I am burned out...

[Segagendude]

Re: I am burned out...

I agree with the OP......an 82 game season is long enough; what makes it seem even longer is the exact same commentary, arenas, opponents, etc....

After 15-20 games in, I already get that "same ole, same ole" feeling, and I'm not even at the halfway mark.

They gotta do something to keep every game fresh. Some great ideas are in the wishlist thread; unfortunately, most will never make it in..

As was said earlier, I'm afraid their main focus will be on EASHL and HUT from here on out.

[Fiddy]

Re: I am burned out...

if they could just add having the player types actually play like they should, beef up the presentation NBC style (logos etc), add an actual online franchise (like Madden at the very least), and let us use customize sliders in those online leagues and unranked games maybe we couldn't moan and groan as much. sure, some issues like their cheap goals etc would still be there but at least it would show some effort on their end for once since they came back in 07..

[DJ]

Re: I am burned out...

I second this.
Doesn't matter who you play or which players are on their team; every club and every player is the exact same. All of them have the same abilities as the next team/player.

For the first time in my hockey gaming life, I have absolutely zero interest in any news about NHL13. I know it'll be no different than NHL 08>>>>NHL12 - except some upgrades to HUT and EASHL.
I get the feeling that EA really doesn't care about the offline gamer anymore.

I quoted this post, but I agree with everything that has been posted here. I haven't touched NHL 12 in over a month, and really have no desire to. The points that have been brought up here are 100% true and are reasons why I stopped playing the game.

There is no discernable difference between 1st line and 4th line guys, especially when controlled by the CPU. There's really no immersion to Be A GM; you'll get a couple of lines of commentary about your record in the last 10 games, and a note about a streaking/slumping star, but that's about it. The stat overlays are still severely lacking, as are the replays (you get maybe 2 of those individual player packages a game).

We all know that penalties were pretty much wiped out of this year's game. Last time I looked at the stats, I had close to 100 fewer power-play opportunities as the next-closest team. What a joke.

The team intros are terribly bland and outside of a banner or scoreboard that you see in the beginning of the game, there is no difference between playing at a place like the Shark Tank or the Pepsi Center.

It's funny, I was just getting ready to post a thread about how I was getting ready to trade this game in (for MLB 2K12), and I found this thread. Admittedly, this was my first trip to the NHL forums in well over a month.

Like Money said, the offline gamer appears to not be of importance to the EA NHL crew. I am a hockey fan, but I won't continue to blindly support a game that isn't doing anything to meet my expectations of what a hockey video game should be.

[MizzouRah]

Re: I am burned out...

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one here.

In happier news, I beat the Sharks 6-3 in a great game with 2k10, 9 penalties in all and my top line scored 4 out of the 6 goals and had tons of pressure when they were on the ice.

In other words EA, we need some changes going forward in this series! An overhaul in gameplay is much overdue as well as the arenas and presentation.

[Vikes1]

Re: I am burned out...

I think this feeling mainly comes from a lack of difference in how the players/teams play.

Also, the fact that all the arenas feel the same.

Right on point, imo.

It would be great to see these imo too...weakness in the game truly addressed. I sure do get the feeling that throughout a GM season, that the games just pretty much blend together.

I'm still enjoying the game quite a bit, but no question....the team/player differential, needs to be better represented.

[CupCrazyManiac]

I absolutly agree!!!

with that said, its obvious we need another game on the market. anything!!



(not trying to turn this into 2k vs EA etc)



but this is why myself and TS still keep 2k10 alive and he does 2K8 as well.



yes, each game has its pros and cons, but what keeps me coming back to 2K10 is the player differential. is it perfect, by no means. but i can tell when im using a skilled player, playmaker, scorer, etc. compared to a grinder, power forward type. makes me think and play the game the right way.



again, not perfect, but IMO by now EA should have had this added 3 years ago. sure, they have the player types, but they obviously dont play like they should.



is it to much to ask to have the different player builds actually play different? man..

[Money99]

Re: I am burned out...

is it to much to ask to have the different player builds actually play different? man..

