Have you found a way to make it tougher to score? that is the only problem I hve with the game right now. Goals are scored at about
a 20-30% rate for me and the AI right now, meaning if I take 10 shots, I will score 2-3 goals. Thats a bit high compared to real life. Have you been having that problem also? Also, it's a bit to easy to just carry the puck and stickhandle around the ice without the AI taking the puck away. I can almost rag the puck with one guy and kill off the entire power play. That shouldn't be. I still have fun with the game and "alter" the way I play to not take advantage of the game's shortcomings, but I wish the goalies were tougher and the AI defense was tougher.
tjung0831 wrote:I'm ready to go on record and say that NHL 07 for the Xbox is the best hockey game ever made for the current generation. They really did a great job this year. It just has that one more game feel, I can't quit playing it.
JackB1 wrote:Have you found a way to make it tougher to score? that is the only problem I hve with the game right now. Goals are scored at about
a 20-30% rate for me and the AI right now, meaning if I take 10 shots, I will score 2-3 goals. Thats a bit high compared to real life. Have you been having that problem also? Also, it's a bit to easy to just carry the puck and stickhandle around the ice without the AI taking the puck away. I can almost rag the puck with one guy and kill off the entire power play. That shouldn't be. I still have fun with the game and "alter" the way I play to not take advantage of the game's shortcomings, but I wish the goalies were tougher and the AI defense was tougher.
tjung0831 wrote:I'm ready to go on record and say that NHL 07 for the Xbox is the best hockey game ever made for the current generation. They really did a great job this year. It just has that one more game feel, I can't quit playing it.
Honestly i'm not having those issues. I have all the defense settings maxed out. I've also slowed the game down one notch, as well as speed burst settings. I find the defense closing in quick on me when i come over the blue line into the slot area, sometimes it's tough to get shots off. I've had a a variety of games in my season so far, i'm averaging about 20 shots per game with 5min periods. The CPU is around 16 shots per game. I was shutout my last game 1-0 by Chicago. I notice when i'm killing penalties that the opposing teams forwards will come after if i'm in my zone behind the net. Last year on NHL 06, you could sit behind the net the whole time. I guess we all play the game different but i'm not having any issues at this point, nothing alarming at all. The game is solid, and it's fun, and it's also made me realize that I don't have a need for a 360 once again.
no question its better than last year's game. I just think the hardest setting should be damn tough. especially since you cant adjust the goalies before each game, like you could in the past. Its just too easy to skate/stickhandle around without losing the puck, IMO. Some games my goalie lets in 50% of the shots on goal. That shouldnt happen.
tjung0831 wrote:
JackB1 wrote:Have you found a way to make it tougher to score? that is the only problem I hve with the game right now. Goals are scored at about
a 20-30% rate for me and the AI right now, meaning if I take 10 shots, I will score 2-3 goals. Thats a bit high compared to real life. Have you been having that problem also? Also, it's a bit to easy to just carry the puck and stickhandle around the ice without the AI taking the puck away. I can almost rag the puck with one guy and kill off the entire power play. That shouldn't be. I still have fun with the game and "alter" the way I play to not take advantage of the game's shortcomings, but I wish the goalies were tougher and the AI defense was tougher.
tjung0831 wrote:I'm ready to go on record and say that NHL 07 for the Xbox is the best hockey game ever made for the current generation. They really did a great job this year. It just has that one more game feel, I can't quit playing it.
Honestly i'm not having those issues. I have all the defense settings maxed out. I've also slowed the game down one notch, as well as speed burst settings. I find the defense closing in quick on me when i come over the blue line into the slot area, sometimes it's tough to get shots off. I've had a a variety of games in my season so far, i'm averaging about 20 shots per game with 5min periods. The CPU is around 16 shots per game. I was shutout my last game 1-0 by Chicago. I notice when i'm killing penalties that the opposing teams forwards will come after if i'm in my zone behind the net. Last year on NHL 06, you could sit behind the net the whole time. I guess we all play the game different but i'm not having any issues at this point, nothing alarming at all. The game is solid, and it's fun, and it's also made me realize that I don't have a need for a 360 once again.
