NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360, PS3)

[RealmK]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

I was able to get one CHI/PHI game in before leaving for work today. It felt very similar to what we played at the community event, minus some of the goofier stuff we saw due to the early build we had. I'll see if I can get J to give an estimate on how close this is to retail. Remember, even if this is the final code or close to it (highly unlikely), they can make tuner adjustments based on demo feedback, so please keep it coming...

I'm glad you guys are able to see things like the CPU AI and subtle tweaks to the skating, as well as the obvious big ticket items like physics, faceoffs, and broken sticks. I played my only period on All-Star hardcore and the CPU was all over me. Not much time to carry the puck and I had to make quick decisions... which is a good thing, of course! I scored the only goal, a slapper by Hjmarlssonsolsjson () over the shoulder of Leighton through a two-man screen.

I saw the CPU cycle from the halfboards to the corner & behind the net, not constant wing to D passes. The CPU also seems more focused on getting to "the house", which is something Redshirt & I talked about at the event after Jim Playfair's coaching session. Looks promising thus far...

Did anyone talk a few minutes to check out the sliders? Did anyone notice a few of the new ones? How about the one for pass reception ability? Or CPU strategy adjustment?


PS - I feel like a free man! Now if I could only talk about GM mode...

I did notice the slider for CPU strat adjustment, good to see more sliders to tweak the gameplay. BTW QB the cat is out of the bag, the demo mentions online BAGM, so if thats the info you were holding back, no need to anymore.

Love the CPU AI though, they move the puck so much better compared to 10, I don't know what happened in that department last year but its so much better now. Combine that with the physics and just the overall feel and I have a feeling people won't have much to complain about this year gameplay wise.

[crobert0247]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

I absolutely love the demo. There are a lot of things in there that will make the wait for the game a little easier. A few things that really stand out so far:

- Breaking sticks off slap shots. It feels awesome and the sound of sticks shattering is excellent.
- The new physics engine is fantastic and makes hitting more authentic and more fun. Long gone are the days of the canned hit animations!
- Your momentum and skating direction really impact your hits just like in real life.
-The face off system works great, although I have yet to master it.
- After the whistle play has been paced down a tad and is not as chaotic as NHL 10. Players skate casually and turn slowly like in a real NHL break in play.
- The user celebrations are better than I was expecting. Very fun to pull off.
- 5 player goal celebrations is such a relief. It goes a long way. :wink:
- The ice looks so much better than in NHL 10.

The only con so far has been that the goalies have let some routine shots from 25-30 feet handcuff them and trickle in awkwardly.

[Money99]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

I did notice the slider for CPU strat adjustment, good to see more sliders to tweak the gameplay. BTW QB the cat is out of the bag, the demo mentions online BAGM, so if thats the info you were holding back, no need to anymore.

Love the CPU AI though, they move the puck so much better compared to 10, I don't know what happened in that department last year but its so much better now. Combine that with the physics and just the overall feel and I have a feeling people won't have much to complain about this year gameplay wise.

Great news Realm! Thanks for the impressions.
And if there's an online BaGM then my only issue is what version to buy?
Most of my friends who play this game own a PS3. But I like the 360 controller and XBL better.
What to do, what to do!

[crobert0247]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

Oh, the pressure sensitive passing is excellent too. Love it.

[BigDisk]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

No improvements in the presentation since NHL 07. The intermission reports, cut scenes etc are still the same. And in 2010, we still don't have the correct amount of playes in the bench.

I know that these are small things, but they should improve this old game engine. They must have enough time to update the presentation, arenas, correct amount of referees etc.

I love the gameplay, but the same old presentation with the same old cut scenes year after year is just plain boring.

I'm glad they focus on core gameplay and leave those presentation issues at rest. Just my opinion though!!

But yeah, I guess putting 1 or 2 resources on presentation wouldn't really prevent them from improving the general gameplay.

Can't wait to try the demo!


And I really hope they improved the UI and matchmaking. EA needs to take a few notes from Blizzard and how awesome Battle.net is.

[RealmK]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

Great news Realm! Thanks for the impressions.
And if there's an online BaGM then my only issue is what version to buy?
Most of my friends who play this game own a PS3. But I like the 360 controller and XBL better.
What to do, what to do!

I'll be on PS3 this year hint hint. What really gets me excited though is if this is year one of the physics implimentation and its better than I expected. I can't even begin to imagine how good the game is going to be over the next couple years.

[ddhex27]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

+Skating feels a lot less floaty, players actually seem to have weight.
+Checking feels awesome
+More rebounds and puck scrums in front of the net
+CPU AI MUCH improved and balanced on the offensive end

-Stale presentation
-Not much work done to the goalies (animations/masks etc)

[StormJH1]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

I got to play it for about 10-15 minutes before work. To me, it looks pretty similar to NHL 10, but it was still fun. I gave up on NHL 10 much earlier than I did with 08 and 09 because I got frustrated with the new dynasty mode and some of the tic-tac-toe passing in the gameplay. I felt like the A.I. was one of the worst things about NHL 10, so I'll be curious to see if that's better.

