NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

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  • tyler289
    MVP
    • Jul 2006
    • 2933

    #61
    Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

    one thing i liked is that the CPU's goals were all legit and not the same BS from 08 (slot top-shelf, off crossbar stuff that was automatic).

    and also the CPU takes shots. No more 3-1 games with me having 50 shots and them having 10

    Comment

    • Qb
      All Star
      • Mar 2003
      • 8797

      #62
      Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

      Originally posted by kerosene31
      I don't mean to slam 09 either, although I guess I pretty much did.
      As long as what is posted is constructive/thoughtful/relevant, I don't see criticism as "bashing". The problems start when a good thing can't be said about one game without putting down the other, no matter which side is being praised/criticized. For example, a hypothetical unacceptable post:


      "I really love what ___ has done with the ______ this year. I think that this will really improve the play on the ice because __________________. Not to mention that ___ totally screws this up in their game, what a crap-fest that game will be! Long live _____!

      All it takes to make that a perfectly acceptable post is:

      "I really love what ___ has done with the ______ this year. I think that this will really improve the play on the ice because __________________.


      See what I mean? The point can easily be made without the second part... OK, enough of me already. I'm just aiming for preemptive strikes so that we can all enjoy the hockey gaming season no matter what game we prefer. Goodbye.
      Last edited by Qb; 09-04-2008, 01:00 PM.

      Comment

      • MC Fatigue
        Banned
        • Feb 2006
        • 4150

        #63
        Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

        One thing I'm not getting: Speed Burst.

        How do you do it? Because I looked in the control and it made it look like pressing down on he left analog stick does it, but nothing I do with the analog stick makes my player skate faster. No button I pressed seemed to.

        Comment

        • kerosene31
          Some say he...
          • Dec 2004
          • 1898

          #64
          Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

          Originally posted by Timmay
          One thing I'm not getting: Speed Burst.

          How do you do it?
          You don't. There has been no speed burst since 07 I think.
          Go Sabres!

          Comment

          • Gagnon39
            Windy City Sports Fan
            • Mar 2003
            • 8544

            #65
            Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

            Originally posted by Timmay
            One thing I'm not getting: Speed Burst.

            How do you do it? Because I looked in the control and it made it look like pressing down on he left analog stick does it, but nothing I do with the analog stick makes my player skate faster. No button I pressed seemed to.
            Speed burst is history. It was garbage anyway.
            All the Way, Again: A Chicago Cubs Franchise

            Streaming on Twitch
            https://www.twitch.tv/gagnon39

            Comment

            • kerosene31
              Some say he...
              • Dec 2004
              • 1898

              #66
              Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

              Originally posted by tyler289
              and also the CPU takes shots. No more 3-1 games with me having 50 shots and them having 10
              Yeah, last year the CPU could work the puck around the zone for ever, but 09 is better in this regard. They make plays, but don't work the puck around in the zone for 10 minutes at a time to set up 1 shot.

              Last year was kind of crazy with playing "keep-away" on both sides. 09 seems to have gotten rid of this completely, which is really nice.
              Go Sabres!

              Comment

              • mudtiger
                MVP
                • Jul 2002
                • 3223

                #67
                Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                Finally got some time with the demo last night, random thoughts most of which others have mentioned...

                Nice to finally get that 'awwww I almost scored' feeling on post shots because they are rare, not [sarcasm] 'wow, the 7th post shot of the period.'

                More off target shots. The net feels smaller because more pucks are shot off target, specially backhand shots. Hopefully this will keep shot totals at a realistic level on period lengths of around 10 minutes.

                I can feel the better players. I can tell when Malkin and Crosby are on the ice against me and I can tell when I've got Zetterberg. I can't wait to see how this plays out with longer period lengths where line management will hopefully be important.

                I kind of like the balance of off target/intercepted passes and completed passes. Sure there should be more bad passes but I think they balanced fun and realism rather well.

                Fighting is terrible. Worse than last year in my opinion.

                Comment

                • MC Fatigue
                  Banned
                  • Feb 2006
                  • 4150

                  #68
                  Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                  Originally posted by kerosene31
                  You don't. There has been no speed burst since 07 I think.
                  Why would they put it in the control options then? Oh well. Not a big deal, but I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working.

                  Also, I thought I heard people say that when they speed burst, the player pushes the puck ahead of them with one stick... Maybe that's 2k9, though.

                  Comment

                  • MizzouRah
                    All Star
                    • Jul 2002
                    • 8570

                    #69
                    Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                    I haven't had time to try this demo out yet... maybe tonight, job willing.

                    Comment

                    • mudtiger
                      MVP
                      • Jul 2002
                      • 3223

                      #70
                      Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                      Originally posted by Timmay
                      Why would they put it in the control options then? Oh well. Not a big deal, but I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working.

                      Also, I thought I heard people say that when they speed burst, the player pushes the puck ahead of them with one stick... Maybe that's 2k9, though.
                      Tap the right bumper. The skater will push the puck ahead and you'll skate a little faster.

                      Comment

                      • baa7
                        Banned
                        • Jul 2004
                        • 11691

                        #71
                        Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                        Originally posted by kerosene31
                        1) All the EA Sports annoying cheats and problems are still there:

                        The CPU cheats are still there (yes, the AI does cheat, and badly). While they can't skate any faster than you at top speed, they can accelerate, turn and do everything else a little faster. While the CPU players are already going the other way, you're still making this big circle on the ice. I mean, you can learn to play differently and win, but it feels wrong.

                        3) Puck magnet - on all-star, the puck "randomly" finds the CPU way more than it will find you. You poke the puck and somehow it sits at the CPU player's skates for a second then he carries on.

