NHL 2K6 Impressions
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NHL 2K6 Impressions
hopefully these will start rolling in.....
I've played about 8 games and after tweaking the sliders a few times this is what I am using ,and I am finding the games close and very SIM like.
7 min period on All Star. All sliders to the right.
Gameplay - Human/CPU:
Goalie Skill - 3/3
Offense - 8/9
Defense - 9/9
Speed Burst Effect - 3/3
Speed Burst Time - 6/4
Speed Burst Recovery - 9/9
Fatigue Effect - Maxed out, I like playing with 4 lines.
Fatigue Recovery - 2/2 (Read above)
Fatigue Time - 7/8
Hitting Power - 2/2
Shot Accuracy - 2/2
Pass Accuracy - 4/1
Pass Speed - 3/3
Pass Interceptions - Maxed out
Rebound Distance - 5/5
Shot Blocking - 7/7
Puck Retention - 8/8
Puck Control - 1/1
Goalie Anticipation - 4/4
Goalie Cover Depth - 8/8
Goalie Saves - 4/4
7 min period on All Star. All sliders to the right.
Gameplay - Human/CPU:
Goalie Skill - 3/3
Offense - 8/9
Defense - 9/9
Speed Burst Effect - 3/3
Speed Burst Time - 6/4
Speed Burst Recovery - 9/9
Fatigue Effect - Maxed out, I like playing with 4 lines.
Fatigue Recovery - 2/2 (Read above)
Fatigue Time - 7/8
Hitting Power - 2/2
Shot Accuracy - 2/2
Pass Accuracy - 4/1
Pass Speed - 3/3
Pass Interceptions - Maxed out
Rebound Distance - 5/5
Shot Blocking - 7/7
Puck Retention - 8/8
Puck Control - 1/1
Goalie Anticipation - 4/4
Goalie Cover Depth - 8/8
Goalie Saves - 4/4
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Airdog
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My settings are on the default SIM settings that came with the game, except the CPU speed burst is set down a few notches, one timers are on hard, and some controller settings (shot aim to manual, etc.). I don't use the icon passing and I haven't messed around with the coaching stuff thus yet (coaching on the fly).
I've played two games so far, me being Toronto.
My first game was against Tampa Bay, and I lost it 3-1. My second game was against Montreal, and I won 6-4. The second game felt almost completely different in that it was very open ended offensively. Shots were 38-25 in their favour in the first game and 41-40 for me in the second game. My defence at this point isn't very good. The computer takes a lot of slap shots from up close and I've noticed that they're a little strange on break aways. I attribute the high shot counts so far to me being crappy on defence and taking a lot of random shots to see how the CPU goalies would react.
Checking animations (especially the player that gets checked) are much better. Brian Leetch was absolutely nailed by Andre Roy and the noise and Leetch's tumble was fantastic. Overall I think the checking is much improved - mostly because not all hits turn into huge hits, sometimes you miss completely and sometimes you only move your opponent a bit or set him off track. One thing that I do like is that the players' helmets do not get knocked off all the time. In fact, I've only seen a player's helmet get knocked off once, and that was in a fight (as the result of an upper cut).
Goal scoring seems a lot more random than 2K5. Goalies are definitely beatable in a number of ways. I've seen goals on one timers, slap shots, wrist shots, back hands but none on breakaways so far (like I said, the AI is a little strange on those and I don't think that I've gotten in on one myself yet). Five hole goals are back in a big way - I've already seen three I believe. Screening the goalie and traffic also seems to count a fair amount this year. Mad scrambles are pretty fun on rebounds when the goalie is down and trying to get on the puck.
One timers are much improved this season. When set on hard players do not simply get a stick on every pass that goes across the goal mouth. Passes that do connect however are also not always a given goal. The animation for the goalie jumping across the net has gone a long way in stopping a multitude of one timer goals albeit the save itself being kind of rare in the NHL itself. When one timers cannot be completed the player will just receive the puck a bit awkwardly, which has led to a fun goal by myself already. Tie Domi couldn't one time a shot on his backhand (thank God) so he received it on his backhand and nicely flipped it top shelf (yeah, its' Domi, but it looked freakin' sweet).