Jimmydeicide wrote:
Its fun , realistic, good AI ,you could play 20 min periods online and get real shot totals, you can play 10 min periods dynasty and get realistic shot totals.
So i'm 41 games into my Bruins dynasty (07 on the 360) and i have to say it's rare that 41 games into anything the feeling of "I can't wait to play another one" is still there, but that is the prevailing feeling right now.
I was driving to work and trying to figure out what the biggest factor was that made it that way (other than the points made in the last 14 pages) and i think it's this: In 41 games i have never once felt as though the game was scripted in any way. In other words i don't get the feeling of "c'mon, that was bulls**t" that i get in Madden, NCAA, or some other sports games. Sure there are weak goals and flukey bounces, but that happens in hockey. I never feel a catchup logic or forced gameplay "adjustments". Each and every game is filled with tension, emotion, and edge of my seat fun. Even down 2 goals with 3 minutes i still think there's a chance. For me the knowledge that a win or a loss is TRULY related to what I do is refreshing.
dbdynsty25 wrote:I'm just not impressed...like I said...I guess I just like an inferior product. It wouldn't be the first time. There was no offense meant by my comment other than I was wondering why I missed the boat so badly. Everyone loves 07 but me...and I was trying to figure out why, but no one was really explaining why it was a better game of hockey...they just claim it's more fun. It was directed towards me mostly.
For me, NHL 07 just plays a better game of hockey out of the box and I've had to do very little slider tweaking to get what I consider a pretty darn good representation of the NHL.
In NHL 2k I've been tweaking sliders since getting it with little luck. The game is way too arcadey and relies on one-timers and rebounds as the only means of scoring. The cpu doesn't scare me on breakaways in 2k as they seem to always think pass first or dump it in for a line change. Show me one NHL player that will dump the puck in on a breakaway for a line change. Late game AI continues to be a problem in the 2k game as well. Oftentimes the cpu will not pull its goalie until there's less than 30 seconds left to play in the game even if they have full control of the puck in my defensive zone with a little over a minute to play. They cycle the puck too much in 2k as well. The cpu offense consistently passes up open shots just to pass and the shot totals are still way too high. The cpu passing is way too spot on and I never see off target passes by them. I rarely see off target shots too (though according to TRI when you lower shot accuracy that means more pucks will go straight to the goalie instead of sailing wide). Overall I guess I'm just sick of having to mess with their sliders to find a good game of hockey when I messed with sliders in NHL 07 for about 5 minutes and found a great game of hockey.
Did any programmers leave 2K for NHL? I'm used to seeing EA being the checkfest with unrealistic shot totals and playing too fast out of the box with major tweakage involved. I'm a diehard 2K guy and find EAs game to be more my liking this year. Scoops paragraph above says exactly what I want to say about 2K7 this year.
I bought 2k and rented '07 and wish I had done the reverse. I have never seen a 2K game that constantly checks and moves too fast out of the box, what happened 2K?
Venom over at 2khockey.net put together this impressively thorough review of NHL 2K7. I thought I would take the liberty of posting it in its entirety:
Well, after nearly a week, I've reached a verdict on NHL 2K7. Rather than attribute some random numbers to judge this game, I thought I'd give you detailed explanations on what I thought are its highlights and shortcomings. Let’s begin with the most obvious.
- PRESENTATION
A wise man once said; "you never get a second chance to make a good first impression". This is true of NHL 2K7. On first impression, the game fails miserably, and that's a crying shame. Graphically, the game has again fallen under the bar set by NHL 2K5. A game that was made 2 years ago on an lesser powered console. Now I'm not talking about only the polygon count, which has indeed been bumped up on the 360 version and so have the texture resolutions. But take a look at the player faces and their equipment. Most of the time, you could not recognize a player by just looking at him. Player sticks look like they've been wrapped with 5" wide duct tape. Goalie's pads look like street hockey gear. Goalie Helmets (which looked beautiful in 2K5) are now blocky and low detailed.
