goaltending-wise, you aren't locked on to a post anymore when you hug post. makes it easier to IMO....don't really like that unless the play is around the blue line, your goalie is just pretty much stationary and it's difficult to move him to "follow" the play. somebody should try to snipe some long range goals and see if this is a possible glitch haha
Just played it. It defiantly looks smoother and more detailed than 12. I like the new player movements and the goalie movements. As for the gameplay, it seems pretty much the same to me, overall the demo is pretty good. I can't wait to get the full game.
The AI is still dumb... they don't find open ice and will stand behind opposition players, seemingly on purpose. Always seem to be out of position, not thirsty for plays or passing...
Playing with human teammates should be pretty awesome however.
does it not seem like every year they say "AI is now way improved" only for the game to release, and then AI to be essentially the same as the last 5 years?
Am I the only one that finds HUT WAY more challenging than Quick Play and NHL Moments?
And I don't even friggen get it. The 3 top lines I've used were Cammy-Malkin-Iggy
Cammy-Stamkos-Iggy
Cammy-Stamkos-Horton
Cammy-Zetterberg-Iggy
Then Shawinigan's goalie goes bananas and stops absolutely everything and then QUICK lets in a softy from the blue line in OT?
It's really odd. I win every quick game but in HUT, I've had trouble winning because the goalie is absolutely awesome and stops everything.
I feel like I can't be the only one like this..
It's especially odd because oon Quick Game I play on All-Star but in HUT I'm forced to play Pro.
Same here. I had Lucic-Malkin-Iginla or Cammy-Stamkos-Iginla top line and the SHA goalie is making the most ridiculous saves when you'd expect more of a Luongo performance.
I like how surprised he sounds when his short-side goal goes in. That's about 90% of my goals in the demo. When I'm down by a goal in a game, I just walk in and snipe it short-side.
I like how surprised he sounds when his short-side goal goes in. That's about 90% of my goals in the demo. When I'm down by a goal in a game, I just walk in and snipe it short-side.
Agreed, I came under fire yesterday for saying it was easy to score and thought maybe I was just lucky the first few games on Xbox but yet again playing the demo on PS3 I still was able to put up at least 4 a game.
The game is different yes, especially when it comes to figure skating but I find myself getting so many goals on the forecheck it isnt even funny.
Note to the EASHL players we should play a deep 2-1-2 as the forecheck is king this year.
Agreed, I came under fire yesterday for saying it was easy to score and thought maybe I was just lucky the first few games on Xbox but yet again playing the demo on PS3 I still was able to put up at least 4 a game.
The game is different yes, especially when it comes to figure skating but I find myself getting so many goals on the forecheck it isnt even funny.
Note to the EASHL players we should play a deep 2-1-2 as the forecheck is king this year.
I think it's safe to assume they will adjust the goaltending, one of their big things this year was having a "perfect goalie" and being able to adjust based on that.
Here's my initial impression playing around for a bit last night on the All-Star default settings.
Pros:
- Fan of the skating. Actually looks like skaters out there and they are in fact, skating on ice. Love the momentum is a factor now. It really does make a big change in the feel of the game.
- I like the player faces in this game. Graphics in general looks better and sharper. Good step forward this year.
- I'm a fan that one timers aren't such a breeze to pull of now. Replicates that timing and positioning is actually important when attempting to do it in real life.
- Loving the broadcast element feel to the presentation this year, especially with the real time off play actions. This is how it should be done. Glad the foundation is there, now just need to build on it for the future.
- The puck seems looser, which is good. Very good.
- Haven't been able to make a true initial impression yet, but I like what I saw in regards to goaltender animations. Been advocating for limb separation for a while, so really glad it's finally here.
- Soundtrack. I like the tunes we've been able to hear thus far. Really fits the hockey atmosphere. If the full soundtrack keeps up in the demo's quality this could be the best one in the entire NHL series. I personally was a big fan of 2004 soundtrack.
Cons:
- For how much the A.I. was hyped up this season, I'm disappointed that it still appears fairly weak when it comes to playing defense. I can still skate into the slot or take on a defender 1-on-1 on the rush and not feel much harassment. This shouldn't be the case on a moderate skill level like All-Star. I can only imagine it'll be fairly the same on Superstar. That's a big issue since I don't have to really work to get quality shots and thus allows the game to favour the offensive side too much. The defense needs to have a lot more aggressiveness and panic when I try to skate into the slot or are taking them 1-on-1 up centre ice. It seems the problem is the defense thinks too much with their body and not enough with their sticks. Use the poke check guys!
- Open ice hitting. Quite frankly, it looks fairly ridiculous. It's as if there's not much weight to the hitting engine since players react very violently to hits that didn't seem to have much force. Plus many of the open ice hits I saw look 'off' since the checker and the player checked seemed fairly disconnected. Meaning the player who made the check doesn't really physically blend with the player that's getting checked. I think the engine could use improvement in that regard for open ice hits, because the collisions around the boards look much, much better.
Really like the new skating engine, but kinda bummed how the defensive A.I. is far to passive defensively still though.
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Agreed, I came under fire yesterday for saying it was easy to score and thought maybe I was just lucky the first few games on Xbox but yet again playing the demo on PS3 I still was able to put up at least 4 a game.
The game is different yes, especially when it comes to figure skating but I find myself getting so many goals on the forecheck it isnt even funny.
Note to the EASHL players we should play a deep 2-1-2 as the forecheck is king this year.
yeah forecheck is crazy....i find when the CPU dumps it in against me, i usually have to ring it around quick with a shot or get pinned. can't skate out like nhl 12 due to the momentum system
As much as the hitting looks bad I do like that its possible. I like to hit and play a power forward role but the last 2 seasons I had to play a small figure skater because there was no point to being strong as even at 6'1 210 the 5'7 guys bounced off the checks.
Again I am going to hold judgement because in the demo last year PC was low then a month into EASHL it became bumpercar sniper.
