jdpatri

Release Date: September 7th, 2010.



New in 2011... better hit physics (hip checks, new board checks, etc), broken sticks (get a stick from the bench, swap between players, deal with broken sticks on the ice), new faceoff engine (push forward, tie up opponent on the draw) and the inclusion of the CHL in Be a Pro.

I'll offer to organize the PS3 DVDTalk hockey club. I'm going to count on some of the Warhawkers to get on board this year since I know we've got at least a couple of hockey fans in the mix. All you need is two players online at any given time to get in a club game.

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EASPORTSNHL Twitter: http://twitter.com/EASPORTSNHL

Chew

Hockey. Bah.

jdpatri

:notrolls:

When I said Warhawkers, I definitely wasn't including you.

Chew

cnicholls44

I'm in

7Keys

Is that an online league basically? Or is it more relaxed and just random games. I've never played games online, but think I would like try when this game comes out.

jdpatri

The way the EASHL works is that you have a club of however many players and whenever more than one of you are online you can log into the Club menu and play a game against another random EASHL team. There's rankings and stat-keeping and whatnot but I've never been on a team that was ever good enough to really care. The games are pretty fun. Every so often you get some serious douchenozzle action where the opposition only uses gameplay exploits... but you can take out some aggression by punching them in the face. Douchenozzles are always willing to fight. There's no set number of games to play -- you just play whenever.

Rob V

I'm in for 2011 even though I hardly touched 2010 due to time constraints. I love me some hockey.

jdpatri

Great. Hopefully we can get a pretty solid stable of players to keep our club active. Not that it's not fun to lay an occasional beatdown, but playing with a regular group is what makes the online club feature really worthwhile...

nickdawgy

Go watch soccer or something

I can't wait for this to come out.

astrochimp

I was thinking about maybe skipping this years version.I really hate EA but they usually do seem to offer enough as far as upgrades in their NHL series so i'm sure i will most likely get it.

Chew

He dissed my favorite sport earlier today, I was just returning the favor.

jdpatri

It was just a little dis.

At least you're not a fan of the NBA.

ivelostr2

I'm probably in.

In other news: R2 stops cutting grass, retires from his multiple jobs, gets a divorce, and drops out of school to concentrate on Warhawk, RDR, COD, NCAA11, RF:G, Burnout:PC, UC:2, and apparently NHL 11...fuck.

(doctor gonzo)you took too much man...you took too much(/doctor Gonzo)

JohnSlider

If you guys set up a league for Monday the PS3 peeps will have a whole working week of gaming.

bunkaroo

Beautiful cover.

I don't know if I'm good enough to play online. I've played NHL10 about .01 the amount of time I've spent on MLB.

cruzness

Agreed awesome cover. I've never played NHL series online but a couple of coworkers rave about it.

jdpatri

I know The Show gets a lot of press for baseball.... and Madden/NCAA consume lives... but NHL, IMO, is the best sports franchise for both casual and hardcore fans. You don't have to be puckhead to have fun playing NHLXX. You can still win with standard tactics. But it's really rewarding when you can master some of the pro stick handling.

jdpatri

Meh. No worries. It won't take long to be a half-decent online player. If you play the Be A Pro game mode you'll get up to speed because it'll teach you where your player needs to be based on his position. When everyone gets the game, I suggest playing BaP from the beginning. It's the best mode and it helps you get used to the same tactics that work online. You'll just have to play online to learn how to counter the standard douchenozzle tactics.

cruzness

Mines/Claymores, TOWs, noobtubes and dual weilding shotguns in a hockey game?!?! Man when a fight breaks out it really is violent!

jdpatri

Only if Slider is playing.

jdpatri

Minor bit of information bump (to keep this above the Madden thread! Woo.)

Rumor has it that in the new Be A Pro mode you will be able to opt out of contracts and change leagues (like going from the NHL to a Euro league). I don't think EA has confirmed anything about this, but it would be interesting to jump ship on your NHL franchise and rule a crappy Euro league for awhile. I don't know if this is true since they made such a big deal about including the CHL (which is awesome!) but there was no mention of playable Euro leagues. The teams have been playable in the game for a few iterations though, so it's certainly not impossible.

jdpatri

Pre-order bonus at Gamestop:
This will just be a boost pack for your BaP/online skater. I'd be surprised if it really offered anything worthwhile. I've still got my pre-order in with Amazon since they'll probably offer at least a $10 credit. Maybe. Maybe not.

ElementZ

Also a strong rumor that we will now see RFA's in this game. I hope that's true.

jdpatri

RFAs would be a great addition... but I'd really like them to work on the FA and trade dynamics within the various modes. The GM AI is pretty poor and if that's not improved, I can see the RFA being kind of a mess.