EA Sports NHL 09

[Goodfella25]

The website for the annual EA Sports edition is up. I think it just went up in the last few days since they annoucned Phaneuf as the cover boy. Check it out. Still looks like it's missing alot but I'm always excited.

 

EA NHL 09

 

A few things mentioned in one of the developer's blogs (which you can read as part of a 40+ page thread on the easports NHL forums):

 

- You can import your own music into the game and set it as the goal song, entrance song, stoppage songs, etc. You can do this for both home and away teams (here comes Hurricane 2000)

 

- The fights will be improved and have the ability to circle your opponent, grab the jersey and drop him

 

- You can create a player and then you will be drafted based on performance and placed in the AHL. You then need to work your way up to the NHL by listening to your coach, making the right plays with and without the puck, etc.

 

- The hitting system/physics will be completely revamped. Less hits, and when you try to line someone up, if you miss, you're going hard into the boards

 

- New penalties: 4 min high sticking, rare 5 minute high sticking major, delay of game (puck over glass, a.k.a. the Campbell rule), goalie interference

 

- 3 stars will skate the ice after the game

 

- Leagues include NHL, AHL, Elitsaren, DEL, SM Liga, German Elite League, Czech Elite League, international teams with complete rosters (Noronen will be in there, for example)

 

- Forechecking strategies/create your own plays which include backchecking and forechecking

 

- Classic jerseys - Oakland Seals, Nordiques, NorthStars, etc.

 

- "Desperation saves" such as diving glove saves, and "legendary moves" such as Forsberg olympics 1994.

 

 

This all sounds pretty amazing. NHL is what I play the most on the 360 so obviously this is good news.

[awill29]

A few things mentioned in one of the developer's blogs (which you can read as part of a 40+ page thread on the easports NHL forums):

 

- You can import your own music into the game and set it as the goal song, entrance song, stoppage songs, etc. You can do this for both home and away teams (here comes Hurricane 2000)

 

- The fights will be improved and have the ability to circle your opponent, grab the jersey and drop him

 

- You can create a player and then you will be drafted based on performance and placed in the AHL. You then need to work your way up to the NHL by listening to your coach, making the right plays with and without the puck, etc.

 

- The hitting system/physics will be completely revamped. Less hits, and when you try to line someone up, if you miss, you're going hard into the boards

 

- New penalties: 4 min high sticking, rare 5 minute high sticking major, delay of game (puck over glass, a.k.a. the Campbell rule), goalie interference

 

- 3 stars will skate the ice after the game

 

- Leagues include NHL, AHL, Elitsaren, DEL, SM Liga, German Elite League, Czech Elite League, international teams with complete rosters (Noronen will be in there, for example)

 

- Forechecking strategies/create your own plays which include backchecking and forechecking

 

- Classic jerseys - Oakland Seals, Nordiques, NorthStars, etc.

 

- "Desperation saves" such as diving glove saves, and "legendary moves" such as Forsberg olympics 1994.

This all sounds pretty amazing. NHL is what I play the most on the 360 so obviously this is good news.

 

NHL 08 was definitely the best (and most underrated) sports game last year. It is phenomenal. However, it's had it's share of flaws, like the freezing issue and the lack of game modes. But NHL 09 looks like it's been taken to another level. I'm pumped for the "Be a Pro" mode--and the new defensive engine looks great. I can't wait for September.

[Guest Sloth]

NHL 08 was definitely the best (and most underrated) sports game last year. It is phenomenal. However, it's had it's share of flaws, like the freezing issue and the lack of game modes. But NHL 09 looks like it's been taken to another level. I'm pumped for the "Be a Pro" mode--and the new defensive engine looks great. I can't wait for September.

 

I thought and still think 2K8 was better than 08. Everyone has their personal preferences. Mine leaned towards 2K8. However, 2K9 is being created by a brand new team, which means 2K9 may be a major disappointment. I hope 2K9 turns out to be a great game. This will be a big transition year for 2K hockey. 2K10 will hopefully bring 2K to the top again. I'll probably go w/ 09 next year just because it'll be an improvement, not a brand new game (2K9) that could have serious gameplay issues, possible having a poor offseason mode, etc...

 

Something I hope all of you are hoping for is that EA doesn't buy out take two interactive. If they do, NHL 0...will have no competition, which means they won't have to work as hard to get people to buy their game. I am a Madden fan, but I was mad when EA Sports bought the rights to make the only football for the NFL. Competition makes everything better.

[shrader]

- Leagues include NHL, AHL, Elitsaren, DEL, SM Liga, German Elite League, Czech Elite League, international teams with complete rosters (Noronen will be in there, for example)

 

So you're saying that I can bring Denis Perrson over from Sweden and start him on the road to superstardom? Well then this game is a must.