This has been my #1 gripe of this series for over 5 years now. My fingers have actually grown hoarse from typing out this complaint so often.
NHL07 was much, much better at handling this, but for whatever reason, EA threw it out the window for NHL08+.

Anyway, I really no longer care. I'm done wasting time and energy on a series that clearly doesn't give a crap about anyone who spends more time offline than on.

EA is all about micro-transactions so they'll only spend time tweaking EASHL and HUT.

The only thing I'm really looking forward to is seeing that first gameplay footage of the CPU doing those impossible skating moves we've all come to know and love.
When I see the CPU drive hard into the corner and then suddenly go into reverse, spin and turn up ice, without any loss of momentum or speed, WHILE controlling the puck, I'm going to laugh my head off and skip this game for another year.

What bums me out is that NHL07 had SO much potential. It felt it was going in the right direction. It was being compared to PES because of all the little things it did well and the player separation was so on-point.
But NHL08 was a sign of things to come and now we're on NHL12 where the same issues have plagued this series for years and years.

I'm just grateful there have been other sports games to gain my interest during this time. I haven't really missed EA's NHL series whatsoever.

[BlueNGold]

Re: I am burned out...

I'm definitely burned out as well. This game needs a kick in the *** in a major way.

People who haven't played or casually play this game have it up there with the likes of NBA 2K, The Show, and FIFA as one of the best sports games available, but at this point it honestly isn't. In it's current state it's not as good as those three games above, but not as bad as Madden/NCAA. It's just right in the middle of nowhere to be honest.

Last year was a big disappointment. I played through an entire regular season and playoffs for the first ever and had some fun initially, but after awhile the issues like the player differential, skating, lack of penalties, and pass reception being broken got to be too much.

I actually just tried playing a game last week because I needed a hockey fix watching the playoffs but ended up turning it off halfway through. It just didn't resemble what I was watching earlier that night with the actual playoff games. And I know we're not going to get a 100% realistic recreation of hockey in a video game, but this series needs to resemble hockey a lot more than it currently does. There's such a lack of the grittiness of hockey because just about every pass is a perfect one, every player skates perfectly, Patrick Kane can lay out Zdeno Chara, and on and on.

Something else I'm tired of is hearing every year how the presentation is "finally" improved and resembles TV broadcasts when it really doesn't even come close. Honestly presentation isn't that big of a deal to me because I'll always take great gameplay and a solid franchise mode before it, but it's becoming a joke how bland and repetitive the presentation has become in this game. Not to mention you still have Gary Thorne mispronouncing so many of the player names.

All of this isn't to say the game is awful. There were good additions this past year like the changes to Be A Pro and some of the gameplay tweaks like the goalie play and slapshot wind-ups actually separating from the puck, but there were just so many missteps and lack of improvements to areas that have needed it for years now. I really hope they go all out this year and make the changes that are needed because this series is really starting to stumble.

[CupCrazyManiac]

This has been my #1 gripe of this series for over 5 years now. My fingers have actually grown hoarse from typing out this complaint so often.

NHL07 was much, much better at handling this, but for whatever reason, EA threw it out the window for NHL08+.



Anyway, I really no longer care. I'm done wasting time and energy on a series that clearly doesn't give a crap about anyone who spends more time offline than on.



EA is all about micro-transactions so they'll only spend time tweaking EASHL and HUT.



The only thing I'm really looking forward to is seeing that first gameplay footage of the CPU doing those impossible skating moves we've all come to know and love.

When I see the CPU drive hard into the corner and then suddenly go into reverse, spin and turn up ice, without any loss of momentum or speed, WHILE controlling the puck, I'm going to laugh my head off and skip this game for another year.



What bums me out is that NHL07 had SO much potential. It felt it was going in the right direction. It was being compared to PES because of all the little things it did well and the player separation was so on-point.

But NHL08 was a sign of things to come and now we're on NHL12 where the same issues have plagued this series for years and years.



I'm just grateful there have been other sports games to gain my interest during this time. I haven't really missed EA's NHL series whatsoever.

Well said money. I cant agree more!!!