Other than that, there were a few new cutscenes and presentation elements, but also tons of things that looked the same as NHL 08-10. I love the work the NHL team does on this game, but for a game that I probably put 100-125 hours into for '08 and 75-100 for '09, nobody is going to be motivated to play NHL 11 for that long because of broken sticks.

Even though NHL 10 added board pinning, I still felt like there was a bigger jump from NHL 08 to 09 in A.I. and getting a rid of a lot of the cheeser A.I. plays. I'll need more time with the demo to see if anything significant has changed, but I'm probably a first day buyer.

[18 eighty 5]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

A couple more things.

The pre game inside arena shots look sensational and there is a new cutscene of the team skating on the ice which is zoomed out so you can see the opposition at their end skating.

Boardplay is much smoother and improved. You can actually say that the game has a more organic feel with scrappy turnovers making their way into the board battles as players fight to gain control of the puck. I just had a scrap session where the puck was turned over about 4 times within a small zone just inside my attacking blue line near the left hand side boards. Felt smooth and look great. And no irritating tripping penalties from poke checks and stick lifts to break it up. Really adds to the feeling of intensity and toughness out on the ice.

I would have to say that the demo is still not massively scrappy but its the best it has been. I think though that upping the speed may make up for this and playing with difficulty and slider settings will probably help too.

The skating is smoother, its nothing major but is obviously a refined job over previous years. It feels tighter and the players seem heavier on their skates. That silly animation from last year when the play stopped and you could make your player skate off from a standing position and his legs would kick about madly like it was his first time on ice trying to get his balance has gone.

Defending seems smoother and players are not sucked out of position from what I have seen.

Interesting point to note: I just used Hossa to stick lift an oponent and it broke the opponents stick. One troubling thing though was that it happened in my offensive zone and when the stick broke the cpu forgot about the puck and skated off to get a new stick. However, the puck was loose and Hossa did not have possession. Was cool to see the player heading for the bench but strange to seem him stop defending.

Have noticed variety in goals, no two have been the same in any of my games so far and none of them really resemble the same old shots from last year.

For anyone wondering, the broadcast camera is similar to last year, not like 2k's broadcast but it does seem better than last years. The view remains nice and wide and players don't shrink in size at the far ends of the angle. Unless my eyes are lying I don't think this is the same camera angle but it is not a huge change. Plus, I heard that we can customise camera angles so that will be great if it is so.

Lastly, hitting is excellent. The best in a hockey game. Feels natural, looks great and really adds to the experience. I don't think video can do it justice. You really have to play the game to notice the changes. I for one was not really that excited by the new physics engine showing off how hits are improved. From those clips it is just too hard to get an appreciation for the changes. It just looked like another set of canned animations. But to pay the game in person and see the hits and feel them through the controller, it is a world of difference from hockey iterations past.

[StormJH1]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

One thing I wish they would have looked at is the skating speed and the "auto-turbo" effect that you're starting to see in Madden and NCAA Football. While I'm aware that NHL was the first series to get arid of turbo (with the exception of the "push the puck farther ahead" left trigger button), I still feel like players don't have any sense of urgency or speed rush when they turn or corner or are in the open ice.

Guys pretty much skate one of two speeds: "on" or "off". I don't want an artificial turbo button, but I do want guys to move more quickly when they get a clear lane. And I want the more skilled skaters to get to their top speed more easily when they're in traffic than the less skilled skaters.

I think that simple change could do a lot to solve the unquestioned #1 problem with this franchise, which is the complaint that all the players feel roughly the same. If they paid more attention under the hood to how star players performed versus scrub players when you tell them to skate or shoot, they could be more realistic (and more diversified) in their ratings, rather than having to lie and say that someone like Darren Helm (of the Red Wings) has speed in the mid-80's, when he's probably one of the two or three fastest skaters in the NHL. You can't make 4th line player a 99 speed in this game, or he'd score 40 goals every year.

[MizzouRah]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

Wow.. when do I get my retail copy?

It just feels like a real NHL game now, the players alone have weight to them and player skill separation is definitely there. The physics engine is great.. add broken sticks, hits that knock sticks out of hands, some new goalie animations, new faceoff engine, goal reveiws, etc.. etc..

When Chicago scored against me, they played their goal horn (which was not in 10) and had the spotlight on the goal scorer and chanted the owww waoooo song - was that in 10?

I'm VERY excited yet again this year and can't wait to skate with my Blues!

[crobert0247]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

Anyone notice that the protect puck button(A) has been given some treatment? There is actual skating with this feature and not just the curl and hold arm out from previous years.

