Thoughts on NHL 17

Discussion in 'EA NHL Series' started by xKillzone99, Aug 6, 2016.

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  1. xKillzone99

    xKillzone99 2 Time National Champ

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    Okay, here are my thoughts on the beta so before anyone starts crying, understand this is my opinion. Also not the best writer, but felt like writing up my thoughts on the game.

    HUT- When i first heard they were doing away with chemistry and player boosts i thought this would be the end of HUT but the New Synergy system is a nice new improvement to HUT I had a fun time matching synergys with my team and i felt like i could really make a more fun team than i could in the past without chemistry i could put dmen on wing and forwards on D to build my team the way i wanted to without any consequences, collecting sets was fun as well, doing the legend sets felt like collecting teams in the past but more rewarding, now in the full game there will more sets to get hut hero cards, legends and other rare cards as well, it was nice to open packs for 3k and get great players, but lets be honest if it was that easy in the full game HUT would die out pretty fast, but cheaper packs would be another step in the right direction, helping out people that rather not spend money on HUT and making it more competitive for everyone else. The HUT menues once again are very slow and a pain to manage at times, and sending trades or putting cards into sets takes much longer than it should, sometimes making collecting sets dragged out and boring. As For the gameplay it's a huge step up from NHL 15 and 16 but has a nice share of flaws, the gameplay felt much quicker and smoother than 16 I like the new skating making it feel like i can pivot and turn without feeling like I'm skating in the desert during a sandstorm like in past nhl games, also the new skating gives you more freedom with your skater on both offense and defense, giving you more options on how to handle different situations, even though now it's easier to swerve and move around it's also easier for the defense to keep up with those guys who like to swerve a lot, my only issue is fast players in hut don't feel fast, 92 tow Karlsson with 94 speed with be able to fly by guys like barrett jackman but that's not the case, between that and the backwards skating being ridiculously fast, my chara catches up to peoples nyquists and haglins while he's skating backwards, the Shooting feels better than it's ever felt, the mechanics, animations and feeling of the shoot feel very smooth and fluent, also like how the made the slapshot power a lot stronger in this game making those stamkos 1 timers lethal and rewarding when you connect or getting in the slot and ripping a slapshot Even though they get poked and blocked much more this year. The deking and puck control/pickups needs improvement, it seems like all the dekes were completely dumbed down aside from the toe drag, and the through the legs deke was dumbed down so much it doesn't even work at all. The puck seems to fly off your stick a bit much for silly reasons and once again the puck pickups are an issue its so bad that even sometimes i went the faceoff through my dmans legs. The passing is much quicker and improved in 17 i actually have fun cycling and moving the puck in HUT between the skating and improved passing i actually see guys play a little different now instead of like nhl 15 and 16 where everyone played the same way. Defense is much better too i feel like the pokecheck is overpowered at times but for HUT i don't mind it as much, the improved defense makes it easier to stay on guys, block the shooting lanes, passing lanes (dont see as much forced cross creases connect anymore) and play 1 on 1 D pokecheching is easier than ever (maybe too easy at times) but it's tougher to hit people but it's rewarding when you do. The Goalies don't feel better to be honest, most of the same shots go in, plus rebounds are way overpowered in 17 and more random wristers go in from no where especially far side wristers which needs to drastically be tuned a long with the rebounds. Overall though even with the flaws i enjoy hut more in the beta than 15 and 16 combined.

