Nhl '08

Beat me to it I was going to start a thread on NHL08, can't ait for this to come out especialy with the new level to which they seem to have taken the skill stick.

Getting this on release day anyone for a game???
 
Very similar to 07 really. i only played once last night so i can't give a proper impression yet, but they do seem to have improved on the skill stick control as it seemed much more fluid which is a good thing, but doing real hard hitting body checks still seems harder than it should be but i guess that makes the game more realistic as you only get a few big hits per game in the NHL.

will be getting this game when it comes out as i get all the EA NHL games for soem reason :rolleyes:
 
Very similar to 07 really. i only played once last night so i can't give a proper impression yet, but they do seem to have improved on the skill stick control as it seemed much more fluid which is a good thing, but doing real hard hitting body checks still seems harder than it should be but i guess that makes the game more realistic as you only get a few big hits per game in the NHL.

will be getting this game when it comes out as i get all the EA NHL games for soem reason :rolleyes:

whats this like compared to the 2k game?
 
I do agree about the body checking in NHL 08, yes its more difficult to do but also more realistic and satisfying. As in 2k7, the body checking was fun but a little out of character and unrealistic with the rest of the game.
 
I don't understand the sport, so I was completely lost in this demo I'm afraid. The announcer kept shouting "Offside!" to me and I have no idea what that means. Unfortunately I'm not particularly inclined to learn either so for me this is a pass and I deleted the demo.
 
Tufty - not that your care now that you have deleted the demo but offside happens if a player from your team crosses the blue line nearest the opposition goal before the puck crosses that line(stops goal hanging!) and can be used to good effect when defending as well as if you get the puck over that blue line it can't come back until all the players on the attacking team go back over it.

stiger - dont know about the 2k7 game as i only played 2k6 but to me the EA games played the better game of hockey. i think Monty99 played both as he's a big ice hockey fan i think
 
Not played an EA NHL game since NHL '07 on PS1 !!!!

EA Hockey was my favourite mega drive game of all time so thought I'd give this demo a go.

Pleased I did. Still getting used to all the buttons and sticks etc, but will definately get this when it's released (but comes down in price).

(good) Hockey games on consoles are so underestimated in the uk. People are missing out IMO
 
I hope you meant 97 not 07 as that would have been one fancy PS1! :D

Demo seemed decent enough, defending seemed better even if it was just down to the fact there wasn't the move left stick and the player magnetically zoomed in on the attacker. Other than that it's more of a polish-up of 07.

Not sure how it'll compare to 2k8, 2k6 was poor so I didn't buy 2k7 - but they've included some kind of stick control as well (which isn't surprising really given it's pretty become the defacto way of playing) - though we'll have to wait until that demo is out before comparing.
 
i didn't have much of a clue what was going at first but thought it was a pretty good game...graphics pretty sharp and did give you a feel you were skating...never played this type of game but may give it a go (and read the rules !!!!!)
 
...never played this type of game but may give it a go (and read the rules !!!!!)

That's one of my pet peeves with sports games (especially US sports). Why can't they (EA especially) devote a page or two in the manual to give you the basic rules of the sport? I'm not asking for a full reprint of the rule book, just the basics.

If you're a big fan of any particular sport, you probably have a reasonable knowledge of the game. I like ice hockey/basketball and US football games, but sometimes I haven't got a clue why I'm being penalised for something.
 
As i think someone said above the only time you know you are doing something wrong is when the comentators chirp up......Although from the demo the rules didn't look that complicated !
 
When i get home tonight i'll try to do a post that has some of the basic rules of Ice Hockey to help you guys out with the demo. i don't claim to be an expert on the game but i believe i know enough to get by
 
The rule you may come across that you don't know how it works is the offside rule, thankfully it's not as difficult as the one in football so it should be easier to explain. For the explanations i will assume that you are the team shooting 'up' the ice.

Offside
In the middle of the ice there are 3 lines, one red one and a blue line either side of the red one. The blue line furthest from your goal is the one you want to worry about. You need the person who in in control of the puck to be the first person on your team to cross this line otherwise offside will be called. So dont skate towards the line and then decide not to cross it as the computer controlled players will have assumed that you were going to cross it, so if you then decide to cross the line offside will be called, unless you wait for those members of your team to come back over the line.

