NHL 08

[Jimmydeicide]

Thanks for the consideration, but my plans for hockey gaming at this point includes only NHL 2K8. However, if NHL 08 does knock my socks off, I will also buy that as well.

Who are you , Venom?

[Airdog]

Thanks for the consideration, but my plans for hockey gaming at this point includes only NHL 2K8. However, if NHL 08 does knock my socks off, I will also buy that as well.

Who are you , Venom?

God no, I don't have a distinct aversion to EA/EA Sports. I'm a student and simply don't have the cash to spend on two different hockey games. If 08 is that great though, then I'm sure I can scrounge up the cash some how, or get it as a gift.

[Jimmydeicide]

Im sure your teacher will take a blow job for 59.99.

[Airdog]

Im sure your teacher will take a blow job for 59.99.

I'm paying them enough as it is. I'll take a blow job AND $69.99 (Canadian) please.

[GameSeven]

IGN has posted the player ratings for NHL 08 for those who like a pre-release look at such things:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/815/815300p1.html

[GameSeven]

Updated NHL08 Blog entry focusing on Dynasty Mode, AHL and new player ratings here:

http://blogs.ign.com/EANHL08/2007/08/23/64254/

[Zlax45]

I am really interested in this game...I hope EA doesn't screw it up

[ScoopBrady]

You know, I keep creaming over this game for all the tweaks it appears they've made and I completely forgot about the AHL being in the game. This game can't come out soon enough.

[webdanzer]

You know, I keep creaming over this game for all the tweaks it appears they've made and I completely forgot about the AHL being in the game. This game can't come out soon enough.

With the *massive* list of 360 releases coming out this fall, I only put 3 into a 'must buy' category for me personally. Bioshock, Halo 3, and this one.

[GameSeven]

With the *massive* list of 360 releases coming out this fall, I only put 3 into a 'must buy' category for me personally. Bioshock, Halo 3, and this one.

I can't help thinking that Mass Effect will make it into this list, although those epic KOTOR/Jade Empire games are not for everyone. Still, I think if they tweak the real-time aspects of this game it will be a winner.

[webdanzer]

With the *massive* list of 360 releases coming out this fall, I only put 3 into a 'must buy' category for me personally. Bioshock, Halo 3, and this one.

I can't help thinking that Mass Effect will make it into this list, although those epic KOTOR/Jade Empire games are not for everyone. Still, I think if they tweak the real-time aspects of this game it will be a winner.

Yeah, I recognize how well-crafted those games were, but I bought both and never made it past maybe 25% of either. Too slow/boring for me, I guess. Mass Effect will be on my Gamefly list. I'm really looking forward to Assassin's Creed, too.

But not as much as a hockey league that maybe people actually stay with!!

[Jimmydeicide]

Good news PK your getting the skill stick on pc but not the rest of the next gen game ,but the controls may make it good enough.

[pk500]

Sounds cool. Thanks for the tip, Jimmy.

Take care,
PK

[Rodster]

It would have been great if they added the puck physics but not really an issue for me since i'm getting NHL 08(360) and the PC version from my favorite discount retailer.

[Sudz]

counting down the days.

[ddtrane]

http://www.pastapadre.com/1510/details- ... for-nhl-08

Demo coming soon, and it won't be that like that crappy shootout last year. Supposedly a full fledged demo, but we shall soon see.

[Diablo25]

EGM reviews the game
NHL 08 - 9.5, 9, 9

[JRod]

I know they have tightened up the controls but I hope they also address the responsiveness of them. Last year, sometimes I felt there was a slight disconnect between skating and the controls.

[Sudz]

anyword on a demo date?

heard anywhere from last week to the 9th.

[Sudz]

from the EA NHL FORUMS

NHL 08 Fact's and outline!
Posted:Aug 29, 2007 8:20 PM

The skating in this game is phenomanally perfect, It is the best skating engine i've ever seen.
You have the ability to do pin point turns.
You can move step by step or go full tilt and fly up the ice.
You virtually have full control over your player.

Dekeing-
You will now have full control over every aspect of the deke.
With the new one on one dekeing you will be able to undress your opponet if you can pull it off.
There are dozens of dekes and one on one moves.


Offence-

All players are positinal.
Ability to set up plays, and move your players around to set up new plays.
Able to take a wide range of shots, Beware you will need to practice this.
Shooting has changed.

