Overview: NHL 10

Publisher: EA Sports — Developer: EA Sports — Genre: Sports — Release Date: 09/15/2009

GAME OVERVIEW:

The hopes of a franchise and its fans rest on your shoulders as you skate onto the ice to a deafening roar from towel-waving fans in an arena alive with the dreams of thousands. Here’s your chance to prove you are tough enough to battle the most skilled and determined athletes in the world in pursuit of the ultimate prize—the Stanley Cup™ Championship. Prove your resolve, inspire your teammates and write your own history with NHL®10 from EA SPORTS™.

A platinum-selling* franchise annually with 19 sports game of the year awards since 2007, NHL 10 begins a new era with gameplay innovations that deliver a new standard of toughness, the emotion of playoff hockey, and the skill and finesse that every fan sees throughout the NHL playoffs.

Winning one-on-one battles for possession of the puck along the boards is now a test of will and skill. Utilizing an all-new board physics engine, players can use their body to shield the puck on the boards and kick-pass it to teammates. Watch bigger, stronger players pin opponents to the boards while fanatical fans bang the glass, just like real life. Dump the puck, fore-check defenders and finish checks to intimidate your opponent into mistakes. Players fatigue, bobble passes, and avoid collisions under threat of constant physical pressure. Inspire teammates, send a message and change the momentum of a game by instigating scrums, drawing penalties, and mixing it up—all after the referee blows the whistle! A new first-person fighting engine enables players to trade punches with an NHL tough guy. Feel what it’s like to be on the ice in the skates of an NHL player to throw and dodge punches. Grab and tug an opponent’s jersey to land the punch that ignites the fans and sparks your team to victory.

NHL 10 features more than 200 gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse of hockey, spectacular new ways to score, and improved goaltender intelligence. A new 360° precision passing mechanic delivers control over the speed and direction of passes so players can bank passes off the boards or play the puck into space for teammates to skate on to it. Experience all-new interactive crowds with towel-waving fans, glass bangers and crowds that react to the action. Prove you are tough enough to quiet the crowd, silence the opposition and survive a playoff run to lift the Stanley Cup in NHL 10.

Additional new modes, and innovations to major features like Be A Pro, EA SPORTS Hockey League and Dynasty Mode, will be revealed in the coming months.

KEY FEATURES:

• Battle on the Boards - A new board play physics engine lets you shield the puck with your body along the boards, kick-pass it to teammates, or pin an opponent, adding a new level of realism to cycling the puck and the dump and chase. AI teammates will support the puck and help you win the battle as fans bang on the glass.

• Intimidation Tactics - Fore-check defenders, pressure the puck and finish checks to force your opponent into mistakes. Players fatigue, bobble passes, and avoid collisions under threat of physical pressure. Face wash a superstar to provoke the opposition, instigate a scrum and ignite the crowd.

• Post-Whistle Action – Now, the game never stops! Antagonize opposing players, finish checks, retaliate for late shots on goal, draw penalties and pick fights—all after the referee blows the whistle!

• New 1st Person Fighting Engine - Change the momentum of a game by trading blows with an NHL enforcer with all-new first-person fighting. Grab and tug an opponent’s jersey to land a big punch. Face wash an opponent to start a fight even after the whistle.

• New Precision Passing - A new 360° precision passing mechanic delivers control over the speed and direction of passes so players can bank passes off the boards or play the puck into space for teammates to skate on to it. Players take poor passes off their skates and kick the puck to their sticks.

• Spectacular Goals – Introducing spectacular new ways to score, like players one-timing loose pucks, stick-handling and shooting from their knees, batting pucks out of the air and lifting a leg to fake a shot on goal.

• Improved Goalie Intelligence – Goaltenders position themselves more intelligently, react to shots more quickly and recover from saves faster. Plus, 250 new goalie animations, including swatting pucks out of the air, second and third saves and desperation lunges.

• Interactive Atmosphere - Playoff atmosphere pops to life with towel-waving fans, deafening noise and crowds that react and respond to the action on the ice. Fanatical fans bang glass during board play, spring to their feet after big hits, and boo opposing stars when they handle the puck.

• Next-Level authenticity - Over 200 gameplay refinements, including new offensive and defensive AI for more intelligent positioning, and new in-game facial animations that show player emotion when delivering bone-crunching checks or celebrating game-winning goals.