Cycling the puck feels fantastic with the defencemen actually anchored along the blue line keeping the puck in and passing it to each other in a way this hockey series hasn't seen since NHL 2K3. There's no way to describe a solid cycling series but it really does make me feel good. Skating backwards as a defenceman with the puck is also very smooth and realistic. Much much much improved over the last few seasons' games.
Skating is also much improved this season, as turning on a dime is practically impossible. Getting a full head of steam up the ice is more difficult this season; acceleration of a player going into a speed burst is also slower, presumably simulating momentum.
Crowd reactions are a lot more loud and obvious as goals at home will be reacted to appropriately (and more loudly than in the past). Big hits and penalties will also illicit the proper response.
The commentary isn't anything amazing but it isn't exactly grating either. It's pretty much average but I expect it to improve a lot for next season - if it doesn't it will be inexcusable. I will give Kush a slight pass on this one because of the switch to the new announcers.
Stat overlays are cool, as are the clips between intermissions. Replay angles during the game are for the most part proper but there are some exceptions. There's one particular replay that gets played if you hit the puck off of the post. where it will rewind and play forward the moment of impact onto the post but often times it will rewind/play at the wrong time. There are two new overlays that I love and those are the shot chart overlay showing the areas of the ice where the puck was shot from and also the puck possession chart. Unfortunately both of these new additions only show up towards the end of the third period. I would've liked to see these shown near the end of each period, or at least halfway through the second and then at the end of the game.
I haven't touched season, franchise, etc. yet - just played two full games of exhibition.
I'm sure my opinion will sway on certain things one way or another but thus far I'm very positive about this game. I am also considering reactivating my XBL account because this game will be absolutely amazing over it.
I've played two games so far, me being Toronto.
My first game was against Tampa Bay, and I lost it 3-1. My second game was against Montreal, and I won 6-4. The second game felt almost completely different in that it was very open ended offensively. Shots were 38-25 in their favour in the first game and 41-40 for me in the second game. My defence at this point isn't very good. The computer takes a lot of slap shots from up close and I've noticed that they're a little strange on break aways. I attribute the high shot counts so far to me being crappy on defence and taking a lot of random shots to see how the CPU goalies would react.
Checking animations (especially the player that gets checked) are much better. Brian Leetch was absolutely nailed by Andre Roy and the noise and Leetch's tumble was fantastic. Overall I think the checking is much improved - mostly because not all hits turn into huge hits, sometimes you miss completely and sometimes you only move your opponent a bit or set him off track. One thing that I do like is that the players' helmets do not get knocked off all the time. In fact, I've only seen a player's helmet get knocked off once, and that was in a fight (as the result of an upper cut).
Goal scoring seems a lot more random than 2K5. Goalies are definitely beatable in a number of ways. I've seen goals on one timers, slap shots, wrist shots, back hands but none on breakaways so far (like I said, the AI is a little strange on those and I don't think that I've gotten in on one myself yet). Five hole goals are back in a big way - I've already seen three I believe. Screening the goalie and traffic also seems to count a fair amount this year. Mad scrambles are pretty fun on rebounds when the goalie is down and trying to get on the puck.
One timers are much improved this season. When set on hard players do not simply get a stick on every pass that goes across the goal mouth. Passes that do connect however are also not always a given goal. The animation for the goalie jumping across the net has gone a long way in stopping a multitude of one timer goals albeit the save itself being kind of rare in the NHL itself. When one timers cannot be completed the player will just receive the puck a bit awkwardly, which has led to a fun goal by myself already. Tie Domi couldn't one time a shot on his backhand (thank God) so he received it on his backhand and nicely flipped it top shelf (yeah, its' Domi, but it looked freakin' sweet).
