanford gave up a rebound. Loved the game though!

- controls are excellent - don't think I could go back to the old style ever
- love the replays during the intermissions
- gameplay seems solid and I haven't even went up to AS level yet
- no slowdowns that I've seen so far
- stats seem good
- NO SPEED BURSTS!!
- players play just like their RL counterparts, you can tell ratings and shot skills
- players don't fall down all over the place when hit
- best goalie animations in any hockey game, EVER
- beautiful game, graphics are sweet
- don't think I've seen the same goal twice, awesome variation

The only con I see is the framerate is below 2k7 - it's not near as smooth as the 2k7 demo, but that just would have been icing on the cake and the game still flows nicely - just not as smooth as 2k7.

I'll be playing this all night, might even start my franchise later on. (and I wanted to play some TCY tonight.) :(


disclaimer - this post is indended for people seeking NHL 07 impression and the post contained herein is the sole impressions of the poster, not to be taken as the bible and could change after further games, in other words YMMV or if you're jb, you could cut and paste these impressions and post them on other forums and act like they are yours.

[jbmagic]

How realsitic is the sim stats on EA NHL 2007?

[CraigSca]

Too many pancakes in NHL 07.

[RPI-Fan]

One minor annoyance, but it doesn't bug me that much...

A lot of long goals go off the goalie and bounce into the net, which is weird.

But overall shooting from better positions increases your chance of scoring so the net effect is a good one. Just the path from stick to net is weird, but the results are about spot-on.

[rexallllsc]

I predict Todd's and most people impressions on EA NHL 2007 will be great.

When you have your heart set on a game fopr awhile, its very hard to turn away and have any negative impressions once you put down money on the purchase.

Its human nature to defend the game and have any negative toughts after playing it.

Whatever, jackass.

This is the second video game I've bought in about 3-4 years (not counting PC sim games), and even when I was in the store buying the game I was debating between 2k7 and 07. If I don't like 07 I will go to the store about buy 2k7.

Please do everyone a favor and stay the fuck away from this thread.


Man, I laughed so hard at this exchange. Also, as much as I laughed at the last line, I also want him around. Ya know, for the laughs.

[MizzouRah]

I will say this, both games seem to have negatives and positives.. depends on what you are looking for in a hockey game.

The biggest thing 2k7 has going for it.. from what I've read so far, is a much better framerate. EA's offering is just not as smooth as 2k7.

EA has the new control scheme, which I love. I think it's sort of like MVP when it first came out. New control scheme, good overall game.. but they now have the foundation and need to build on it.

For those of you with EA's game, turn down the game speed a click or two.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I actually turned the speed all the way down, and it's still a tad too fast for me, but maybe I just need to adjust. I haven't played a hockey game in a while. I like it a lot, though.

[Sweed]

Too many pancakes in NHL 07.


yeah, but i red that pancakes dont have effect on developement, so linemen wont progress to quikly. no gamebreak!

[MizzouRah]

I turned speed all the way down too PT - I've also turned up agression a click and so far on AS 10 min periods, I'm having fun. The AI will burn your ass if you make a mistake.. as I've learned. :)

For once in a hockey game, it's great to know when my #1 line is out on the ice vs my checking line.

[MizzouRah]

Sorry RPI-Fan!

My Live Gold membership just ran out and I haven't been able to renew it as of yet.

[Pumpy Tudors]

My biggest problem so far is that I tend to "overskate" the area I'm going for, particularly on defense. I've given up a couple of breakaways and allowed forwards to get open in the slot because of this. That's my fault, though, not the game's.

I started dynasty mode last night as the Devils, and I'm going to have to get used to the menu system. I was trying to send Alexander Mogilny down to the minors, and I got a warning on the "roster moves" screen about how his one-way contract forced me to send him through waivers. That's fine. I confirmed that I wanted to send him down, and another menu popped up saying that I had to go to the "edit lines" screen to scratch him. This is where the party starts. The following things happened in my quest to demote Mogilny to the minors:

1. I went to "edit lines" and removed him from the line that he was on.
2. I went to the "roster moves" screen to demote him, and I get the same message about scratching him.
3. I returned to "edit lines" and discovered that I had to select any player (to bring up a list of players on my team), scroll down to Mogilny's name, and press X to scratch him. I scratch Mogilny.
4. I try to exit "edit lines" and am told that I no longer have enough players dressed. I cannot exit this screen without having a full game-night roster.
5. I dress Mogilny.
6. I go to "free agents" and sign Brian Savage. Don't ask.
7. I go to "edit lines" and scratch Mogilny again.
8. I try to exit and am told again that I do not have enough players dressed.
9. I dress Mogilny.
10. I go to "roster moves" and promote Savage from the minors.
11. I go to "edit lines" and scratch Mogilny.
12. I go to "roster moves" and demote Mogilny to the minors. I am told that he did not clear waivers and has been claimed by another team. I have no easy way of finding out which team claimed him, although I guess I really don't care.

