EA's 'NHL Hockey' series goaltender A.I.

Has there ever been a version of EA's 'NHL Hockey' series which wasn't plagued with weak goaltender A.I.?

For example, the netminders would allow goal-a-thons because they couldn't learn to stop being dumb & moved almost every time on a deke, and thus, many goals.

It's EA, do you think they really care?monkeytoes61

[QUOTE="monkeytoes61"]It's EA, do you think they really care?blackngold29

Does that mean ESPN 05 has good goalie A.I.?

[QUOTE="blackngold29"][QUOTE="monkeytoes61"]It's EA, do you think they really care?speed_ballz

Does that mean ESPN 05 has good goalie A.I.?

[QUOTE="monkeytoes61"]It's EA, do you think they really care?blackngold29

[QUOTE="blackngold29"][QUOTE="monkeytoes61"]It's EA, do you think they really care?Sports-Fan

[QUOTE="Sports-Fan"][QUOTE="blackngold29"][QUOTE="monkeytoes61"]It's EA, do you think they really care?blackngold29

I'd like to hear why you recommend NHL '08? When, and if, you play the CPU, what are the usual scores, i.e, do you have blowouts in your favor?

speed_ballz

I'd like to hear why you recommend NHL '08? When, and if, you play the CPU, what are the usual scores, i.e, do you have blowouts in your favor?

The game is VERY solid.

Some games you may win by blows outs, but for a lot of times your also scrapping for every goal you can get, and even try and play more defense to hold that lead. Sometimes you'll have to weather storms as the other team goes on the forecheck and recovers the puck and keeps firing. The better the goaltender, the more you have to do. You may have to mix up your strategies, and figure out a goaltender's weak spot.

Not to mention the Online play is a ton of fun

[QUOTE="blackngold29"][QUOTE="monkeytoes61"]It's EA, do you think they really care?Sports-Fan

Yah i highly recommend you try NHL 08, the game is just a whole new game. From 04-07 with the ps2, it was a roster update, with some new stupid feature. NHL 08 is just different on all fronts, the d is realistic, you can actually see strategies and plays work how they should, plus the AI is able to learn, so you constantly have to be changing your way of scoring.

[QUOTE="Sports-Fan"][QUOTE="blackngold29"][QUOTE="monkeytoes61"]It's EA, do you think they really care?hockey73

Yah i highly recommend you try NHL 08, the game is just a whole new game. From 04-07 with the ps2, it was a roster update, with some new stupid feature. NHL 08 is just different on all fronts, the d is realistic, you can actually see strategies and plays work how they should, plus the AI is able to learn, so you constantly have to be changing your way of scoring.

I've not played NHL '08, but by the sounds of it, it's a turnaround game for EA hockey fans. A friend told me that Virgin's PowerPlay '96 had great gameplay (not sure about the goalies). Can anyone remember that game with all that dust on it?

I've not played NHL '08, but by the sounds of it, it's a turnaround game for EA hockey fans. A friend told me that Virgin's PowerPlay '96 had great gameplay (not sure about the goalies). Can anyone remember that game with all that dust on it?speed_ballz

The Virgin games were pretty good. They had some horrible glitches, but I prefered the games on my Saturn to any other hockey game at the time. That is until I had a guy checked into the stands and couldn't get back out. It was really bad when it was a center and they couldn't get back to the circle for the faceoff and you had to restart. Or when you checked someone and they went under the ice. Yeah, they were a reflection and that's it. But the goaltending was great... the little things just made the game, meh.

However, NHL '08 is phenominal. The gameplay is more than solid, the action feels correctly paced and games don't have an outrageous score. I think the biggest score I had was 6 - 4... but hockey games can get there every now and again.

The best thing about '08 is that the controls are tight. You don't feel like you are button mashing to get a one timer off. The AI learns as you play so running down the boards and centering the puck for a slot one timer won't work all the time, you have to change up here and there. The offense learns too. If you are shutting down their wingers they'll play the point. If you have a big blue line presence they'll dump in and cycle more. It really is worth a pickup, at the very least a rental for hockey fans.

[QUOTE="speed_ballz"]I've not played NHL '08, but by the sounds of it, it's a turnaround game for EA hockey fans. A friend told me that Virgin's PowerPlay '96 had great gameplay (not sure about the goalies). Can anyone remember that game with all that dust on it?LOEAnubis

The Virgin games were pretty good. They had some horrible glitches, but I prefered the games on my Saturn to any other hockey game at the time. That is until I had a guy checked into the stands and couldn't get back out. It was really bad when it was a center and they couldn't get back to the circle for the faceoff and you had to restart. Or when you checked someone and they went under the ice. Yeah, they were a reflection and that's it. But the goaltending was great... the little things just made the game, meh.

However, NHL '08 is phenominal. The gameplay is more than solid, the action feels correctly paced and games don't have an outrageous score. I think the biggest score I had was 6 - 4... but hockey games can get there every now and again.

The best thing about '08 is that the controls are tight. You don't feel like you are button mashing to get a one timer off. The AI learns as you play so running down the boards and centering the puck for a slot one timer won't work all the time, you have to change up here and there. The offense learns too. If you are shutting down their wingers they'll play the point. If you have a big blue line presence they'll dump in and cycle more. It really is worth a pickup, at the very least a rental for hockey fans.

Ah, it sounds like EA has finally decided to use some of those extra CPU cycles to make better A.I. for its hockey games. Thanks for sharing this, LOEAnubis

Um, I've read that the PC version of the game basically stinks. This is a shame as I haven't owned a console since 1996. Maybe someone's emulated NHL '08 by now...