NHL 10: Five Things to Know (ESPN Videogames)

[Dalsanto0026]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

Okay, I know I'm going to sound all doom and gloom but I'm very paranoid this whole Intimidation stuff is going to be done incorrectly. There is definitely some intimidation in the game. No doubt. But there are players who will never get intimidated no matter what goes on. Litty used Crosby as an example but I don't think this kid has ever been intimidated by anyone. Also, I hope a fight won't automatically break out every time you go for one like it was described. And I really didn't like hearing that if there's no tough guys on the rink, then whoever you're abusing will drop the gloves. If that's the case then I'll start a fight against Detroit every shift. I'll gladly substitute a scrub to get Datsyuk, Hossa, Lidstrom or Zetterberg off the ice. I want the fighting ratings directly linked to whether or not they'll drop the gloves. The Wings, by and large, never ever fight. Datsyuk could win the Selke for the 2nd time in a row so I never want to see him go anybody. Don't get me wrong. I loved all that I read, but I'm worried that once again what goes on the ice won't be mirrored to the players attributes. There are certain players in this game that have ice water in their veins and would never fumble passes or lose fatigue because they're scared. I don't want to hit Mike Richards 4 times and face wash him and then watch him fumble and bumble around the rest of the game. That would never happen. And while Litty thinks that fighting and grinding will be a deterrent to cheap tactics, I have to disagree. In real life it might because real life people don't really like to be punched in the face. But in a video game, where you feel no pain, it's going to be nothing but after ice whistles and fights. I just hope the AI is smart enough to suck you into taking dumb penalties if that's all you want to do. If start that crap against a softer and gentler team like Detroit then I would expect to get a lot of penalites because Detroit won't retaliate. Finally, while fighting can wake a team up it's not necessary to win games. Again, just look at Detroit. I guess my main concern is that all of these features are going to be over the top. As much as I love the movie Slap Shot I don't necessarily want my hockey video game experience to be the same.

My feelings exactly.

I have a feeling this feature will be overused.

I like the sound of crowd interactions though, that sounds great, though judging by the screenshots it doesn't look like it's been implemented very well. The player models look terrific.

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by Scottdau

Interesting how all the goalies in EAshirts pics have a Ducks helmet. Also, I hope they add a lot more animation. That is lacking big time in this game. Especially some of the wrist shots look really weird.

I agree, Its been one of my big crusades for a while now when talking about the game, on the whole we need more animations on both sides, goalies and skaters.

Will I also agree that I hope the new tender animations are for more of a desperation type of save and they won't fire on a constant basis, it was one of the gripes I had with 2k9's goalies actually where honestly I thought there were too many flashy type of saves on routine shots that you wouldn't see in real life.

Ace: Yeah that comment really bothered me as well, as when it comes to your AI defenders they have a habit in 09 of not really doing enough and for the casual guy, the're not going to be the ones to go into create a play to get their ai teammates moving in either the offensive or defensive zone. I mean we're finally getting some form of board play with NHL10 but really it did take quite the time to get it there and with most of us not having the pleasure to go to the community day, its impossible to judge by screenshots how well its implimented. So as for that comment, sure the basics are there with the controls but the AI can always get much much better, especially the player's non controled AI.

At the end of the day though I really hope the new features are well fleshed out and implimented well enough so that it doesn't feel cheesy or gimmicky. I do have faith considering how far the series has progressed the last few iterations, but its something I want to see in action before I completely sign off on it.

[SomeStrangeSin]

personally i didnt like the first person fighting idea and from the sounds of it there are going to be like 10 fights a game if im playing online against someone this sounds like street fighter with a crowd.
they didnt talk about any gameplay elements besidess fighting and the crowd physics (which is awesome) i seen some blackhawks fans in vancouver lol.

but i was hoping to hear anything about a new faceoff system or more dekes. i guess ill have to wait for the near future.

[blinkfan77]

The first thing I do when I fire this game up for the first time? Beat the **** out of Scott Walker with Milan Lucic. Can't wait.

I wish they would add goaltender interactions though. Interference would be awesome. Maybe they'll touch on it at some point. I doubt they add it though.

[tabulaRasa]

That´s really cool and all, but how is the online ranked games going to play out if home team advantage is so big this year?

And is it just me or doesn´t the game already premier big teams like SJ and Anaheim ? Hope they keep it at a good level, I don´t want it to become a crazy checkfest ala old hockey.

[FlyingFinn]

This has got cheese written all over it... Online is going to be a mess this year.

[Jim236]

Quote: Originally Posted by Acedeck

"Now we've come to the point where we're still improving offense, defense and goalies, but we've done a really good job with those features already. What's left? This comment worries me a lot, especially after hearing so much about fighting and physicality improvements. For starters, NHL 09 was no where even close to being where it has the potential to be from an AI and game-play aspect. There's absolutely zero board play, too little pressure from CPU defenders, and numerous flaws in the AI when it comes to money goals. In fact, I don't even think it's likely EA could fix the AI/game-play side of things in a two year window, let alone a one year window. There's a lot going on in hockey, and there's a lot to improve on the AI side of things before I would consider EA's NHL game anywhere close to the point where they can say "What's left?"

Totally agree. As welcome as these new additions are (so long as they're not overdone), if the rest of the game hasn't recieved similar attention it'll be disappointing. I was really glad to hear they've re-worked both the passing engine and the goalies, but fundamental areas like puck physics, skating, shooting and defensive mechanics/AI still need some love I think. Here's hoping they haven't forgotten about the basics.

Also I couldn't agree more with Scottdau about new animations. I'd like to see players dropping a knee and really shooting the puck when they're fed the puck in front of the net - as of now they just kind of stand there frozen in their skates, and the puck just bounces of their stick at 80mph with little to no movement on the part of the player. Just generally far move movement is needed to make it look natural. With a new passing engine new passing animations would be awesome too. I don't really know how to describe the current ones, but it's a similar thing. I will say I've never seen a player make a 100ft breakout pass quite like that before. I think EA should look to 2k in the animation department - at least in terms of passing and shooting.

In any case, I'm still really looking forward to 10, and hopefully we'll be hearing more info soon.

[tabulaRasa]

I was hoping for better board play and passing additions, like banking the puck off the boards or more manual aimed passing.