[Fiddy]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

i really like how the game speed was slowed down a bit.

the strategy you set at the edit line screen finally work again. no need to change them in game anymore.

nice to see the cpu players actually make moves and dekes to get passed ya.

also cool to see them dump the puck in and go get it, as well as dumping to get a line change.

slash button is gone, thank god!!

post whistle is solid now, no mortal kombat fights going on..

sigh, top of circle wrist shots go in at the same rate as in nhl 10.. top shelf, boom, back of the net.. so easy. i wish they would fix this.

they took out the attribute slider. the one that makes skilled players stand out more.

same stupid fake slap shot backhand or forehand is still money on a breakaway. as is the deke to backhand and then release deke to forehand wrist shot..

sigh.

the Ultimate Team will get some playing time from me, just bc its something different.

[StormJH1]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

A couple more things.

The pre game inside arena shots look sensational and there is a new cutscene of the team skating on the ice which is zoomed out so you can see the opposition at their end skating.

Boardplay is much smoother and improved. You can actually say that the game has a more organic feel with scrappy turnovers making their way into the board battles as players fight to gain control of the puck. I just had a scrap session where the puck was turned over about 4 times within a small zone just inside my attacking blue line near the left hand side boards. Felt smooth and look great. And no irritating tripping penalties from poke checks and stick lifts to break it up. Really adds to the feeling of intensity and toughness out on the ice.

I would have to say that the demo is still not massively scrappy but its the best it has been. I think though that upping the speed may make up for this and playing with difficulty and slider settings will probably help too.

The skating is smoother, its nothing major but is obviously a refined job over previous years. It feels tighter and the players seem heavier on their skates. That silly animation from last year when the play stopped and you could make your player skate off from a standing position and his legs would kick about madly like it was his first time on ice trying to get his balance has gone.

Defending seems smoother and players are not sucked out of position from what I have seen.

Interesting point to note: I just used Hossa to stick lift an oponent and it broke the opponents stick. One troubling thing though was that it happened in my offensive zone and when the stick broke the cpu forgot about the puck and skated off to get a new stick. However, the puck was loose and Hossa did not have possession. Was cool to see the player heading for the bench but strange to seem him stop defending.

Have noticed variety in goals, no two have been the same in any of my games so far and none of them really resemble the same old shots from last year.

For anyone wondering, the broadcast camera is similar to last year, not like 2k's broadcast but it does seem better than last years. The view remains nice and wide and players don't shrink in size at the far ends of the angle. Unless my eyes are lying I don't think this is the same camera angle but it is not a huge change. Plus, I heard that we can customise camera angles so that will be great if it is so.

Lastly, hitting is excellent. The best in a hockey game. Feels natural, looks great and really adds to the experience. I don't think video can do it justice. You really have to play the game to notice the changes. I for one was not really that excited by the new physics engine showing off how hits are improved. From those clips it is just too hard to get an appreciation for the changes. It just looked like another set of canned animations. But to pay the game in person and see the hits and feel them through the controller, it is a world of difference from hockey iterations past.

This was a helpful recap--I will watch for all of these things when I have more time to play later. Agreed on the hitting and board play, too...I don't see any brand new physics engine on there, but it may be that they added some more animations and paid more close attention to what should be happening when two players meet up at a certain speed/angle.

Also liked your "scrappiness" description--that's how the real NHL is. Playing NHL 10 could get very frustrating (especially against another human opponent who knows how to shield the puck) because the poke check seemed pretty worthless for anything other than taking tripping penalties.

There's really 3 moves you have as an NHL defender: body check, poke check/stick lift, and contain by playing the man. Checking has always been an option and they've been careful not to let it become too overpowered. Stick checking and poking have improved since NHL 08, but the game still treats these as "aggressive" risk/reward moves that either knock the puck away completely or result in a penalty if you trip the guy. Where is the third option, which is simply to skate with the guy and body him lightly to prevent him from getting around you? NBA 2k has had this for several years in their "lock-on" LT button. In other words, they figured that there had to be a way to assist people with playing defense because it was simply too hard to stay aligned with a ballhandler at all times. I'll be checking the NHL 11 demo to see how many options you have as a defender.

[m-dogg]

Re: NHL 11 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360)

A couple more things.

Interesting point to note: I just used Hossa to stick lift an oponent and it broke the opponents stick. One troubling thing though was that it happened in my offensive zone and when the stick broke the cpu forgot about the puck and skated off to get a new stick. However, the puck was loose and Hossa did not have possession. Was cool to see the player heading for the bench but strange to seem him stop defending.

.

uh-oh, no penalty for breaking his stick? I am really worried about all those midgets constantly trying to stick lift me in EASHL and breaking my stick while they magicly get the puck...bad enough you are frozen in that animation after you get stick lifted, now they can break your stick too and not get penalized?