The worst part of it all was that the game auto-saved after practically every step. The auto-save only takes 2 or 3 seconds, but it felt like a waste of time. When I told it that I wanted to auto-save, I really thought it was only going to do it if I changed gameplay settings or simmed/played through a game. The auto-save issue aside, I feel that the game should allow me to have an "invalid" roster as long as I'm not trying to play a game. There's no reason that I shouldn't have been allowed to scratch Mogilny and put him on waivers without bringing somebody up first. As long as I enter a game with 18 skaters dressed, it shouldn't matter what my roster looks like in the meantime, right?
It was cumbersome, to say the least.

Also, I find it unsettling that there seems to be no "transactions" screen. Maybe I just missed it, but I hunted around for a while. I'm at least mildly curious about who claimed Mogilny, but without scrolling through every roster, I probably won't know. When the trade deadline comes around, if I don't have any way of knowing who went where, I'll be in for some surprises when I see who's wearing my opponents' uniforms, I guess.

I can turn the auto-save off in order to fix one annoyance, but it'll be disappointing to play in franchise mode without a transaction list. I really hope that it's in there and I just missed it.

[MizzouRah]

My biggest problem so far is that I tend to "overskate" the area I'm going for, particularly on defense. I've given up a couple of breakaways and allowed forwards to get open in the slot because of this. That's my fault, though, not the game's.

I started dynasty mode last night as the Devils, and I'm going to have to get used to the menu system. I was trying to send Alexander Mogilny down to the minors, and I got a warning on the "roster moves" screen about how his one-way contract forced me to send him through waivers. That's fine. I confirmed that I wanted to send him down, and another menu popped up saying that I had to go to the "edit lines" screen to scratch him. This is where the party starts. The following things happened in my quest to demote Mogilny to the minors:

1. I went to "edit lines" and removed him from the line that he was on.
2. I went to the "roster moves" screen to demote him, and I get the same message about scratching him.
3. I returned to "edit lines" and discovered that I had to select any player (to bring up a list of players on my team), scroll down to Mogilny's name, and press X to scratch him. I scratch Mogilny.
4. I try to exit "edit lines" and am told that I no longer have enough players dressed. I cannot exit this screen without having a full game-night roster.
5. I dress Mogilny.
6. I go to "free agents" and sign Brian Savage. Don't ask.
7. I go to "edit lines" and scratch Mogilny again.
8. I try to exit and am told again that I do not have enough players dressed.
9. I dress Mogilny.
10. I go to "roster moves" and promote Savage from the minors.
11. I go to "edit lines" and scratch Mogilny.
12. I go to "roster moves" and demote Mogilny to the minors. I am told that he did not clear waivers and has been claimed by another team. I have no easy way of finding out which team claimed him, although I guess I really don't care.

The worst part of it all was that the game auto-saved after practically every step. The auto-save only takes 2 or 3 seconds, but it felt like a waste of time. When I told it that I wanted to auto-save, I really thought it was only going to do it if I changed gameplay settings or simmed/played through a game. The auto-save issue aside, I feel that the game should allow me to have an "invalid" roster as long as I'm not trying to play a game. There's no reason that I shouldn't have been allowed to scratch Mogilny and put him on waivers without bringing somebody up first. As long as I enter a game with 18 skaters dressed, it shouldn't matter what my roster looks like in the meantime, right?
It was cumbersome, to say the least.

Also, I find it unsettling that there seems to be no "transactions" screen. Maybe I just missed it, but I hunted around for a while. I'm at least mildly curious about who claimed Mogilny, but without scrolling through every roster, I probably won't know. When the trade deadline comes around, if I don't have any way of knowing who went where, I'll be in for some surprises when I see who's wearing my opponents' uniforms, I guess.

I can turn the auto-save off in order to fix one annoyance, but it'll be disappointing to play in franchise mode without a transaction list. I really hope that it's in there and I just missed it.

That's odd. I have read where someone simmed a season and said there were only a few trades and even posted who went for whom - so hopefully there is a screen that lists news or transactions.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I actually turned the speed all the way down, and it's still a tad too fast for me, but maybe I just need to adjust.

