sportdan30 wrote:A few questions for those of you who have the game. I'm definitely on the fence.
Are penalties rarely called in offline games like I've been reading? I know this was an issue a couple years ago and they patched it
so it's not a big concern.
Are the majority of your goals garbage goals? That's what I've experienced in the demo.
Are you having much success with slap shots going in?
What has turned me off in the past from this series is the CPU seemingly being able to score at will when it needs to. Meaning, you can
do nothing to stop them. It almost seems as if it's programmed in. Does this seem to rear its ugly head still?
Thanks!
Penalties are called, even in HUT offline where you cant adjust sliders. Otherwise, I do move the sliders up to have more called. I have the CPU pegged, and human teammates one notch less. I tend to cause enough penalties to make up for any decrease my teammates might have. But it is hardly an issue. In fact, I've loved the goalie interference penalties. I had a CPU teammate kill a goal I scored on a slap shot when he pushed the goalie as the puck was going in.
I've scored all variety of goals. Using manual aim can be pain, which is what the demo forces, as well as offline and HUT play (offline of not). But I've gotten better with it since last year, and my totals have gone up. but for offline play, I use Auto-aim, and this eliminates the problem, as you will see a huge variety of goals.
Slap shots feel fair.
I feel like the CPU plays fair. When it is behind, it will increase its pressure, adjusting its forecheck and breakout. t be honest, I dropped to Pro for a bit, but have moved back up to All-Pro with some slider tweaks. For one, I slowed the game down, decreasing acceleration and increasing fatigue. I do find that All-Pro out of the box kicks my butt. I'm just not good enough on the skates, as I miss my hits, and I have trouble avoiding them when I have the puck. If you thin the CPU scores at will, wait till you see what some of the kids will do to you online!
The main issue I am finding is that the CPU does not go offsides. Like, ever. You will occasionally get called, but even that is less, as your teammates just flatout avoid going in the zone too early. The CPU also doesn't seem to ice the puck ever. I would say human icing is also a lot lower. Without icing and offsides, you don't get as many stops in play.
I've been playing mostly HUT, which is just 5 minute periods. It's been a blast. I have not spent time crunching numbers, but in my offline play with the Blues, I'm seeing very reasonable shots vs. goal totals in 10 minute periods. I have not compared face-offs and penalty minutes yet. But I do get time on the power play and penalty kill.
I have not broken one pane of glass yet. I did just dump my first opponent over the boards (for an achievement!). I rarely drop gloves for any fight, let alone goalie fights. So the annoying "features" they have added are pretty much a non-issue for me. They do not dominate the game.
But the physics of both the players and puck are noticeably improved. The AI is a lot tougher, which means it is harder to carry the puck into the zone. the AI is not easy to shut down, and will often outshoot you.
Basically, my take is that this is just like NHL 11 and NHL 10, just more better.
