NHL 07 and NHL 2k7 IMPRESSIONS

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:55 am

I'm not going to get into all the reasons why NHL is my game of choice this year, for me far surpassing 2K's game in fact. (and again i was a 2K guy until this year) All i will say is that this game harkens me back to the early 90's when i would count down the minutes of class so i could get back to my dorm and fire up my Genesis to get a game, or six, in with my roomates/friends. It wasn't a sim like experience then, it was pure edge of my seat fun. I mean really, did we ever see Gretzky's head bleed in real life? Nope, but man if i didn't leap out of my seat in true Vince Vaughn "Swingers" fashion when it happened. I didn't walk around the next day telling friends that i was disappointed that the CPU didn't cycle the puck enough or the defensive AI seemed a bit to spaced out. Instead we laughed and joked about the goal i scored from center ice because i hit pass instead of shoot and it found it's way through the pads or how i spent three peroids with one intention, to bloody someone's cranium.

In the best way possible NHL has ruined a lot of other sports gaming for me in that i feel in complete control over nearly everything on the ice. It's not a "button push and hope" as most all other games are. If i score i feel i earned it. If i give one up i know why. No other sports game ever gives that feeling of utter control (and in their defense i'm not sure they could). I said it to Sport73 last night as we played the third game of the night, in 80+ games of NHL (66 offline in my Bruins dynasty and 15-20+ online) so far i have never uttered the phrase "that's crap" or "what bullsh**" the way i have in Madden, NCAA, NBA, etc, etc. Everything that happens feels like it happens for a reason. You don't get that anywhere else.

Oh, and lastly, in addition to fun, i for one feel it does a pretty darn good job of representing real hockey. It has flaws, sure, but so does every other game.

seanmac31 · Post by **seanmac31** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 12:34 pm

RallyMonkey wrote:I'm not going to get into all the reasons why NHL is my game of choice this year, for me far surpassing 2K's game in fact. (and again i was a 2K guy until this year) All i will say is that this game harkens me back to the early 90's when i would count down the minutes of class so i could get back to my dorm and fire up my Genesis to get a game, or six, in with my roomates/friends. It wasn't a sim like experience then, it was pure edge of my seat fun. I mean really, did we ever see Gretzky's head bleed in real life? Nope, but man if i didn't leap out of my seat in true Vince Vaughn "Swingers" fashion when it happened. I didn't walk around the next day telling friends that i was disappointed that the CPU didn't cycle the puck enough or the defensive AI seemed a bit to spaced out. Instead we laughed and joked about the goal i scored from center ice because i hit pass instead of shoot and it found it's way through the pads or how i spent three peroids with one intention, to bloody someone's cranium.

In the best way possible NHL has ruined a lot of other sports gaming for me in that i feel in complete control over nearly everything on the ice. It's not a "button push and hope" as most all other games are. If i score i feel i earned it. If i give one up i know why. No other sports game ever gives that feeling of utter control (and in their defense i'm not sure they could). I said it to Sport73 last night as we played the third game of the night, in 80+ games of NHL (66 offline in my Bruins dynasty and 15-20+ online) so far i have never uttered the phrase "that's crap" or "what bullsh**" the way i have in Madden, NCAA, NBA, etc, etc. Everything that happens feels like it happens for a reason. You don't get that anywhere else.

Oh, and lastly, in addition to fun, i for one feel it does a pretty darn good job of representing real hockey. It has flaws, sure, but so does every other game.

I'm totally with you. Flaws and all (and there are many), NHL 07 is my sports game of the year.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 12:50 pm

I feel the same way about NHL this year. There's definitely some things they need to improve but I have a feeling it's the start of something special just like MVP was. Next year should be even better and in 2 years the game should be phenomenal. I just can't stop playing the game and I haven't felt this way about a hockey title since the old Genesis days where I'd play 6 games in-a-row and still be hungry for more.

Online, this game really shines. Zep and I found out that if you set up a game with custom rules it uses your slider settings. This is very good news and hopefully something that continues with EA games. The other night Web and I had an amazing game that I ended up losing because of a defensive positioning mistake. I've never played a hockey game where I was so worried about making a defensive mistake because past games never made you pay for it. Well, Web made me pay for it and I ended up losing the game.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 1:32 pm

This is one year in hockey where I feel like someone who has some disease in deciding which game to stay with for an extended time.

My 360 has seen so many 2k7 and NHL 07 games and I still couldn't really tell you which one I prefer. I went back to 2k7 and after another week with it, I'm missing some things I loved in NHL 07. I think I just need to bite the bullet and put both in my gaming library.