The game's still a tad too fast for you, Pumpy? That's shocking coming from a Devils' fan. Just shocking. :D

[Pumpy Tudors]

That's odd. I have read where someone simmed a season and said there were only a few trades and even posted who went for whom - so hopefully there is a screen that lists news or transactions.
That's good news. I guess I just didn't find it, unless there's a screen that only shows trades and not waiver claims. I'll have to dig around when I play again.

[Pumpy Tudors]

The game's still a tad too fast for you, Pumpy? That's shocking coming from a Devils' fan. Just shocking. :D
Ouch. :)

This may sound like a joke, but you won't believe how many holding penalties I took in my first game. :(

[CraigSca]

It's still a little too fast for me - I think I'm going to turn down player acceleration (sp).

[TurnerONU22]

There's a slider in there to adjust shot speed...

Oops, must have missed it when I played yesterday. Thanks!

[MizzouRah]

For those of you on the fence, here's a comparison:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/732/732849p1.html

[jbmagic]

For those of you on the fence, here's a comparison:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/732/732849p1.html

Shooting: NHL 07
Passing: NHL 2K7
Defense: NHL 2K7
Goalkeeping: NHL 2K7
Skating: NHL 2K7
Puck Handling: NHL 07
Fighting: Tie
Coaching: NHL 07
Franchise: Tie
Online Play: NHL 07


Overall it looks like NHL 07 is better than EA NHL 07

[jbmagic]

Edit

Correction:

Coaching: NHL 2K7
Franchise: Tie
Online Play: NHL 2K7

Overall it looks like NHL 2K7 is better than EA NHL 07

[Pumpy Tudors]

Overall it looks like NHL 2K7 is better than EA NHL 07
Stop. Just stop.

[GoldenEagle]

Edit

Correction:

Coaching: NHL 2K7
Franchise: Tie
Online Play: NHL 2K7

Overall it looks like NHL 2K7 is better than EA NHL 07

Overall it look like jbmagic has no edit button.

[dervack]

Edit

Correction:

Coaching: NHL 2K7
Franchise: Tie
Online Play: NHL 2K7

Overall it looks like NHL 2K7 is better than EA NHL 07
Sorry, but I'll take more nuances of the CBA in my Hockey game, thank you.

[Maple Leafs]

I rented NHL for PS2 last night. Didn't realize it was just a roster update... for some reason I didn't clue in that the gameplay changes were just for the next gen version. Ah well.

[MizzouRah]

I think it's a draw for both games, which is good imo.

I will say so far I don't like the franchise mode one bit in 07, like Pumpy said, it's too hard to do anything simple... which might have me picking up 2k7 later - but playing vs friends that have come over, 07 has been a blast and many have said the control scheme is genius.

[MizzouRah]

I rented 2k7 tonight and although I love the camera, ice graphics, and franchise mode, it just doesn't do it for me gameplay wise. I really like NHL 07's gameplay and I'll have to drudge through the franchise goofyness. No need to buy 2k7, I'm just not feeling it. Oh well... back to NHL 07 I go.

I love the gameplay in NHL 07, the variety of goals (even with some easy goals), and the physics of the puck are unparalled.

[MizzouRah]

This site does a good job describing both of these games and basically my thoughts as well. Gameplay is NHL 07, franchise is 2k7 - for me, I'll take gameplay anyday - at least in a console game... but a lot of you will love the similarities in 2k6 with 2k7 (Troy) :)

http://www.firingsquad.com/games/nhl_07_2k7/default.asp

[Maple Leafs]

Random thoughts on the PS2 version (chances are, none of this applies to the next-gen version):

- Long story short: It's the same game as last year.

- Using the analog for passing is actually a neat improvement

- It's still all about the one-timer

- The commentary sucks. Let me save you some time: everybody has had a good, hard-working, blue collar game

- Seriously, don't tell me a player doesn't have a shot yet when it's 30 seconds into a game. You can count shots. We get it. Say something else every few minutes.

- You can't release a player if it would put you under the salary cap. Neat, except you can't turn the salary cap off. And the salaries in the game aren't up to date. Neither are the rosters. So if you want the Senators to not have Hasek... too bad, you can't.

- I hate the goal celebrations. I can picture some marketing exec wandering onto the dev floor and saying "What was that? That's boring! Make the guy point his stick at the crowd, in exactly the same way that every hockey player in the world would never do!"