Cycling the puck feels fantastic with the defencemen actually anchored along the blue line keeping the puck in and passing it to each other in a way this hockey series hasn't seen since NHL 2K3. There's no way to describe a solid cycling series but it really does make me feel good. Skating backwards as a defenceman with the puck is also very smooth and realistic. Much much much improved over the last few seasons' games.
Skating is also much improved this season, as turning on a dime is practically impossible. Getting a full head of steam up the ice is more difficult this season; acceleration of a player going into a speed burst is also slower, presumably simulating momentum.
Crowd reactions are a lot more loud and obvious as goals at home will be reacted to appropriately (and more loudly than in the past). Big hits and penalties will also illicit the proper response.
The commentary isn't anything amazing but it isn't exactly grating either. It's pretty much average but I expect it to improve a lot for next season - if it doesn't it will be inexcusable. I will give Kush a slight pass on this one because of the switch to the new announcers.
Stat overlays are cool, as are the clips between intermissions. Replay angles during the game are for the most part proper but there are some exceptions. There's one particular replay that gets played if you hit the puck off of the post. where it will rewind and play forward the moment of impact onto the post but often times it will rewind/play at the wrong time. There are two new overlays that I love and those are the shot chart overlay showing the areas of the ice where the puck was shot from and also the puck possession chart. Unfortunately both of these new additions only show up towards the end of the third period. I would've liked to see these shown near the end of each period, or at least halfway through the second and then at the end of the game.
I haven't touched season, franchise, etc. yet - just played two full games of exhibition.
I'm sure my opinion will sway on certain things one way or another but thus far I'm very positive about this game. I am also considering reactivating my XBL account because this game will be absolutely amazing over it.
- Rob
PSN: smearobe
PSN: smearobe
Airdog wrote:
Skating is also much improved this season, as turning on a dime is practically impossible. Getting a full head of steam up the ice is more difficult this season; acceleration of a player going into a speed burst is also slower, presumably simulating momentum.
The ice friction slider is as important as ever. Those of you concerned about the players' turn radius, will be happy to know that the default setting for that slider is 50% or more, if I recall well. On this standard setting, the ice friction is not as high as in previous years and the turn radius is much smaller. Hence if you want the "turning on a dime" you need to down the slider. It's not a HUGE difference or an overhaul of the skating engine, but that down, combined with the new skating animations, definitely makes it feel better.
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dbdynsty25
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pk500
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Can you drive to EB for me today and get NHL 2K6? I'm sick of making f*cking trips there.dbdynsty25 wrote:A few more games tonight and I'm sold. I can pretty much guarantee that NHL 06 will not surpass 2k6. The game is just solid as hell from top to bottom. The subtle improvements they made to the skating engine, the goalie animations, the new rules, the AI tweaks...all make for a great game.
Thanks for the impressions. If 2K6 even plays a decent game of hockey, it will exceed NHL 06. Seriously, I think people have forgotten what realistic hockey looks and plays like due to the lockout if they think NHL 06 is a credible sim.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
XBL Gamertag: pk4425
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
XBL Gamertag: pk4425
I love the skating model in 2k6. The one thing about 2k5 that bugged me was that the poke check, and diving swipe, were too effective. In 2k6, you better time them perfectly, or you're completely out of the play...the way it should be. I can see how some reviewers may have a problem with the skating, but it seems much more realistic to me, as momentum is a huge factor when trying to change direction.
Last night, I played two games against the CPU, and two games online with a buddy on my Friends List. I can certainly say that NHL2K6 is a much improved game over NHL2K5.
First of all, I just want to state that every sports game will have some bugs. Some bugs are more severe than others (Madden's run/pass glitch for instance), others are very sporadic and aren't game killers. If you play the game for what it does, then NKL2K6 is incredible.
