Am I the only one dissapointed with Next Gen?

[LeftyLoosey]

NHL 06 : Next Gen

Initial Impressions

I picked up my copy yesterday from Futureshop after reading on these very forums that they had it. I was in luck, as they just had a few copies left. shortly after, I went to EB to get my $5 back which I payed to reserve it. The very nice gentlemen mentioned that there was a shipping delay. I told him (to his surprise) that I bought it just up the street at futureshop. I bet there's going to be some companies that have a few words for their shipping departments.

Anyway, I get home and fire up what has to be the most talked about sports game this year. IGN and gamespot both praised this as the true next gen sporting experience. David Littman constantly praised this as the shining acheivement of EA Hockey and that this game will be the base of next gen titles for the ps3 and 360.

After playing my very first period of NHL 07, this thought entered my mind:

"I think we've been had."


Before you lash out , please listen to my explanation.


For months , we've been told this game has been built from the ground up. The community saw a surge of excitement through the EA boards at this thought. Finally, EA hockey was getting a brand new structure. Most of the hype surroundng this game was people wanting to see what it was EA had built for next gen hockey. I used the "Ea's building a new engine" argument to some trolls on 2k boards. i was convinced this was going to be Fresh, New and exciting.

Boy, was I wrong.

The pre-game lasts 10 seconds. that's right, 10 seconds. If EA thinks they can build an atmosphere in 10 seconds with pretty graphics, they're wrong. the 2K series absolutely destroys Ea in this aspect. (I'm talking 2k6, not this 2k7 cinemotion stuff). In Ea's pre-game, there are no stats, no goalie comparison.. nothing. You see players get on the ice, and the game begins.

**

Side note: During the pre-game, I noticed something very pecular that would re-itterate itself during the game. Pay close attention to how many players are on screen at once in NHL 07 during 'cutscenes'. You'll never see it exceed 5, which proves that the scenes in between plays are not real time. Now i'm not saying they're pre-rendered either. what I'm saying is that When a play stops, players are not where they are when the play stopped. If it were real time, if I was hovering over the goalie as he froze the puck, all of my players should be doing their aniations next to the goalie.. not at center ice

****


After a very short introduction to the game, it begins. Let me point out that EA failed to mention in their tutorial, (which loads instantly when you create a new profile) that the left analog stick is used for a faceoff. It didn't take me long to figure it out, but I could see some people getting frustrated pressing the pass trigger.

The passing is unique, different and after time it grows on you. I still find myself hitting face buttons and grumbling some obseneties in doing so, but overall it's very cool.

Same deal with the shooting. having it on the stick is awesome.. and the ONLY problem is had was when the camera changes direction. I had trouble co-ordinating that , but after a few games you get the hang of it.

In regards to commentary , there's not much to be said. Litterally. These guys would be more excited commentating the british open. the excitement of the game is completely brought down by the lackluster and often irrelavent commentary. EA fans will like it (as did I for a while) because it's not Jim hughson. Not that there's anythign wrong with jIm.. I find him to be one of the better commentator's on CBC, however 10 years was enough. :) The commentary needs to be fixed. They need to be excited and they need to talk more. This is NEXT GEN.. if the graphics can be next gen, why can't the commentary? Voice tecnology has come leaps and bounds since sports games introduced commentary. why hasn't hockey picked up on this yet? I understand the fast nature of the sport can be a programming nightmare, but this is NEXT GEN. EA wants us to beleive it? Then they should step up.


The sound in this game (aside from the boys in the booth) is absolutely awesome. Sticks smacking, players yelling, the ref yelling offside and stuff.. damn that is slick. Turning off my commentary was a breath of fresh air. although the slapshot sound is a little... well I don't even know.

Graphics are stunning. It's been said a million times.

Skating.
This is the main downfall of this game. Most of the time, you feel as though you have no control of your player. the animation is chunky, and after being spoiled with 2k's smooth skating transitions.. this skating engine makes you want to pull your hair out. If EA wants to continue on the right path, they need to smooth out that skating engine.


Now I want to get to the point of me saying, "we've been had".

After playing NHL 06 religously for a year.. you tend to pick up on things. For instance:

you notice hitting animations and you know exactly what's going to happen after 2-3 frames into the player's animation. All nhl 06 players will agree, you pick up on things like that.

My question is, if this game has been hyped for months as being built from the ground up... why is it that I can still see the exact same animations in NHL 07 NEXT GEN, as NHL 06 or even 05 CG?

I thought maybe it was a co-incidence. But after seeing a goal celebration, I was wrong. There are new ones, don't think i'm trying to kid you. However, there are ones there that are EXACTLY like NHL 06. down to their hand movements and even to how many players are on screen. the exact same angle and everything.

