NHL 2K9 / NHL 09

[Gabriel]

I'm glad they made an attempt at fixing it, but it hasn't stopped the computer from raping my guys out front when the puck is at the blueline or behind the net. I fucking hate that. Makes it impossible to set anything up.

[Plubby]

The thing I REALLY hate about this game is that "shoot" is the same button (and when I say "button" I mean "right stick" as "check", so if you're trying to skate onto a shot and miss, you check a guy..bam interference...also the "call for shot" button is the same as "poke check"...so I commit tripping calls when all i'm trying to do is tell my point man to shoot.

Edited March 6, 2009 by Plubby

[Gabriel]

The thing I REALLY hate about this game is that "shoot" is the same button (and when I say "button" I mean "right stick" as "check", so if you're trying to skate onto a shot and miss, you check a guy..bam interference...also the "call for shot" button is the same as "poke check"...so I commit tripping calls when all i'm trying to do is tell my point man to shoot.

If it's Xbox, hold the left trigger while you're skating into a shot. Doesn't matter where on the ice you are, it focuses your player on the puck, so you don't go hitting people all willy nilly.

[Plubby]

You mean Vision Control? I do that and if I miss (ie the defender gets there first) it still throws a hit. I'm suspecting I let go of L2 (ie left trigger) before the stick though.

[alldaws1]

Yeah the patch they put out ages ago made it so that you won't check while holding LT/L2, just hold that when you go for the shot, then when you've shot you can release the button.

[Plubby]

Do you know if the same fix works for "won't poke check while holding LT/L2" when you Call for Shot?

[Gabriel]

Do you know if the same fix works for "won't poke check while holding LT/L2" when you Call for Shot?

I'm pretty sure it doesn't, because I don't remember reading anything about that in the patch notes all season... but I suppose, it doesn't hurt to give it a try.

[Reddaye]

EA really need to add in face offs and board play like the kick ass systems used in 2k8. This rather outdated face off system feels to wrong when I go back and play some 2k8. Makes things feel much more authentic.

It'd also be nice of the AI wasn't able to seemingly turn on a dime and be completely immune to the general laws of ice skating.

Maybe I'm imagining things with that last comment though.

[Cactus Drags]

What's the 2k8 system? I definitely agree on boardplay, and someday I'd really like to see a realistic fight system.

[Toe]

I find it easier to score now. My players are going for deflections more now. I don't know if that is just a random thing or if it was something patched, but I am definitely scoring some good goals now.

[Reddaye]

What's the 2k8 system? I definitely agree on boardplay, and someday I'd really like to see a realistic fight system.

Well basically when you go to take the draw you pull the right stick in the opposite direction of the player's hand (left handed player you'd pull right, right hand you pull left) to draw back your stick back. When the puck drops you press the stick in the other direction to try and swat the puck back to your defensemen.

If you timed it right, and the player has enough skill you can cleanly win the draw. If your timing is off both players will lock together and you'll have to wiggle the right right to try and win by kicking the puck back with your skate. At that point your wingers can come in and try and get the puck and make it a winger win.

Players can be thrown out of the circle if you move your stick too soon. If you mess it up two times a winger will have to come in and take the draw instead. It sounds more complicated than it actually is, but it looks and feels completely authentic. Even forces you to mix your centers between lefties and righties if possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YWdzAKvlHQ

As far as fighting goes, 2k9 has basically nailed it. 2k8 had a really good fighting system, but 2k9 managed to do it better. Maybe the only thing 2k9 did better at all, aside from puck physics.

It's the Wii version, but the fights all look the same. Just the controls are different (obviously).

2k has been light years ahead of EA when it comes to realistic hockey. Too bad 2k9 is basically a total disaster. 09 is the superior game by far, even with it's flaws.

[Cactus Drags]

If it's light-years ahead in terms of realism, why is it a disaster? Those fights do look better, other than the player models being ridiculously slim. I know the Edge system is more form-fitting, but seriously, it looks like those guys are just wearing bodypaint.

[Reddaye]

If it's light-years ahead in terms of realism, why is it a disaster? Those fights do look better, other than the player models being ridiculously slim. I know the Edge system is more form-fitting, but seriously, it looks like those guys are just wearing bodypaint.

This year was supposedly a 'transition' year for 2k hockey. A new team has taken on the work load, scrapped the old code, and started to rebuild.

- Firstly they tried to copy EA's skill stick system and it just doesn't work. It's slow and unresponsive, and honestly pales in comparison to the style they used in 2k8, which was a hybrid of using the right stick to stick handle, while you used the bumpers and triggers to pass and shoot.

