The official NHL 10 Impressions thread

[JayDee]

The sequel to this generation's best sports game is almost here.

I have bought every EA NHL game since the series inception way back in 1991. The release of a new NHL game is like Christmas to me and my group of friends. So to say I'm excited is understating things.

My local EB Games is having a midnight event tomorrow night, but since I have to work early in the morning I'm going to wait and pick up my pre-ordered copy on the way home. I've been playing the heck out of the demo, and early indications are that this year's version improves on last year's.

What's new this year?
- Based on the demo, the puck physics seem to have been refined. The puck is more "lively" now and bounces off of sticks, skates, and goaltenders more often and more unpredictably.
- Board play
- First person fighting. When I heard about this I dismissed it as a gimmicky throw-in, but the demo actually impressed me with how this was implemented.
- Improved crowd animations and interactions, including female spectators.
- Fantasy draft now available for Dynasty mode.
- Improved "Be A GM" mode
- "Be A Pro" is back, and the demo showed us a new twist to it. You have to earn your place in the draft this year!
- Playoff mode added (NHL and European leagues)
- Online Battle for the Cup mode, where you and your friends can battle it out in a seven game series where the winner gets to drink from Lord Stanley's mug.

Like last year, I'll have my copy on Tuesday and play a few hours that evening. I will then post my review/impressions here for those that are interested.

Just two more sleeps....who else is IN?

[gellar]

Amazon will be delivering this on Tuesday - I intend on playing as much EASHL as possible this week.  I can't wait.

gellar

[pr0ner]

Amazon will be delivering this on Tuesday - I intend on playing as much EASHL as possible this week.  I can't wait.

gellar

Let me know if your Kings are up for a beatdown by my Flames!

[BEEFHAMMA]

I've heard some concerning news that the upgrades to sticks, skates, and helmets come at the cost of having your player look like a complete idiot (i.e., camouflage helmets, rainbow skates, etc.). I have an idea as to why EA would do this, so that people will get an idea for your skill level just by looking at you, but seriously...i HATE this idea. I hope it doesn't end up ruining the game for me. The demo was pretty sweet, so I'll definitely be picking it up.

[JayDee]

I've heard some concerning news that the upgrades to sticks, skates, and helmets come at the cost of having your player look like a complete idiot (i.e., camouflage helmets, rainbow skates, etc.). I have an idea as to why EA would do this, so that people will get an idea for your skill level just by looking at you, but seriously...i HATE this idea. I hope it doesn't end up ruining the game for me. The demo was pretty sweet, so I'll definitely be picking it up.

Yikes. If that is the case than that's a horrible idea. Gameplay comes first for me though so I can probably overlook this, but still, I don't want my guy skating around in a rainbow coloured helmet. Hopefully they are optional equipment options.

[denoginizer]

My local EB Games is having a midnight event tomorrow night...

Do you live in Canada?

Just curious.

[JayDee]

My local EB Games is having a midnight event tomorrow night...

Do you live in Canada?

Just curious.

Yes.

[Biyobi]

My local EB Games is having a midnight event tomorrow night...

Do you live in Canada?

Just curious.

Yes.

When I put my pre-order in last week at Gamestop the manager said that they had gotten enough orders in of this and MUA2 that they were planning to do the midnight thing (I'm in SoCal). I already planned ahead and scheduled no clients for Tuesday so I'll take advantage and play all night. w00t!

[WalkingFumble]

Amazon will be delivering this on Tuesday - I intend on playing as much EASHL as possible this week.  I can't wait.

gellar

Let me know if your Kings are up for a beatdown by my Flames!

Be careful.  He cheats.

[pr0ner]

Amazon will be delivering this on Tuesday - I intend on playing as much EASHL as possible this week.  I can't wait.

gellar

Let me know if your Kings are up for a beatdown by my Flames!

Be careful.  He cheats.

It's not my fault you suck.   

[Starshifter]

Can't wait until tomorrow night as well.  Looking forward to starting a new Be A Pro.

And since you guys are wimps I'm also picking up NHL 2K10.  I know you guys won't touch any 2K games with a 10 foot cattle prod.  So I'm the guinea pig.  I will let you know how it turns out.  I'm reading some pretty good stuff about it.  And last years was really not that bad.  Just no Be A Pro mode.

[JayDee]

Alright, it's out. Who's first?

[Darren8r]

Well I'm planning on picking it up very soon. I have been home sick from work for the past two days. But I was also planning on picking up a PS3 Slim, so I think I'll wait to get it for the PS3. I'm scared my 360 is going to have some kind of issue again.

[pr0ner]

Being able to use MS points to purchase stat and equipment upgrades for your Be a Pro player = fail.

The on ice product, while generally awesome, seems just a bit off.  Going for more realistic passing didn't go quite as planned (I can make passes go where I want them to in real life better than I can during the game at times).

That said, I've scored some sweet, sweet goals playing online ranked matches, with a laser beam one timer from the high slot and a couple of gorgeous deflections being the highlights.

[El-Producto]

I didn't grab last years version for whatever reason, but I remember hearing something about co-op.  Is it in this version, and how does it work?

[Biyobi]

How in the hell do you win face-offs?  As far as I can tell, it's just pulling back on the right stick, but it only works about 20% of the time.  Is there technique involved or is it just based on your face-off stat?

Liking the game, but there is some defensive oddities that have me wondering what they were thinking.

