NHL 2k9 Good? Or Bad? plz vote.

[AKA AO]

i want to see the outcome.

[Rei]

A short explanation of why you voted good or bad would be nice.

[joker07]

2k9 DEMO is GREAT , The 2k9 game is genius ! It is not only a game , It is Realy hockey play ! EA ending .

[Rei]

2k9 DEMO is GREAT , The 2k9 game is genius ! It is not only a game , It is Realy hockey play ! EA ending .

http://www.xbapodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/fanboi-anatomy.jpg

[Nightbird248]

Good or bad, it's a DEMO!! The code from it alone is probably from 2 months ago, at best a month and a half ago tops. How do you even ask that with it being 3 minutes of game play on pro difficulty and the default camera which is parametric I believe. Pro difficulty is easier then the pro in 2K8 which the devs did mention so you got no real way to judge good or bad from just that.

[HockeyFan18]

Honestly play the actual game before posting this, what a stupid thread.

[Rei]

Honestly play the actual game before posting this, what a stupid thread.

I was under the asumption that anyone posting would be talking about the demo and not the actual game.

Besides, most of the people that dont like 2k9 dont like it for the controls in the demo which are 99% likely to be the final controls schemes in the game.

[joker07]

http://www.xbapodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/fanboi-anatomy.jpg

Yes , I am 2k fan ! I am happy with 2k games ! I am better than you ! You are only fanboy (It is your picture ? nice ! ) , I am 2K FAN !

[hockeylover16]

how many referees are in 2k9?

[joker07]

how many referees are in 2k9?

2+2 referees are in 2k9

[macpuck]

4 officials just makes for crowded ice; it's not a good thing in the NHL and it's not a good thing in a video game ... hopefully, the sliders will continue to allow a settings option that keep them out of the way ...

[danick58]

i dont know why you guys always said that 2k is good where is not i was a big fan of 2k in the past year (2K3 2K4 2K5 2K6 2K7 WAS A SIMULATION OF REAL NHL HOCKEY) BUT 2K8 WAS UGLY, HIT FEST AND HAS CONTROL TO MAKE COMBO IN A FIGTHING GAME to do some superstar move THAT A ARCADE GAME FOR ME if you always tell the producer ben bishop that you like is game il never make improvement and you still have a arcade game whit some boring mini game . for me last year nhl 08 was a real simulation and the best hockey game since 2k5

[abax44]

After reading most of the posts here I didn't expect much of the demo. I finally got a chance to play it on saturday and thought it was great. Not a huge fan of the controls, but I'll adjust. Kind of hard to get a real feel for the game based on 3 minutes of playing time, but it gives you an idea of what to expect (obviously).

[macpuck]

Sounds like there is hope. For the anti-2K people who made up their minds even before playing the demo, it's all going to be negative. It's nice to hear from some folks who actually seem to be approaching this with an open mind.

[yambag021]

i played the demo on ps. didnt like it too much at all. less controller options (customizing is nice, but im not up for going through 48 scenarios just to fine tune EVERY button when 2k8 had it right from the start), better HITTING, just as bad collision as its been in the past 5 2k games, cooler crowds, same announcements in the stadium.

not a big enough improvement to trump ea's eashl (is that wat it is) in MY opinion. i have been a HUUGGGGEEEEEE 2k fanboy since the day it came out, but i may be crossing over.

i know some are ranting about the league website. you guys seem to forget that the site that is NOW used was just as cool when it came out. then you werent able to send invites, then people's profiles "broke", etc, etc. something can LOOK very cool, but the execution is what matters.

[warrior411]

i played the ps3 version yesterday and i did not like it,i just played the 360 version and i actually enjoyed it. to me its a lot better than last year,last year was crap,the hitting was a joke it was to arcade, this year its more of a simulation the hitting is alot better and harder to do.remember everyone this is a demo thats probably two months old, i'm sure the final version will be better,and this game you can actually tell which player it is not like last year where everyone looked the same. i will be buying both hockey games.i'm from canada eh! hockey is in our nature.
go habs go!!!

