TAKING NHL 11 TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL - PART 1
 Posted by Anthony Gumina on May 13, 2010 12:43 (May 13, 2010 12:43) |
With the revealing of the NHL Community Event set to take place May 20th and the 21st. We here at Meodia.com have decided to take a look on how EA Canada can Take NHL 11 to a Whole New Level. In the coming days we will be taking a look at each area the series can make subtle yet impactful improvements to the franchise.
 NHL 11 expected to release September 14, 2010.
In the world of annual sports video games, EA Sports’ NHL franchise has been the rebel to buck the trend of mediocrity and what some call “laziness” on the part of yearly developers. Over the past two years, the majority of EA’s focus has been with the game-play and gaming modes, resulting in the creation of one of the best hockey video games, and what a majority of the video game industry deems the best Sports video game for two years running. You would think that a franchise that has won a staggering 19 “Sports Game of the Year” awards in the last two years causing it to win the NHL video game war by a land slide sending the shabby 2K series to become a Wii only brand would finally just sit back, relax and enjoy all of their success but that couldn’t be further from the truth as all early indications lead us to believe that the EA Canada team isn’t ready to stop there.
The major emphasis of last year’s entry was the Toughness of the game with the inclusion of board play, the all new first-person fighting engine, and the Intimidation factor. EA Canada also brought along the brand new “Be-A-GM” mode, while there were some hiccups with it, the mode was a fantastic first entry within the franchise. Each year, EA pushes its franchise above and beyond the bar it had set the year prior. This year should be no different and as I see it this year’s entry should be all about EA Canada polishing its franchise and continuing to build upon what it has built the last three to four years with a more even approach between the Game play and Game Presentation to bring the most complete entry in the history of the franchise.
When thinking of the first step of polishing or building upon the existing blocks to make NHL 11 a more complete game the first priority on the list should undoubtedly be the entire Presentation aspect of the game.
Last year, NHL 10 was the first time in which the emotion and energy of the NHL playoffs were captured in a video game format. With the additions from Calgary's Sea of Red, to a towel waving "Towel Time" in the crowd, your in-game experience at your favorite club's arena was actually felt especially if you happen to own a 5.1 surround sound system.
 "Ole Ole Ole Ole...Ole...Ole! Ole Ole Ole Ole...Ole...Ole!"
The team shouldn’t stop there though, as the NHL Playoffs are regarded as the most unique and exciting post season in sports. The drama, excitement, and grind to win those 16 games should be pulled even closer to the forefront of the NHL franchise. From Montreal's goal cry of "Ole Ole Ole Ole...Ole...Ole" to Detroit's Octopus throwing, on a hat-trick or at the pre-game, the team needs to push the uniqueness of each of its teams during the playoffs. The franchise needs to build more into getting us to fall into the gaming world. Just imagine if EA Canada borrowed a little bit from its EA family namely the NCAA (Basketball and Football) series’ to further the roaring crowd than to borrow from your EA family in the NCAA (Basketball and Football) series’ to immerse us into the feel of the crowd just as they do. Just imagine yourself taking a faceoff against the Canadiens at the Bell Center with crowd chanting “Ole” and your controller vibrating away at a heartbeat’s pace. Now that is the type of immersion the NHL franchise needs.
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