[pr0ner]

It's timing based, in addition to stat based.  You have to time your stick pull with the puck hitting the ice.  You can also win faceoffs to either side of your center, in addition to straight back.

As for the defensive oddities, they were present in last year's game, too.

As for co-op, there's all sorts.  There's the EASHL, which is the big online co-op mode, and there's also "standard" co-op, where people on the same console can play on the same team against the CPU or someone else online in the standard game mode.

[Gratch]

A brilliant review of NHL 10.  Enjoy. 

[pr0ner]

Holy shit, that's awesome.

[kronovan]

As for co-op, there's all sorts.  There's the EASHL, which is the big online co-op mode, and there's also "standard" co-op, where people on the same console can play on the same team against the CPU or someone else online in the standard game mode.

Yup, lots of co-op. If you play co-op offline, each player can use a BaP player that's specific to their 360 profile. You all play on the same team -max of 4- with your team's remaining slots occupied by AI players. I play that mode a lot with my son and daughter and it's a heckuva lot of fun.

[JayDee]

haha, that "review" was awesome!

I haven't been able to play nearly as much as I would have liked so far (only three full games). I'm hoping to put a couple of hours in tonight so I can give some impressions.

[onnel]

So can my brother and I play a franchise online - either playing together (both playing on the same team) or against one another (managing separate teams and only playing our games against one another online, playing other games offline)?  How about a BAP franchise shared online?

Can anyone give a hands on comparison of online leagues in EA and 2K this year? 

A

[JayDee]

So can my brother and I play a franchise online - either playing together (both playing on the same team) or against one another (managing separate teams and only playing our games against one another online, playing other games offline)?  How about a BAP franchise shared online?

Can anyone give a hands on comparison of online leagues in EA and 2K this year? 

A

You can't play co-op against the computer online. Only if you are both on the same xbox.

[Xmann]

alright, let me ask you NHL experts some questions...

i just moved to Colorado from Florida and i'm really looking forward to hockey season this year.  however, i know absolutely nothing about the game.   so what i'd like to know about NHL 10, is how would it be for a  newcomer....not only to the video game, but the sport?

[pr0ner]

To be good at NHL 10, you would need a somewhat decent idea of what the rules of the game are and basic strategy.  If you can't grasp some of the basic rules of the game, you might keep getting frustrated by unnecessary penalties and constant stoppages in play for icing and offside.  Wikipedia is a good place to start.

However, if you think this hit is awesome, then you're on the right track.

[Starshifter]

To be good at NHL 10, you would need a somewhat decent idea of what the rules of the game are and basic strategy.  If you can't grasp some of the basic rules of the game, you might keep getting frustrated by unnecessary penalties and constant stoppages in play for icing and offside.  Wikipedia is a good place to start.

However, if you think this hit is awesome, then you're on the right track.

(personal attack removed -naednek)

[pr0ner]

Wow.  Such an inexcusable reply, Starshifter.

[godhugh]

Yeah, that definitely seems out of line and completely uncalled for.

Xmann, I'm somewhat familiar with hockey, but completely unfamiliar with any hockey games past NHL 95. I tried the demo of NHL10 and it took a while to pick up, but I still had a great deal of fun while learning. It seems like there are enough options present to make the game friendly to newcomers like us.

[Devil]

What you can do is start with some 'pond hockey' by turning things like offsides, icing and line changes off. That way you can get used to the gameplay, then as you are familiar with the game from that side, you can turn on the rules one at a time.

[pr0ner]

What you can do is start with some 'pond hockey' by turning things like offsides, icing and line changes off. That way you can get used to the gameplay, then as you are familiar with the game from that side, you can turn on the rules one at a time.

That's a very good suggestion, actually.

I know you didn't mention penalties, but I'm not so sure I'd turn them off.  That would be a hard habit to break.

[denoginizer]

Honestly hockey is probably the easiest sport to play in a video game.

Put the biscuit in the basket.

[Devil]

Have you guys been able to connect to the EA Servers? I'm on Live so my network is good, but can't get to the EA crap!

Are there new rosters yet?

[pr0ner]

I've been playing lots of matches vs. my brother, so I can connect to the servers fine.

And yes, there are new rosters already.

[Xmann]

so i gave the demo a try today and although i was pretty much mashing buttons, i really enjoyed it.   i played the final period of a game a scored a goal and shut out the cpu.   gonna play the demo a couple more times and i might pick it up next weekend.   gonna do some reading and research this week to learn about the rules and gameplay.

[Devil]

Interesting, pr0...

Not a network thing, because I got to Live. EA screwing me!!!! 


On a different note, I got drafted by the Flames and they stink to play for. Lost 4-0 in our first game. 

[pr0ner]

I was drafted by the Oilers number 1.  I quickly switched to pick your team so I could pick the Flames.

 

[Isgrimnur]

Picked it up today.  My Left Winger went 10th to the Predators after getting an assist in the game.  Played my 4 games with at 2 Bs and and A and got sent down anyway.

[skystride]

Yup, lots of co-op. If you play co-op offline, each player can use a BaP player that's specific to their 360 profile. You all play on the same team -max of 4- with your team's remaining slots occupied by AI players. I play that mode a lot with my son and daughter and it's a heckuva lot of fun.

Do they need Live membership or can any profile (guest?) create BAP player?

[WinoMcCougarstein]

I can't seem to score goals in this game... any pointers?

[denoginizer]

I can't seem to score goals in this game... any pointers?

Put the biscuit in the basket.