- The sound of the puck hitting post is amazingly well done. It would be even better if it didn't happen on half the freaking shots in every game.

- I like the music

- Why does the ref check every player to see if they're cut after a high stick, when they never are? Efficiency, people!

- When are these rosters from? May?

- I can not believe that you still can't do a quick seven-game series. You can't even do a manual playoffs anymore. If you want to play a Wings/Avs seven-game series, you're on your own, chummy.

- Final point: This game is obviously a half-assed effort while they focus on the next-gen version. Given that, they should charge a lot less for it. Which they do, so all in all I can't complain all that much. It is what it is.

[Eaglesfan27]

Ok, reading this thread again and the links you've posted Todd has me thinking about NHL 07. How frustrating is the franchise? I mean Pumpy's post sounds like a major PITA to do simple things in the franchise roster.

[RGunner]

I just got this game about an hour ago and I've played since then and I'm loving it...gameplay is great even though I suck...if anyone wants to play online or whatver if u can my gamertag is kbz2286 hit me up

[MizzouRah]

Ok, reading this thread again and the links you've posted Todd has me thinking about NHL 07. How frustrating is the franchise? I mean Pumpy's post sounds like a major PITA to do simple things in the franchise roster.

I'm on call this weekend, but hopefully I'll get a chance to really dig into franchise mode and post some thoughts... but yes it is a PITA to do anything as far as rosters are concerned, imho. I am seriously thinking about letting my asst coach handle some things. :)

[TroyF]

This site does a good job describing both of these games and basically my thoughts as well. Gameplay is NHL 07, franchise is 2k7 - for me, I'll take gameplay anyday - at least in a console game... but a lot of you will love the similarities in 2k6 with 2k7 (Troy) :)

http://www.firingsquad.com/games/nhl_07_2k7/default.asp

Nope. . . that review just seals the deal. I will not be picking up a hockey title this year. (console anyway, I'll certainly pick up SI's game)

2K7 doesn't sound like much of an improvement over 2k6 for the 360, and I wasn't all that fond of 2k6. (it was better than NHL 06, but that wasn't saying much, NHL 06 was terrible)

Then with Pumpy's impressions being confirmed and having it be a nightmare to even change my lines with NHL 07? Screw that. Hockey is the sport I follow the least (even if it is one of the best video game experiences usually) When I play a game, it takes me time to get familiar with my team, to set lines the way I want them and to make moves I think will help the team.

It sounds like cycling through players, changing lines and making roster adjustments in this game is about as fun as getting a root canal. I'm gonna have to take a major league pass.

NBA2K7 here I come.

[Eaglesfan27]

Yeah, I've decided to take a pass as well. I was in an odd restless mood last night. However, the reality is that I have plenty of games to play and things to do to keep me busy the next 10 days until NBA 2k7. That along with my other games should eat up most of my free time for the foreseeable future.

[MizzouRah]

Yeah if you like hockey as much as I like the NBA, I can see why you'd pass. :)

I'm not getting NBA anything (although Gary's TPB was quite fun), but I will definitly read your dynasties and or impressions and wait on College Hoops 2k7.

[RPI-Fan]

(Xbox 360)

At first I was liking NHL 07 but quickly a lot of the nuances are getting to me.

1) I have tons of trouble playing defense in my own zone. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like any movement is an overreaction and I end up way out of position. You can't control when you're skating backwards so poke checking it difficult.

2) (This one isn't a big deal) Way too many goals from long shots go off the goalie, up in the air, and then in the net. The reason it's not a big deal is because long shots _should_ score some of the time -- just the way they go in isn't correct. But IMO shooting from distance is weighted just about right in terms of being a scoring chance so I don't have a big problem with this.

3) When I dump the puck, my AI teammates do a TERRIBLE job of chasing it.

4) Shooting from the slot isn't really advantagous over shooting from the half-boards.

That's all I can think of at the moment. But overall the first thing I listed is a huge problem for me (it might just be that I'm not a good enough joystick jockey).

I'm considering getting NHL 2k7 (maybe I'd trade in NHL 07 -- how much would I get for it???)

When does NBA 2k7 come out?

[TroyF]

Yeah, I've decided to take a pass as well. I was in an odd restless mood last night. However, the reality is that I have plenty of games to play and things to do to keep me busy the next 10 days until NBA 2k7. That along with my other games should eat up most of my free time for the foreseeable future.

Must have been something in the air. I was restless last night as well. I've played a ton of poker lately and haven't palyed as many video games and was really looking to get something new.