But the main thing that bothers me about the graphics is how everything now has a cartoonier look than NHL 2K5 or 2K6 did. Players, Goalies, Coaches all have big glossy eyes, shiny skin. Everything has bright, bright colors. Stitching on the jerseys is exaggerated to the point where you end up noticing that some jerseys have the WRONG stitching. Even the menu screens show this penchant for "cartoon" visuals (just look at the team select screen).
The sound isn't much better. Crowds are completely uninterested in what's happening on the ice. You could be down to the last minute of game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, with a clear scoring chance on a rebound produced after keeping possession in your opponent's zone for the last 30 seconds. The crowd will react the same as if you're losing 5-0 during a meaningless exhibition match between two teams composed of scrubs. That's to say, they'll have basically no reaction at all.
And that's a damn shame... Because the game could've been a lot better if the visuals and sound were given some love. It would give this game some very much needed ambiance. Yes, the custom soundtracks work this year and it's a good thing as it adds a bit more electricity when you score goals. But 2 seconds after you've scored one, you notice the crowd stop cheering as the Goal Horn and Goal Music are still blaring (loudly) all around them and you begin to question if maybe it would just be better to NOT have any sound at all and PRETEND you're hearing a real NHL arena.
Animation wise, the game is a treat to watch. Plenty of great new animations give the game a more "authentic" feel when it comes to controlling someone on an icy surface. Where it gets spoiled is in the fact that the default game speed was considerably bumped up, so that even at the lowest speed setting doing something as simple as trying to pick up a lose puck 2 feet away or trying to keep your player in good defensive position becomes a chore in futility. The consequences of this are usually that you end up giving much more shots on goal than you'd probably have wanted to and quite unintentionally at that.
After all is said and done, I must say that Kush failed at securing a GOOD first impression with NHL 2K7. They tried to go in a different direction with Cinemotion and that's commendable. But sadly, all it does is accentuate the game's lackings (simple-like cartoony graphics + lack of ambiance). I mean, when you say you want to "enhance the visuals", but block out 50% of those visuals by formatting the Cut-scenes into LETTERBOX (I.E.: Widescreen) format...
Hopefully, they'll do better next year. Heck, they'll have to if they want to be on an even keel with their own house of sports games who look to have a real winner with NBA 2K7. Moving on...
- GAMEPLAY
Once again, this is where NHL 2K shines above any NHL game. The team spent a considerable amount of time tweaking the AI so that it more closely plays with some real hockey knowhow. It's far from perfect, but it's much better than last year's 360 effort. Offensively, your forwards will actually anticipate position changes. Defensemen will hold the line which allows you to move the puck more effectively for a scoring chance. Where I think it falls apart is the goaltending and this overall feeling to the game that reminds me of playing NHL 2K3. For those of you who harp on Treyarch’s last take on the NHL 2K engine, you’re probably in for a treat. For the rest of us who have been eagerly followed the game’s slow progression over the last 3 years, well it’s kinda disappointing. Goalies are absolute walls that can only be broken using one-timers or repeated whacks at the puck from the goal crease.
Worse, they hardly come out to challenge a shooter. Their animations have been reverted to 2K3/2K4 status, with a meagre sprinkling of Turco’s distinctive animations from 2K6 (split glove/blocker saves). Many will be the times you’ll come down on the goalie alone only to see him doggedly stay at the edge of his blue zone. Then when you’re about 10 feet from him, he’ll take 2 steps back and stay at his goal line to make the save, which he’ll make 95% of the time, even though he’s not really covering his angles.
The enhanced defensive routines help somewhat as they’ll come and bail out the goalie on occasion. But even without them, the goalies will stymie you with an alarming success rate. Forget about shots from the point, unless you somehow manage to deflect the puck in. One-timers are back to 2K3 efficiency though and as if to enhance that fact, the same 2K3 goalie bug that had them remain motionless to close-in one-timer attempts, which just made the game so frustrating, are back.
