NHL 11 Review

NHL 11 Review

Hockey doesn't get a lot of love in the United States. I have no idea why, but that's the way it's been for ages. Still, that hasn't stopped EA Sports from churning out one of the most consistently great sports franchises around with its NHL line of games. If you're a hockey nut, rest assured that NHL 11 is no slouch. It packs a cool, super-deep dynasty mode in the form of Ultimate Team, it adds some great gameplay tweaks and refinements and delivers all of this with a layer of polish that has been missing from past games.
For those unfamiliar with the NHL series, the franchise has hinged on delivering a true-to-life hockey experience for the past few years. It was one of the first games to develop a control scheme that used the right analog for stick controls like dekeing and shooting, it pioneered Be A Pro where you command a single player throughout his entire career, and its online hockey leagues were some of the first of their kind.

For hardcore gamers, there's the new EA Sports Ultimate Hockey League (EAUHL) which uses the Ultimate Team trading card system (each player card is a player on the ice) to deliver its team building mechanic. Players are dealt a pack of starter cards and are sent to build up their fledgling team of all-stars from there by either earning in-game currency through their play on the ice or by purchasing them with real world money. The setup is pretty dense and shouldn't be traversed by those not willing to delve into some seriously minute details, but hardcore hockey fans are going to get a kick out of it.
The depth of Ultimate Team and EAUHL is exhaustive. If the community catches on, it could actually be the largest and most expansive dynasty mode ever seen in a game. Player cards are taken from the list of leagues (there are more than 10 total) that have been added to this year's game, and you'll also have to contend with managing coaching cards, training cards and contract cards (which govern how many games a given player can be used), not to mention making sure your team's chemistry is kept at a high level. It's probably a little too dense for its own good, but those who can get their heads around it could have a long, fun experience, especially when taking the game online and competing for supremacy against the masses in the EAUHL.


Of course, there's also the standard Be A GM (single-player franchise mode), Be A Pro (single-player career mode), Playoff Mode, Tournament Mode, and Practice Mode which haven't been touched up all that much. That doesn't mean that they don't still deliver their content at a very high level (they do), but they clearly haven't seen the attention that I expect. Be A Pro still has those annoying framerate hitches that pop up whenever the puck is fed into the corners, and Be A GM still has that strange cell phone system during the draft that rewards or takes away your phones (which translates into the number of trade offers you'll receive) depending on your reputation.
It's a disappointment that so much attention went to Ultimate Team, a game mode that has been seen in FIFA and Madden over the last few years, when hallmark modes such as Be A Pro and Be A GM went relatively untouched. Thankfully EA Sports also invested in some great gameplay tweaks that push the package in the right direction.

EA claims that the most requested feature coming off of last year's game was the inclusion of broken sticks, and it's a big part of NHL 11. They might happen just a bit too often, but the result is cool. Seeing a guy snap his stick mid-shot and then make a perfect pass with his skate is very cool--and pulling it off is just as hard as it should be. Likewise, skating around stick-less just looking for someone's face to wreck with a bone crushing hit is also great fun. Sort of like being a hockey mercenary.
Speaking of checks, EA Sports has installed a new realtime physics engine that does a nice job of emulating real world physical interactions. It isn't perfect as sometimes player models are a little slow to react to hits, but when it works properly the results can be awesome with both vicious hits and the little ones that are just enough to dislodge players from the puck.
There have also been some smaller, more under-the-hood, changes made to NHL 11. First, the speed has been ratcheted back a few notches from last year. I think it's a little unrealistic and could deter some true hockey aficionados, but it does a lot in the way of allowing players to have the time to pull off cool looking dekes and precision passes.