Deffence-

Players that play the blue line will stay on the line.
That means when you pass it to them they will be there for the shot.
They will stay with there man.
they will block shots, and get in the way of your passing lane to intercept shots.


Goalies-
All I have to say is good LUCK.
Goalies play like real goalies do.
If you can beat them with a deke Koudos to you.
They do play the styles they are given.

Power play's and Penalty Kills-

You now have the ability to position yourself and set up plays in the zone, as well as cycle the puck.
Everyone is always in position and will move around to stay clear of the other team to set up.
But you will now need to play smart In order to score.
On the kill you will need to be prepared for alot of shots, New blocking styles have been added to up your defensive play.

A.I.

I will GARUNTEE you, that you will not be able to win a game on SuperStar mode for quite some time. It took me 5 games till I was able to beat them, and I did it in a shoot out.
With the new ON THE FLY A.I. This is a new A.I. engine that will learn to what you do, so you will need to change it up all the time. because they will stop you in your track's.
The opposeing team will stick with there man at all times.
They will block shots, steal passes, and pick the puck right off your stick.

Graphics, Animation, and Commentary

I know you all want to know what the graphics look like, But you already do..... The videos are the gameplay..(nice).
There are over 1000 new animations, which include no delay goal celebrations, between play cut sceens and many many more.
For commentary it's the same ole' guys with a twist, you will almost never hear the same thing twice within a few game, and they will announce if you keep doing the same things while the A.I. is walking all over you.









Overview

All in all this is the pureist game I have ever played.It will challange you at all level's. The entire engine in this game and learning A.I. is the best i've seen.
The graphics and animations are some of the smoothest i've ever seen. and the difficulty is insaine.

online- First I'll start off with the modes
- Leagues- up to 32 teams
-Shoot out
-Single player
-Multiplayer..
1 on 1
2 on 2
3 on 3
Could it be!
You can play up to 4 player online for the 360 per team/Per System.
And you can play up to 6 players per side for the PS3. Yes that is every player on the ice.
Online in NHL 08 Is summed up in two words Simply amazing.
And I know Multiplayer is a huge feature in this game for all of you onliners.
To have the ability to get together with one of your buddy's at home or from the other side of the globe, And take on another group from all over the world.
Can I get an AMEN !!!
The online play will be as smooth as a baby's bottom! So by that the online experience is like your off line experience
As far as it's known there are no online glitches.
Able to play with Internatinal, AHL, and NHL online.
If your opponet drops the game the cpu AI will take over the game.
There is also full stat tracking for regualr online play and leagues.
You can win tropihes in online leagues, and you hold on to it untill someone else wins the next one.
Not to mention you can be just the goalie...Sweet!!

CREATION ZONE- This has been brought to a brand new level
Aside for your basic creation of players this has been amped up a fair bit.
There are now dozens of faces to choose from (all pre made)
There are multiple new attributes to adjust to create the perfect you.
You now have a wider choice of skates, sticks, and gear to pick from that will all affect your playing style. Style of your skates, and sticks determine how you skate and shoot so choose wisely!!
Not to mention the coulors there are to choose from for your equipment.
They have also brought back the create a team,Jersey, and modding of Goalie equipment.
As you have all already seen in the video's there is the new create a play feature.
Which will allow you to design play's for you to match your playing style, or to just embaress your foes.There is the ability to create up to 70 plays for all profiles.
You can now edit all players from Helmet to skate, coulors and all * except there face *



Dynasty Mode- This mode has been improved for the better without a doubt!
With the ability to use player's from the AHL and develop all talent, from rookies to Guys who just arne't preforming to there potential. (or yours lol ).
You will have control of your team in every aspect of the game.
You will also be able to fully customize all aspects of your team as well.
Full stats for your players.
Brand new scouting system.
But for the most part this section of the game is for you to discover.
This year we have added the American Hockey League to dynasty mode. The AHL is the top minor league to the NHL. All 29 teams including the Rockford IceHogs, Lake Erie Monsters and the Quad City Flames will be in the game and all will be affiliated with their proper NHL parent club.

My favorite part of this feature is that you have the ability to run both your NHL and AHL teams and play with both. Having the ability to play each and every game on the AHL team’s schedule lets you test out your prospects and see if they are ready for the NHL. Playing well with your AHL team is very important to your player’s growth as they earn more experience when winning the Calder Cup then they would if they do not make the AHL playoffs. With player development becoming a very important part of the NHL due to the salary cap, we wanted to bring this important aspect of hockey into NHL 08. Having the ability to bring players up and down from the minors to replace injured players and give players a chance to win a job by actually seeing their on ice performance is awesome.