I passed by Guitar Hero and hemmed and hawed from twenty minutes. Then I came to the conclusion that I have a lot of "unfinished" video games to take care of. (Saints Row, Madden on the PC, Half Life Episode One, etc.) Those will keep me busy for ten days. NBA2K7, the new FM, Jim's new game, Gears of War and others will finish off the year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Must have been something in the air. I was restless last night as well. I've played a ton of poker lately and haven't palyed as many video games and was really looking to get something new.

I passed by Guitar Hero and hemmed and hawed from twenty minutes. Then I came to the conclusion that I have a lot of "unfinished" video games to take care of. (Saints Row, Madden on the PC, Half Life Episode One, etc.) Those will keep me busy for ten days. NBA2K7, the new FM, Jim's new game, Gears of War and others will finish off the year.


Yeah. I came VERY close to grabbing the keys and heading to the store to buy NHL 2k7 or 07. Glad, I didn't and also realized that I have plenty of unfinished games (Dead Rising, Enchanted Arms, and Rome Total War for the PC are the main ones) as well as I'm still getting enjoyment out of NCAA FB. However, I was very restless from the moment I got home last night. As you mentioned, there are a lot of games coming out this year that will finish off the year: Gears of War, new FM, Jim's game, also Medieval 2 (hopefully.)

RPI, NBA 2k7 is going to be available either the 25th or 26th (depending upon your store.) About 10 days away.

I'm off to play the demo some more. It's that much fun.

[Icy]

I was tempted but i'll pass too. I owned old versions in the PC, like 95 that was so fun and after that some more, but I'm less and less joystick player every year. The proof is that i enjoyed Madden 07 a lot during the first days, but got fast bored of it and will be probably the last action game for me in a long time. I have preordered EHM and it will fix my NHL gamming time, also i'm playing again BBCF plus FOF and OOTP online. Latelly i only enjoy slow paced games when i need to use my brain and not my fingers, i'm dying for a good economic game like Capitalism plus but updated.

[RPI-Fan]

Just played another game and enjoyed it a bit more.

Played online, lost 6-2 to the Rags (I was the Isles of course). I basically stopped controlling my defensemen in my own zone and seemed to do a little bit better in front of my own net.

Offensively I'm getting used to the skill stick a lot more. I'm now able to make moves quicker and actually be productive with the skill stick.

So I'm not going to write this one off yet, but for now will probably not play it as much as I'd hoped I would.

[MizzouRah]

Let me say sorry for being a jackass. Ok now that I've said that...

I've been playing NHL 2k7 on "custom" and finally figured out how to change it to "sim" and play on the cinemotion & commentary setting with replays "on". NOW this is gameplay I can live with. The game plays like real hockey on this setting. I can't believe I thought I was playing on the right setting.

[Napoleon Dynamite voice] Friggin Idiot! [/Napoleon Dynamite voice]

I was reading another site and when users were talking about the "sim" setting I thought "custom" was the same thing. Ok, so it's been awhile since I played a hockey game, especially by 2k sports.

I still wish 2k7 had the new control scheme of NHL 07, but on "sim" the game plays better as far as AI goes and a game of hockey on TV goes. Franchise is 10x better as changing lineups is soooo much easier and I love the Dodge intermission reports.

I'm going to give this game a workout today and start a franchise as I still need more playing time, but if it's like my last game, I might have a new front runner for my hockey fix this year.

Forgive my babble, but I had no idea one simple setting could change this game so much. :o

[jbmagic]

Let me say sorry for being a jackass. Ok now that I've said that...

I've been playing NHL 2k7 on "custom" and finally figured out how to change it to "sim" and play on the cinemotion & commentary setting with replays "on". NOW this is gameplay I can live with. The game plays like real hockey on this setting. I can't believe I thought I was playing on the right setting.

[Napoleon Dynamite voice] Friggin Idiot! [/Napoleon Dynamite voice]

I was reading another site and when users were talking about the "sim" setting I thought "custom" was the same thing. Ok, so it's been awhile since I played a hockey game, especially by 2k sports.

I still wish 2k7 had the new control scheme of NHL 07, but on "sim" the game plays better as far as AI goes and a game of hockey on TV goes. Franchise is 10x better as changing lineups is soooo much easier and I love the Dodge intermission reports.

I'm going to give this game a workout today and start a franchise as I still need more playing time, but if it's like my last game, I might have a new front runner for my hockey fix this year.