- There are a lot of glitches that cause the Franchise mode to freeze, especially if you use the trade finding feature.

- All Free Agents ranked above 80 overall are automatically erased from the database the moment you start a new Franchise.

- Obviously the visuals are lacking, although they always have been. This year though the players look like they have no padding on at all.

- AI suffers from trying to drive through the middle nine times out of ten. No where near the level of AI in the previous games in terms of intelligence and quality.

- Pinning against the boards is now automatic, instead of player controlled.

- No patch has been, or will be released to fix the issues.

- No roster updates. None coming.

Those are the things that quickly come to mind. They basically had six months to make a hockey game from scratch and you can feel it. 2k has led the way with simulation hockey on consoles for years, but this year they've dropped the ball and taken a step backwards.

NHL 2k8 still remains, in my opinion, the best hockey game you can buy. Since it has quite a learning curve, which turned some people off, 2k decided to strip everything back and try to make it more user friendly. The only thing is that they haven't even done that right. It feels half finished and rushed while NHL 09, despite it'd flaws, shows love and refinement.

Edited March 8, 2009 by Drifter_2000

[Gabriel]

I'm 19 games into my third season as the Leafs in Dynasty.

So far, Matt Stajan leads the team with 10 goals. The prior two seasons he finished with 9 and 11, playing all 82 games. His role hasn't changed at all, and neither have his stats... I guess he's just a beneficiary of having to adjust to the way the game has been altered through the new patch.

I've got Jeremy Williams and Evgeny Artyukhin lighting it up with the Marlies right now, and Martin Gerber (who, yes, I acquired after they picked him up IRL) got off to a shaky start, giving up at least three goals in each of his first five games... but has since bounced back, and his GAA is 2.29 and his save percentage is about .900 through 16 games.

I've got Pogge and Manny Legace splitting time with the big club, but if Gerber's numbers keep getting better, I might have to make room for him.

Also, for the first time ever in an NHL game, I've actually got myself a computer generated player worth having. Kris Lindros was sent to me in a trade I didn't even think about during my second season. Columbus wanted a guy from my AHL squad who I couldn't do anything with, so I accepted without looking at what was being offered. Lindros came to my club and finished the year in the top 5 in goals in the AHL.

Year 3, he's up on my main squad as a rookie, and he's second in rookie scoring with 8 points. Not awesome, but not too shabby either.

I'm also finding it more satisfying to pick up wins now. I'm winning more, but I think it's more to do with having a better club than I previously did... but they're harder fought wins than before. It's harder to get the lead. It's harder to keep the lead. After the initial frustration with the amoutn of penalties and such, I'm finding it a lot more fun.

[jase12881]

I'm 19 games into my third season as the Leafs in Dynasty.

So far, Matt Stajan leads the team with 10 goals. The prior two seasons he finished with 9 and 11, playing all 82 games. His role hasn't changed at all, and neither have his stats... I guess he's just a beneficiary of having to adjust to the way the game has been altered through the new patch.

I've got Jeremy Williams and Evgeny Artyukhin lighting it up with the Marlies right now, and Martin Gerber (who, yes, I acquired after they picked him up IRL) got off to a shaky start, giving up at least three goals in each of his first five games... but has since bounced back, and his GAA is 2.29 and his save percentage is about .900 through 16 games.

I've got Pogge and Manny Legace splitting time with the big club, but if Gerber's numbers keep getting better, I might have to make room for him.

Also, for the first time ever in an NHL game, I've actually got myself a computer generated player worth having. Kris Lindros was sent to me in a trade I didn't even think about during my second season. Columbus wanted a guy from my AHL squad who I couldn't do anything with, so I accepted without looking at what was being offered. Lindros came to my club and finished the year in the top 5 in goals in the AHL.

Year 3, he's up on my main squad as a rookie, and he's second in rookie scoring with 8 points. Not awesome, but not too shabby either.

I'm also finding it more satisfying to pick up wins now. I'm winning more, but I think it's more to do with having a better club than I previously did... but they're harder fought wins than before. It's harder to get the lead. It's harder to keep the lead. After the initial frustration with the amoutn of penalties and such, I'm finding it a lot more fun.

Computer generates decent starting players all the time...at least in so much as you can get them to 80-85ish at least. The funny thing is the announcers always call generated players by the wrong name. Some long russian name beginning with T becomes "Baines", etc. Had a guy named Manny Marrow that the announcer called Tkachuk.

[Gabriel]

I've had guys come up before who had a good overall, but I've never had a guy who I could actually use. Usually they have a wicked shot and offensive abilities, but skate like Derek Boogaard. Or they're crushing defensemen like Luke Schenn, but are 5'4", 160 lbs and have no discipline, which causes massive amounts of penalties.