With the AHL license we have also gotten the Professional Hockey Players Association license. This lets us have the AHL players who have not yet played in the NHL in our game. I want to clear up some misconceptions we have been seeing on the message boards about which players will be in the game from the AHL. We have the ability to have in our game any player who is on a professional contract in the AHL that has signed a waiver to be used in our video game. So players such as Marc Staal and Carey Price who were not on professional contracts (they played in Canadian Major Junior Hockey last year) but did play with an AHL team will not be in our game when we ship. As soon as these players’ sign a pro contract and provide a signed waiver form we will be putting them in the game. We are just as excited as you guys are to see these great young players in our game.

The AHL will also be going to the new RBK Edge uniform system and we will have these jerseys in our game. They will be available with a code which we will provide when the game ships in September.

One of the most interesting parts of the AHL during our development was the implementation of NHL teams sharing an AHL affiliate which only two teams, Buffalo and Florida, do with the Rochester Americans. For the sake of fun we have arranged it so that you the user who plays with one of these two teams will take over the AHL affiliate fully and the other NHL team will find another team to share in the AHL. The players who leave the franchise will be replaced by free agents that the AHL GM will sign to make sure he has a roster that can play games. As you sign free agents to be affiliated with your team free agents will be released. This is similar to the way the AHL works currently with the AHL GM filling in his roster if there aren’t enough prospects assigned to their team.

Scouting:

This year we have revamped our scouting, you will be able to assign their scout to one of 5 areas of the world and what level of prospects is he will scout while there. These prospects have a projected round in which Scouting Central projects them to be taken in the upcoming Entry Draft.

Each team will be assigned a scout with different levels of expertise in these 5 regions with a rating of 1-10. If the scout goes to a region which he is rated a 10 he will be able to provide information faster and more accurately then if he had a 5 as his rating.

This information will be given to a user as a number between 5 to 10 for each attribute and if the scout hasn’t provided any information on this it will show a question mark.

To change where the scout is assigned to, go to the Scouting Assignment screen and change his location and what level of prospect you want him to scout. When you leave this screen your scout will head off to the next region and report back with information on those prospects.

If a user hasn’t scouted a player he will still have a scouting Central list that is updated during the season letting him know where the NHL has ranked each of the prospects just like the real life NHL Central Scouting provides to the NHL teams.

Free Agency:

In the past the free agency model used by the NHL franchise was quite simple. Talk to a player and keep offering him contracts until he signs or he doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. This is no longer the case. After two years of the salary cap world in the NHL we wanted to build an authentic model in which players had as much input into where they would like to play as the owners.

With this in mind the players have a few things they look at when determining if they would be interested in playing for a team.

Things such as how good a team is, how much competition is there for a job on the team and the average age of the team plays into the players decision. He will also consider what stage of his career he is in to see if he wants to play for a contender or a rebuilding franchise.

The new bidding system allows the CPU to compete with the user in signing players to their franchise. So unless you are willing to overpay for a player by a large amount the player is aware of who is offering him a contract and will take that into account and make a decision based on all the factors he cares about. The players are pretty smart and take their time to make the right decision for themselves. When you put in a bid the player will usually make his decision within a few days giving himself more time to have the bidding go up.

This adds a new dimension to free agency as all teams are trying to improve themselves at the same time.

Ratings:

Ratings are always one of the biggest talking points of any sports game due to the passion that the fans have about their favorite players in the game.

This year we had our NHL and AHL ratings done by a hockey analyst who has done pro scouting and junior scouting for NHL teams as well as scouts in Sweden and Finland doing the Elitserien and SM-Liiga ratings.

Trying to be as authentic as possible we added new ratings to the players this year. Ratings such as Defensive Awareness which determines how hard players back check or try to get back into the play this is where you will see the difference in a Rod Brind’Amour and a Todd Peruzzi. While goalies got Vision which is the goalies ability to see thru screens which is extremely important this year with the addition of deflection and tipins as traffic around the net is much more evident than in last year’s game.