Making those tough passes requires a bit more strategy in NHL 11 than it has in past games. This year, in order to whip a pass at the feet of your target with any kind of speed, you're going to have to hold the pass button for a half-second longer than normal. The result is a passing system that demands a bit of foresight to make fast, accurate passes. It definitely takes getting used to, but the end result is a system that feels more authentic than in past NHL games. I just wish that they had delivered a new passing tutorial to teach you the new system instead of hiding the instructions in the settings menu.
All-in-all the gameplay in NHL 11 is the most fun I've experienced from the series. Strategy and planning play a larger role in this year's game which makes for a different experience than has been afforded in the past. Some might be perturbed by the lack of speed and new passing system, but I think both lend themselves to delivering the NHL experience to a wider audience of fans.
As always, one area where NHL excels is the presentation of the sport. The atmosphere in the different arenas in the game is great and making it to the playoffs only accentuates the excitement level. It's also cool to watch how the electricity in the arena dissipates when you venture down to one of the many lesser (non-NHL) leagues in the game. Gary Thorne and Bill Clement deliver another great performance, even if a few of their lines were heard in last year's game. It's great to hear a sports game with actual interaction between the commentators, something that is missing in other EA Sports titles. Their excitement really comes through when you score an impressive goal. And while I appreciate the notion of user-controlled celebrations after a score, they were clearly an after-thought in NHL 11 and don't add much to the experience.


Visually this year's installment performs better than NHL 10 on the ice with great player details that don't take a knock despite the improved physics. In fact, the entire package actually runs better than it has in recent years with a framerate that doesn't falter during simple cutscenes as they did in NHL 10. Still, it's a shame to see framerate issues pop up inexplicably in Be A Pro mode.
The amount of gameplay in NHL 11 is staggering when looked at as a full package. There are essentially two franchise modes – Be A GM and Ultimate Team – and a single-player career mode in the form of Be A Pro. Most of the modes are pulled from NHL games of the past, and that's a real bummer, but that doesn't mean that the content isn't still fun. When you factor in the huge amount of depth offered by the EA Sports Ultimate Hockey League and the other online features, like Online Team Play, NHL 11 becomes an even more attractive package.

Closing Comments
NHL 11 is a great hockey game any way you slice it. If you’re looking for a great online experience, you can find it here. If you’re looking for great solo play, there’s plenty to be had. Heck, if you just want to jump into the playoffs and make a run at the cup, you can do that, too. Despite the fact that a lot of the modes have been ported over from last year and Ultimate Team has been seen before in other EA Sports games, NHL 11 still delivers a slew of gameplay improvements and a truckload of content that should please the many hockey fans out there.

IGN Ratings for NHL 11 (PS3).
Rating Description
out of 10 Click here for ratings guide
8.0 Presentation
Classic EA Sports menu designs work well with the in-game style. Ultimate Team can be a bit dense to navigate, though.
8.5 Graphics
The framerate hitches in Be A Pro are annoying, especially when compared to the fluidity of the core game. Player details are kept at a high level and the atmosphere in-game is great.
9.0 Sound
The atmosphere of each game is great, especially in the playoffs. The commentary is as solid as ever and you can feel each big hit rumble through your speakers.
8.5 Gameplay
Some are going to be turned off by the toned down speed on default settings, but the new passing and checking go a long way. AI is solid, less some strange goalie play.
8.5 Lasting Appeal
It might be tough for some to get into Ultimate Team, and there isn’t much else that’s new, but there’s a lot of content to be had, especially when you take the game online.
8.5
OVERALL Great


Artificial intelligence has also been noticeably ramped up in NHL 11. Players seem to know what they're doing this year. Positional play is still absolutely vital to cover attacking forwards. As in the previous two games, you have to have some working knowledge of hockey to play the game effectively at the default difficulty level. Get out of place by trying to throw big hits or by cherry-picking, and the computer-controlled squad will make you pay. Teammates are also smart. They set up good breakouts now, so you spend a lot less time bottled up in your own end than you did in last year's game. Power plays and penalty kills are also effectively run. You can play locked to a position as though you were playing real hockey and not be frustrated, because the AI passes the puck astutely and uses you most of the time when you get open. That said, it's not perfect. Computer players still hold onto the puck a little too long. So at times players don't shoot when they clearly should, they ignore a linemate in the open, or they stickhandle longer than would be advisable, causing them to miss out on great scoring chances. Don't let this scare you off, though. The issue isn't too bad, and players pull off at least three brilliant moves for every time they wreck a scoring chance by dithering.
Most of the modes of play have been held over from last year. You can still play seasons, tournaments, and playoff runs for the Stanley Cup, or go online for some silky-smooth, lag-free action on the virtual ice with single quick games and whole online leagues. The biggest addition to the roster of game options this year is the Hockey Ultimate Team, where you assemble a club and compete against the CPU or against other players online in the EA Sports UHL. This is something of a convoluted blending of an arcade sports game and a collectible card game, similar to previous modes in Madden and FIFA. You earn EA pucks through success on the ice, and then use this in-game currency to buy packs filled with cards representing players from all over the world, along with consumable cards such as contract extensions, training skill buffs, coaches, arenas, and more. So you set your lineup and then apply training cards to players to buff their skills, contract cards to players to lengthen their time with your club, and so on. Cards can also be traded and put up for auction.