The skating is incredible. Be sure you turn Momentum on in the settings. Makes a world of difference. As usual, Kush has a wide variety of sliders and settings to totally customize your way of playing. There are more team strategy options to choose from. And for the first time, the CPU plays an incredibly believable game of hockey.
Airdog certainly echos what I have to say about this game. I think the commentary is very good. Certainly on par with 2K5 and that is impressive considering the short time they had to record everything. I am very happy with this game and plan to get a season started over the weekend.
As far as online play, not once did we lag out or get disconnected. You can now hear the other person as the game is loading up, and even the load times are brief. After the game, it doesn't automatically throw you out of the game. Now you have a chance to talk after the game. Once the highlights are over you get knocked out, but you have a good 60-90 seconds to talk after the game.
The presentation is very good. Lots of overlays. The font choice could have been better, but overall, it is certainly on par with the ESPN presentation from the previous couple seasons. However, the menu system is much nicer than before.
I'm going to give NHL 06 a rent in the near future, but it will have to be one hell of a game to top NHL2K6. Not sure why 2K6 was getting slammed in many of the reviews in magazines.
First of all, I just want to state that every sports game will have some bugs. Some bugs are more severe than others (Madden's run/pass glitch for instance), others are very sporadic and aren't game killers. If you play the game for what it does, then NKL2K6 is incredible.
The skating is incredible. Be sure you turn Momentum on in the settings. Makes a world of difference. As usual, Kush has a wide variety of sliders and settings to totally customize your way of playing. There are more team strategy options to choose from. And for the first time, the CPU plays an incredibly believable game of hockey.
Airdog certainly echos what I have to say about this game. I think the commentary is very good. Certainly on par with 2K5 and that is impressive considering the short time they had to record everything. I am very happy with this game and plan to get a season started over the weekend.
As far as online play, not once did we lag out or get disconnected. You can now hear the other person as the game is loading up, and even the load times are brief. After the game, it doesn't automatically throw you out of the game. Now you have a chance to talk after the game. Once the highlights are over you get knocked out, but you have a good 60-90 seconds to talk after the game.
The presentation is very good. Lots of overlays. The font choice could have been better, but overall, it is certainly on par with the ESPN presentation from the previous couple seasons. However, the menu system is much nicer than before.
I'm going to give NHL 06 a rent in the near future, but it will have to be one hell of a game to top NHL2K6. Not sure why 2K6 was getting slammed in many of the reviews in magazines.
A couple more things I should note. The goalie animations in NHL2K6 are exceptional. They will whatever they can to try and stop a flurry of shots at them. A couple times though, the puck hit off the pads and trickled into the net. My second game I played, I won it by the put hitting the crossbar at the top and dropping down inside the net. My buddy won the 2nd game we played, 3-2 in OT, as his winning shot ricocheted off the right post. The physics are just sweet.
Also, make sure you bump the difficulty up to All-Star. I haven't tried Hall of Famer yet, but All-Star plays a believable game of hockey. I'd say 8 minute periods will feel perfect as far as number of shots go. I had 19 shots total in my game against the CPU, 3 in the 1st period, 6 in period #2, and 10 in the last period. The CPU shot the puck 22 times.
Finally, the penalties feel spot on. I haven't seen a fight yet, and not sure if there are major penalties. A couple times, my player started arguing with the ref only for a teammate to come get him out of the way.
Also, make sure you bump the difficulty up to All-Star. I haven't tried Hall of Famer yet, but All-Star plays a believable game of hockey. I'd say 8 minute periods will feel perfect as far as number of shots go. I had 19 shots total in my game against the CPU, 3 in the 1st period, 6 in period #2, and 10 in the last period. The CPU shot the puck 22 times.
Finally, the penalties feel spot on. I haven't seen a fight yet, and not sure if there are major penalties. A couple times, my player started arguing with the ref only for a teammate to come get him out of the way.