Players received the following ratings:

Offensive Awareness
Defensive Awareness
Shot Blocking
Deflections

Goalies received the following ratings:

Vision
Puck Playing Frequency
Angles

The new rating that we added to both Players and Goalies is the Poise rating. This rating is how poised this player in pressure situations. Examples of great poise players are Martin Brodeur and Joe Sakic. These players have taken their teams to the Stanley Cup and consistently shown the ability to step it up in big games. You will notice the difference between an AHL player with little NHL experience and a player who has been around the NHL for a while. Poise is a factor with the Overall rating as a player with high poise will still have a bit of a higher OV as it shows the intangibles they can bring to their team. On the other hand great young players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin might have slightly lower overalls because they haven’t proven themselves in the playoffs yet. Now the difference won’t be drastic, just enough to know that the great players have something more to them.

Another interesting thing about the ratings this year is that the Overall can be deceiving as each rating is extremely important in terms of gameplay. Players like Maxim Afinogenov might not be the highest rated OV players but their offensive game is top notch with great speed and deking ability as well as offensive awareness. So looking at a player’s makeup in all their ratings definitely helps you determine what role the player will be best at in your game plan.

With the AHL in the game this year people will notice some of the AHL players rated higher than some NHL’ers in the game. This is true in that the only thing holding some of these players back are a weakness in one area of their game or their physical size. We have noticed some players dominate in the AHL and then as soon as we bring them up to the NHL they get manhandled or their weaknesses stand out a lot more. True to real life and a lot of fun to see.

To list a few more of the improvements:

- The Player Progression bug has been fixed.

- Some injuries are playable at the risk of slowing down the player’s healthy return.

-When you make the play-offs, look for the sea of red in Calgary [and there are others too].

- Ever wanted to see a franchise player like a Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin show up in a draft? We have added that into this year’s game. Look out for the franchise player during your scouting.

- Don’t like what your goalie is wearing for pads? Change it and then color them to any color scheme you want. You can edit player’s equipment during dynasty mode. Ratings can only be edited outside of Dynasty. I wouldn’t want you guys cheating.


Hope you liked getting the scoop on some of the new features and improvements we made to dynasty. Good luck winning the Stanley Cup or the Calder Cup!





Q & A
-Do sticks break?
- NO

- Have the powerplays and penaty kills changed?
- Yea the powerplays and penalty kills have changed, They are now a challenge, and more realistic.

- How has the A.I. changed?
- The A.I. has changed for the better, The offence will now learn from what you do both offencivley and defencivley. The defence will now stick with there man. The defence will hols there line and position. All players are now positional.

- Have the type's of goals tou can score changed ? And have trickle goals been reduced?
- Yes there is more variety of goals that you can score, and trickle goals have been reduced due to smarter goalie AI.

-Are the PS3 and 360 the same game, or is one better then the other?
- Both systems are the same game, and mither game is better then the other.

- Have the penaltey's been brought up to par with the NHL's acctual one's?
- For the most part, the penaltey's are simular to the NHL, I do not know about the player delay of game penaltey, cause I never shot the puck out myself. But they have included a few more calls to 08 this year.

- Have posts been reduced this year?
- They have been brought down a fair bit, but you will still hit them as they do in real life.

- Can you knock down the goalies?
- no

- Is there a skills compatition?
- No but there is a new pratice mode that you can get the same feel from it as a skills comp.

- Is there European leagues and which ones?
- Yes the euro leagues are in the game, and it's all the major euro leauges.

- How has the hitting changed in this game?
- The hitting rocks in this game, Now the players size, weight, speed, matter in the hit form both ends of it. so if Pronger smokes Liles at full speed. Liles will go flying at least 20 -30 feet before he can regain himself.

- Have they cahnged the way you can block shots, and poke check's?
- Yes they have added new one button blocks like dropping down to one knee. also The poke check has changed wtih full radias for stick movment, but do not think you legs move this year.

- Have the arena's been changed at all?
- Yes the arena's are more realistic.

- Have they included all the AHL arena's?
- No but they modeled all the AHL arena's around the Toronto Marlies arena.

- Have they changed the fighting at all?
- Yea the fighting has changed a bit.

- How are the fans this year?
- The fans are great, and react to different things in different ways. Yes that means when you score a overtime goal they will be louder then a goal in the first period.

- Has the pre-game stuff changed?
- Yea there are different opening from last year. they have included anthem's this year, and a few other things.