[ROC Sabres]

I thought and still think 2K8 was better than 08. Everyone has their personal preferences. Mine leaned towards 2K8. However, 2K9 is being created by a brand new team, which means 2K9 may be a major disappointment. I hope 2K9 turns out to be a great game. This will be a big transition year for 2K hockey. 2K10 will hopefully bring 2K to the top again. I'll probably go w/ 09 next year just because it'll be an improvement, not a brand new game (2K9) that could have serious gameplay issues, possible having a poor offseason mode, etc...

 

Something I hope all of you are hoping for is that EA doesn't buy out take two interactive. If they do, NHL 0...will have no competition, which means they won't have to work as hard to get people to buy their game. I am a Madden fan, but I was mad when EA Sports bought the rights to make the only football for the NFL. Competition makes everything better.

I wasn't sure about which i wanted to get which is why i love being able to download the demo's on 360. I'm thinking that the demo's will probably be out sometime mid to late August. Hopefully sooner.

[Goodfella25]

So you're saying that I can bring Denis Perrson over from Sweden and start him on the road to superstardom? Well then this game is a must.

No, but you can pay him to play over there for a couple years and then bring him over :thumbsup:

[Bmwolf21]

I'm waiting for the PS3 or xBox 360 to drop in price before I can upgrade, but I don't see the prices dropping or me being able to afford it anytime in the near future...maybe Christmas...until then I'll have to keep beating the crap out of my PS2...

[JujuFish]

I am a Madden fan, but I was mad when EA Sports bought the rights to make the only football for the NFL. Competition makes everything better.

And yet you weren't mad when Take-Two bought the MLB rights?

[Bmwolf21]

And yet you weren't mad when Take-Two bought the MLB rights?

I was, and I was more disappointed when EA decided to put the NCAA MVP series on hold.

[Guest Sloth]

And yet you weren't mad when Take-Two bought the MLB rights?

 

I understand the point your making completely and I agree w/ you. I didn't mention the MLB rights because I don't play baseball games, but the same rule applies. Competition must exist for the games to improve each year.

[Guest Sloth]

I was, and I was more disappointed when EA decided to put the NCAA MVP series on hold.

 

When EA initially developed NCCA MVP baseball it was done so by some Canadien branch. Bad decision.

[Bmwolf21]

When EA initially developed NCCA MVP baseball it was done so by some Canadien branch. Bad decision.

It was actually done by EA's Vancouver studio, which is one of their biggest studios. It has developed a ton of EA Sports' titles, including the NBA series, the NCAA March Madness series, much of the FIFA series and some of the recent NHL games. (LINK)

 

As for the game itself, it's not bad. I'm back into playing it right now, because I'm tired of most of my games and not ready to upgrade to a next-gen system. The game has bugs and weird issues, but the overall gameplay isn't bad.

[Guest Sloth]

It was actually done by EA's Vancouver studio, which is one of their biggest studios. It has developed a ton of EA Sports' titles, including the NBA series, the NCAA March Madness series, much of the FIFA series and some of the recent NHL games. (LINK)

 

As for the game itself, it's not bad. I'm back into playing it right now, because I'm tired of most of my games and not ready to upgrade to a next-gen system. The game has bugs and weird issues, but the overall gameplay isn't bad.

 

I didn't know a lot of EA's good games have been developed by by that studio. Thanks for the info. I have MVP NCAA Baeball 06, but I didn't get a chance to get into it. Is that the only one they made?

 

I have The Bigs on the 360. It gets back to the old school arcade style baseball games and I love it. If one your friends has the game, you should give it a try.

[Bmwolf21]

I didn't know a lot of EA's good games have been developed by by that studio. Thanks for the info. I have MVP NCAA Baeball 06, but I didn't get a chance to get into it. Is that the only one they made?

 

I have The Bigs on the 360. It gets back to the old school arcade style baseball games and I love it. If one your friends has the game, you should give it a try.

They are doing more and more stuff from their Orlando, Fla.-area studio (I worked there briefly a few years back as a game tester, a position that is not nearly as cool as it sounds) and one of the other big EA studios is the California (Redwood Shores.) Madden fans would recognize the building that houses the EA Tiburon studios (located in Maitland, Fla.) as the background for Madden 05's training camp (I think it was '05, but I got rid of my Madden games and can't check.)

 

As for the NCAA MVP series - they went to NCAA MVP '07 and then put it on hold for 2008 before dropping the line altogether:

 

EA Sports is out of the baseball business, having allowed its two-year license to produce the MVP NCAA Baseball game to expire with no plans to revive it.

