Saturday, March 5, 2011

NHL 11 Review

NHL 11
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
As I play more of the game, I'll have a more detailed review. As things stand now, if you want to play a hockey game, you've got no where else to turn, so in a way any review is a waste. However, if you are on the fence, this review will help determine which side you want to jump on.
BE A PRO MODE:
The problems with Be A Pro mode that have been in previous NHL's is still there. Your AI teammates are useless. Their passes are garbage (sometimes they will ignore your passing request), they will lose nearly every board battle, are super good at turning the puck over, and the D will completely abandon the crease.
Essentially, Be A Pro mode will involve you playing 1 on 5. And why would you want to bother with that? Let's move on to the part of the NHL series which just keeps getting worse.
UNLOCKABLES:
For the EASHL (this is where you play as your own character) you either have to pay to improve your character or play a ton of games to do so. A lot of the unlockables involve playing 40+ games of Be a Pro, the major problem being that it's a nearly unbearable experience.
So, you will have to pay one way or another, either with money or with a lot of your time (and sanity). This is a problem, not just from a greed stand point, but in that players will always be artificially good. Everyone should be the same, and whoever is the better player should be the standard, not whoever spent more MS points than you.
HUT (New Addition, Needs Deletion):
I find Hockey Ultimate Team to be a gigantic waste. I have played 2 games online, only to unlock something for my EASHL player. Why would I want to play another game where the player I'm up against can just buy better players? Why would I want to play a game where my players are rated so low they can't make a pass, poke check, or skate?
NEW GAME = NEW ERRORS
The checking in this game with the "new" physics engine is cartoonish. I've been checked from behind on the rush and have gone flying. I've hit someone with a tip of my elbow and they are tossed ragdoll-style in the opposite direction.
Outside of that, goalies currently have a proclivity for pushing the puck in their own net. They will make a butterfly save and then proceed to bat the puck in the net. What a joke.
And again, the AI can stick lift you even when you are in front of them. If you even try to do that, you will get 2 minutes.
One funny addition to the EASHL is 10 minute majors. If your friend gets one, it's a riot b/c he's out of the game. However, for online team play, this means a computer team mate for the rest of the game (everyone usually quits, anyway), which can be a nuisance. So, Im unsure if I like this new penalty.
Summation:
Again, what choice do you have if you want to play a hockey game? As time goes on, I'll add to the review. It can be a very fun to play, but the mistakes in the game will also cause a lot of frustration as they are so incredibly stupid. Is is worth the agitation to you?
UPDATE -
Since the last tuner update, the goalies have become horrible. I've seen them get beat on simple, unscreened wrist shots, and on a 2 on 1 the goalie completely ignored the shooter, leaving the entire left side open (assuming a pass). Just great, EA.
Also, the Online Team Play rooms are still buggy (although it appears they finally learned to count -- it was Online Team Play Room #1, Online Team Play Room #1, and Online Team Play Room #1 as available rooms instead of 1,2,3). In NHL 10, the Xbox 360 would just freeze at random spots. So far, there's two spots where it will freeze, one of which is loading the game room in online team play. I was gently hoping that since EA now requires you to have a passcode to play online, that that would mean less problems.
Um, nope.
Finally, passing, while I'm sure I still need more time to get use to it, it definitely still needs refinement. It should not be THAT hard to send a pass and to receive one. And while I understand cross creases need to be toned down, some of the interceptions by the CPU are ridiculous.

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