I really enjoyed the TW demo as well, so here's my pathetic 360 library:

NHL 2k7
NHL 07
TW 07 (in a few days)

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 2:01 pm

same as mine

MizzouRah wrote:
here's my pathetic 360 library:

NHL 2k7
NHL 07
TW 07 (in a few days)

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:19 pm

JackB1 wrote:same as mine

MizzouRah wrote:
here's my pathetic 360 library:

NHL 2k7
NHL 07
TW 07 (in a few days)

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:38 pm

RallyMonkey wrote: I mean really, did we ever see Gretzky's head bleed in real life? Nope, but man if i didn't leap out of my seat in true Vince Vaughn "Swingers" fashion when it happened.

Oh, and lastly, in addition to fun, i for one feel it does a pretty darn good job of representing real hockey. It has flaws, sure, but so does every other game.

G. Suter playing for the Blackhawks pasted #99 in a corner in one of the dirtiest hits of the 90's when Wayne was still playing for LA. He was bloodied and concussed for a couple of weeks or so.

But really, both games have their strengths and flaws but one thing is for sure, Hockey fans are in for a treat this year. I own both games, but I am playing more 2K7 as it fits my gameplay taste a bit better. The smooth framerate and dynamic camera angle are a treat, while cinemotion just sucks. NHL 07 skill stick control is a dream to use and score, but the transition back to defense is weak while the frametrate is sluggish. A force to reckon next season for sure.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:50 pm

One thing I will say, the speed burst button should be put to bed for good in all sports games. I hate holding the RT down in NHL 2k7 for speed bursts.

snaz16 · Post by **snaz16** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:14 pm

And after 21 frickin pages I'm still on the fence

I got a $ 50 gift certificate to Best Buy I'm taking on Thursday to buy 1 of these hockey games. My pathetic 360 library is Madden and NCAA football. I think I'll flip a coin.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:52 am

you 2K guys........what do you do for audio options? I found the Cinemotion...music to be a nice alternative to the play by play. You can hear the gameplay souds better and the chatter between the players is cool. Besides, the pbp in 2K is not very good. Between that and the camera angle, the game feels like a different hockey game compared to playing 07 with the pbp turned on.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:54 am

add me to the list of spinning heads

sportdan30 wrote: No kidding! Between Db and Mizzou going back and forth on which game they prefer, it's enough to make my head spin.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:57 am

PK.....it's too bad you dont have 2K for the 360. I think you would
love it...especially online. It just feels and smells like hockey!
It's easily the best game Kush has ever done. The camera angle in the current gen game doesn't come close to the one in the 360 version.

pk500 wrote:For the three people here still left on current gen, NHL 2K7 with the original sliders found at the link below is sublime.

I'm getting plenty of goals, great goal variety, realistic shot totals, a game that really forces you to play defense, no overdose of one-timers by the CPU if you play proper defense, good penalty-minute totals -- the whole enchilada:

http://www.2khockey.net/forums/index.ph ... opic=16087

Tip: You must play with manual shot aim to see the goal variety, with any slider set.

Take care,
PK

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:01 am

dont feel bad......it's no better in 2K. I got into a s/o last night and it went back and forth about 15 times before I finally scored. Another annoying thing in 2K is that the AI tries the same "move" with every s/o attempt they try! It always a little deke to the same side of the goal.

RallyMonkey wrote: One of my few complaints about the game, the CPU just doesn't score in the shootout. I've only had them score once in 4 shootouts. For me i typically can end it with my first three shooters but did go to a sixth once. And no, shooting from the slot has not worked as far as i can tell. One word of advice, don't make too many moves. Drag to a side, let the goalie commit, then pull it back and go top shelf or slide it through the pads as he's sliding back over.

Also, sorry about not responding last night, didn't even see the invite til i was jumping off.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:10 am

JackB1 wrote:PK.....it's too bad you dont have 2K for the 360. I think you would
love it...especially online. It just feels and smells like hockey!
It's easily the best game Kush has ever done. The camera angle in the current gen game doesn't come close to the one in the 360 version.

Yeah, it sounds nice. Enjoy it!

Take care,
PK

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:22 am

For the 3 of you that have the regular XBOX version:

I used one of the sliders from 2Khockey and have some great games. But last night, I played one of the most thrilling hockey games (against CPU) in a long long time. I was up 2-0 as the Bruins (against the Sabres) in the first period, but the Sabres fought back and scored 1 goal each in 2nd/3rd period (the 3rd was a beauty of a one-timer, completely my fault for not checking the guy). Anyway, I started to get very aggressive toward the end of 3rd quarter but just cannot put it in. Until about 1.5 minutes left, I had a golden opportunity. In the offensive zone, my left wing passed to the middle, but the pass was broken up by the defender. But for some miraclous reason, the center somehow manage to get the puck right in front of the goal. I was shocked so I quickly pull a wrist shot, it bounced off the right goal post, flew horizontally and hit the left goal post and then bounced out!

