WOW? Gretzky opinion did a 180

[bucknuts]

After several more hours of playing this game my opinion has done a complete 180. This is the best, most fun hockey game I've ever played bar none. I'm glad I gave it more time instead of trading it in. I would have been sickened to not be enjoying this masterpiece like I am know. I've been waiting for this hockey game for as long as I can remember and 989 is the one to pull it off. You folks really outdid yourselves with this jewel. I tried playing with the traditional camera instead of the default and when I finally got used to this view it opened up my eyes to an awesome hockey experience. I've always been a 2K fan but that game is being traded now that I have put some time into Gretzky.

The presentation, graphics, and atmosphere are superb. This game really captures the atmosphere of the NHL better than any other game I've ever played.

What really shocked me is how great the gameplay is once you finally get the hang of things. No other game has ever nailed momentum based skating like this one. The skating engine is outstanding. It feels like skating not running.

I absolutely love the shooting mechanics as well. It feels so good when you really nut a big slapper. Gretzky captures the feel of weak and great shots better than any game I've ever played. It takes some getting used to but the shooting system is dead on IMHO.

Finally a hockey game that has a realistic hitting engine. I could talk about how great Gretzky's is for 2 pages. You have to catch a guy perfectly to send him flying, not just graze him. And this is with the big hitters. The force of a hit seems to take all the right things into account to decide the outcome like positioning, player ratings, momentum, etc. It's a thing of beauty to witness. The have like a bazillion different animations to cover all the different scenarios when two guys collide. There are stumbles, guys getting nicked but holding onto the puck, guys getting nicked harder losing the puck momentarily but regaining control, guys taking solid shots where it's a standoff, guys taking solid shots and losing the puck but not going down, and guys getting creamed. The is the way all hockey games should treat hitting. it adds so much depth and variety to a game when hitting is done properly and Gretzky nails it (no pun intended). Another great thing about the hitting in this game is the risk invloved if you miss. IF you give up an odd man rush in this game it actually makes you nervous the way it should.

How refreshing it is to play a hockey game where the stratedgies actually work. I love to dump and chase and Gretzky gets it right. Anybody who plays this way will know exactly what I mean if they give this game a chance. Anyhow it's very apparent to me that the developers of this game really got the kind of expert advice they needed in regards to the different plays and implemented them properly. Got to love that kind of dedication.

What's next? Oh yeah Goalies. I think the goalie play in this game is very good. They are tough to beat but fair and you can tell the difference between average and great goalies. I was playing with the Habs and Theodore was on a roll. Just for kicks I sat him a game and his back up got lit up for 5 goals. Impressive. Odd man rushes and breakaways are awesome in Gretzky. They are just done so well. Play it and you'll know what I'm talking about. It's killer to see aggressive goalies move out past the top of the crease to cut down an angle not just sit in goal.

Well I've gone on for awhile so I'll wrap this up. If you are a hockey freak like myself do yourself a favor and buy this puppy. Play with the traditional camera and be prepared to be awed at how smart this game plays and mimics the NHL. It's obvious that this game has been a labor of love for the developers for the past 2 years and they are big sim guys as well as huge hockey fans. The first time you see a goal waived off because someone was in the crease you'll have a grin from ear to ear. The more I play this game the more I'm noticing just how deep the gameplay actually is. I'm seeing how the player ratings have a huge impact. I'm noticing how well done the cycling can be. I'm seeing players go on hot and cold streaks as well as teams. I'm seeing big time momentum shifts in each game and through out the season. The more you play this game the more you appreciate all the hard, well thought out effort that went into making this game. It has by far the smartest AI I've seen in a sports game since the Konami Soccer series. Hopefully the hockey faithfull will give this game a chance so 989 can see the fuit of their labors. This game deserves to be a classic IMHO.

ohiost

[Granatofan]

I got impressions after playing this game last nite. I really liked MLB so I was really looking forward to another effort by 989.

A few things became very apparent to me very quickly:

1.All of the camera angles stink because either the players look like ants or the action is too close and key players aren't on the screen. Camera angle became very frustrating. Graphics for the PS2 are top notch and I find it very ironic that the developers couldn't come up with better cameras to show them off.