- Has the shoot-out mode been changed at all?
- Yes the players will not try to score the same way all the time, you can be the goalie, and most important they can score.

- Have the controls changed from last year?
- Yes the controls did change, there are new features this year, and you now have more control over everything your player does on both offence and defence.

- Do you think the deflections and slap passes will be a good thing for the game?
- Most definetaly, That is if and when you can pull one off. but when you do, it will make you all warm inside.

- Have faceoff's changed this yaer?
- Yes they have, You can now select the direction you would like the puck to go. They have eliminated button or stcik mashing. It's now all about timeing.

- How is the accuracy this year?
- It's all up to you. If you shoot it to high then it's your fault not the comp's. If you say I didn't mean to shoot it there. you can go back to the replay and see if you did shoot it where you did not want to.

- Do the players in this game look like they do in real life?
- Yes

- are there new and improved celebrations this year?
- Yes there are different celebrations for every type of gaol you score.

- Have they fixed the slashing problem this year?
- try and see, you will get a penaltey even if you do it on the face off

- Is there pinning and tie up's?
- Yes

- Do the games get played like real NHL,AHL games ?
- Yes, They now play like a real hockey game. Everything from the face off to traffic in front of the net.

- Has the commentary changed this year?
- It's still the same guys, but with spunk. They have an extremely large amount of things to say so you wont be hearing the same things in one game over and over again. They will announce if you are being repetative or just not playing smart.

- Is there full stat tracking this year?
- Yes they do show full stats, so if you score with Dury and he has 44 goals, when it shows the stat bar it will show 45.

- Is the rink realistic?
- very much so, So ya the glass will shake when you slam someone into it.

- Is there a season mode?
- Not for the NHL, But you can for the AHL.

- When you create a player is there new attributes?
- Yes they have added new ones like poise, and offencive/ defencive awarness, Vision for goalies.

- How is the create a play feature?
- endless, This is going to be one of my favorite feature's. You can create any play you want.

- have they added different type's of passes this year?
- Yes they have ie: saucer,drop.

- Is there a fantasy draft?
- Not for the 360 or PS3.

- Is there multiplayer in dynasty?
- No, but you can play on the same team. So you can only control one team.

- Will the new Rbk Edge jersey's be in the game?
- Yes but you will have to wait a little to use them, Once all the jersey's are revieled EA will release a code on nhl08.com, and all you have to do is enter it and walla there in the game.

- How many practice drills are in the game?
- 30 all together.

- When you create a player is there a way to test them out?
- Yes you can take your soon to be created player and take him through drills to see if he play's right for you . Then if you want to go back and change the blade of his stick and try it out, you can.

- How does the equipment worn affect you player?
- It will affect everything you do, If your not useing the right stuff you won't be able to preform right.

If thee is anything else you wish to know just PM me and I will get back to you

[MizzouRah]

Thanks Sudz!

What was up with that guys spelling though? lol

Most.Anticipated.Sports.Game.Ever (for me at least)

[Zeppo]

from the EA NHL FORUMS

NHL 08 Fact's and outline!
Posted:Aug 29, 2007 8:20 PM
You can play up to 4 player online for the 360 per team/Per System.

I found this bit to be the most telling and sad. Up to four players per System, eh?

So does that, or does it not, mean that the rumor of true multi-system multiplayer is in fact nothing but a rumor? Or should I chalk it up to the fact that whoever wrote this doesn't understand English very well or simply can't write?

[dbdynsty25]

So does that, or does it not, mean that the rumor of true multi-system multiplayer is in fact nothing but a rumor? Or should I chalk it up to the fact that whoever wrote this doesn't understand English very well or simply can't write?

I'd definitely go with the latter until further notice.

[Sudz]

So does that, or does it not, mean that the rumor of true multi-system multiplayer is in fact nothing but a rumor? Or should I chalk it up to the fact that whoever wrote this doesn't understand English very well or simply can't write?

I'd definitely go with the latter until further notice.

I don't think we will really know what is up with online multi-player until it ships.

[Jimmydeicide]

Come on zep the guy never said one negative thing about the game hes just chewing his cud.

Littman said on on the spot OTP (online team play)was the developers favorite mode, 6 seperate consoles , has to be at least 1 human on both teams. I will be pissed if its not ready to go out the box like some of Tiger woods seems to be . But there has to be some sort of negative to this gsame surely , it cant be a perfect game.