NHL 11 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)As I play more of the game, I'll have a more detailed review. As things stand now, if you want to play a hockey game, you've got no where else to turn, so in a way any review is a waste. However, if you are on the fence, this review will help determine which side you want to jump on.
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Update: 3/31/11
I've been playing season mode a lot, since I don't have internet currently, and I want to say this: the computer cheats.
I'm playing superstar, and there is a huge double standard that has caused my controller to get tossed more than 10 times. For example, if I knock the computer off the puck, it's irrelevant, as he'll get back to the puck 80% of the time (unless I knock him down, and then he's prone to flailing on the ice and sometimes knocking the puck away). The other way around, if he hits me, I can rarely get back to the puck; he nearly always beats me to it or he's got support to take the puck. You can't have it both ways. Also, the computer is awesome at skating through my body when I dive. It's really amazing, as if I'm not even there. And the computer also likes to poke check through my body too, so even when I think I have positioning, it's irrelevant, because he's got magic powers.
Finally, the goalies are not made equal. My goalie seems to let in really, really pathetic goals, whereas the computer makes ridiculous saves.
I want this game to be difficult on it's highest setting, but this isn't difficult, it's cheating. If I have 2 steps on someone to a loose puck, and I'm using speed burst, they should not be able to out race me 9 times out of 10 (as the 'hawks, Kane and Campbell seem to be able to skate as fast as Wade Brookbank. Sure, sure). I know you can edit the settings to make the superstars stand out, but why is that even a feature? Why bother rating the players if Daniel Winnick is going to score a hat trick on me?
Anyway, thanks for playing unfair computer.
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BE A PRO MODE:
The problems with Be A Pro mode that have been in previous NHL's is still there. Your AI teammates are useless. Their passes are garbage (sometimes they will ignore your passing request), they will lose nearly every board battle, are super good at turning the puck over, and the D will completely abandon the crease.
Essentially, Be A Pro mode will involve you playing 1 on 5. And why would you want to bother with that? Let's move on to the part of the NHL series which just keeps getting worse.
UNLOCKABLES:
For the EASHL (this is where you play as your own character) you either have to pay to improve your character or play a ton of games to do so. A lot of the unlockables involve playing 40+ games of Be a Pro, the major problem being that it's a nearly unbearable experience.
So, you will have to pay one way or another, either with money or with a lot of your time (and sanity). This is a problem, not just from a greed stand point, but in that players will always be artificially good. Everyone should be the same, and whoever is the better player should be the standard, not whoever spent more MS points than you.
HUT (New Addition, Needs Deletion):
I find Hockey Ultimate Team to be a gigantic waste. I have played 2 games online, only to unlock something for my EASHL player. Why would I want to play another game where the player I'm up against can just buy better players? Why would I want to play a game where my players are rated so low they can't make a pass, poke check, or skate?
NEW GAME = NEW ERRORS
The checking in this game with the "new" physics engine is cartoonish. I've been checked from behind on the rush and have gone flying. I've hit someone with a tip of my elbow and they are tossed ragdoll-style in the opposite direction.
Outside of that, goalies currently have a proclivity for pushing the puck in their own net. They will make a butterfly save and then proceed to bat the puck in the net. What a joke.
And again, the AI can stick lift you even when you are in front of them. If you even try to do that, you will get 2 minutes.
One funny addition to the EASHL is 10 minute majors. If your friend gets one, it's a riot b/c he's out of the game. However, for online team play, this means a computer team mate for the rest of the game (everyone usually quits, anyway), which can be a nuisance. So, Im unsure if I like this new penalty.
Summation:
Again, what choice do you have if you want to play a hockey game? As time goes on, I'll add to the review. It can be a very fun to play, but the mistakes in the game will also cause a lot of frustration as they are so incredibly stupid. Is is worth the agitation to you?
UPDATE -
Since the last tuner update, the goalies have become horrible. I've seen them get beat on simple, unscreened wrist shots, and on a 2 on 1 the goalie completely ignored the shooter, leaving the entire left side open (assuming a pass). Just great, EA.
Also, the Online Team Play rooms are still buggy (although it appears they finally learned to count -- it was Online Team Play Room #1, Online Team Play Room #1, and Online Team Play Room #1 as available rooms instead of 1,2,3). In NHL 10, the Xbox 360 would just freeze at random spots. So far, there's two spots where it will freeze, one of which is loading the game room in online team play. I was gently hoping that since EA now requires you to have a passcode to play online, that that would mean less problems.
Um, nope.
Finally, passing, while I'm sure I still need more time to get use to it, it definitely still needs refinement. It should not be THAT hard to send a pass and to receive one. And while I understand cross creases need to be toned down, some of the interceptions by the CPU are ridiculous.