SCREENSHOTS:

…View the full NHL 10 Image Library…

VIDEO:

SYNOPSIS:

Thankfully for video game sports fans everywhere, the NHL brand has competition every year when it comes to gaming.  Unlike the NFL, NCAA, FIFA, etc…the NHL has refused to be bought out.  This isn’t anything but great news for us – because every year both EA and 2K duke it out to put out the best hockey title.  EA has been reigning supreme since 2007, but 2K could always come back and surprise us again.  EA’s NHL series has been solid for most of its career; as far as I can remember I always have enjoyed their titles.  In the early 2000s I did pass up EA’s franchise for 2K’s franchise for two reasons: price and online play.  Now that both franchises are at equal prices, and both have the same online features – the real nitty gritty is the gameplay.  I don’t see any reason I would be choosing different this year than EA’s game.  The demo, which is now available on PSN, gives the player the option to experience both the Be A Pro mode and the increase intensity of playoff battles.

For those unfamiliar, Be A Pro mode is similar to that of Madden’s Superstar mode where you create your own player and play as him throughout his career.  You control nothing else but your created player.  This type of mode has been the ideal premise for me and other sports fans in these types of games ever since Sony’s MLB The Show introduced this mode years ago (in their game it is entitled “Road to the Show”).  I skipped last year’s version due to financial reasons (plus I played the living hell out of both 07 and 08 so a break was most welcome); and in some ways I regret that since that was the year this mode debuted.  Overall the vibe on it was solid – though it needed some tweaking.  From my experience in the demo, the mode seems solid but obviously I can’t judge it in full from 1-2 events.  The goal in the demo is to go #1 in the entry draft after playing in the “prospects game.”  This game is a great way for you to get noticed by scouts.  In the full version of the game you could always skip this match and just take your chances – but chances are you will go much lower in the draft.  The game lasts just a period, but you are on the ice the entire time, that is if you stay out of the penalty box.

In the playoff event you can play as either Detroit or Pittsburgh and re-enact last years’ Game 7 battle between the two teams for the Stanley Cup.  You only get to play in the final period, and PIT auto leads 2-0.  They included the playoff atmosphere in the demo to help give the player the intensity of the moment.  One of the new features to the game is the fan control in the playoffs.  In real NHL play, you will see the most insane of the die hard fans for each team to come out and root for their squads in the playoffs – and this is what NHL 10 is trying to achieve.

Another new feature this year is the fighting system.  While the modern day NHL may be less in focus with power and toughness and more focused on speed and agility – us fans of the sport still love a good fight here and there.  The fighting system in NHL 10 places you in the actual shoes of the player you control and puts you in the first person view.  The system works very simple and fights don’t last that long – but it is a nice feature to include and is sure to bring in some nice online havoc.

One of the complaints I had regarding past NHL teams has been defense controls – more specifically when it came to selecting a player.  In past games the game would select whichever player was nearest to the puck, however it would choose a player who is not in the best position to take down the opponent.  For example: let’s say you were at the blue line and the opposing team was setting up a one timer opportunity in front of the net.  I have two players near the guy with the puck, one who is towards the net and is in prime location to help break up the play, and the other at the side of the screen who doesn’t have such a good chance of doing so.  The guy who will have less success was the guy always selected when I would prompt the game to select a player.  Therefore this would cause the AI to setup the one timer and usually end up in a goal.  This would frustrate me.  From my experiences with the demo, this situation didn’t pop up as frequently – so from what it looks like this issue may not be so much an issue anymore.

Personally I am looking forward to NHL 10 as I am both a fan of the sport and the video game series.  I missed out on last years’ and am eager to start up a franchise with my Buffalo Sabres (maybe I can bring the city a virtual Stanley Cup).  The demo impressed me and I am excited more than ever to get my hands on it.  On another note, if any of our readers out there are interested in starting up an online league after the game releases, please let us know in this thread on our message boards.  Nothing seems more fun to me than a TripleChat hockey league.

NHL 10 is set to release September 15 for the PS3.  No PS2 or PSP versions have been announced.  The series has been MIA from the PSP since NHL 07; this will be the first year it is not released on the PS2.  Currently it has a MSRP of $59.99.  Who plans to pick it up?

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