IGN
Snapping wrist shots never felt so good in EA's next-gen hockey debut.
by Jonathan Miller
One of hockey's most exciting moves has ironically been holding hockey videogames back for some time. For whatever reason, playing hockey videogames has become increasingly about lining up a one-timer with a teammate -- sometimes you'll even slow up on a breakaway just so a streaking teammate can catch up. Turn on OLN and see how many times that happens in a real hockey game.
With EA's upcoming NHL on the Xbox 360, the days of depending on one-timers to turn on the red light have come to an end. Sure, you can still execute a perfect pass and fire a slap shot in for a one-time goal, but that may happen only once every other game now, give or take. Thanks to the evolution of hockey control with the right analog skill stick, you'll fire slap shots, snap wrist shots and poke the puck through the five hole, and you probably aren't going to see the same goal twice, thanks to some very impressive puck physics. More on that later.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Faking out the goalie is what hockey is all about.
There is a serious learning curve for the skill stick since we've been playing the same basic hockey controls since NHLPA 93 on the Genesis. Think of the right analog stick as your hockey stick. Move it right, you move the puck right. Move it left... you get the idea. Pull down to wind up for a slap shot and push up to fire at the goal. Simply let go of the stick and try to induce a defender to lay out to block a shot while you skate on by. Move left and right to deke through the defense. Move right and then roll back to the left for a 360 deke. Move left and roll up for a top shelf-backhand. The list of moves goes on and on, and this year hockey is not about canned animations -- it's about creating your own goals.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Like Ovechkin, this game is still growing.
It took about 20 games before I was completely comfortable with the skill stick, to where I could throw a triple-deke on a goalie on a breakaway and flip a wrister top shelf without so much as a second thought. It's strange how foreign the controller will feel in your hand the first time you play. It's even stranger how once you learn the basic moves you open up a different level of more advanced play, like dumping the puck, circulating the puck, probing the defense and working for a good shot.
The skill stick would probably come off as simply a gimmick if it weren't for a revamped system of puck physics. A producer from EA told us not to say that the team wanted to model the unpredictable nature of the puck after Konami's Winning Eleven soccer franchise, but we'll say it anyway. In 07, the puck has a life of its own and takes all kinds of wonky bounces. We've seen the puck bounce off the post and off the goalie and in. We've seen it bounce off the goalie, drop to the ice, hit his skate and bounce in. We've seen the goalie deflect a slap shot right onto the back of a teammate into the crease, and into his own goal. We love wrist shots, stick side and top shelf. A sniper like Mike Modano has a great chance of deflecting it off the goalie so it rolls over his back and into the net.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Goalies and pucks are no longer attached.
Because the puck it not as magnetic as it used to be, you will also see a more "sloppy" brand of hockey, in that there are a few more errant passes and icing calls and offsides calls. The offside AI is a bit frustrating at first since teammates seem to cross the line early or don't get back onside as quickly as we like. Then again, we like having to be a bit a more careful around the blue line. If you make a quick move or a deke, you will fake out your teammate and he'll go offsides. So don't do that. Also, hockey players are taught to sprint forward on a breakaway. If there's room before the blue line, it's best to hit him with the puck. If there's not enough room, do what hockey players do: dump the puck. I haven't dumped the puck in 15 years, but with the new brand of faster hockey in the NHL these days, it's a sound strategy and your speedsters will often make good use of the opportunity.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Pull down, push up, and enjoy the ride with the new skill stick.
Checking has been mapped to the right stick as well, but it uses the exact same system as NHL 06 on current-gen consoles. Defenders will magnetically move toward opponents and lay a hit, although the big hits have been reduced somewhat. You can still knock a guy out of his skates if you hit him just right, but offensive players can still retain possession of the puck if they are not hit dead on.
On the ice, I'm having a great time with NHL 07, and I am one of the few in the office that have got past the initial learning curve. At this point, it's one of those games that long time hockey gamers will question during the first hour or two of gameplay, and they just might not get it. For that reason, EA starts you out in a shootout mode to get acquainted with the controls. But after a few games, you start to get used it -- no, you start to feel it. And when you line up in the slot, roll back the stick just so, and roll forward, you can tell when it's going in. It just feels right.
Linear Mode