[canucksss]

Re: I am burned out...

im just curious... by september how many of us who lodged these valid complaints will be duped by EA into buying NHL 13? how many of us will be wooed to buy another product of NHL series? all of us loved to play a great video game of the sport we dearly love. hopefully (with certain % of doubt because its EA ) NHL 13 will be a much improved game. Or at least have someone develop another NHL game

[Money99]

Re: I am burned out...

im just curious... by september how many of us who lodged these valid complaints will be duped by EA into buying NHL 13? how many of us will be wooed to buy another product of NHL series? all of us loved to play a great video game of the sport we dearly love. hopefully (with certain % of doubt because its EA ) NHL 13 will be a much improved game. Or at least have someone develop another NHL game

I'm sure some will be overcome by their love of the sport and dive in.
But I bet a number of people voicing their complaints stay away.

If it weren't for a great deal I found last year (brand new copy for $40) I wouldn't have bought NHL12. I played it for 3 days, then sold it on Ebay for $45.

Unless a similar deal comes along where I get paid to try it, I won't be buying NHL13.

I'm not going to give EA another chance until the next-gen consoles.
The current engine is set in stone so nobody should be expecting a big improvement in gameplay - just another roster update, a few tweaks and a couple new features (like goalie masks falling off during a scrum).

But I'm looking forward to NHL14 on the 720/PS4.
It'll be a stripped down version with no franchise mode, no BAP, no goalie fights, no glass breaking, no broken sticks,...etc, etc.
That way when NHL15 comes along they can say "Never been seen before; Broken Sticks!!"
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

[Vikes1]

Re: I am burned out...

There's such a lack of the grittiness of hockey because just about every pass is a perfect one, every player skates perfectly, Patrick Kane can lay out Zdeno Chara, and on and on.

This, this, and this.

Myself...I can kinda understand the game playing like this[like it does now] on default settings. [off-line] But say on the "Hardcore" setting, the game should much better represent hockey as it's really played. Which I totally agree BNG...is a very "gritty" game. Not up and down, back and forth which is what we currently have.

Imo...if the AI overall just was far closer checking, with more realistic pass accuracy...this would be a big step in the right direction for those of us who crave a more sim type of play. You wouldn't think this would be very difficult to achieve. I hope one day soon we'll see it.

[MizzouRah]

Re: I am burned out...

I'm trying to remember.. wasn't NHL 09 on of the best versions since the skill stick was introduced in NHL 07? I believe that's when BAP was also introduced?

It just seems to me like the game should be a lot farther along since NHL 07.. call me crazy.

[Money99]

Re: I am burned out...

I'm trying to remember.. wasn't NHL 09 on of the best versions since the skill stick was introduced in NHL 07? I believe that's when BAP was also introduced?

It just seems to me like the game should be a lot farther along since NHL 07.. call me crazy.

You're not crazy. NHL12 is what NHL09 should have been.
The advancement of this series has been very slow. I can understand if the game was near perfection (eg, The Show), but there are so many issues with the basic gameplay of this series, that there's no excuse for some of the stuff we're still seeing.

[GiantYankee]

Re: I am burned out...

I feel the same way here. I play the game just for fun.

For lack of a better description, I'm not a 12 year old kid, who can sit and play video games for 6-8 hours a day and learn to master every single element of the game.

For me, if I get 30 minutes to an hour of game play a day, that's a luxury, so I just want to relax and enjoy playing, and for me, that's where offline play excels. Just playing for yourself with no pressure to be the best. (Sounds like some after school special moment.)

I really agree with this post. I'm lucky if I can get an hr or two to play videogames these days. I don't have the desire or interest to spend hours trying sliders and tweaking gameplay to get a fun experience.

Great thread fellas. I'm a casual hockey fan that is following the playoffs or I should say the Rangers hard. I remember purchasing NHL09 and 10 and initially having alot of fun (especially create-a team) but getting bored after 20-30 games. I actually almost bought the game today but stopped myself and said let me read what the OS NhLers have to say. Really glad that I did.
In general I have the bored feeling with most sports titles. Thanks for the great insight.