I really liked the goaltending in NHL 2K6 and I was expecting an evolution of it for NHL 2K7. I was wrong. Some of you may point to the NHL 07 goalies as being better, and sadly, I may have to agree. Overlooking their visual accuracy, the goalies in NHL 07 do a better job of challenging a shooter and covering the angles than the ones in NHL 2K7, and this by a mile and a half. Kush and VC have a lot of work to do on the goaltending next year. A lot of work…
The rest of the gameplay is pretty money, except from some strange omissions; for some reason they removed the ability to change face-off strategies and the auto turn-around feature that was implemented for 2K6 when the puck carrier got close to the blue line is also missing. Strange to say the least.
In essence, there have been some good changes, but also some steps back taken with the gameplay that leave me puzzled. It’s a good thing they didn’t mess around with the game mechanics anymore than they did, or we’d probably have a complete mess on our hands. I’m predicting that online leagues will absolutely rock this year. Offline play will be OK, but not much more than that. Better graphics, ambiance, sounds and better play by the goalies would’ve helped NHL 2K7 be truly unique. As it is, it’s just marginally better than the competition and that only because the gameplay is also marginally better.
I was expecting much better from Kush and VC.
- FEATURES
As was the case with past games, NHL 2K7 comes jam packed with features. The problem is that most of them were brought back from past iterations of the game. Things like Party Mode are back with a few new mini-games added. Pond hockey, the Skybox and Hit the Ice return as well. But that’s just it, there’s nothing really NEW added to them that warrants wanting to use them.
You either like or hate Party Mode. If you like it, then having 4 new mini games hardly gives you the feeling that that mode is “enhanced” from last year. If you hate it, the 4 new games certainly won’t suck you in. Pond Hockey is much like Party Mode, if you play it, it’s back. Yay… If you don’t: meh… The Skybox looks slightly different than last year, but there’s nothing added there that would make you want using it. Oh sure, there’s the mandatory variations on the unlockables, but there are less of them now than there were in versions past. And while you could go and purchase the 1930’s Ottawa Senators jersey, there’s no reason to do so which makes the whole Skybox thing seem very moot.
Then there are the omissions: where’s the Heritage Classic? Where’s the Challenge mode? Where are all the classic teams that were in the Skybox before (Nordiques, Winnipeg Jets)?
This year’s big Feature is Cinemotion. Cinemotion is an attempt to create ambiance by bringing the player closer to the action on the ice. The idea has merit, but the way it is executed leaves a lot to be desired. First off is the Cinemotion fog (mentioned above) which “enhances the visuals”. I’ve already touched on that (again above), so I’ll skip that here. Then there’s the cut-scenes which are letterboxed to give the user the feeling that the action is “focused” on the players being shown. Problem is, cutting off 50% of the screen means we see LESS, not more of the action. It may work in a movie, but for a sports videogame, it does more harm than good. For example, instead of marvelling at the accuracy of the arenas and the enormous crowds sitting in them, we get to focus on the players faces during cut scenes which aren’t all that hot. Or how about noticing that there are only 3 players on the bench as a goal scorer skates by his own bench to celebrate when there should actually be 15?
Cinemotion has all the markings of an idea that was NOT thought through before it was okayed for production. At least, that’s how it feels to me and how it may end up feeling to many who purchase this game. Whether it’s the truth or not is irrelevant. It’s all about perceptions, and as I said at the beginning, perceptions count for a lot in this business.
Moving on, bread and butter features like Franchise, Season and International Tourneys make a comeback yet again in pretty much the same form as they were 2-3 years ago, with the exception that International teams are yet again missing their actual jerseys due to licensing issues. The good thing to note is that these modes are now much more stable than they used to be. So now you can play a Franchise and go crazy if you want to without having to fear that your entire work will vanish due to a bug. At least, that’s how it appears so far. Let’s hope it holds true ‘till the end.