Forgive my babble, but I had no idea one simple setting could change this game so much. :o


We been trying to tell you so that NHL 2k7 is the better game.:D

[MizzouRah]

Well jb, the controls are really great on NHL 07, but in doing so, EA hasn't had time to add much else to the game, it's basically stripped down and I hate the interface that is now common in all their sports titles.

I'm not ashamed to say that on the "sim" setting, NHL 2k7 is quite a different game from what I've been playing. You might be right when all is said and done.

The good news is, the manager at Gamestop told me I could trade in NHL 07 for 2k7 EVEN STEVEN if I wanted to in the next few days.

[Eaglesfan27]

The good news is, the manager at Gamestop told me I could trade in NHL 07 for 2k7 EVEN STEVEN if I wanted to in the next few days.


That is really cool. A small part of me is still considering NHL 2k7, so I'm still looking forward to impressions even though I'll likely pass.

[TroyF]

hmmm.. . I still have Madden I could trade. . . hmmmmmm

[Eaglesfan27]

hmmm.. . I still have Madden I could trade. . . hmmmmmm


If I got NHL 2k7, I'd be trading Madden in as well.

[Greyroofoo]

does anyone know how much you can trade madden in for?

[jbmagic]

does anyone know how much you can trade madden in for?

You will get more on Ebay than trading it in.

[TroyF]

You will get more on Ebay than trading it in.

I'm a big boy JB. I'll do what I choose, k, thx.

[jbmagic]

I'm a big boy JB. I'll do what I choose, k, thx.


hmmm

Wasn't even talking to you.

I don't think I quoted you.

[Pumpy Tudors]

If the video store down the street from me has 2K7, I'll rent it and give it a try. I do like NHL 07, and the franchise stuff doesn't really bother me that much now that I'm used to it. If 2K7 is a btter game, though, it's a better game. I dunno.

If they don't have it, well, I still have a hockey game that I enjoy this year.

[MizzouRah]

I really wish all games had a "sim" setting that changed the sliders automatically for sim like stats and gameplay... it's genius.

I'll dig into franchise mode tonight, although I have a rental copy of NHL 2k7 and don't have the manual, so... I went to 3 Gamestops today and none of them had NHL 2k7 - they were all sold out.

PT, rent the game and play a game on the "sim" setting, everything else at defaults - I use cinemotion and commentary (turn replays on) and let me know what you think. I'll post some franchise thoughts tonight after the Mizzou game.. hopefully.

[MizzouRah]

2k7

Ok, on "sim" default settings are good. I'm getting great games on 5 min periods - stat wise as well. Maybe a tweak for passing accuracy and goalie puck freeze is all I'm seeing that needs changed thus far. Maybe.. maybe... goalie AI needs turned down a tad, but most of my games have a total of 6 goals or so.

My problem is I like all three presentation modes - cinemotion, cinemotion+commentary, and plain old commentary. :)

[rexallllsc]

While the skill stick is certainly interesting, one thing I don't like is that you cannot pull the puck close or put it our farther to make moves :(

[MizzouRah]

A week later and I have both of these great games. I wish I could take things from both games and make one game. :)

I'll play 5-6 games of 2k7, then 5-6 games of 07. Reminds me of when I bought NFL 2k5 and Madden 2005 for my Xbox and had two dynasties going at once. It does suck that you have to have a gold membership to get EA rosters. Heck, 2k7 already has a great roster out and it's free. Nothing from EA yet.. surprise!?

EF, how are your 2k7 skills coming? I'll be up for some games this weekend if you or RPI-Fan are up for it as I bought a month gold membership.

[jbmagic]

You bought both games?

Have you ever completed a franchise any sports games you buy?

Seems like your dynasties don't last long.

[Sweed]

Have you ever completed a franchise any sports games you buy?

Seems like your dynasties don't last long.



Have you ever bought a game and played it? :)

[jbmagic]

Have you ever bought a game and played it? :)

yes

[Logan]

You bought both games?

Have you ever completed a franchise any sports games you buy?

Seems like your dynasties don't last long.

Maybe he actually enjoys that. You know, some people play games for entertainment purposes, not just so they can get perfectly realistic simulated stats.

[TroyF]

I picked up 2K today. Loving it so far, but have only played a couple of games. Lots of controls to remember and get used to.

I need to spend a ton of time with it this week. Next week we all know what happens. :) Traded Madden and another game for it. Well worth the trade so far.

[Eaglesfan27]

I also picked this up, but earlier in the week. That is, I picked up 2k7. I really enjoyed it Tuesday night. Haven't had a lot of time to play tonight, but looking forward to playing quite a bit Friday and Saturday. I think rotating this game in with some of NBA 2k7 will help keep both fresh. I haven't played a console hockey game since EA's 99 version of their game on the PS1, and this has been quite the learning curve.