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pk500
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Well, the praise for NHL 06 is effusive at OS, and posters here are claiming it's a really good hockey game.Leebo33 wrote:Who is making these claims? Is it at OS? I've only skimmed the posts there.pk500 wrote:Seriously, I think people have forgotten what realistic hockey looks and plays like due to the lockout if they think NHL 06 is a credible sim.
Maybe I got a beta disc by mistake.
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
XBL Gamertag: pk4425
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
XBL Gamertag: pk4425
pk500 wrote:Well, the praise for NHL 06 is effusive at OS, and posters here are claiming it's a really good hockey game.Leebo33 wrote:Who is making these claims? Is it at OS? I've only skimmed the posts there.pk500 wrote:Seriously, I think people have forgotten what realistic hockey looks and plays like due to the lockout if they think NHL 06 is a credible sim.
Maybe I got a beta disc by mistake.
Take care,
PK
just give it a few days PK....you will see the love fade into the abyss
I'll have to look through the posts again, but most of the comments I recall were from people Tjungin' the game (10-15 minutes at a Kiosk) and some comments on the *PC* demo. I don't recall the word sim used at all and I'm not even sure who even owned the game before you bought it except Tim.pk500 wrote:posters here are claiming it's a really good hockey game.
i think at OS anyone playing 06 and compairing it to 05 is going to say its the jesus game of hockey. I certainly think nhl06 is a great game but vs. 2k6 is not better. The only thin i have read about 2k6 that sucks is the line change controls are similar to the on-demand coaching so it screws things up, i play auto line changes and 2k has done a good job with them so for me i thinkits an non-issue. can't wait to grab it today.
I would start out on Pro, simulation settings, and 8 minute periods. Just focus on the core controls until you get confortable with them and then try some of the more advanced controls as you get more experience.Theo wrote:A few questions about the game. Im new to videogame hockey, so I was wondering what level I should start out on? Also, I have heard that the passes are very slow. Any truth to this? Thanks!!
The pass speed is fine and everything is customizeable anyway.
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Airdog
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After sleeping on it and thinking about the game, I'm very excited to get home and play another few games (I'm at school [University] right now).
Other things that I thought about:
There are lots of overlays such as shots, faceoffs, PP/PK, etc. . So far they've done an effective job doing this. The true test of this will be during season/franchise games though, to see if they do track the players that are trending upwards rather than teh guys who have traditionally done phenomenal (i.e. I hope that if Antropov has a great season in my franchise they start featuring him almost as much as Sundin, etc.)
The intros to the game aren't anything to write home about. The movie before the title screen isn't very slick at all as it's just a mish-mash of clips from the actual game itself. I figured that some of this may be due in part to the fact that there was no actual season. But at least those moves that they perform in this intro are ones that you can actually complete, unlike NHL 06 where in the pre-release videos (which I can only assume are part of the intro) the players skate fluidly and play an amazing game of realistic hockey (as far as animations go, at least).
The player intros are also pretty much the same as before, nothing new to speak of here. The crowd was a little more boisterous, I guess. If I had the time and effort to complete it, the intros and such would be cool with custom soundtracks with songs from the actual arenas.
The Enforcer System seems to be pretty cool. I intimidated a couple of the opponents' players and in turn I was also intimidated. This will be something for me to keep an eye on to see if it does have a true effect on the game.
Speaking of enforcers, I'm really happy that you can turn fights to ON/OFF/Fighters Only. Turning them to fighters only helps lend a lot of realism to the game, as I was really tired of seeing Mogilny face off against Kariya in 2K5. Also, no fights are initated unless you actually want to mix it up (which is done by pressing BACK when a prompt appears on screen). This does much to quell frustration that arises from players getting in stupid fights while there's a good scoring oppurtunity at hand.
The fighting itself is also basically the same as before, except for the addition of the fake punch button, which I actually haven't tried. You can also knock the helmet off of your opponent, which is pretty satisfying. Fights are a little more drawn out because there are only fighters fighting, which means that they have more stamina and energy.
