What are the major issues of the NHL series?

[geisterhome]

hey guys, i havent been playing any icehockey game since NHL 2003 or 2002. back then i was a huge fan of those hockey games even though they would probably suck in every aspect compared to today standards lol.
anyways i was thinking abt picking up this years edition of ea sports nhl series, meaning nhl 13.
now i read around a little bit here in the forum and it seems to me there is a considerable amount of issues which have been excisting for years and not much has been done abt it. one thing i got was the lack of original faces, another is the lack of presentation which is the same since 3 years or so. what exactly is wrong with it? and is it really just bad or ppl are only bored of it after being the same for so long.. little i got to know abt the rest, so what are the other issues?
btw for me it doesnt matter much if some things havent been changed for few years now since i havent played the prior editions, just saying since i read that ppl complained abt the lack of evolution.

[jyoung]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

The AI bugs me the most of anything. Specifically:

AI intelligence -- They are just too passive defensively. The CPU never stands up at the blue line, and generally lets the offense skate all over it with minimal resistance. The CPU also has a bad tendency of sagging back into the goal crease and completely ignoring offensive threats directly in front of them.

AI skating/puck handling -- The CPU skaters let themselves get pinned against the boards way too easily. Many times, the opportunity for a simple chip along the boards is there, but instead, the CPU holds the puck and allows itself to be pinned.

AI passing -- If you call for a pass from an AI player, it is usually terribly slow and off-target. Calling for a one timer from the CPU works maybe 1 time out of 15 to 20 attempts. In online teamplay, the CPU players only pass to each other and completely ignore all human teammates.

AI Shooting -- They struggle mightily to get shots on the net. Most of their shots miss the net wide or get blocked and stuck in traffic.

AI Goalies -- They give up way too many short side goals and are terrible at protecting the post. For some reason, they also like to pass the puck out through traffic after making a save, even if no one on your team calls for a pass.

[savoie2006]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

I think it you're thinking NHL 13, you're making a wise decision. It appears to fix alot of things that have plagued the game for years now. Of course I don't know that for sure yet, but I would still say NHL 13 is the best restarting point for you. Even if the learning curve will be a bit steep for you at first.

[13whitebread]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

One of my problems after using the sliders to call more penalties against the CPU it does not happen. After playing a season the power plays for and against are way too far apart. On the bright side NHL 13 directly addresses this saying they will be comparable this is certainly a good thing for the series for those of us who do not play online.

[Flamesfan102]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

The AI bugs me the most of anything. Specifically:

AI intelligence -- They are just too passive defensively. The CPU never stands up at the blue line, and generally lets the offense skate all over it with minimal resistance. The CPU also has a bad tendency of sagging back into the goal crease and completely ignoring offensive threats directly in front of them.

AI skating/puck handling -- The CPU skaters let themselves get pinned against the boards way too easily. Many times, the opportunity for a simple chip along the boards is there, but instead, the CPU holds the puck and allows itself to be pinned.

AI passing -- If you call for a pass from an AI player, it is usually terribly slow and off-target. Calling for a one timer from the CPU works maybe 1 time out of 15 to 20 attempts. In online teamplay, the CPU players only pass to each other and completely ignore all human teammates.

AI Shooting -- They struggle mightily to get shots on the net. Most of their shots miss the net wide or get blocked and stuck in traffic.

AI Goalies -- They give up way too many short side goals and are terrible at protecting the post. For some reason, they also like to pass the puck out through traffic after making a save, even if no one on your team calls for a pass.

And I'm pretty sure EA has covered all of that with Hockey IQ and the fact that they have spent more effort on AI this year than the last 3 years combined.

[Broncos86]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

And I'm pretty sure EA has covered all of that with Hockey IQ and the fact that they have spent more effort on AI this year than the last 3 years combined.

Here's hoping. I get tired of saying "Really, man?" to my team. Personally, I have more faith in EA Canada than Tiburon (which is on a "prove it" basis).

[bukktown]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

hey guys, i havent been playing any icehockey game since NHL 2003 or 2002. back then i was a huge fan of those hockey games even though they would probably suck in every aspect compared to today standards lol.
anyways i was thinking abt picking up this years edition of ea sports nhl series, meaning nhl 13.
now i read around a little bit here in the forum and it seems to me there is a considerable amount of issues which have been excisting for years and not much has been done abt it. one thing i got was the lack of original faces, another is the lack of presentation which is the same since 3 years or so. what exactly is wrong with it? and is it really just bad or ppl are only bored of it after being the same for so long.. little i got to know abt the rest, so what are the other issues?
btw for me it doesnt matter much if some things havent been changed for few years now since i havent played the prior editions, just saying since i read that ppl complained abt the lack of evolution.

The issues with the game won't bother you if you play mostly online or with friends.

If you play offline, as long as your understanding of hockey is between novice and intermediate you probably won't notice many issues.

If you are a puck head then you will notice all of the AI deficiencies that JYoung mentioned.

[wildthing2022000]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

My major issue which should be fixed with the new AI is that every team is the same in that the Devils will play like the Penguins who play like the Bruins who play like Team Canada and so on where the only difference in each game is the colors of the jerseys.