Hockey Ultimate Team could well become an obsession, because it's hard to resist the lure of buffing your club constantly through new pack buys. The game is also pretty challenging, since you not only need to build a great team, but also come up with cards to improve player skills and keep your team together and to mix lines up to enhance chemistry. Of course, if you run out of EA pucks earned in-game, you can pony up real cash and buy more. Good packs are pricey, and EA pucks are earned pretty slowly when you're just playing games, so the temptation will be there to break out the credit card and buy your way to a great team.
Another welcome new feature is the addition of the Canadian Hockey League, with all of the teams and rosters from the major juniors. This is arguably most noteworthy in Be a Pro, where you create a player and guide him to NHL stardom, because you can now start off at the junior club of your choice and improve your NHL draft position by playing the Memorial Cup tourney. It's a cool addition, since you can get a real thrill out of helping a fave team like the Peterborough Petes win the Mem Cup. But it has probably got limited appeal, being geared for those hardcore hockey fans who follow the OHL, WHL, or QMJHL. Of course, you can also play full seasons with the CHL teams, just as you could in previous years with clubs from pro leagues. Be a GM mode has been improved this year with tweaks to the AI and the addition of unrestricted and restricted free agents. These changes make for a better management sim, although the CPU still doesn't seem to understand the salary cap. Teams will frequently refuse deals that they flat-out have to make to get under the cap, and the game itself will step in and stop trades in the summer that would result in a club going over the cap, even though teams in the real NHL are allowed to exceed the cap by up to 10 percent in the offseason.
Presentation is just about the same as it was last year. The game looks fantastic on both the 360 and the PS3 (the visuals are slightly better on the 360, due to more jaggies on the PS3, but the difference is minor)--very close to an actual TV broadcast. Players look like their real-life counterparts, animations are dead-on right down to the way that players cruise around and twirl sticks after whistles, and the crowd is appropriately raucous. Clips while waiting for face-offs are a bit annoying, mainly for how they never seem to show the plays you want to see. You'll wait for an instant-replay look at that fantastic scoring chance you just had, only to see something that happened 10 minutes ago or a close-up of the goalie looking up at the clock.



Rink audio effects are outstanding, putting you right in the middle of a crowd thrilled at every little thing that happens on the ice. Commentary and color from Gary Thorne and Bill Clement are more up and down, though. They mix up accurate observations about things like goalies stupidly playing the puck in traffic with bizarre raves about odd-man breaks that aren't actually happening. The soundtrack is an equal blend of satisfying and annoying. Fresh tunes from modern bands like Airbourne and Megadeth share space with arena songs that have been assaulting your ears for decades, like The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop," Black Box's "Strike It Up," that "Ole" song that the Montreal Canadiens have been beating to death, and (shudder) Europe's "The Final Countdown." At least you can set up custom soundtracks and ignore the bad stuff.
One of the best things about NHL 11 is how the realism constantly takes you by surprise no matter how long you play. Many arcade sports games reveal more flaws with every hour that you play. Here, the good stuff just keeps coming. Just when the game starts to feel a little predictable, something happens that you've never seen before, like a crazy deflection leading to a goal or an AI player showing off highlight-reel moves. Say hello to the new standard by which hockey games are measured.