Well I whipped over to the mall after work and plunked down the $60. So far, so good!
I've only played the much hyped "Be a Pro" mode so far...I'm hooked! Took me a good while to create my guy, I went through every option and every piece of gear. Good stuff. Nothing like seeing myself suit up for my first game on the Marlies! I'm not usually one for Create a Player modes, but this year is the exception, cause this mode is very revolutionary and it's not like you just make yourself and pop onto the NHL team. You start out in the minors and work your way up, kinda like real life!
I've played just 5 games so far, 5 minute periods, on "All Star" (2nd highest) difficulty..."Pro" is probably too comfortable, but "Superstar" (highest) would have the CPU pulling all kinds of cheat moves I bet. I want it difficult, but not impossible. :)
"Be a Pro" mode features a couple different ways to play. I'm playing the mode where you actually have to sit on the bench in between shifts, hoping your teammates can get it done! :) Using default settings so far, dunno what I would change yet. I've seen a few penalties, haven't taken one yet, but I assume I'll have to sit in sin bin for 2 minutes or less at some point!
It's fun to get used to calling line changes when you're on the bench...I totally blew it in my last game, left my goalie high and dry and Bridgeport scored a tying goal two-on-none in the last minute. :(
I've only scored a couple goals (really have to work for them!): one I was left all alone in front of their net after a turnover, and the other was more of an own-goal that one of their guys put home for me. :P LOTS of different ways to score in this game! Mostly I whip it wide of the net, if I make contact at all, but I'm getting the hang of it.
Most importantly, no show-stopping bugs so far. 4 hours of gaming and no freezes. I'm hoping Dynasty mode is as robust as this seems to be, but I don't wanna jinx it!
The menus are so much better than NHL 08...nice and smooth, not the jerkiness of last year. The goalie animations are much improved, I love them. The atmosphere of the arenas are also well done.
The only wacky thing I saw so far was Marlies goalie Justin Pogge making a save and then the puck shot out of our zone at superspeed...watch it here if you like. I'm going to make good use of the new replay editor, long overdue feature! Finally I can show off the wacky stuff without digging out my digital camera. You can also take screenshots, nice.
As far as negatives, the file system is kinda odd when you go to save something...it pulls up a keyboard interface so you can name your file, but you can't seem to give your files a useful name. They get named "Beapro1", "Beapro2" and "Video1", Video2" etc. It is possible to erase the text, but then you can't type in any letters, only numbers, so "01", "777", etc. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but all the alpha keys were greyed out. I'd much rather label a replay as "turbopuck" than "video3". And "BAPWellwood", instead of "Beapro02", if I want to play Be a Pro with a current NHLer, alongside my created guy, etc. Oh well, I can write them down I guess...?
Anyway, extreme nitpicking aside, I truly love this game! Bravo EA, you have rescued the franchise in a Big Way! This could be the year that succeeds longtime champ NHL 2004 as my favourite, but I'll have to put several more hours into it before we go crowning anything around here. Fortunately, the weekend is approaching.
I didn't check out any online stuff. But even if that's all a complete train wreck, the offline alone could well be worth the purchase.
I can definitely tell the AHLers have less skill than the NHLers. Slower, less accuracy, etc. Awesome. Crosby is much better than some minor league rookie.
Anyway, that's a taste. Ahh, so nice to be able to talk hockey again, even if it is a video game. Judging by the Leafs roster this year, I'll probably be playing more than watching...
See you next time with more thoughts.
Showing posts with label Crosby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crosby. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Skates have changed...
So, it's that time of year again...hockey season in full swing, and it comes time to don my own pair of blades and hit the local arena.
I don't think I made it out even once last year. My main issue was how freakin' cold the arenas are. These are indoor arenas, yet my face felt darn near frozen, and even with a decent Therma-something toque on, it was too much for my ears to take. So I quit going.
This year however, I've decided to fight the good fight, and make my way back, if not into shape, then at least to a point where lacing them up doesn't wear me out!
After searching high and low for my old skates, and not finding them, I made my way over to Canadian Tire to have a look at new ones. Maybe I was just too early, but no one seemed interested in helping me out, so I trucked off to SportChek, where I had a good experience buying new shoes a month ago.
Wandering around SportChek, it makes you feel for parents whose kids want to play hockey...this stuff is expensive! Gone are the days of wood sticks, black skates, and one size fits all jock straps. No, we're now in a world of $100 helmets, $60 elbow pads (you'll need two of those!), $100 composite sticks (cause yeah, like those never break!)...and, you can spend as much as you have in the world on skates!