I'll probably post more later. Have fun with this one, guys.
Other things that I thought about:
There are lots of overlays such as shots, faceoffs, PP/PK, etc. . So far they've done an effective job doing this. The true test of this will be during season/franchise games though, to see if they do track the players that are trending upwards rather than teh guys who have traditionally done phenomenal (i.e. I hope that if Antropov has a great season in my franchise they start featuring him almost as much as Sundin, etc.)
The intros to the game aren't anything to write home about. The movie before the title screen isn't very slick at all as it's just a mish-mash of clips from the actual game itself. I figured that some of this may be due in part to the fact that there was no actual season. But at least those moves that they perform in this intro are ones that you can actually complete, unlike NHL 06 where in the pre-release videos (which I can only assume are part of the intro) the players skate fluidly and play an amazing game of realistic hockey (as far as animations go, at least).
The player intros are also pretty much the same as before, nothing new to speak of here. The crowd was a little more boisterous, I guess. If I had the time and effort to complete it, the intros and such would be cool with custom soundtracks with songs from the actual arenas.
The Enforcer System seems to be pretty cool. I intimidated a couple of the opponents' players and in turn I was also intimidated. This will be something for me to keep an eye on to see if it does have a true effect on the game.
Speaking of enforcers, I'm really happy that you can turn fights to ON/OFF/Fighters Only. Turning them to fighters only helps lend a lot of realism to the game, as I was really tired of seeing Mogilny face off against Kariya in 2K5. Also, no fights are initated unless you actually want to mix it up (which is done by pressing BACK when a prompt appears on screen). This does much to quell frustration that arises from players getting in stupid fights while there's a good scoring oppurtunity at hand.
The fighting itself is also basically the same as before, except for the addition of the fake punch button, which I actually haven't tried. You can also knock the helmet off of your opponent, which is pretty satisfying. Fights are a little more drawn out because there are only fighters fighting, which means that they have more stamina and energy.
I'll probably post more later. Have fun with this one, guys.
- Rob
PSN: smearobe
PSN: smearobe
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Airdog
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I agree. One controller setting that I would edit right away is set shot control to MANUAL, though. It's just more satisfying when you roof one when you really want to.Leebo33 wrote:I would start out on Pro, simulation settings, and 8 minute periods. Just focus on the core controls until you get confortable with them and then try some of the more advanced controls as you get more experience.Theo wrote:A few questions about the game. Im new to videogame hockey, so I was wondering what level I should start out on? Also, I have heard that the passes are very slow. Any truth to this? Thanks!!
The pass speed is fine and everything is customizeable anyway.
Oh, and while I'm on the topic of roofing - I really love wrist shots this year. They seem to be a little slow in initiating them, but I think once I get used to them I'll love it even more.
I LOVE HOW GOALIES ARE BEATABLE IN SEVERAL AMAZING WAYS!
- Rob
PSN: smearobe
PSN: smearobe
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ScoopBrady
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Well, after the initial sour taste left in my mouth from the 1st period goal through the back of the net I played another game. I lost 5-4 to the Blues as the Hawks. I gave up 5 in the first period. The fifth goal I allowed was because I manually switched to my goalie without knowing it and he went out of position as a result. It would have been a tie if it hadn't been for my mistake.
When this game doesn't have any bugs rear their ugly head it is great. Two things still piss me off about this series and neither of them were addressed.
1. Do I have to give the ref a handjob in order to win a faceoff?
2. Does the cpu really need to pass with 90% + accuracy even with sliders changed?
When this game doesn't have any bugs rear their ugly head it is great. Two things still piss me off about this series and neither of them were addressed.
1. Do I have to give the ref a handjob in order to win a faceoff?
2. Does the cpu really need to pass with 90% + accuracy even with sliders changed?
I am a patient boy.
I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait.
My time is water down a drain.
I wait, I wait, I wait, I wait.
My time is water down a drain.