Sadly, there’s not very much added to either mode to make them appealing to someone who’s a first time player of NHL 2K. Many of the CBA rules aren’t implemented. There’s no real meat to the create a player engine as it’s pretty much the same engine that’s been used since NHL 2K2: you can’t change skin tones, you can’t change hair color or styles, you have barely a few different types of equipment you can select per players/goalies without even the possibility of changing the template colors to something you’d like. A lot of the normal GM/Coaching options are missing (two-way contracts, waivers, 3 way trades, etc). Lastly, there’s no direction to your Franchise or Season foray. NBA 2K actually gives you a goal set by the Team Owner as to what’s expected of you and your team, season by season. That would add to the overall feeling that you’re playing the franchise for a purpose other than just play hockey, which you can do just by playing a “Quick Game” anyways.
Overall, it feels like there’s beginning to be too many features, and because of that, the team can’t really flesh them out as they should be. I believe the team should go back to basics next year by removing all the extras surrounding the hockey engine and re-adding them bit by bit over the years, but in true fleshed out form. The point is to not add features for the sake of adding them. But rather to add them to enhance the game by providing something useful that the user WILL want to play with. That way instead of concentrating on fixing things that are broken all over the place, they can concentrate on adding great features to the already great core gameplay.
- SUMMARY
NHL 2K7 does many things right. The skating is almost spot on. There’s still some swivelling to be had here and there, but it’s within tolerable levels. The AI has been brought up to decent levels as well and many will be challenged at the higher difficulties. The custom soundtracks were fixed as were some sliders that were broken before (goalie freeze time).
Still, it feels like the game is stretched thin in many places and fails to innovate. Most game modes return as is. Last year’s new emphasis on realistic goaltending was put on hold. Worse, it looks like they went back in time and undid what was gained in 2K6. Some aspects were added that make sense in VIDEOGAME, but not necessarily to a SPORTS GAME like Cinemotion or the need to mute the crowd quickly after a goal so the user can hear the commentator or the player chatter more clearly.
If you did not get NHL 2K6 last year, then you can go ahead and purchase NHL 2K7 this year. It’s, in essence, what NHL 2K6 should’ve been last year. If you did however purchase NHL 2K6 last year, I can only recommend NHL 2K7 if A) you’re playing in one or many online leagues this year or B) you wait until the price drops to enjoy the game you should’ve enjoyed last year.
I don’t feel bad about purchasing NHL 2K7. Although I do feel disappointed that so little was actually improved. Not that the skating engine is a small thing. It adds wonders to the gameplay. But considering the plethora of features the game possesses and find that only a small percentage of them were made better… Well, all I can say is that I hope the guys and gals at Kush can do better next year. I know they can do better.
They have their work cut out for them to catch up to the NBA 2K team. Never mind EA’s NHL team. The example to follow will be set by NBA 2K7. That is the template that all sports videogame will need to follow to succeed. This is why I have such high hopes that Kush, who belongs to the same family, can at least get close to matching it.
As it stands, NHL 2K7 is not a leap forward or backwards in hockey videogames. It maintains the status quo and that’s never a good thing. EA projected the image that they’re trying to make their game Authentic. Kush/VC has to come back next year and prove it.
For those of you that have played a lot of 2K7, are you seeing the same thing with the goalies? Is it really that hard to score, and are one timers accounting for the majority of your goals?
grtwhtsk wrote:For those of you that have played a lot of 2K7, are you seeing the same thing with the goalies? Is it really that hard to score, and are one timers accounting for the majority of your goals?
By the standards of the 2K series, the variety of goal scoring is actually pretty good. You can score off deke moves, off slapshots, off rebounds and off deflections, as well as the more traditional one-timers. I scored a pretty spectacular goal where my skater went airborne trying to slam home a rebound as his momentum was carrying him away from the goal. So you do see some good things. That said, the entire interface between goalie and shooter feels completely lifeless and unengaging after NHL 07. It makes the gameplay feel kind of pointless, honestly.