[sleepytercel]

Okay, downlaoded the demo, and was just messing around trying out whatever it is I could. Overall, I think it's a far improvement over last years. Yes, everyone now says that 2K8's controls were perfect. However, we can search back these forums, game reviews, and user comments, on how much they hated the "difficult controls", and no one can really blame VC for changing them up. It was the number one complaint for 2K8 (and I liked the 2K8 controls as well).

My impression of 2K9 is much greater. Now, these settings are probably on default pro setting, much like most demos. We have no idea on how the other settings will change the game. We don't know what kind of settings are really there.

The first thing that popped to me was the overall polish. The game feels like it has some polish to it. For VC's first attempt at this series, it is a great start in my opinion. The checking system is excellent! It is contextual, and adds some nice flair to the visuals. However, I thought the overall visuals of the game itself was a bit lacking. Players look small, and the faces remind me a lot of what was designed in APF2K8 (same artists maybe?). The crowd and rink looked great, and the presentation (what was there) looks a lot more promising. The animations overall are very detailed and keeps things fresh, though I did notice some "popping" in transitions.

Now, my take on the controls. I'm an open minded person. I won't just play one game and have a complete decision on my thought. I was messing around trying to figure out every single possibility. If anyone has ever played me online, they know that I am keen on figuring out game mechanics, and will seek the intentions of the developer. No, when using the Pro Stick, you can't move left or right. You glide. However, upon more scrutiny of the design, I was figuring things out a bit. I scored some really nice goals after a combo deke and shot. The deking is fun, and it makes you sorta think and plan your move. I performed a deke to get by a defender, saw my center head forward, passed to him, skated slightly left of the goalie, and quickily slid my stick toward the opening and fired. It looked great, and it felt rewarding. That's where I think the design choice is.

Now, this is only from the demo, so I may not be exact on the vision. I don't think VC intended the pro stick to be something that you swing around aimlessly while skating around. It's more of a decision of use. I don't think it is meant as a deking tool against defenders. It does seem that it's sole use is for scoring goals (obviously). I didn't find myself accidentally shooting the puck, because the pro stick doesn't seem meant to deke everyone out. It seems to play as that quick reaction to deke the goalie. I decided how I was going to approach and quickily slid my stick toward the opening and fired. It was a read and react approach, and it felt good. I think the decision to limit movement was to keep the pro stick from being overused unrealistically. Even on defense.

On defense, it felt that the game wants me to be more focused on positioning and preperation, rather than approach and slide my stick everywhere. This seemed to provide more of a read and react against the offense. In 2K8, you would follow swinging the stick around for a stealing of the puck. However, 2K9 seems to force you to provide a proper position and approach with some thought. It's hard to convey in words on what I mean.

I suggest folks to attempt playing the game in what I tried to describe. The pro stick on offense is a goalie deking tool only (and maybe to avoid steals as well). Approach the goalie in the direction you wish, and quickily decide if you wish to swing the stick left or right (wherever the best opening is) and quickily fire. Even better, try the play that I did. Take the LW up, when the defender gets toward you, perform a deke (LB and R"Stick) and then press to pass, and then press up on the "R" stick for a one timer, or take in the pass and attempt to fool the goalie. When I did this, it felt really good, planned, and intuitive.

[CellFish]

I have to admit that I didn'T like the PS3 demo either when I tried it out last Saturday but I was willing to give it a chance on the 360 today. I also memorized the new Pro Stick controls to make sure that I had a fighting chance. To say the least, I like the game very very much. I don't know if there were changes made from the PS3 to the 360 version but I like the game so much that I'm starting to reconsider my NHL 09 purchase, especially since I've been busy getting into Online Team Play on NHL 08 and discovering first-hand how everyone quits in game or before the game and how, in general, there are a ton of online issues. Pro Stick Evo is not as bad as I thought it would be and frankly, all of what I wanted to use in the Checking, the Poking and the Speeding are in great locations. The shooting mechanism seems responsive and it hasn't made me shoot when I didn't want to so far. I actually can't wait to finish this post to get back into the game. LOL.