[Wingnatic]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

The AI bugs me the most of anything. Specifically:

AI intelligence -- They are just too passive defensively. The CPU never stands up at the blue line, and generally lets the offense skate all over it with minimal resistance. The CPU also has a bad tendency of sagging back into the goal crease and completely ignoring offensive threats directly in front of them.

AI skating/puck handling -- The CPU skaters let themselves get pinned against the boards way too easily. Many times, the opportunity for a simple chip along the boards is there, but instead, the CPU holds the puck and allows itself to be pinned.

AI passing -- If you call for a pass from an AI player, it is usually terribly slow and off-target. Calling for a one timer from the CPU works maybe 1 time out of 15 to 20 attempts. In online teamplay, the CPU players only pass to each other and completely ignore all human teammates.

AI Shooting -- They struggle mightily to get shots on the net. Most of their shots miss the net wide or get blocked and stuck in traffic.

AI Goalies -- They give up way too many short side goals and are terrible at protecting the post. For some reason, they also like to pass the puck out through traffic after making a save, even if no one on your team calls for a pass.

You nailed it. These things bug the crap out of me, to no end.

[canucksss]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

The AI bugs me the most of anything. Specifically:

AI intelligence -- They are just too passive defensively. The CPU never stands up at the blue line, and generally lets the offense skate all over it with minimal resistance. The CPU also has a bad tendency of sagging back into the goal crease and completely ignoring offensive threats directly in front of them.

AI skating/puck handling -- The CPU skaters let themselves get pinned against the boards way too easily. Many times, the opportunity for a simple chip along the boards is there, but instead, the CPU holds the puck and allows itself to be pinned.

AI passing -- If you call for a pass from an AI player, it is usually terribly slow and off-target. Calling for a one timer from the CPU works maybe 1 time out of 15 to 20 attempts. In online teamplay, the CPU players only pass to each other and completely ignore all human teammates.

AI Shooting -- They struggle mightily to get shots on the net. Most of their shots miss the net wide or get blocked and stuck in traffic.

AI Goalies -- They give up way too many short side goals and are terrible at protecting the post. For some reason, they also like to pass the puck out through traffic after making a save, even if no one on your team calls for a pass.

Excellent point.

if i may add:

AI Goalies - even my goalie will get out of position to get the puck without me telling him to pursue the puck.

another one is the way EA designed in changing players. i have to press the RT more than 3x to get to the right player i want to control and most of time its already late by the time i take hold of the player i want to control.

o yeah..how about the strategy that keeps on changing without your permission.

[savoie2006]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

The issues with the game won't bother you if you play mostly online or with friends.

If you play offline, as long as your understanding of hockey is between novice and intermediate you probably won't notice many issues.

If you are a puck head then you will notice all of the AI deficiencies that JYoung mentioned.

If you play with friends online, you're fine. Anyone else, there are plenty of issues online. Offline, it doesn't take a puckhead to realize the AI deficiencies. As I said though, If you're starting with NHL 13, I think you'll be ok.

[geisterhome]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

thanks so far guys! you really came up with many very interesting points. im not an hockey expert until now but i love to dig into sports which i didnt know that much abt before when getting a new game. so the chances ill turn myself into a hockey head at some in the next 12 months are not too low. :wink:

you guys mentioned a lot of things concerning the gameplay which is the most important for me. but i also read that the presention isnt the best part of the game.. is it true that they mostly have generic arenas which dont have much incommon with thier real life counterparts? and what abt cyberfaces? is the amount of generic ones really that high?

[jyoung]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

Team arenas are pretty generically built and not very true to life.

Player faces are not very accurate overall. There are a few good ones, but those are the exception. Pick your favorite team, and maybe 2 or 3 players on that team will end up looking right.

Commentary is solid if you haven't played the series much this generation, but it will sound extremely stale if you're played two or more EA NHL games since NHL 08.

The strength of the game lies in its online play. The fun factor goes up considerably as you remove bumbling AI players from the ice and replace them with human players.

6 vs. 6 with 12 human players is an awesome experience -- maybe the best in sports gaming right now. But the more AI dummies that are on the ice, the more of a drag the game becomes.

[johnnyrocks]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

Well I have very high hopes for NHL 13 this year.

They need to also work on Be a Pro mode as well, I think people will play this and if EA works on BAP, I think that they can attract some players to start their own player.

They should completely revamp the whole points section because it takes forever just to rank up and play, maybe something like NBA 2K12 is worth trying or like in FIFA 12 where you get a goal and you can get accomplishments.

Maybe then that will help, because I really want BAP to be vastly improved, alongside with Be a GM but I know they have be a gm covered.

[Vikes1]

Re: What are the major issues of the NHL series?

My biggest issue with NHL is [broken record] the ease of skating from end to end off-line vs the AI.

Skating up the wing is a free pass on nearly 100% of your rushes up ice, and then easily being able to gain the offensive zone, just isn't the way I see hockey being played at really any level.

I mean....going from your goal line to the AI's, is nearly always just a matter of holding the left stick forward. That imo...leaves a lot of real life hockey outta the video game.