I thought, "okay.. a few of the same animations.. no big deal. This was a completely new engine.... right?"

No.

the replays are done EXACTLY as 06. You know how they slow the framerate down as the puck reaches the goalie's pads, then it speeds up again as the puck leaves the goalie's pads? yup.. it's identical to NHL 06.

The selection of replays are the same as 06. They pick the saves first, hits second and goals last. Why don't they mix it up? because.. that's the way it was in 06.

I'm not saying EA lied to us. They may have rebuilt some parts of the game. But for them to say it's a completely new and fresh product is ridiculous.

I will end with saying this;

I've been an EA fan for year, as most of you are too. I've been coming to this message board for years under different names because of some controversy I started. There's neither here nor there. Right now I'm telling the community that yes, NHL 07 is probably the best product EA hockey has put out in years. however, this game has old engine written all over it. And that's what soured this game for me.

i will still play it , and I will enjoy it. heck, it's a hell of a game. I've even got the PC version to continue playing in my online league. I'll even use my free 48 hour live membership I got with the game to go get smoked by some 12 year olds who've mastered the controls, or maybe even meet another hockey fan and just talk about this great game. That's the beauty of live.

I will also still come to DoubleMinor, and read everyone's reviews and their opinions of the game.

As a matter of fact, I hope somebody writes a review that changes my opinion of the game.

That's just my opinion, and I know it holds no water to anybody.

I would still reccomend this game to anybody who's a fan of hockey,.

[Hank]

It's your opinion. But if you think the commentary in this game is horrible then I don't suggest you play the 2K series.
Bob Cole and Harry Neale are dead compared to Thorne and Clement in 07.

[steeveedee]

To rebutt your controller theory...you can choose it so it's "Always Up" and not "Camera Relevent" and it will always be the same no matter where your going.

Play the game out a bit more before you get all critical. You definately bought into the hype thinking that this was the perfect game. Ofcourse there would be glitches/room for improvement. There always is. The hitting animations are pretty much exactly the same aside from a couple of new ones I saw, but it's not a huge deal.

I can't wait to hear what you say about 2k's commentary lol.

[mykhull]

The more I play it, the more I find missing from last year. In a lot of ways, its a step back. Yes, the controls are revolutionary but they left out a ton of content..and I was expecting more content as every annual release should offer.

No fantasy draft. No create a team. Limited create a player options. No quebec, winnipeg and hartford uniforms/logos.

No addition of historical content or record books.

[aerceg83]

I'm having a blast playing it. The first game I played was one of the most realistic hockey games I've played in years.

It has it's downpoints too, but it's a blast to play, which is what matters to me.

[mykhull]

I too am having a lot of fun with the actual gameplay..I just don't think the game is the complete package...its feels more like a demo. Atleast, they have good building blocks for a better game next year around. I think thats what they set out to do. They just set their goals a little low. No reason to cut some of the content they did.

[sportmats]

Originally Posted by mykhull

The more I play it, the more I find missing from last year. In a lot of ways, its a step back. Yes, the controls are revolutionary but they left out a ton of content..and I was expecting more content as every annual release should offer.

No fantasy draft. No create a team. Limited create a player options. No quebec, winnipeg and hartford uniforms/logos.

No addition of historical content or record books.

In the real NHL, does the teams play with the Quebec, Winnipeg or Hartford jerseys? No, I dont think so... I think that EA has put an effort of doing the best at gameplay an then added just the much needed stuff to make the game playable. I think that EA has gone for realism and not fantasy (like the jerseys you are mentioning) this year.

[aerceg83]

Originally Posted by mykhull

I too am having a lot of fun with the actual gameplay..I just don't think the game is the complete package...its feels more like a demo. Atleast, they have good building blocks for a better game next year around. I think thats what they set out to do. They just set their goals a little low. No reason to cut some of the content they did.

The only thing that really bothers me is the limited CAP. Create a team, Fantasy Draft, Season mode etc....those don't bother me.

If I can CAP and have a dynasty mode, and have good gameplay, I am set.

[Hockey07]

I scored on my very first shot. I took Jokinen and took a wrist shot on Luongo early in the game.. very early in the game. On the Superstar level. And it hit Luongo's glove and then tricked in the net.

I still have to finish my first game though. :D My first game was on the Superstar difficulty, yes. I've seen some nice things with the AI, such as I can't skate straight into the corner because I'll get hit every time. And on Vancouver's 3 penalty kills, they've dumped the puck out of the zone a lot which is cool.

[pari]

pls stop complaining about the commentators.... the commentators in the us sports series are superior compared to all the other sports games