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NHL 2K9 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First let me say that unlike the football series I am glad to see two companies trying for our sales dollars as this competition makes for better games.
Graphics: Superb. 2K8 looked great but improvements for 2K9 are visable. In particular the screen views are more intuitive -for example if you are playing by the boards you will get a closer view of the action. Most of the animations are very simliar to 2K8. In-game highlight reels are a nice addition as well.
Controls: Some complaints were made about the complexity of the controls in 2K8 and there have been some changes to make the game more accessible to newer players which uses less of top controls and more of the face controls. For those who got used to the controls in the prior year, they do make them still available in the options. On the fly coaching is still part of the game.
Gameplay: The game modes are the same as last year in terms of the non-live play including standard quick games, franchise and season modes. Live play has some additional features including: managing your team from a web-site, doing a live draft and trades. As with most sports games live roster updates are available. The play is very similiar to prior year although it feels more smoother.
All in all a great game that should be fun for newcomers and veterans and in my opinion is a better series than the EA sports hockey games.

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2K Sports has brought the fun back to hockey video games with an intuitive control scheme and hard-hitting action. NHL 2K9 brings a totally rebuilt NHL experience to life with a brand-new in-game presentation system, as well as fresh player animations and controls that you will enjoy from the moment you play your first game, until well after you become a seasoned veteran. Further adding to an unmatched level of fun and celebrating the NHL's uniqueness are an all-new Zamboni mini-game, playoff beards, a new fighting engine and more. Complete with new commentary, a user-friendly franchise mode and upgraded online features, NHL 2K9 brings the fun back to game consoles.Reel Maker2K9- you will be able to save, edit, share and rate user-generated NHL 2K9 highlight reels online 2K Beats - Featuring Pennywise, Bad Religion, The Offspring, NOFX, The Ramones, Inner Circle, Mastodon, Operation Ivy, High on Fire and more

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NHL 07 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First off I will say that the game play is pretty decent. That is it is pretty decent after playing for two weeks to figure out the new game controls. Once you get used to them the game is much more enjoyable though they are still somewhat "numb".
That said all there really is to say regarding this game is poor quality. I could review the game play and talking about all the features though I won't waste your time. The only thing you really need to know regarding this game is two things.
(1) The online play is great when people are not cheating which is about 1% of the time. The online play has a nasty glitch allowing people to reset the game back to the last face-off. This "feature" allows players to void goals, penalties, and just generally prolong the game. This along with other bugs in the online play effectively ruin online portion of the game.
(2) Ok, so there is always franchise mode. Franchise mode has a wonderful glitch that doesn't allow the players on your team to improve from season to season. The bug is discussed on the EA message boards and I have experienced it first hand. Nothing like playing an entire season and going to start season 2 only to find that all your players improvements are lost. This bug effectively ruins franchise mode.
So whats left EA? I am left wondering why I wasted my money on this game and most of all wondering why EA does not offer a patch to fix these blatent game problems. Overall this game is fun to play though the major game problems override the good with the bad. I would not recommend purchasing this game.

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The golden age of console hockey returns when NHL 07 debuts with gameplay innovations that will allow players to feel like they are actually on the ice.Format: XBOX 360 Genre:SPORTS/GAMES Rating:E - Everyone UPC:014633152791 Manufacturer No:15279

