NHL 08 Impressions

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:37 pm

Woah, big news. The trade deadline roster update is out.....

and supposedly EA has released a game update that enables 6 vs 6 online team play.

Millennium · Post by **Millennium** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:42 pm

It's not supposed - It's true.

6 on 6 goodness...

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:19 pm

Millennium wrote:It's not supposed - It's true.

6 on 6 goodness...

whoa - oh boy - Full on six on six; that is just so . . . right.

Friday night, anyone?

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:35 pm

Zeppo wrote:
Millennium wrote:It's not supposed - It's true.

6 on 6 goodness...
whoa - oh boy - Full on six on six; that is just so . . . right.

Friday night, anyone?

You mean we can feasibly play a sports game where every player involved is being handled by a person with no AI? Hell yeah I'm there on Friday night. I would have said yes to NHL OTP even if it was still 3 on 3.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:37 pm

Wow, that's pretty cool I may be able to play. If not Friday then hopefully some other night as I'm keeping this game all the way until NHL 09.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:42 pm

Best Next Gen game even got better.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:03 pm

Inuyasha wrote:Best Next Gen game even got better.

Amen!

I'm in for Friday.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:10 pm

Sweeeeet baby. Fridays ain't good for me but I hope to catch up with some of you soon.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:48 am

Tried some new OTP tonight. Great fun. My only beef is that when you play with some randoms, a single game can take quite a bit to finish, due to people pausing the game, due to others falling constantly in offsides. The word Team takes a whole new meaning.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:28 am

That's cool but there seems to be more dropped connections with 3 vs. 3 than 2 vs. 2, at least on the PS3 version.

And I hate playing with human goalies. They just give up way too many easy goals.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:55 am

I'd be in for Friday night.

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:32 am

We were able to scrape together 9 guys last night for our own private game. We played 5 vs 4 with AI goalies (I, too, can't stand human goalies. Too many soft goals).

IMO, it's much easier to play with 5 guys locked into a position than it is 2 or 3. Our team had plenty of moments when everyone was handling their assignment well, and we just flat out dominated the play. We were also finding it easier to work the puck around in the offensive end. All in all, it was an awesome experience.

GameSeven · Post by **GameSeven** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:02 am

WTF?! *That* is a hell of a surprise. Figures it happens the day I leave for vacation. Will have to give this a go with you guys when I get back next week if it maintains steam.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:23 am

I'm definitely up for trying this!

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:30 pm

BTW, what is the best way to check?

It says right stick but I've seen these animations where human-controlled players can cover a lot of ground. First they drift towards the player with the puck and then seem to just warp right into his path, often upending them.

Lot of times, with the right stick, I either miss or don't get a clean enough hit and the player just bounces off you and keep going.

I would assume defenders like Pronger would be more consistent with the checks but I've seen that warping animation to make up a lot of ground done by front line players too.

Also, on poke checks, I notice some people can consistently trip people from behind with the hockey stick (this is abused sometimes). I've only done it once or twice with the R1 but wasn't trying to trip, just trying to get the puck loose.

Post by **Jared** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:34 pm

I won't have the time to try this for another week or so (family and baby eating ALL of my time)...but 6 on 6 sounds AWESOME.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:39 pm

Im in whenever.....SAWEEET. We could get 10 surely and not have any human goalies.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:06 pm

wco81 wrote:BTW, what is the best way to check?

Being positionally sound is the key to poke checks. I tend to overskate at times and that's when it creates potential two on ones. In other words don't overcommit, don't lounge at the opponent right away and wait for the right opportunity.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:33 pm

I'm okay with the poke checks.

More curious about these body-checks where they cover a lot of ground and move faster than the offensive player with the huck.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:02 pm

Rumor going around they have dropped it to 4 on 4

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:18 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:Rumor going around they have dropped it to 4 on 4

It's true: http://forums.ea.com/mboards/thread.jsp ... 8&tstart=0

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:23 pm

vader29 wrote:
Jimmydeicide wrote:Rumor going around they have dropped it to 4 on 4
It's true: http://forums.ea.com/mboards/thread.jsp ... 8&tstart=0

The post in full:

Yesterday, (3/18) we released a post – trade deadline roster update with player movements and new rating adjustments. We also included a bonus addition. As of right now, you currently can continue to play 4 on 4 Online Team Play, but we’ve locked the 6 on 6 option for good reasons.

1.) We can’t do 6 on 6 right now because it hasn’t been tested enough

2.) We recognized in the online community that the majority of games played were played with a manual goalie. Our vision was to let the community play as all three offensive positions and lock in, rather than sacrificing one of the three slots to play a manual goalie. This is the ideal way to play Online Team Play in NHL 08.

3.) We have some great new things in NHL 09 that will make you want to lock in as defensive players.

We want you to have the best experience possible with NHL 08, so we’ve decided to open up an extra slot. Thanks for all of your support for our NHL team, and we really look forward to continuing our great relationship with NHL 09. We hope you enjoy the 4 on 4 Online Team Play. Our gift to you.

Translation - we realized it is a very popular feature and want to use it to sell NHL 09.

WEAK!

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:26 pm

Well, yeah it'll be full 6 on 6 next year but they also could have just updated the rosters and call it a year too.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:28 pm

10spro wrote:Well, yeah it'll be full 6 on 6 next year but they also could have just updated the rosters and call it a year too.

True.

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:17 pm

I wish all EA sports games were like NHL 08.