[muzion]

Quote: Originally Posted by DarkFudge

People, maybe Im in the minority here but, I am a bit underwhelmed at the improvements made in NHL 10. I just got done playing the demo a few times now over and over and cant help but to think that certain additions were not implemented as well as I expected them to be: -The new puck physics are almost identical to last year....the puck doesnt flutter or flip or carom realistically especially when deflecting off of things. And when it does, it seems almost unnaturally forced to appear as if improvements were made. EA seen how NHL 2K9 set the bar for realistic puck physics, I dont know why they couldnt meet or exceed their efforts last year. - The new board play seems more like an addon module then a seamless infusion into the gameplay. And where is all the riding and checking up into the boards and roughhousing. I was expecting to see improved ragdoll effects of bodies colliding and interacting with each other on checks and hits into the boards. I just see 2 players suction into each other and free the puck up whenever this new board play is enacted. maybe thats the problem...it feels enacted rather than just part of the gameplay -The after the whistle scrummages are simplistic acts of robotic 3 stooges scenes with players artificially 'CLUNKing' and 'POWing' each other rather than having fluid shoves and pushes. They seemed added on and canned just for effect. It should flow more realistically. It looks a bit corny.....Most real life scrummages occur when a player gets too close to a Goalie after a whistle, then the team rallies around to protect him...I dont see this (yet?). -Face Off battles still are overly simplistic, lack a fight and struggle to gain possession and fall far short of the realism that NHL 2K9 implemented last year. Im sorry if this sounds negative but I really feel a bit let down that the gameplay feels almost identical to last year with the feeling of added gameplay modules rather than a more refined overall gameplay experience that built upon last years engine. The positive thing is that the gameplay last year was good....I just was hoping that NHL 10 would show me more....at this point the demo didnt deliver as much as I expected.

I took out some of your post but that's exactly how I feel about the demo, and I'm surprised after playing it more than 20 times hardly nobody seems to have picked up on its many faults.

lol at board play. Not once have I seen it occur more than once in a sequence... No sustained pressure. I played games with only the 3rd and 4th lines to see if things would change but they didn't. SMH at the CPU AI streaking down the wing, and my controlled player lining him up, but instead of checking him into the boards as I'd do last year, I press Y and the 2 players engage in a forced animation where there's a ''suction into each other''. So unrealistic. Oh and when you kick the puck with your skate it goes way too far, hence part of the reason why there's no sustained pressure.

Hardcore mode would have been great if you didn't have to load up your pass when attempting one. What a big mistake they made not making it pressure sensitive. Another issue I have is my AI teammates simply getting out of the way sometimes when I try to get it out the zone.

We're in 2010 and faceoffs in ball hockey are still more evolved... Ridiculous.

There is more randomness in terms of puck physics and when it deflects, but it doesn't feel natural. The puck always seems to go to a teammate or an opponent on hardcore mode. If the puck would, as in real life, deflect into the corners more often, there'd be more play along the boards, more battles, the physical aspect of the game would be better reflected, thus we'd have a more organic representation of hockey.