the money goal is going to be the one footed snap top shelf. the cpu even does it almost every chance it gets. malkin does it in the shootout every time and sir sid does it in the friggin defensive tutorial.
NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
				
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
Yea, I found out as Crosby I'm deadly in the slot with a snapper, the thing of it is though it's not just glove high its also the spot between his upper arm and lower leg when he goes into a certain save. But, if you are going to be playing it online then it should not be a problem as human players will know of this and the D-Men will stop it and the goalie will be a human. Also I did this on all star, maybe on the highest difficulty it won't happen as much.This is a referral link for Goallineblitz, a MMORPG football sim.
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Loving this so far, but I really hope they fix the goalie animation in the shootout where he sweeps the puck back into his own net. I've had Osgood do this 3 times already in only 5 shootouts, really frustrating when he makes the save but ends up putting it back in himself.Comment
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
This has already been fixed for the release version.Loving this so far, but I really hope they fix the goalie animation in the shootout where he sweeps the puck back into his own net. I've had Osgood do this 3 times already in only 5 shootouts, really frustrating when he makes the save but ends up putting it back in himself.
Unrelated: I think the most fun I've had in BAP so far was in the first few minutes of trying it out: I was Zett and just happened to make an all out run towards Crosby.
Knocked the poor guy out :PComment
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
downloaded the demo, played a few be a pro games as each team, and play now as just the wings (bc camera goes up lol)
def love the feel of the game. i assume these are on default pro,as,hof, settings.. the pace is very nice, a bit slowed down from last years default speed and IMO pretty spot on.
i love dumping the puck, man thats great lol..
pushing the puck is def a nice touch for a bit of speed burst.
one timers not connecting is GREAT
stick lifts are AWESOME
hitting seems toned down. although still to much of it going on, but whatev lol.
i see a CUSTOM controls option which is gonna be sweet. i always liked using classic controls in ea bc of going back and forth between both games, but with that said i missed out on a few controls like laying stick down etc. well it looks like this year i will be able to customize what i want.. wooo hooo
seen a lot of new goalie animations, Fleury and Divegood (hehe) played solid between the pipes.
man what i great year we have in store for us in the hockey game department..Twitch
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
I just got through playing the game and I have to say I was really impressed. Loved the BAP mode as well and think that was a great idea to include that in the demo.
I played the demo last year and just wasn't liking it for some reason. Not sure if I gave it enough of a chance or not, but this time it only took me one game to really get into playing it. I love the feel of using the stick for shooting. I just got back into playing hockey games I guess a year and a half ago or a little more. I played 2k last year and had a blast with it. I don't care about the companies as long as i have fun with what I buy and I did, but I think this might make me purchase this game.
I need to look into the franchise mode a bit because it always seemed people felt the 2k franchise was better. Anyway...not trying to turn this into a discussion about the two games. Just wanted to say that I enjoy the demo so much this year a long with the BAP mode that it looks to have hooked me.Last edited by Bruin26; 09-03-2008, 02:17 PM.Comment
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
i haven't found much use for the pokecheck so far. maybe it's one of those things you need to play a ton to figure out how to use. and also the cpu rarely makes stupid passes, so it's hard to tell how good it is or isn't at blocking passing lanes.Comment
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
In playing both sides (Crosby (ugh) and Zett), I've learned that I'm an absolutely terrible center, but a decent winger (which I wanted to play). I still didn't score before I had to go to work this morning, but I was able to nail two assists. Like someone mentioned earlier, you often feel like a defensive play or assist is as good as a goal.
Now, I don't know if it's as good as a goal - because I think contributing and causing the end result are two very different powerful feelings, but they feel great nonetheless.
I've never played hockey (outside of floor hockey in elementary school ages and ages ago) so actually paying attention to where I need to be, depending on where the rest of my team is, is something that I'm enjoying learning.Comment
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
is this better than the 2k hockey game? i need some serious info before i go and make this purchase.Oakland Athletics/Phillies
Celtics FAN/ Jazz supporter
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
Eh.. i'll make it quick
2k9 has deeper franchise mode, better sim (supposedly)
09 has better gameplay, better graphics, now BAP and online BAP
play the demos and decideComment
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
This is almost an impossible question to answer.
Both games do some things very well, and some not so well.
I believe that both are 'sim' games with flaws in different areas.
EA has more polish and I like their controls more while 2K has deeper and more customizable franchise options.
Both have excellent presentation qualities but I enjoy EA's commentary better.
Download both demos and give both a whirl. Play 10 games of each and then see which one feels better or is more fun for you.
It really does depends on how you like your hockey games to play. But both will give you a pretty good simulation of NHL hockey.Comment
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
BINGO!!
first 2 days of the demo, the only poke check i tried was just the simple one, where u just press the button. at first I was just ok with this mechanic and completely blew using the stick sweep poke check.
After more and more games, it feels great now, I'm a pokechecking machine especially with the stick sweep, even perfecting the art of deflecting passes by the stick sweep. You definitely need to practice with this. Another aspect people forget is the game speed and pass speed of the demo. Yes the default game speed is slower somewhat compared to last year's default game speed( used in demo), but it's STILL too fast. The pass speed is also way too fast. If you slow the game /pass speed down to more realistic levels, you will have more success in the pokecheck and sticksweep mechanisms. Certainly helped last year, should help even more this year.Comment
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Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here
Great stuff, Timmay! This is exactly what I'll be looking/hoping for once we all get some time with the actual game. I'd like to pull together some thoughtful and well-written mini-reviews like yours from our community to email to the EA community manager for him to pass along to the dev team after release. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it...
My thoughts exactly. I don't/can't mess with the BAP camera in FIFA, I just use the Tele cam.
There is no way to answer this question at this point. Unfortunately, you'll probably have to wait until both games are out for a week or so to get a better feel for what they have to offer. Also, with so much of it being subjective, others opinions may not necessarily tell the whole story...
*****
I only had about 45 minutes this morning before I left for work (and I was still late -- oops) but I managed to get in 1 regular game on All-Star and two BAP games on Pro. I haven't played 08 in a month or so, so I was rusty to say the least. I didn't have a feel for the new controls, so I can't really give any worthwhile impressions at this point. I'll probably give it a good run tonight, assuming the wife cooperates...
My first take is that the default settings are much more palatable this year. It still feels a little fast for my taste, but much better than 08 default. I may actually be able to stomach ranked games. Hitting power is overdone, but we know that can (and will) be toned down via sliders. Shooting seems better and I particularly enjoyed seeing some weak backhanded shots that would have been ripped last year.
I'm hesitant to comment on the AI & teammate positioning after such a short time, but my initial reaction was that my AI-controlled d-men still backed into the slot and gave away the blueline too easily. But that could be due to the strategy I was playing and what not; as I said, I only got a period of regular play in so who knows.
Be A Pro was fun; I played one as Crosby and one as Hank. I found that I'm the opposite of the previous poster who said he was better on the wing than at center. I did find some of the positioning arrows to be somewhat questionable in certain situations. I'd like to think that I know where to be on the ice and often it wasn't where the arrow was telling me. FWIW, I still earned an A- for that aspect. Oh and I didn't score aside from the shootout, but I hit the post two or three times. Man is going to feel good to finally score! I completely understand and agree with the idea of making a good play of any kind being more rewarding in BAP mode. On a side note, I often play as a DM in FIFA OTP and it is so great to score or set up a goal on my one or two chances that I get to contribute to the scoresheet...
Once I get more time, I'll try to give more in-depth thoughts. But at first blush, I'd have to agree that major steps were taken, although there may well be more that are needed. Until later,
SteveComment
 

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