NHL 08 or NHL 2k8

I have the 360 version of NHL2k8 and send this to thatstoobad during our conversations about CAGHL2k8 which has not been made yet as everyone has flocked to NHL08... and as a online gamer, that is probably the best choice right now despite glitches and freezing, at least compared to the horrid 2k8 frame rate online.

Finally got a hold of NHL2k8 and It's a so-so improvement.

Improvement over 2k7:

The new "super" moves are great, basically the player dekes in a insane way in front of the goalie and you have to hold the L trigger and press two buttons to pull them off, plus your character has to have good handling (Jagr) to pull them off, but they never result in 100% goals. The moves range from the player lifting the puck with his stick and shooting from the hip aka "batter up" from a spinarooni type shot.

I believe the new pro stick controls are a bummer to get use to, but if you turn on pro classic your pretty much playing with the same controls as last year with the exception of the added super star moves and free roaming stick on defense.

They removed the "protect puck" feature from the new controls, but It's still possible to use on the 2kclassic control layout. IMHO this is a good move because protect the puck was rather abusive. In the new controls you have to deke around people more.

Graphics and sound are more crisp, but not on NHL08 standards yet.

The Franchise is beyond impressive. The most deep sports franchise out there.

One timers on sim difficulties seem impossible to pull off, along with alot of the cheezy goals that were prevalent in 2k7. The goalie difficulty has been greatly improved, but not impossible.

The biggest drawbacks:

Fighting is so bad and it seems like It's still in beta testing with the characters body parts "warping" about as they fight. Not to mention the fighting just sucks. Can someone please fix the fighting in hockey games? It hasn't been good since NHL97.

The online framerate is currently bugged. I don't know if this is in league play, but every online ranked game I have played has a 1/2 framerate of normal single player games. This is a huge problem on 2k's side and may be a game breaker for most people unless they decide to patch the online performance.

The gameplay is still the core of 2k7. If your looking for the "skill stick" you won't find it here. Only 2k fans need apply. There are improvements in the game, but they are not very big over last years product.

I would rate this game a 8.5/10 easily if the online framerate gets fixed. But for now you should hold off on this product if you have any interest in playing online. I am a huge 2k hockey fan and have bought their product every chance I had, but this year I wouldn't mind picking up NHL08 myself thanks to the online portion. If 2k doesn't fix the framerate I regret my purchase, but if they do then I'm pretty content.
 
How's the checking in 08? I played the demo, but I was never a fan of using the R-stick to deliver the big hits like in 07. I think they're really trying to tone down over-use of body checks, but the way it played in 07 and in the demo (defensively) just doesn't feel as good as 2K8. Any impressions?
 
^Checking is ok... I haven't turned it up to see what they can really do though.

Just got it and went straight to practice. As cool as it is that they have a shooting practice I'm really disappointed that they only have target practice where you can't move around. I would've loved to have a free practice area where me or me and a friend could take shots at the goal or do one on one.

edit: Once again... I don't know wtf they were thinking with the music in this game. :eek:dd:

Anyway, Gameplay is pretty great. I'm playing as the Sharts and playing against the AHL shart team. Fun degrading them even more. :lol:

edit: Oh man I turned up aggression and hitting power to max! NOW were talking realism! lol.
 
I know this is always the case with EA manuals, but couldn't they at least explain the new 1 on 1 system? It's not even in the manual. Not even a paragraph. There's not even mention of the practice modes, which I think, is a great addition.

If EA keeps doing this, I'd appreciate a nice little playable tutorial for the new features they put in. The mini-videos are nice, but it can't take that much resources to do full blown, playable tutorials.
 
First week sales up on vgchartz:

NHL08 (360) 37,448
NHL08 (PS3) 16,852
NHL 2k8 (360) 15,979
NHL 2k8 (PS3) 7,191

54,300 versus 23,170 Hockey from EA is selling at a 2.34:1 ratio.

Looks like a price drop won't be too far away for those willing to wait on 2k8.
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']First week sales up on vgchartz:

NHL08 (360) 37,448
NHL08 (PS3) 16,852
NHL 2k8 (360) 15,979
NHL 2k8 (PS3) 7,191

54,300 versus 23,170 Hockey from EA is selling at a 2.34:1 ratio.

Looks like a price drop won't be too far away for those willing to wait on 2k8.[/QUOTE]


Guess I'll wait then. I have 08, but wanted to check out the dynasty on 2k8.
 
[quote name='OuTrAgE']Anybody know?[/QUOTE]



Nope. unless they didn't announce a feature like that (knowing EA, that would be a big thing for them to announce.)



It wasn't in 07, I don't see it in 08.
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']
Just got it and went straight to practice. As cool as it is that they have a shooting practice I'm really disappointed that they only have target practice where you can't move around. I would've loved to have a free practice area where me or me and a friend could take shots at the goal or do one on one.
[/quote]

Scratch this... you can do what I list above pretty much.
 
I haven't bought a hockey game in a couple of years, but I was thinking about picking one up this year. So I guess I'll be going with 08 since that seems to be the consensus this year. I've gotta check out the demo.
 
Ok, I finally played both demos of NHL08 for PS3/360. I have to say that the 360 felt MUCH smoother to me. The controls seemed tighter on the 360.

I also rented NHL 2K8 for 360. I felt the controls were not that good at all....felt like a fighting game. Hit this, this and this. Pick the puck up and hit it like a baseball bat....LAME!!!!!

NHL 08 was the better game thus far....and I only played the demo vs the real 2K8 game.
 
I have played both demos. I played the ps3 version first, and had no problem, framerate felt fine. I played the 360 version next, and the 60 fps is nice.

If you have both systems, and have Live Gold, then go for 360. If you only have ps3, don't worry, it plays fine.

~Shea M.
 
When do hockey games generally drop in price? I would think with the lack of buzz about the NHL thus far, it might be sooner than later. I would love to get NHL 08 for $40 or less hopefully.
 
NHL 07 just hit $40 about a month ago....

As for lack of buzz.... I would say the Kevin Lowe vs. Brian Burke issue has brough created buzz.

Plus a number of first rounders cracked lineups (i.e., sam gagne, patrick kane, etc), which helps create buzz.

Oh, yeah, RBK created new jerseys for every team in the league. Even if 90% of the new kits (especially the socks) suck, it still created buzz.

I would say the buzz is same as ever, in the USA, and quite high in Canada.

~S
 
Yeah. Hockey games are the worst about price drops. Hell, I'm having a hard enough time keeping NHL 08 in stock at $59.99. I doubt it'll drop until April or so. Maybe to $49.99, but I doubt anything below that.
 
Blasphemy...oh well, I guess I can hope for some week long sale hopefully at one of the big box stores. I have some RZ coupons to burn at BB.
 
Both games according to VGChartz aren't selling insanely, but NHL08 has sold A LOT more then 2k8. Expect 2k8 to drop in price shortly. 08? Probably not for awhile.

I'm content owning my NHL07 copy for $8 till someone confirms the league situation in NHL08 ie no scheduling and It's just a "lobby".

The 2k8 online framerate has NOT been fixed and probably WON'T be. 2k8 is not worth the money if your expecting online fun, however there is no CAGHL2k8 league this year *yet* so I can't say for sure if that may change.
 
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