This, with Kris Lindros, is the first time I've ever had a guy who had decent stats all the way across the board, and could contribute to my team.

[Cactus Drags]

EA have released another new patch, bunch of fixes including the eradication of the 99 exploit for EASHL, and goalies showing some restraint with regards to sprawling all over the place like a spasticated cat. Apparently, it's made it harder to score, and the penalties are way up, but from what I've read, the ones complaining are the cheesers who just belt people all the time, and that if you play more realistically, it's really good.

[Gabriel]

EA have released another new patch, bunch of fixes including the eradication of the 99 exploit for EASHL, and goalies showing some restraint with regards to sprawling all over the place like a spasticated cat. Apparently, it's made it harder to score, and the penalties are way up, but from what I've read, the ones complaining are the cheesers who just belt people all the time, and that if you play more realistically, it's really good.

We've been discussing this.

At first, it's a major piss-off, because the changes are so drastic. But, if you know hockey, and adapt, it's actually much more fun and realistic now.

Now, hopefully EA fixes some of the other glitches in next year's game. It's been at least three years now of call names being wrong for the generated players. Surely that can't be THAT hard to fix.

This year saw some major gameplay changes. Next season's game, I want to see focus more on fixing the little things.

Also, it's nice that penalties result in the proper faceoff placements now. I hated getting a powerplay and starting at my blueline.

[Cactus Drags]

Really? This patch has come out in the last few days, and I don't see anything on this page about it. This is the patch I'm referring to.

Exploit fixes:

-Fixes the 99 attribute bug in OTP/EASHL by preventing players from entering games with attributes that are raised beyond the level they can reach with the card they are entitled to have. Players who have elevated their attributes this way should reset their character by changing the type and reassigning their points.

-Limit the size of human goalies in OTP/EASHL games to 6′4″ (NOTE: it will still allow them to be set larger, but the actual height in game will not go above the new limit).

-Fixed some problems that could cause the game to hang or go out of sync when pausing.

-Prevent use of LB to get up instantly after being knocked over.

-Reduce accuracy of shooting while using vision control to skate backwards.

-Prevent high, accurate slap shots from in close to the net.

Other changes:

-Reduced the ease of beating the goalie on the short side.

-Decrease the tendency of the goalies to use a desperation save unnecessarily.

-Strict calling of interference, though you can still clear players directly in front of the net without getting called for interference.

-Added stick lift to Classic controls using LB+X(XBox)/L1+Square(PS3). It is also on R3 (press Right Stick).

-Fixed shot targeting using the Always Up control when skating down ice.

-Added new NHL rule to locate face-offs in the attacking zone to start a powerplay.

-Prevent CPU players from getting delay of game penalties frequently while clearing the puck from their zone.

-Prevent puck from being poke checked away from the goalie when he has it covered under his glove.

-Reduced the amount of time it takes to get control of the last man back, holding RT(Xbox) /R2(PS3)

-Reduced the amount of time it takes to get control of the goalie, holding LB+A(Xbox)/L1+X(PS3)

- Reduce the range of heights on randomly generated CPU players, including goalies.

-Eliminate the ability to accelerate and maintain high speed while stick lifting.

-More penalties for high sticking when stick lifts are done from behind the opponent.

-Made the colours of the OTP/EASHL indicators more distinct (yellow and orange).

-Made face-off outcomes slightly more random and slightly less dependent on attributes.

-Added assistance to prevent one-timer and shot attempts from leading to accidental hits and interference penalties.

-Goalie tuning to increase goal-scoring a bit to compensate for taking away the easy short-side high goals.

-Improve hit stat tracking to not count all of the small bumps in front of the net.

-Increased injuries caused by CPU teams.

-Prevent puck from being launched with very high speed following a hit.

-AI tuning for superstar. The Aggression slider now affects how intense the CPU team is on that difficulty level.

[Gabriel]

Is it just me, or is there an inordinate amount of penalties being called with this new patch?

Not just against the human player either.... I just played a game where there were almost 20 penalties between the two teams. All of them high sticking, hooking, slashing or tripping. No majors, no cross checking or boarding calls.

Seems kind of ridiculous to me.

This was the first post about it.

Nobody posted the official announcement, or the list of what it does, but we have been talking about it.

They don't mention it in the release, but the AI players on my team seem to be smarter. I could never score on the Powerplay because nobody ever went to the net unless I ran a set play... but now, with the new patch, if I pass the puck around a bit, I notice guys getting into position for screens and deflections. That has really helped me on the PP.