I play 2k7 on the CG Xbox, on Pro. I have bumped the goalie skill sliders down a bit, and I see a variety of goals... deflections, dekes, shots from the point....
You just need to tweak I think. I agree that the goalies don't come out nearly enough, or behave realistically, but I don't know if we'll ever see that.
JackB1 wrote:funny he doesnt mention anything about that great new dynamic camera angle
That's the one thing that's kept me from picking up (and probably enjoying) EA's game. I just don't know that I could go back to the same old, same old stale overhead camera angle after getting used to (and falling in love with) the new 2k camera.
grtwhtsk wrote:For those of you that have played a lot of 2K7, are you seeing the same thing with the goalies? Is it really that hard to score, and are one timers accounting for the majority of your goals?
I'm playing on All-Star with the sliders that were posted either in this thread somewhere or on OS and I'm scoring over 4 goals a game. After a few more games I may turn up the goalie sliders to make it a little more difficult (or just go up to hall of fame or whatever the highest level is). It is in NO WAY too hard to score, you just have to be patient with your shots and set them up. As I also mentioned before, one-timers make up maybe 10% of my goals. This is the first time in the 2k series that one-timers don't make up a significant portion of my goals. If others feel they do, then that is obviously all they are trying, thus all they are scoring on.
Bill Harris has an excellent comparison at his blog. He's just too modest to post the link...or an egomaniac who's blog success has gone to his head to the point where he assumes we all read it anyway.
RobVarak wrote:Bill Harris has an excellent comparison at his blog. He's just too modest to post the link...or an egomaniac who's blog success has gone to his head to the point where he assumes we all read it anyway.
While I don't agree with everything in that blog.. I agree that anyone on the fence should rent them first. Had my first near shutout against a hot Phoenix team, we won 4-1 - but Sanford finally had a great game and he stopped 34-35 shots. It's just great that on 10 min period settings, the game plays quite realistic, minus the hits by the CPU.. although they seem to get more penalties then I do.
I did see Phoenix cycle the hell out of the puck on the powerplay though.. more so than any other team I've played yet.
RobVarak wrote:Bill Harris has an excellent comparison at his blog. He's just too modest to post the link...or an egomaniac who's blog success has gone to his head to the point where he assumes we all read it anyway.
Wow, after reading that I have to question whether or not Bill has actually played NHL 07. I don't mean any offense Bill but I haven't noticed any of what you wrote to the degree you have. I'm playing on All Star with aggression and shot blocking sliders almost maxed and I find it difficult to find any room in the crease much less skating circles around them. Good defensive positioning also increase the cpu offenses tendency to pass. I've seen the cpu put on an offensive zone passing clinic that nearly made my jaw hit the floor. Unfortunately it does not occur often enough because the AI is programmed to take the open shot and punish you for your defensive mistakes, which is does much better than 2k7. The biggest problem is the lack of precision you get with the controls while on defense. If 07 had the precision of defensive controls as 2k7 did the game would be unbelievable. As it stands it's hard to stay in the defensive position required to witness a beautiful display of offense.
I am a patient boy.
I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait.
My time is water down a drain.
I don't agree with much that he posts, but I have tweaked the sliders a bit and improved a great deal on defense since I first got the game. Slowing the game down and learning to play defense is the key to making the CPU pass the puck. Once you learn to do that the CPU will pass a lot more.
I usually cut the game "testers" a break because I figure it's anyone's right to enjoy the game how they see fit. However, I truly feel this is an instance where his time would have probably been more well spent learning to play defense or tweaking some sliders rather than writing down how many times the CPU passes the puck. When I first got the game it was not uncommon for me to give up 80! shots on goal with 10 minute periods, but now I have had games where I only give up 20-30.
