NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360 & PS3)

[nyisles16]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

Fighting after the whistle.. nice..

[bcgudely]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

Just had a really cool sequence of events. The puck hit someone and was in the air in my zone, and my player batted it forward with his stick. This set up a breakaway for one of my forwards down the ice who was then blatantly tripped by a diving pokecheck.. PENALTY SHOT! In overtime... went backhand forehand, bam topshelf Stanley Cup Win!

[MizzouRah]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

so i'm getting the impression that, in spite of all the hype, this game has a number of holes in it and may have taken a few steps backwards in some areas (all the while understanding that this is a demo version). hope the developers are taking notice of the thoughts here...

I'll disagree.. I think it's taken great steps FORWARD. The game play is so much better than 09 imho.

CPU teammates do EVERYTHING they can in situations that never have me scratching my head.. on pro defaults I'm having so much fun.. I've already played this demo more than Madden 10 and NCAA 10..

[gbx34]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

The on ice graphics seem to have taken quite a hit. Maybe next year they can bump those up a lot.

I thought look almost the same.

Am i the only one who hate "sliders" to death. I mean if you have to mess with those then game is just not good.

I just don't like dealing with them.

[sroz39]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

Thinking about what Redshirt said about Hardcore and Normal passing online, it makes sense. Having played the demo some more with both settings, it seems that the passing on Normal is still flexible enough to differentiate between average passers and great passers. I'm going to have a blast being The Dishmaster!! Lol.

On another note, I'm beginning to get very worried that the board play is going to be over-used and exploited in OTP and Club games. I wanted to reserve judgement until release day, but after I tied up the CPU along the boards on any attempt they made of beating me wide, it seems it is a little too black/white without any grey area. If I take the wrong angle on the puck carrier, I shouldn't be able to pin him along the boards. But I magically magnetize to him and that's the end of his rush. Think suction blocking in Madden.

I hate bringing up POTENTIAL negatives in a game still three weeks away. Fact of the matter is, like I mentioned before, this game is leaps and bounds better than last year's, which didn't seem to have that much room to grow. I'm so happy with the game. It's really quite special and very easily The Show of hockey games, like some guys have mentioned. And truth be told, if the too-easy board pinning makes guys dump the puck more instead of going 1 on 3 all the time, all the better. It's by far the lesser of two evils. I just have my EASHL glasses on right now, that's all :wink:

[plaidchuck]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

Hey I had a question for those playing the demo about a feature not mentioned yet I believe. Shooting loose pucks without having possession. Anybody do it? I haven't seen it in any of the demo videos posted.

[Mr. Moustafa]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

Ha i just beat the crap out of sykora with datsyuk.

[onlybygrace]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

I meant more along the lines that you don't have to wind them up so to speak. Personally I'm fine with the passing, I figure with a few tweaks once we get the full version it'll be close to perfect. Honestly I have only one real complaint and thats with the cpu passing being still too tape to tape but again, thats something sliders will help to alleviate at the very least. The game feels like hockey, the board play implimentation is spot on, the puck physics are vastly improved and the AI does a fantastic job at bottling you up in your own end by playing good positional hockey through the neutral zone. Its no longer an end to end game by any stretch. I also love that its difficult to score, that I need to get a tender moving and out of position, or beat him on a rebound, deflection etc. But on the other end of the spectrum I still score clean goals be it slappers from the point, or a hard snap shot from the top of the circle that the tender misjudged etc.

I also love all the little neuances, hats being thrown on the ice for hat tricks. Guys swatting at pucks in the air or gloving them down. A player taking a solid hard hit, getting shaken up and slowly making his way back to the bench. Tenders being able to branch into animations to swat a puck away thats gotten behind them. That stars feel like alot more like star players and 3rd and 4th liners are able to do their jobs and grind it out or be a physical presence when appropiate. Varried penalties and having more animations for them, hooking calls for example don't always consist of a guy getting hauled down, sometimes its barely even a tug and it gets called, double minors, majors, coincidental calls etc. The fighting is growing on me as well.

For those guys that are complaining "oh its just like 09 I'm not impressed hurr hurr hurr" well what did you expect? The're continuing to build on what was already a solid foundation. The game isn't going to completely change every year just for the sake of looking different. The boardplay alone makes the game play so much more authentic, add that with all the other additions like precision passing, new tender AI and animations etc etc, and like someone mentioned earlier in the thread, yes NHL10 is the MLB The Show of hockey games as far as I'm concerned.

I agree with everything you said...especially if you play realistic hockey, the game just blossoms like a rose.

this game is like crack. SO MANY things done right its not even funny.

I mean for real.

My biggest concern (goal variety) is not an issue. The difference between the players is huge (Malkin Is A BEAST!!!).

And the physics and little nuances...I could go on and on and on...

EA...focus on presentation next year and then it'll be alllllllll goooood.

However, I'm lucky because I didn't play too much 09, so I'm one of the few who isn't burned out on the presentatiion.

[Scottdau]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

I agree with everything you said...especially if you play realistic hockey, the game just blossoms like a rose.

this game is like crack. SO MANY things done right its not even funny.

I mean for real.

My biggest concern (goal variety) is not an issue. The difference between the players is huge (Malkin Is A BEAST!!!).

And the physics and little nuances...I could go on and on and on...

EA...focus on presentation next year and then it'll be alllllllll goooood.

However, I'm lucky because I didn't play too much 09, so I'm one of the few who isn't burned out on the presentatiion.

I second that!

[onlybygrace]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

I cant complete a cross ice pass on hardcore. I love it!

I've played about 5 games and I have scored one goal on a rebound. Has anyone beaten the goalie clean?

Several times...

get him going side to side...take point shots...take shots he doesn't expect.

Play real hockey...really.

Goal variety is great...

[onlybygrace]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

I'll disagree.. I think it's taken great steps FORWARD. The game play is so much better than 09 imho.

CPU teammates do EVERYTHING they can in situations that never have me scratching my head.. on pro defaults I'm having so much fun.. I've already played this demo more than Madden 10 and NCAA 10..

Mkharsh

I returned NHL 09 after about a month...I can not for the life of me get over how good NHL 10 is...WITHOUT tweaks...

Don't be misled...there are a lot of blind guides around here.

[Spanky]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

Just downloaded the demo using a newly created gamertag from a different hotmail account, getting a free 30-day gold membership and not having to wait seven days for the silver account release.
I love sticking it to the man.
Anyway, one the great things is the huge amount of sliders and the separation of human and CPU sliders.

[onlybygrace]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

I thought look almost the same.

Am i the only one who hate "sliders" to death. I mean if you have to mess with those then game is just not good.

I just don't like dealing with them.

Thats too bad...

You are probably in a 97 percent to 3 percent minority.

[bcgudely]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

If you just blast a slapshot from the point, sometimes it'll just go in clean. I've had two or three point shots hit top shelf and beat him glove side when not screened. If you shoot when the goalie's screened, you can score pretty well too. That didn't really matter much in 09, but it does in 10.

Like onlybygrace said... move the puck around though. Get a cycle going, move the puck, get good opportunities.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: NHL 10 Demo Available, Post Impressions Here (360)

It may look kind of goofy, but in BAP, going up to someone after the whistle and giving them a face wash and then watching everyone start whacking at each other is oddly satisfying. It's a joy to know that I incited it and it gets me giggling like a moron.