                        Overall: sorry to be so negative. It is better than 08, but a great hockey game? I'm not sure. I'm in the minority of those who were frustrated with all EA 08 sports games. Fifa, NHL, and Madden all had similar problems. The CPU feels cheap and the controls are clunky.
                        Thanks for pointing all that out. It's frustrating that EA's games are plagued by cheesy cheat programming -- NHL and FIFA that I'm aware of (I don't play Madden). I get around some of it by spending hours editing player ratings, but it doesn't fix stuff like the puck always finding CPU players. So it looks like another year of editing for me...
                        Last edited by baa7; 09-04-2008, 01:47 PM.

                        Comment

                        • RealmK
                          Banned
                          • Sep 2003
                          • 4198

                          #72
                          Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                          Originally posted by baa7
                          Thanks for pointing all that out. It's frustrating that EA's games are plagued by cheesy cheat programming -- NHL and FIFA that I'm aware of (I don't play Madden). I get around some of it by spending hours editing player ratings, but it doesn't fix stuff like the puck always finding CPU players. So it looks like another year of editing for me...
                          Please tell me we're not going to have another year of "EA's AI cheats because I don't want to play defense" posts. it got really old last year.

                          Comment

                          • Hutton
                            Banned
                            • Aug 2008
                            • 832

                            #73
                            Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                            I liked the demo a lot. Of course I didn't play much of NHL08 (always preferred the 2k series of hockey), but 09 is probably the best feeling sports game aside from Choops2k8 that I've played in a long time.

                            I really liked the addition of the dump ins, major component of hockey, & they actually worked logically. I would gain center ice, dump it, and watch my AI forecheckers actually attack the puck. And I didn't win possession every time either. It didn't feel cheesy at all.

                            I also love the addition of separate O & D line changes....this is only 10 years too late though....but nice nonetheless.

                            Graphically on ice it looks superior to NHL2k9 demo IMO. Not even close visually. That said, the camera angle is just slightly too far zoomed out IMO. Not a huge deal, but could be better.

                            The best part IMO was the off the puck play of my AI teammates. They actually moved around & created some pressure on the forecheck, and were useful in the defensive zone too.

                            I would like to see more errant passes, & mishandled passes by players, especially when on the move. Maybe the pass slider can fix that up?

                            The game did seem a bit too bright. The lighting at the Joe is a little more dim, but again that could be my TV settings (all games seem too bright IMO, in general...except for FIFA08 which was pitch black on my screen).

                            The overall feel of this was just tremendous. So much so that I had to sit back & wonder how the same company that makes Madden & NCAA could make this game. Incredible really.

                            Can't wait to get my hands on the real thing next week!

                            Comment

                            • RealmK
                              Banned
                              • Sep 2003
                              • 4198

                              #74
                              Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                              Originally posted by Hutton
                              I liked the demo a lot. Of course I didn't play much of NHL08 (always preferred the 2k series of hockey), but 09 is probably the best feeling sports game aside from Choops2k8 that I've played in a long time.

                              I really liked the addition of the dump ins, major component of hockey, & they actually worked logically. I would gain center ice, dump it, and watch my AI forecheckers actually attack the puck. And I didn't win possession every time either. It didn't feel cheesy at all.

                              I also love the addition of separate O & D line changes....this is only 10 years too late though....but nice nonetheless.

                              Graphically on ice it looks superior to NHL2k9 demo IMO. Not even close visually. That said, the camera angle is just slightly too far zoomed out IMO. Not a huge deal, but could be better.

                              The best part IMO was the off the puck play of my AI teammates. They actually moved around & created some pressure on the forecheck, and were useful in the defensive zone too.

                              I would like to see more errant passes, & mishandled passes by players, especially when on the move. Maybe the pass slider can fix that up?

                              The game did seem a bit too bright. The lighting at the Joe is a little more dim, but again that could be my TV settings (all games seem too bright IMO, in general...except for FIFA08 which was pitch black on my screen).

                              The overall feel of this was just tremendous. So much so that I had to sit back & wonder how the same company that makes Madden & NCAA could make this game. Incredible really.

                              Can't wait to get my hands on the real thing next week!
                              Keep in mind EA Vancouver does NHL and I believe Fifa as well, they are a completely seperate team than the NCAA & Madden guys down at Tiberon in Florida. And really out of all EA's various studios, they really seem to be paving the way when it comes to quality and actually listening to the fans and trying to get issues in the game fixed. Nothing against Ian and his team as I find Madden 09 pretty good too this year, but really the quality we've gotten on the NHL sku the last few iterations has been nothing short of fantastic imo.

                              Comment

                              • kerosene31
                                Some say he...
                                • Dec 2004
                                • 1898

                                #75
                                Re: NHL 09 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here

                                Originally posted by RealmK
                                Please tell me we're not going to have another year of "EA's AI cheats because I don't want to play defense" posts. it got really old last year.
                                Do you think that the AI doesn't cheat, or just not care? You can keep denying it and telling people they suck, but it doesn't make the cheating go away.

                                All sports game AI has to cheat somehow. Otherwise we'd all have perfect seasons offline.

                                The loose puck battle is the worst. People who played 08 have to have noticed it, unless you play on pro difficulty. I shouldn't have to poke check the same guy 3 times in a row to take the puck. All the other ones you can compensate for. Just because you can counter them, doesn't make them less annoying.

                                Although, they seem less drastic in 09. I have to play more games on all star, but it certainly still seems to be there. Loose puck battles are a huge part of the game, and when the CPU magically wins 80% of them, it feels cheap to me, even if you win the game.

                                It also gets worse when you start messing with sliders. Certain settings just won't impact the CPU players the same way they hinder the human player.
                                Go Sabres!

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