Fortunately, being the non-competitive, public skating participant that I intend to become, the options sort of limit themselves. I don't quite need skates built for Crosby or Ovechkin.
So here's the ones I got: Easton Synergy 500 SC
The salesman was very knowledgeable and helpful, which is rare these days.
However, you don't just buy a pair of skates and head out to the rink! SportChek puts them in the oven, bake 'em for 5 minutes, and then you put them on as tight as you can and wear them in the store until they cool down. This molds the boot and padding to the shape of your foot. It sounds believable, until you try it, then it's just weird. But it works, my ankles carved themselves a nice spot in the sides.
While I was waiting for the oven, I wandered over to the hockey jerseys and t-shirts and had a look. There were a couple Leafs shirts on sale, but for the first time ever, I paused for a few minutes, and realized that I refuse to put more money into the hands of MLSE (who care more about condos than championships) until they put a decent team on the ice. That starts with the Leafs making the playoffs this season...we'll see.
It's a weird feeling, falling out of love with your favourite sports team. Let me put it this way: On Tuesday I watched Montreal vs Florida, and Wednesday I watched Pittsburgh vs New Jersey...and I was much more entertained than on the previous Saturday when I watched the Leafs give up several leads to lose 6-4 to the Penguins. Watching the Leafs is just too upsetting these days...anger, followed by misery, but they hook you with a burst of excitement here and there. I'm much happier watching Crosby set up (or finish) beauty goals, or even just marveling in the speed of other teams. And since I don't care who wins, the stress and anguish are gone.
We'll see. Also helps that those other two games were on TSN HD, which production-wise puts CBC to shame...but I think I've harped on that before, and likely will again.
Anyway, I've got my new skates, so I'll make sure to dress warmly this time, and I'll see you at the rink!
I don't think I made it out even once last year. My main issue was how freakin' cold the arenas are. These are indoor arenas, yet my face felt darn near frozen, and even with a decent Therma-something toque on, it was too much for my ears to take. So I quit going.
This year however, I've decided to fight the good fight, and make my way back, if not into shape, then at least to a point where lacing them up doesn't wear me out!
After searching high and low for my old skates, and not finding them, I made my way over to Canadian Tire to have a look at new ones. Maybe I was just too early, but no one seemed interested in helping me out, so I trucked off to SportChek, where I had a good experience buying new shoes a month ago.
Wandering around SportChek, it makes you feel for parents whose kids want to play hockey...this stuff is expensive! Gone are the days of wood sticks, black skates, and one size fits all jock straps. No, we're now in a world of $100 helmets, $60 elbow pads (you'll need two of those!), $100 composite sticks (cause yeah, like those never break!)...and, you can spend as much as you have in the world on skates!
Fortunately, being the non-competitive, public skating participant that I intend to become, the options sort of limit themselves. I don't quite need skates built for Crosby or Ovechkin.
So here's the ones I got: Easton Synergy 500 SC
The salesman was very knowledgeable and helpful, which is rare these days.
However, you don't just buy a pair of skates and head out to the rink! SportChek puts them in the oven, bake 'em for 5 minutes, and then you put them on as tight as you can and wear them in the store until they cool down. This molds the boot and padding to the shape of your foot. It sounds believable, until you try it, then it's just weird. But it works, my ankles carved themselves a nice spot in the sides.
While I was waiting for the oven, I wandered over to the hockey jerseys and t-shirts and had a look. There were a couple Leafs shirts on sale, but for the first time ever, I paused for a few minutes, and realized that I refuse to put more money into the hands of MLSE (who care more about condos than championships) until they put a decent team on the ice. That starts with the Leafs making the playoffs this season...we'll see.
It's a weird feeling, falling out of love with your favourite sports team. Let me put it this way: On Tuesday I watched Montreal vs Florida, and Wednesday I watched Pittsburgh vs New Jersey...and I was much more entertained than on the previous Saturday when I watched the Leafs give up several leads to lose 6-4 to the Penguins. Watching the Leafs is just too upsetting these days...anger, followed by misery, but they hook you with a burst of excitement here and there. I'm much happier watching Crosby set up (or finish) beauty goals, or even just marveling in the speed of other teams. And since I don't care who wins, the stress and anguish are gone.
We'll see. Also helps that those other two games were on TSN HD, which production-wise puts CBC to shame...but I think I've harped on that before, and likely will again.
Anyway, I've got my new skates, so I'll make sure to dress warmly this time, and I'll see you at the rink!
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