 

The video game giant last week previewed its entire suite of games for the coming year, announcing the new Freestyle sub-brand for casual games that?s not reliant on licensed intellectual property, the All-Play moniker for specially designed versions of top-selling games for the Nintendo Wii, and the revival of the Fight Night boxing franchise with the use of Mike Tyson?s likeness.

 

Electronic Arts developed the MVP NCAA game under its EA Sports label after rival game developer 2K Sports struck an exclusive third-party licensing deal in 2005 with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, itself a reaction to EA?s exclusive deal with the NFL. The EA baseball games received good critical marks but were not strong sellers compared with company stalwarts such as Madden NFL, NCAA Football and Tiger Woods Golf.

 

?This is our focusing on delivering things that can move the needle for us,? said EA Sports President Peter Moore. ?It?s trade-offs and prioritization. Nobody is a bigger baseball fan than I am, and we love our friends at the NCAA. But there?s obviously a big difference in interest between MLB and college baseball, whereas in football and basketball, that gap is much narrower.?

 

(LINK)

[Guest Sloth]

They are doing more and more stuff from their Orlando, Fla.-area studio (I worked there briefly a few years back as a game tester, a position that is not nearly as cool as it sounds) and one of the other big EA studios is the California (Redwood Shores.)

 

Part of me always wanted to be a critic of videogames and write for EGM or any other gaming magazine. I'm already thinking the "what if I had attempted..." phrase. Like most people, I chose the safe alternative and went for a career I knew would provide the money, benefits, etc...needed for my future, now current and wonderful, family. Do any of the gaming magazines print amateur reviews?

[Bmwolf21]

Part of me always wanted to be a critic of videogames and write for EGM or any other gaming magazine. I'm already thinking the "what if I had attempted..." phrase. Like most people, I chose the safe alternative and went for a career I knew would provide the money, benefits, etc...needed for my future, now current and wonderful, family. Do any of the gaming magazines print amateur reviews?

I don't know about the gaming magazines but I know some of the gaming websites - GameFaqs.com in particular - have user reviews of individual games. Here's a link to the user reviews for GTA: San Andreas as an example.

 

The game tester position was a "filler" job I took to have some income in an expected down time in my time after college, but the position wasn't what I expected and I was way out of my league in comparison to some of the testers they had. They had some serious gamers that looked like they hadn't seen sunlight in months and spoke in gamer lingo/code that left the rest of us trying to figure out WTF they were talking about. The game tester looks for bugs and tries to break the game so crashes don't happen, so now when I play any new game I notice stuff that is wrong within the game, so they kinda ruined gaming for me (for awhile, anyway.) Plus the hours and pay pretty much sucked, the system for finding/reporting bugs and issues sucked, and the developers ignored a lot of questions and issues we raised, so it got real frustrating real fast.

[Guest Sloth]

I don't know about the gaming magazines but I know some of the gaming websites - GameFaqs.com in particular - have user reviews of individual games. Here's a link to the user reviews for GTA: San Andreas as an example.

 

The game tester position was a "filler" job I took to have some income in an expected down time in my time after college, but the position wasn't what I expected and I was way out of my league in comparison to some of the testers they had. They had some serious gamers that looked like they hadn't seen sunlight in months and spoke in gamer lingo/code that left the rest of us trying to figure out WTF they were talking about. The game tester looks for bugs and tries to break the game so crashes don't happen, so now when I play any new game I notice stuff that is wrong within the game, so they kinda ruined gaming for me (for awhile, anyway.) Plus the hours and pay pretty much sucked, the system for finding/reporting bugs and issues sucked, and the developers ignored a lot of questions and issues we raised, so it got real frustrating real fast.

 

I'm glad I didn't take that as a summer job then, when I was in college. I'm a casual gamer. I have a 360 and I have earned 6,000 points, which seems to be the norm. Some guys have earned over 60,000, if not more!!! Talk about not having a life and certainly not getting any.

[Bmwolf21]

I'm glad I didn't take that as a summer job then, when I was in college. I'm a casual gamer. I have a 360 and I have earned 6,000 points, which seems to be the norm. Some guys have earned over 60,000, if not more!!! Talk about not having a life and certainly not getting any.

For me, seeing these guys in orientation and the first couple staff meetings when you start can be a little intimidating for casual gamers. A lot of us were looking around like "damn! These guys are crazy hardcore gamers..."

[SabreFan78]

One little thing about the NHL series that I didn't like was that the team specific goal horns were not in the game, it was just a siren for every team. That's one of the things I really liked about the 2K game. Did they have the goal horns in NHL 08? Never played it I bought NHL 2K8 and while its a good game, playing on xbox live was a nightmare. For some reason it disconnects every time. The only other game I've had that problem with was NBA2K8. Don't know what it is with their games but they're terrible when it comes to online play. If NHL 09 has the goal horns that would be great...might actually get that one this time around.