2.Speed of the game is way too fast even at the lowest speed setting. It felt even faster than EA's game to me. The dizzying speed makes it very difficult to play defense because everything is a blurr.

3.Almost all goals are scored on one-timers and rebounds. Very few slapshots or wristers stand a chance.

4.Rebound goals feel very scripted especially by AI. When the AI needs a score you will see some very strange rebounds that rebound at weird angles directly to the AI (almost like an ESP effect) and the AI seems to almost pick them out of the air on a forehand or backhand and richochet the puck past the keeper. It screams pinball effect.

5. Puck physics are flat out goofy at times.

6. Backhanders, slapshots what's the difference? I saw the AI score on a backhander from the blueline on the 2nd to highest difficulty level.

7. Once you score and are up on the AI it seems like they kick into hyper drive with the puck ping ponging from player to player at a crazy pace with shots being rapid fired on net until someone smacks home a rebound. I saw the AI score two goals the exact same way within a very short time frame. It's very hard to explain except to say the exact sequence of events lead to the exact same method of scoring which definately proved to me that a lot if not most of the AI goals are scripted and they can score pretty much anytime they need to.

8.Some the aforementioned problems could be helped if defensesive control was better but it isn't good. The combination of excessive speed and lack of defensive options to use along with poor switching AI can leave you feeling helpless a lot of times.

9.An insane number of offsides

I could go on but there's no point. It's a shame the game doesn't play better or have better camera angles because despite everything I mentioned you can tell that a lot of work went into this game. There are times when you scratch your head and go this game should be better than this. The manual has a laundry list as long as your arm of people the that put this product together. I've never seen a team this big. It makes you wonder how out of all these people no one said hey "our camera angles stink" or "man we need to slow this thing down". Just those two things alone would have helped and they are extremely obvious.

These were pretty detailed observations. Is the speed too fast or not? Are you seeing more goal variety? Are the puck physics and rebounds goofy?

Just curious as to how many games you played before the first impression and between your first and second impression. I can't find this title anywhere right now.

Ted

[bucknuts]

These were pretty detailed observations. Is the speed too fast or not? Are you seeing more goal variety? Are the puck physics and rebounds goofy?

Just curious as to how many games you played before the first impression and between your first and second impression. I can't find this title anywhere right now.

Ted

My first impressions were from playing on the highest difficulty level with the default camera. Probably played 10 games but the default camera was really frustrating me. It seemed to play extremely fast. I've since dropped down to PRO difficulty and play it with the traditional camera. You wouldn't believe the diffference. This view was a liittle far for my tastes at first but once I adjusted it made a huge difference. Speed seems much better to me now. It plays faster than what a lot of us are used to but you'll adjust.

Goal variety has improved dramatically. I wasn't used to the shot mechanics and didn't realize there was a "sweet spot" when taking slapshots. Makes all the difference in the world. I saw anoher guy post something about writers being harder than slappers. This is so untrue once you learn how to take the slapshot but I know why he would make that comment before figuring out the system.

Puck physics aren't nearly as bad as I originally thought. In fact they are pretty good. I just blew that observation. There were instances when a rebound didn't look right but that doesn't happen nearly as often as I thought and I just jumped the gun with that comment.

It's strange. I didn't like NHL 2004 at first last year but after giving it time it became my favorite title. I should have never starting playing this game at the highest level either because this game plays different than the others and there is an adjustment period and some things you need to learn to have success. Playing defense is all about postion in Gretzky. You can't just lunge at guys because they will go by you. That's the way things should be but I didn't expect 989 to get this kind of stuff right given their recent history so I had some built in bias. It's unfortunate on my part but true. There was a lot of effort put in to this title that you will notice once you give it a fair shot.

I had a very hard time finding it as well. I hope you get it soon and when you do don't jump to conclusions like I did without giving it some quality time. After playing it for a while now I just can't see how true hockey fans won't appreciate it.

ohiost

[Jimmydeicide]

180 , more like a 540 dude but glad you found something to like.