    EASHL- Now im gonna repeat myself on a lot of the gameplay that i talked about before in HUT. But EASHL seems like a bit of a mess in the beta. I like how you can level up your club and customize your arena jerseys and logo from leveling up, even the goal celebrations and play customizations are an improvement from 16 but EASHL isn't truly EASHL with customizable player builds. Most people i know had more fun editing their builds than anything in the older nhl games. I understand why we have preset builds but the good players will be good and the bad players will be bad presets or not but to me the customizable builds were so much more fun than the preset builds, i don't like the preset builds in the beta i feel most of the are just there to take up space. The hitting sniper and jumbo playmaker are just worse versions of the power forward. The playmaker now has the same hands as a grinder... Wtf? 2 way dangler would stand out more if puck control actually mattered between the builds and if it wasn't so easy to poke with any build. But i feel like every build got dumbed down from 16 to 17 The new drop in system is nice to be able to drop in with friends or recent players is a much needed improvement, but no club scouting in game still or player hub :sadegg: pre-selecting your position is cool as well since now you dont get that one guy stuck playing d or g when he doesn't want to so he plays like an ass. The Gameplay has tons of flaws and improvements the puck control is horrible for every build and i haven't seen a difference in puck control in any of the builds... I feel like you spend most the game fighting for the loose puck while it's bouncing around going through guys than you do creating/setting plays and defending plays which can be annoying at times. Defense is soo much easier now, between the buffed up pokecheck and the nearly non existent puck control playing defense for my was a breeze even against better clubs. also incidental contact is still overpowered and anooying, my buddy says at times it feels more like bumper cars than NHL. Now Like i said before the skating and shooting are highly improved and it saves EASHL in the beta it's a lot more rewarding to move the puck and set up plays in 17 than in 16 but sometimes the sloppy puck pickups mess it all up. Goaltending is so much more fun and its more rewarding for being good and punishing for being bad. Playing angles, positioning when to standup, or butterfly, hug post... All have a more important role when playing in net which creates more diversity in skill level and play in net. Playing club can be an issue at times though with freezing bug that happens during the pregame intro causing everyone to have to exit the game. Oh yeah you can actually invite people to your club now but since there is no player hub you have to type in their gt to invite them and last the game is still missing club practice which i would like to see back soon. Overall i enjoy EASHL and even with all it's flaws and poor preset builds i still enjoyed it more than 16 i just hope EA works out all these kinks for the full game.
     
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  2. EliteBe4TheKids

    EliteBe4TheKids Well-Known Member

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    100% love the preset builds. forces you to win games on skill instead of tweaking builds to get unfair advantages. some people find little glitches in the builds because they play 24/7. the games should be level builds and the more skilled player wins 80% of the time. and i love how pokechecks are effective. we dont need nhl 15 again where people can walk through 3 sticks and somehow still have the puck. or skate into 2 pokechecks and regain the puck in stride. nhl 16 was a huge step in the right direction and with a few tweaks this can be even better. fix the seemless puck pickups, fix the pinning your man to the boards, and the little quirky goalie glitched out plays and this game would be a 10/10
     
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  3. xKillzone99

    xKillzone99 2 Time National Champ

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    I can respect that opinion, the only thing about the preset builds is it holds the game back, it's not even about the best build its about creating unique builds and having fun with them, you're right people found cheap setups but it didn't make that much of a difference even with the preset builds the good players will still be good and the bad players will still bad just the game wont be as fun.
     
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  4. baultista

    baultista Well-Known Member

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    Custom builds worked well in theory but were inevitably exploited. The builds that the vast majority of people used were unrealistic, between guys who had 90 wrist shots and 65 slapshots, 5'8 grinders who could outskate and outhit everyone while never losing the puck, and other things. What was supposed to be a varied game with every player being unique ended up being a game where every. It also took away from team play, because guys would build classes that could do everything themselves (create space along the boards, pass well, hold the puck well, deke well, and shoot well) which was conducive to guys puck-hogging and trying to go 1 on 4 offensively instead of playing a team game.

    Preset builds feel more realistic in the way they play based on their classifications. Not many classes can do everything well, which forces you to use your teammates more and is more conducive to team play instead of one guy trying to circle around the zone twice to open something up. It also adds a team strategy element to the game too, where you can look at the classes your teammates or even opponents are using and counteract. IE if your opponent has two defensive defensemen you'd probably be smart not to use playmakers or danglers up front. If they have a grinder and an offensive defenseman you know to have at least one defensive defenseman to watch for and take away the deflection play. If they have multiple snipers you know to have more mobile defenseman (IE two-way) who can stick to them more tightly to keep them from getting their shots off.

    Yes, you lose some aspect of customization and individuality, but what you gain in terms of team play is far better. Hockey is, after all, a team game. I'm 100% sold on presets and I hope they never go back to customization.
     
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