[Eaglesfan27]

A week later and I have both of these great games. I wish I could take things from both games and make one game. :)

I'll play 5-6 games of 2k7, then 5-6 games of 07. Reminds me of when I bought NFL 2k5 and Madden 2005 for my Xbox and had two dynasties going at once. It does suck that you have to have a gold membership to get EA rosters. Heck, 2k7 already has a great roster out and it's free. Nothing from EA yet.. surprise!?

EF, how are your 2k7 skills coming? I'll be up for some games this weekend if you or RPI-Fan are up for it as I bought a month gold membership.

Didn't get to play much other than Tuesday night, but I should be playing quite a lot Friday and Saturday. Even if my skills aren't up to par, I'd be glad to play you. Hopefully, I won't be too weak of an opponent :)

[CraigSca]

yes

Ok, I'll play. Have you ever formed and then shared an opinion that was valued by the listener?

[MizzouRah]

You bought both games?

Have you ever completed a franchise any sports games you buy?

Seems like your dynasties don't last long.

You mean have the time to play 82+ games before the season is over and I'm onto another game and sport? Not many... If you are referring to my newest TCY dynasty.. I'm still enjoying the heck out of it, but I've been working 15 hour days and been on call all this week. I'll be playing the heck out of it this weekend.

With my job, I never know how much time I will have to play, so yes.. many have come up short. Doesn't bother me... it's life.

[ice4277]

For that matter, how the hell do you 'complete' a franchise?

[DanGarion]

For that matter, how the hell do you 'complete' a franchise?

I usually determine my job is done once my team can no longer financially compete because I've run them completely into the ground!

[Logan]

For that matter, how the hell do you 'complete' a franchise?

I think it's when you hire Art Shell and bring in Aaron Brooks.

Finished.

[DanGarion]

I think it's when you hire Art Shell and bring in Aaron Brooks.

Finished.
That's another option.

[TurnerONU22]

Right now, I'm in the middle of a franchise on NHL07 with the Blue Jackets. I play one game, sim three. That way, I play about 20 games and can get through seasons quickly, and then I'll play the entire playoffs.

While this game isn't perfect, I'm just having FUN with the game, one game I lost 1-0, and then the next one was crazy, I was down 1 with 3:00 to go (10 min periods, so its only like 90 seconds real time). I pull the goalie while I'm on the the PP, and promptly get scored on, so I'm down two. I manage to score on my next shot, and then score again with 2 seconds left, with an amazing wrister, to tie the game and send it to OT, where I get a quick breakaway, and Nash beats the goalie for the 6-5 win.

Each game feels like a different one, which is really neat, and the other great thing is that only a handful of my goals have been on one-timers, and most of them have been on 2-on-1 or breakaways, just like real life. Scoring top shelf, through the five hole, under the blocker, ect...is just fun. Now, if EA can only work on the defensive AI, this game would be perfect.

[MizzouRah]

Right now, I'm in the middle of a franchise on NHL07 with the Blue Jackets. I play one game, sim three. That way, I play about 20 games and can get through seasons quickly, and then I'll play the entire playoffs.

While this game isn't perfect, I'm just having FUN with the game, one game I lost 1-0, and then the next one was crazy, I was down 1 with 3:00 to go (10 min periods, so its only like 90 seconds real time). I pull the goalie while I'm on the the PP, and promptly get scored on, so I'm down two. I manage to score on my next shot, and then score again with 2 seconds left, with an amazing wrister, to tie the game and send it to OT, where I get a quick breakaway, and Nash beats the goalie for the 6-5 win.

Each game feels like a different one, which is really neat, and the other great thing is that only a handful of my goals have been on one-timers, and most of them have been on 2-on-1 or breakaways, just like real life. Scoring top shelf, through the five hole, under the blocker, ect...is just fun. Now, if EA can only work on the defensive AI, this game would be perfect.

What difficulty and settings are you using?

[TurnerONU22]

What difficulty and settings are you using?

When I get home, I'll post them, but its basically 10 min periods on Superstar mode, with speeds all the way down, shot power most of the way down, shot accuracy most of the way up, and a couple other tweaks. I use manual aim for my shooting as well. Last night, I played Detroit (and Hasek) twice in a row, and the first time, I ran him out of the game, and the 2nd, he shut me out. Very nice!