Icing
Is called when you clear the puck from one end of the ice to the other but the opposition touch the puck before yours. I'm not 100% certain but the puck has to cross 3 lines in order for icing to be called. If icing is called a faceoff will take place near your goal, so it best to try to avoid them, but sometimes you will just need to dump the puck down the ice for a breather.

Penaltys
If you bend the rules to much you will have players sent off for 2mins(usually) so your be left 'shorthanded' (4vs5) which isn't a good thing, if you commit another foul you will go down to 3 players, but not down to 2 if you commit another. There are various fouls but the most common in NHL08 are Roughing, elbowing and tripping, the latter 2 speak for themselves but roughing is a bit different. Roughing should only be called if you take 3steps(i think)toward the opposition(bit like travelling in Basketball) and then perform a bodycheck.

i cant really think of any others, but the more you play the more your pick up as the rules of ice hockey aren't that complicated really, although if you lookup the NHL rulebook on nhl.com the book is 312pdf pages long!
 
I think i'm right in saying you cant be penalised for icing when you are shorthanded, so whacking the puck down the opposite end of the ice is agood way off running down the time in the powerplay:smashin:
 
I think i'm right in saying you cant be penalised for icing when you are shorthanded, so whacking the puck down the opposite end of the ice is agood way off running down the time in the powerplay:smashin:

That's right, you can smash the puck down the other end when you are shorthanded. I'll answer any questions you guys have on the rules I follow the NHL, GO PENGUINS!!!!!:smashin:
 
Thankfully Ice Hockey is a pretty straightforward game and all there really is to get to grips with is icing and offside. Offside is way simpler than the footie and rugby offside rules and basically if you have the puck you have to be the first guy into the attacking zone. Icing has been explained and is when the puck is hit from your own half and it crosses the opposition's goal line (without going into the actual net).

My fave versions have always been NHL Hockey & NHLPA Hockey on the old Megadrive. The EA games are still the best these days though and the skill stick idea is a great one. I'll download this demo later on and give this a bash. :)
 
Managed to grab this and give it a bash. Pretty impressive I must say. Graphically it's very good and the gameplay always runs smoothly. The skill stick takes a bit of getting used to but I was getting there towards the end. Couldn't get used to changing player with the Right Trigger but you can change the controls so that's not a biggie.

I guess at the end of the day it may have funky physics, lovely graphics and more complex controls but it's still the Megadrive game deep down. If i'm honest I find holding the button down for a nice big slap shot more rewarding than flicking the right stick, but the stick does give a skillful player a lot more control and it is a better control system.

A possible purchase this, although i'll most likely wait for it to drop in price a bit first.
 
I love NHL07 so was really looking forward to the demo of this to see what they had done further with the skill stick and all.

First impressions were awful as the graphics seemed to have gone really 2k and arcady/shiny but I as I got used to it they doseem more like the normal EA graphics.

The new skating engine is fantastic, allowing you to skate sidewards as well as back and forth, which is great for the powerplay. Thankfully your defenceman now seem to stay in the play as well when your on the power play rather than rushing off for a change every 10 secs (which is probably the most annoying thing about NHL07)

Checking has become harder but if you get it right you reallly nail the player, which is how it should be.

In comparison to 2k8, that is really down to personal preference. IMO NHL by EA is more the real hockey game where as 2k is more of an arcade style game.

I will be buying NHL08 if anyone is up for a game (or NHL07 until this comes out)

The skill stick seems to have been turned up a notch and you can pull some smooth dekes with this now.
 
The Demo really impressed me, nice graphics, great sound and lovely gameplay.

Never purchased a Hockey game before but this could well be the one.
 
loved the first 07 game and i spend endless hours on that one, didnt think it could get any better, but it really did!
i must have spend about 2 hours on the demo yesterday, and i love it!
cant wait to get the full version, its going to be amazing!
5/5 for me


come on you chelmsford chieftains! :)
 

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