I think the CPU takes some bad angle shots and does shoot too frequently, but as I've improved on defense and not allowed open shots the CPU has been more patient. Would we be complaining if the AI didn't take WIDE OPEN shots. When I first got the game I was giving up a ton of them.
ScoopBrady wrote:The biggest problem is the lack of precision you get with the controls while on defense. If 07 had the precision of defensive controls as 2k7 did the game would be unbelievable. As it stands it's hard to stay in the defensive position required to witness a beautiful display of offense.
I agree totally. One thing that helps me is actually letting go of the stick for a second in transition back to my end so I don't accidentally skate a defenseman out of position. I also use the switch button a lot because letting the CPU take control of the player for a split second sometimes "fixes" a player you have taken out of position a bit and it's easier to get back where you want to be.
BTW, I'm not totally convinced that Superstar is the hardest level either. In typical EA bizzaro world fashion I tried to pickup a few of the achievements the past few nights and had more trouble winning on rookie
ScoopBrady wrote:I have to question whether or not Bill has actually played NHL 07.
I'm sure he has played it, and while I can't refute his claims since I didn't play 2K. Bill is definetly not one to lie.
But you have to remember that Bill is always extra hard on EA and light on 2K games. If you read his table in that article it is almost spot on from what I've read in this thread. Then you read his article and he spends about 6 paragraphs ripping EA to shreds, and he spends a whole paragraph making an excuse / assumption for 2K not having a shot stick because they are "too smart" not to think of it.
I like Bill, I consider him a friend and enjoy what he writes everyday. But whenever he is reviewing or comparing an EA game, well I tone down his negative feedback by about 2 notches.
Just remember it could be worse, you could be reading a Dan Clarke blog posting.
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I with Leebo. Well I agree with 50% of that. The CPU is too aggressive in taking shots and the defensive AI for human teams is poor. They leave too much space for the CPU to take a shot. It doesn't result in a goal but the CPU still takes too many shots.
I think the AI is too aggressive rather than smart. It's one of those things where the CPU is too calculating to be a good representation of the sport. Plus it takes far too many low percentage shots to be really dangerous.
I hope NHL 2007 is doing its MVP thing. That would be promising. First year, potential but the gameplay isn't there yet. Second year, almost with a few niggling and unrefined edges. Third year - classic.
I don't question whether he played the game, but I would seriously question whether he played the game for more than an hour before writing the comparison.
I'm not saying NHL 07 doesn't have some significant issues, but to go out of your way to count passes in apparently one of your first games just to "prove" a gameplay flaw before adjusting sliders and learning to play the game seems a little strange to me. He's quick to slam reviewers for not noticing something after 5 minutes of play, but yet does the opposite by posting his results after "testing" on one skill level with one sample size, without sliders adjustments, etc. He tested the "superstar" level because it is supposedly the hardest, but how many times in EA Sports history has the hardest difficulty level been bogus with ratings boosts for the CPU. If anything, I would have tried the test first on default or the second to hardest level.
Yep, it's taken me many..many games to really get RL resembling stats and the like. I like the "nhl today" up and down pace and challenge the AS level gives me - on mostly ALL defaults. Like MVP, I can't tell you how nice and different each game feels.
It's taken me many games to finally figure out faceoffs and defensive strategies. That being said, the game is not perfect, but it's as much fun as I've had with a hockey game since I can remember. I like tweaking my offensive and defensive tatics and actually seeing a change in the way my team plays.
MizzouRah wrote:It's taken me many games to finally figure out faceoffs
Faceoffs are a perfect example of how the game gets better once you learn how to play and find out the nuances. I think I even posted somewhere in this thread that faceoffs were *way* too hard, but now I think they are well done and fun...almost a mini-game within the game.
I just want to clarify that I don't really think Bill hasn't played the game. It was more of a statement to express how I see things totally different. I trust what Bill writes to be truth and don't think he would ever write impressions of a game he has not played.
I am a patient boy.
I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait.
My time is water down a drain.