[Maple Leafs]

I usually determine my job is done once my team can no longer financially compete because I've run them completely into the ground!
Isiah?

[MizzouRah]

When I get home, I'll post them, but its basically 10 min periods on Superstar mode, with speeds all the way down, shot power most of the way down, shot accuracy most of the way up, and a couple other tweaks. I use manual aim for my shooting as well. Last night, I played Detroit (and Hasek) twice in a row, and the first time, I ran him out of the game, and the 2nd, he shut me out. Very nice!

SS level huh? Wow...

[MizzouRah]

Well, I've had a hockey game marathon this weekend so far. Playing 2k7 some and then 07 some.

If I had to choose just one game, it would be NHL 07. Don't get me wrong, I like them both for different reasons, but NHL 07 is just so much fun gameplay wise. Every game is different from the one previous played.

NHL 2k7:

1. Smooth framerate.
2. Franchise mode that's deep.
3. Presentation that's a tad better overall.
4. Dynamic camera that's perfect.

NHL 07:

1. Gameplay that is top notch
2. I like the reviews between intermissions much better
3. Player models and arenas that are better.
4. Ice camera isn't bad, but it's not 2k7's.
5. On default all-start with 10 min periods, plays almost perfect for me. I have 1-0 games and 6-5 games.
6. Variety of goals.
7. Goalies look almost real.
8. No speed burst (hello not having to hold the RT)
9. You can tell who's who player wise. Meaning, if Crosby is on a breakaway you'd better pray or take a penalty. If my backup goalie is in, I know it. If my top line is out, the other team knows it.
10. Again, variety of goals is OUTSTANDING!

I'm glad I purchased both games, but I've been playing NHL 07 so much more than 2k7 due to the fact the gameplay just draws me in. I love how easy it is to dump the puck, deke defensemen, etc... The game is just so much fun to play.

Final verdict: NHL 07 just plays a fun game of hockey without too many complicated joystick button presses. I find myself looking for the other teams great players when I play certain teams, I just don't do that in 2k7 as most teams seem the same. Good job by both developers, but EA did one heck of a job here for once.

I really "feel" like I've earned a W in NHL 07... and that's satisfying.

I would give NHL 2k7 an 8.5 and NHL 07 a 9.0.

[MizzouRah]

I'm available to play anyone with any game.

[MizzouRah]

dola,

Started a franchise (screw the roster update). I am 0-2 going into Anaheim (3 road games to start the season). I start off 1-0 on a beautiful put back by Dean McHammond. The Ducks score twice to go ahead 2-1. Ryan Johson wins a faceoff deep in the Blues end and uses his speed to get past the defense and complete the breakaway on the way to a spectacular goal and a tie to the game. I haven't felt this good about a goal in a long.. long.. time. Wow...

[MizzouRah]

dolax2,

Ended up losing 5-4 in OT. Now I'm 0-3 with loses, 3-2 - 4-3, and now 5-4. We'll see what the home opener will do for us.

[Mike Lowe]

Long bump...

I bought this game but didn't give it a ton of playing time until today. I wanted to check out the offseason after hearing some really good things about franchise mode. Very impressive. My question is about scouting:

When you get the list of players to scout for the draft (not sure if they are regional or international) the players have a rating on the far right of their profile. One number is for "NHL" and one is for "Minors". What are these ratings refering to? I was thinking an overall score but that's not the case. There is a defensive player who is projected as an 87 overall (as an 18 year old) with a 99 NHL rating and a 99 minors rating. There are other players though who are rated in the low 80's who have like a 9 rating for the minors.

Any ideas? I'm going to go start a new franchise right now...I'm thinking Blackhawks to restore some roar!

[Mike Lowe]

Can anyone tell me why my penalty sliders change as soon as the puck is about to drop? Is this some sort of variable thing for like rivalries etc?<!-- / message -->

[Pumpy Tudors]

Can anyone tell me why my penalty sliders change as soon as the puck is about to drop? Is this some sort of variable thing for like rivalries etc?<!-- / message -->
Which game are you referring to?

[dervack]

Any ideas? I'm going to go start a new franchise right now...I'm thinking Blackhawks to restore some roar!

Good luck with that

[Mike Lowe]

NHL 2k7. I ended up taking the Leafs.

[Maple Leafs]

NHL 2k7. I ended up taking the Leafs.
How does the "run every single move by the board of directors and pension fund trustees" feature work?

[Mike Lowe]

Ha, I turned that feature off. Hasn't seemed to be working in Toronto the past 40 years.