[Guest Sloth]

One little thing about the NHL series that I didn't like was that the team specific goal horns were not in the game, it was just a siren for every team. That's one of the things I really liked about the 2K game. Did they have the goal horns in NHL 08? Never played it I bought NHL 2K8 and while its a good game, playing on xbox live was a nightmare. For some reason it disconnects every time. The only other game I've had that problem with was NBA2K8. Don't know what it is with their games but they're terrible when it comes to online play. If NHL 09 has the goal horns that would be great...might actually get that one this time around.

 

When NHL 2K8 first came out, it did have internet issues. They did fix it. I haven't had problems w/ the connection in a LONG time. Do you still have Xbox live? If you do and haven't tried playing online in a while, give it a try. Also, try finding a legit league. League play is a blast.

[Goodfella25]

One little thing about the NHL series that I didn't like was that the team specific goal horns were not in the game, it was just a siren for every team. That's one of the things I really liked about the 2K game.

 

They have some real goal horns in NHL 08, not all. But was that really enough of a problem for you to avoid checking out the game? To me things like gameplay and graphics come before sound, but to each his own. The gameplay alone puts EA Sports light years ahead of 2K in terms of realism. Both EA and 2K are flawed though, so I'm hoping this year both development teams really try to out-do one another. I really like EA's product but I will check out both games and if I happen to like 2K, I'll go with that this year. If only we had such a choice with football games. Instead we'll probably see another half-arsed effort from the monopoly men at EA.

[frisky]

A few things mentioned in one of the developer's blogs (which you can read as part of a 40+ page thread on the easports NHL forums):

 

- You can import your own music into the game and set it as the goal song, entrance song, stoppage songs, etc. You can do this for both home and away teams (here comes Hurricane 2000)

 

- The fights will be improved and have the ability to circle your opponent, grab the jersey and drop him

 

- You can create a player and then you will be drafted based on performance and placed in the AHL. You then need to work your way up to the NHL by listening to your coach, making the right plays with and without the puck, etc.

 

- The hitting system/physics will be completely revamped. Less hits, and when you try to line someone up, if you miss, you're going hard into the boards

 

- New penalties: 4 min high sticking, rare 5 minute high sticking major, delay of game (puck over glass, a.k.a. the Campbell rule), goalie interference

 

- 3 stars will skate the ice after the game

 

- Leagues include NHL, AHL, Elitsaren, DEL, SM Liga, German Elite League, Czech Elite League, international teams with complete rosters (Noronen will be in there, for example)

 

- Forechecking strategies/create your own plays which include backchecking and forechecking

 

- Classic jerseys - Oakland Seals, Nordiques, NorthStars, etc.

 

- "Desperation saves" such as diving glove saves, and "legendary moves" such as Forsberg olympics 1994.

This all sounds pretty amazing. NHL is what I play the most on the 360 so obviously this is good news.

 

The blog also metnioned a defensive skill stick like the offensive one. I think you can tie up people's sticks or lift them. Also, you can line changes include separate offensive and defensive changes. Sounds like they are improving it quite a bit. The computer was a little annoying when it has possession of the puck in your own zone for days and when you can't check it off the puck but he can bump with a gust of air. Hope they tweak it. But major improvement over last gen consoles in terms of fluidity in player movement.

[jimiVbaby]

They have some real goal horns in NHL 08, not all. But was that really enough of a problem for you to avoid checking out the game? To me things like gameplay and graphics come before sound, but to each his own. The gameplay alone puts EA Sports light years ahead of 2K in terms of realism. Both EA and 2K are flawed though, so I'm hoping this year both development teams really try to out-do one another. I really like EA's product but I will check out both games and if I happen to like 2K, I'll go with that this year. If only we had such a choice with football games. Instead we'll probably see another half-arsed effort from the monopoly men at EA.

I was a 2K guy up until NHL 08. I have a PS3 and 2K8 just took a huge step backwards, and 08 a huge step forward. The EA series just felt too "arcadey" for my taste in previous years, and 2K more of a sim game. EA hit the nail on the head this past year by balancing the two. I will never play a 2K hockey game again. (Please let them fix the freezing issues)...

[Guest Sloth]

I was a 2K guy up until NHL 08. I have a PS3 and 2K8 just took a huge step backwards, and 08 a huge step forward. The EA series just felt too "arcadey" for my taste in previous years, and 2K more of a sim game. EA hit the nail on the head this past year by balancing the two. I will never play a 2K hockey game again. (Please let them fix the freezing issues)...

 

If EA was able to take the number one spot, don't you think 2K could eventually reclaim the number one position? To throw 2K aside for good is not a well thought out choice.

[frisky]

They got a video up of the game now and dowloadable wallpapers and avatars (<--- like that).