Hey guys, well before I get started I have to give a big thanks and shoutout to Marcus for organizing the event, all the EA guys who came out today and made it such a great event, Shea Weber, and Easton hockey for sponsoring the event and hooking us up.
Overall it was a really good time, we had a great bunch of guys from the community come out.
Easton basically hooked us all up with the Easton Stealth Pro model stick. This thing is easily the best hockey stick I've ever had the chance of playing with. Its a competely different feel. So we taped up our new sticks and hit the ice with none other than Nashville Defenseman Shea Weber. Shea and the NHL 08 producers basically put on a bunch of drills and examples of various aspects of the game. Seeing the real life inspiration for different aspects of the game really puts things into a new perspective. We had a lot of fun out on the ice, a couple guys were on skates for the first time but they went out there like champs and tried a couple drills. They took some hard spills but youve gotta admire their spirit.
So we were on the ice for say an hour or two and basically from lunchtime until we left the place at like 9 we had our hands on a basically complete version of the game. You might think that playing a videogame for that long and basically non-stop might get a little boring or repetitive but the excitment level never really died down. People were playing games challenging one another and just exploring everything it had to offer. I think a lot of us came in with some tough questions and expecting to really have to dig to find out what we were looking for - but once we got our hands on the game we saw that most of our questions were staring back at us already in the game and implimented in a seamless way. I am 100% positive that you guys are going to really love this game. It is a complete blast to play, all throughout the day whenever someone pulled off a big move or big play they would practically yell out and everyone would kind of pop their head out from their game to watch the play. When I say its a fun game, I also dont mean in the 'arcade' sense, it is a really true to life sim style game and this is right out of the box default gameplay settings. I'll get into more detail about the game when I get back but I will say this: take all your AI concerns and throw them out the window. I absolutely got my ass handed to me by the computer when I got a little ****y and tried playing superstar mode. It woldnt be a stretch to say that this is the most complete hockey game to come out of the EA NHL series and there is a LOT to be excited about.
Stay tuned for more info as well as an exclusive video and screens plus pictures and video from the community day event.
*Is still filled with jealousy* LOL, I had hoped we got a chance to do something active like that for community day 07 but we still had a good one... Just different
Sounds like you all had an awesome, awesome time and the game sounds like a continual step in the right direction.
Could this be NHL '94 incarnate? 14 years in the making? I'm letting myself get too excited here. :P
kind of funny you mention it, NHL 94 was brought up at one point - its just a really fun game to play especially if you know hockey and how its supposed to be played.
and I dont want/mean to overhype this thing as I myself was kind of skeptical when marcus was telling us how much we are going to love the game but I really did enjoy it in a way I really havent with a hockey game in a long time if ever.
lol, well I couldnt manage any tip in goals but yeah a bunch of the guys had a lot better luck with them than I did. Its just so cool to see the computer react to a puck coming their way and attempt to tip it in.
yeah same with all the new stuff, like the deke move - it honestly depends on how good you are at knowing when and how to use it. In a way its kind of frusterating at first because you are so used to the old way where the puck is basically attached on a string to your stick.
and yeah I'm gonna call it a night now, ealry morning tomorrow - and FYI I was able to obtain answers for most if not all of the questions I brought along with me.
kind of funny you mention it, NHL 94 was brought up at one point - its just a really fun game to play especially if you know hockey and how its supposed to be played.
and I dont want/mean to overhype this thing as I myself was kind of skeptical when marcus was telling us how much we are going to love the game but I really did enjoy it in a way I really havent with a hockey game in a long time if ever.
If it's half as fun as you say it is, and there are plenty of game modes and options and such, I'm game.
The fact the game plays slower is a good sign.. most default speeds of NHL games have been too fast anyway. Slow it down so we can take some time setting plays up.
But yeah 94 was great and if you're comparing it to that as far as the fun factor goes, we may be in for a good year of NHL gaming.
told you that you shoulda brought me. i woulda deked shea weber out of his skates on the ice. sounds awesome though and I can't wait to hear what you have to say.
I'm just at the airport now, I got here at like 6 for my flight at 8 lol - I'm kind of paranoid about being on time but I think I came just a tiny bit too early lol.
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Originally Posted by jbyun04
sounds like you guys are having a blast and the game sounds really good as well
i'm anxious to find out more about create-a-player and create-a-team
also, I hope those two moves in the new skill stick animations aren't the only ones used when you go around the defender.
That reminds me Creationzone, Dynasty mode, and Online mode are part of the NDA we signed. So we can basically discuss any other aspect but those until I believe mid august. So you'll have to hold tight, but it will be well worth it.
I don't know where the other community leaders are from or what their websites are...
Yeah its cool, we all had different questions and obviously you might get a different impression of the event so I would suggest checking out what the other guys have to say.
edit/ oh man what terrible luck bangpow has had with his flights. Its funny he mentions you get slashing penalties now, didnt seem to stop him from hacking my guys all game long ;p
One little tidbit before I take off - for those interested in realistic ingame faces you will be very impressed. EA has a HUGE amount of guys done, its not just the big name guys most guys have a cyber and it is pretty true to life as you will see in the video (not sure if any of the guys have posted it yet) but yeah I was really impressed with that and it really adds that other dimension to the game that was somewhat lacking in 07
If sportsgamer NIX is there, can you tell him OC said "**** YOU ASSHOLE." Tell him not to kill the messenger.
On a lighter side, I am glad you where there representing the greatest hockey co-op since Al Gore invented the internet.
I hope I don't get any answers like "wtf, go away" or something, but were you able to ask something about the CG version? It's okay if the guys weren't able to answer the questions, but just some little infos would still help.
sounds awesome though and I can't wait to hear what you have to say.
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