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NHL 08 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have never before seen a game so perfectly improve on every issue its predecessor had. I'm not going to compare NHL08 with 2K8 because, frankly, most of the time that ends up becoming more a review of the companies than the product. Instead I'm going to compare 08 to 07, both EA games, and show the improvements in this game.
Graphics:
There is little difference between the graphics in 07 and 08, but that's not a bad thing. One of the main strengths of 07 was, in fact, its graphics engine, which looked beautiful, especially when running it in full hi-def. The models in 08 have a little more detail, but not much. One thing you will notice is how smooth 08 feels, though, as it runs at 60 fps instead of 30.
AI:
Here's the first major change. The AI in 07, both on your team and that of your opponent, was dumb. I didn't mind so much that your opponent AI was dumb, since I play most of my games versus a human player, but your teammates were incredibly stupid. You could have a 2-on-0 break and you might as well deke the goalie yourself, because the chances your player would be smart enough to skate with you were slim. In 08, however, the AI, both on your team and that of your opponent, is really good. First, that of your opponent. Defensemen will challenge you often. You may find that at the beginning of the game you can skate into their zone along the boards and setup, but after a bit they'll adapt to your style and make it difficult, which creates a fun (albeit sometimes frustrating) challenge. Your teammate AI is vastly improved, as well. Your teammates will setup at the point, which is my favorite pass to make. You really get the feeling that you can setup in the offensive zone, which, when you pass the puck effectively there, feels REALLY good. Powerplays now actually give you an advantage, since your teammates setup so well. Your teammates no longer run offsides like morons.
Skating:
If they had only improved the AI from 07, I would have been happy. That was my main complaint about the game. When I read the previews about this game and EA said they revamped the skating engine, I said "meh." Didn't seem like such a big deal, but I was completely wrong. You'll notice it as soon as you start to play, the skating is extremely fluid. You have total control of where your player goes, and it's extremely realistic. It makes it easier to avoid someone trying to check you. Since you can skate sideways, it makes it so you can skate around the blue line without accidentally pulling it back behind the line. Checking was revamped, too, and it's now much more difficult to line up a player, however it's realistic about it. If an opposing player is coming in along the boards you can line him up pretty easily; it's the open-ice check that's become difficult. That's a good thing.
Goalies:
One thing I loved about 07 was that the goalies moved realistically. You got the feeling that they actually were on ice and would slide. There were a lot of complaints about the bad goals in 07, and the were extremely frustrating. Most of the bad goals, however, were not from stupid goalies, but an unrealistic physics engine. I play goalie. It's pretty rare that you make a save and the puck just goes two feet straight up into the air, coming down on your back. Those things happen, but rarely. Typically, if you only get a piece of the shot, the puck will deflect AWAY from you. Of in FRONT of you. More often than not it'll go way out of play. In 07, though, the physics weren't quite right, and so those tough deflections when the goalie would just get a piece of it often led to bad goals. In 08, they didn't really play much with the physics engine, they just made the goalies better. And sometimes it's obvious that the goalie cheated so as to not let in a bad goal (the puck will be sitting on the back of his neck and he'll flop down onto his back to tie it up...without it falling into the net...?). The goalies now cover the post, which is an extremely nice touch. Goalie controls are much easier, now, as you're limited in how far you can move. You can only stay within the crease, which makes it much easier to stay in position. Goals that you score can quite literally come from anywhere; you don't have just one or two options in how you score. So a lot of the frustrating aspects of the goalies last year have been fixed; it just would have been nice to see the physics engine tweaked, as well.
Sound:
Gary Thorne and Bill Clement announce again in this year, and they've added a LOT of things for them to say. They still get a bit repetitive, just not nearly so much as last year. They do have great chemistry, and are not a burden to listen to like some other announcers (Madden, anyone?). One thing I noticed which baffled me is that Gary Thorne (he's the commentator, not the play-by-play...unless I got it backwards) sounds muffled in a lot of the things he says. The things from last year that are recycled sound just fine, but a lot of his new lines literally sound as if he phoned them in. It's not a huge complaint, but I just thought I'd mention it.
Online:
There's no lag. There's no lag!!! Finally you have total control over your players when online. There are new modes, one with team play and one with co-op teams, and online leagues have been added, which is a pretty cool feature since it means I can now play with my brother who lives thousands of miles away. One VERY annoying thing, however, is that the game will freeze here and there when connecting to the other player, and you end up having to reset the game. It's not extremely common, however I'd say one out of ten games will do this. After awhile it becomes frustrating.
I've never really gone too deeply into the other modes of sports games. I like to play the dynasty modes but I never really pay much attention to contract negotiations and the like. What's important to me is that the actual game is fun to play; everything else is secondary. All in all, after playing about thirty games of 08, I can honestly say I have very few complaints. The freezing glitch I'm sure will be fixed in a patch. Other than that it's a great game, and incredibly fun to play.

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NHL 08 X360

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