I was pissed, that was my golden opportunity and it hit two poles. Sabres got the rebound and quickly passed to the forward. It must have been because I was shocked, they skated all the way to my defensive zone with a 2 on 1 and pulled a slap shot. I was like oh-crap, but it HIT the left post, LOL! Karma baby. I immediately got the puck back and passed back to my left wing and I did a deke from the left side. I tried this move about 5 times in the game and had no success. The goalie blocked it with his glove but it bounced upward and went over his shoulder, then landed behind him and scored a goal (with 1 minute 22 seconds left). I was totally incredulous at this point. I replayed this entire sequence 10 times, and I even showed it to my wife with play by play and she was amazed at this too (keep in mind she has zero interest in sports.... when she turned on the TV last night, she told me there was a football game on but it was baseball, hehe).

Anyway, just want to share. I won the game 3-2 and I can't play another game because it was just too intense.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:24 pm

After two nights I already have a case of slideritis with 2K on the 360 and I'm about ready to sell it (luckily, only paid $40). I tried some sliders suggested here from 2Khockeynet, but they must only work for Xbox because the CPU was getting about 80 shots but only 2-3 goals a game against me. It was worse than EA's NHL. Plus, hitting was way too low. I don't have time to f*ck around with sliders anymore (which is probably why I had fun with the demo although it's too easy). It's getting frustrating.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:35 pm

Lee, I've been playing the default SIM with some adjustments such as lowering the speed of the game and increasing the penalties. SOG are more appropiate to today's NHL and the games are very tight.
Tinkering with sliders is part of 2K I guess, but you always get this feeling that somehow with time, the gameplay will be to your satisfaction. At least that's how I feel.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:59 pm

well, I think my honeymoon with 2K is over. I am getting frustrated with the brick-wall goalies and the over reliance on 1 timers to score. The CPU only shoots from the slot and there is no goal variety like in NHL07. I love the overall gameplay, but it comes down to the same thing that has hampered 2K hockey the past several years. It just feels like a chore to score goals in this game. I miss the "fun" I was having with NHL07. This one is going on Ebay and I will stick with 07 here on out.

seanmac31 · Post by **seanmac31** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:58 pm

JackB1 wrote:well, I think my honeymoon with 2K is over. I am getting frustrated with the brick-wall goalies and the over reliance on 1 timers to score. The CPU only shots from the slot and there is no goal variety like in NHL07. I love the overall gameplay, but it comes down to the same thing that has hampered 2K hockey the past several years. It just feels like a chore to score goals in this game. I miss the "fun" I was having with NHL07. This one is going on Ebay and I will stick with 07 here on out.

That was my experience as well. I do think that turning off the auto aim improves things somewhat (well, at least it makes for more rebound goals), but in the end the scoring options just feel so limited in 2K. It's a good game, but I haven't missed it.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:59 pm

James, pro or all-star?

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:36 pm

Leebo33 wrote:James, pro or all-star?

All Star.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:04 pm

The more I play it, the more I really like the PSP version of NHL 07. At first I thought it was too easy but now that I have some finely tuned sliders on the Difficult setting it's a challenge. The coolest thing about this game is the fact that you can run franchise mode in some of the European leagues. I decided to start a franchise in the Finnish SM-Liiga with HPK Hämeenlinna. I created myself and want to see what my career in Finland would have been like.

I was having a lot of fun with my Blackhawks franchise but playing in the Finnish league might be more fun. I like the bigger rinks which really allows you to cycle the puck and create some quality scoring chances. Anybody that has the game should check out one of the European leagues.

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:16 pm

Hey Scoop, would you mind posting the sliders for NHL 07 PSP?

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 2:55 pm

My NHL 07 PSP sliders:

Rules
Skill Level - Difficult
Period Length - 10 mins

Gameplay Settings (all numbers are the number of clicks from the left)

Skating
Game Speed - 2
Speed Burst - 0
Fatigue Recovery - 2
Player Acceleration - 5
Puck Control - 0
Fatigue Effect - 3

Checking
Hitting Power - 4
Hitting Difficulty - 5
Aggression - 6

Passing
Pass Assist - 0
Pass Speed - 0
Saucer Pass Speed - 0
Goalie Passing - 0

Shooting
Shot Accuracy - 1
Shot Power - 0

Defense
Shot Blocking - 7 (max)
Hook Effectiveness - 5
Poke Effectiveness - 6
Pass Interceptions - 7

Dumping
Dump Speed - 2
Dump Height - 3
Soft Dump Speed - 3
Soft Dump Height - 3

Edit: I changed Shot Power from 1 to 0.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 8:46 pm

for the 2k7 360 folks, I've been playing around with the Goalie Sliders this weekend. I found if you crank them to:

Anticipation:0
Depth:0
Saves: 100

you actually get some more "life" in the goalies. The scores only seem to going slightly, but the goalies move around alot more. Oh, this is on AllStar difficulty.

your results may vary...