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NHL 2K8 first details

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bdoughty

Banned
NHL2K8 First Details at TXB



Signature Style brings realism to the NHL 2K8 hockey experience this fall

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today the return of its top-rated* NHL franchise with the highly anticipated NHL® 2K8 this fall. This title will leverage all of the next generation capabilities, featuring innovative gameplay, revolutionary player models and stunning visuals to create an entirely new hockey experience, centered on authenticity and the NHL Signature Style.

Utilizing 2K Sports’ NHL Signature Style, NHL 2K8 will highlight unique player characteristics never before seen in a hockey game. To complement their true-to-life attributes, marquee players will be fitted with branded equipment including skates, sticks, pads and helmets - becoming visually recognizable on the ice.

“Building on the success of NHL® 2K7, we have developed a title that is a truly accurate portrayal of the game and how it is meant to be seen and played,” said Greg Thomas, President of Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio. “NHL 2K8 represents the complete next generation gaming experience and showcases the talent and experience of the development team. NHL 2K8 is an incredibly realistic hockey simulation and we are proud to create such an exciting video game.”

NHL® 2K8 will be available this fall for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems.


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Fantastic support for the Wii by 2ksports. Will they ever create a non-arcade based sports game for the Wii?


Oh and nice to know I paid $59.99 for incomplete next-gen NHL 2K6 & 2K7. I feel all warm and cozy inside.
 
bdoughty said:
Fantastic support for the Wii by 2ksports. Will they ever create a non-arcade based sports game for the Wii?
Click to expand...
They did announce a PS2 version, didn't they? roofles

Anyways, I want to see some screenshots and movies of these revolutionary player models. If VC can pull off EA-style graphics with 2K gameplay that includes more realistic player physics, that'll seal the deal for me.
 
Can't wait for this, 2k7 was an amazing hockey game. If they just fix a few things and redo the goalie animations, they will have a stellar hockey game on their hands.
 
bdoughty said:
NHL2K8 First Details at TXB





Fantastic support for the Wii by 2ksports. Will they ever create a non-arcade based sports game for the Wii?

Oh and nice to know I paid $59.99 for incomplete next-gen NHL 2K6 & 2K7. I feel all warm and cozy inside.
Click to expand...



2k Sports didnt do well on GC, they cut a few versions, why believe that same fanbase will support it on Wii

No market...
 
Big Zep said:
Hockey?! Where the NBA news!?
Click to expand...
Maybe you could try a thread with NBA in the title instead of NHL

Utilizing 2K Sports’ NHL Signature Style, NHL 2K8 will highlight unique player characteristics never before seen in a hockey game. To complement their true-to-life attributes, marquee players will be fitted with branded equipment including skates, sticks, pads and helmets - becoming visually recognizable on the ice.
Click to expand...

So the big innovation of this year is more ads? Looks like i'll skip this year too :(
 
jordan0386 said:
2k Sports didnt do well on GC, they cut a few versions, why believe that same fanbase will support it on Wii

No market...
Click to expand...

wiis sellin like hot cakes up here in canada, they should release a good nhl game on it, that would be awesome.
 
Stealth Editor said:
Maybe you could try a thread with NBA in the title instead of NHL



So the big innovation of this year is more ads? Looks like i'll skip this year too :(
Click to expand...


Maybe you could try a thread that has nothing to do with NHL2K games, my non-2k buying pal.
 
do the players still skate like they have back problems?

really. If they would mix the visuals of nhl07 and the gameplay of 2k7, i'd be in hockey heaven.
 
bdoughty said:
Maybe you could try a thread that has nothing to do with NHL2K games, my non-2k buying pal.
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Not that anyone cares but I bought 2k6 and was really looking forward to this one. Sorry I offended you my 2k buying pal
 
played both games extensively during this past hockey season. I just know that I definetely am not trading in NHL2k7 until I have a copy of either 08 or 2k8 in my hands. Both titles were tremendous in different ways, and both have a lot of building upon their foundations.

Right now, NHL08 has my hyped a lot more then 2k8 does though...
 
bdoughty said:
I don't think you even come close to a million seller if you add both NHL games sales together.
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and I dont get it

then again, casuals barely watch it, so I shouldnt expect them to want to play it
 
Kingpen said:
Right now, NHL08 has my hyped a lot more then 2k8 does though...
Click to expand...

08 seems to be directly addressing the issues the first game had. Low framerate? Not anymore. Odd skating engine? Being revamped. AI was a step down from 2K7? Upgrading it as we speak.

Yet on the 2K8 side you have signature branding...yippee. The goalies were absolute crap, the players played like superhumans, and well, the graphics blew (Heh, I'm being really harsh in this regard, actually it was technically impressive at 60fps, but the art direction...well, there was no direction to begin with). Everything else about 2K7 was almost PERFECT. Yet there were these few glaring flaws...that weren't just flaws, but areas that 07 happened to excel at.

I figure this is just shoddy PR, as last year they did mention 2 things they were planning on focusing on, first was the goalies, and second was that they were attempting to have multiconsole (3+) online play. Or maybe they decided to can these things.

07 played great on a "micro" level. The stick handling, the nuances of the goalie animations and AI, it made scoring a goal very satisfying (as goalies would react naturally) and sometimes made goal scoring a game of inches. The control seemed precise and a slight deke to one side is something the goalie would notice, not ignore. On the "macro" level, players would be out of position, you couldn't rely on your D to chip in, passing to the point was completely unreliable...in many ways it was a mess.

2K7 was the opposite, on the "macro" level, team-mates are where they should be, the defense doesn't jump in and attack the offense for no good reason as they do in 07, powerplays and penalty kills actually meant something, players try to get open, you could rely on pinching defensemen, etc. But on a micro level, it didn't compare to 07. They ruined the manual deking (was way better in 2K6), the goalies can save anything they see, so you have the most success with screened shots, tip ins, and one timers (you can't just rip one through the five hole). It's still way too easy to make connecting passes for one timers, even when the guy shooting is completely covered by a Dman.

The reason why I'm pointing out this micro/macro stuff is because I want to point out how very different the games were, but also point out that EA seems to be addressing the concerns I, and many others had, to make it competitive on all levels.
 
The Bookerman said:
is NHL 08 coming to wii... AT LEAST?
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No. But I wouldn't be surprised if they were working on 09 right now. It's not like you could port the PS2 version and add waggle, as the PS2 and next gen version were completely different.
 
is nhl 08 for the pc gonna be the same, pointlessly stripped down version as last year, or will it be the same as the 360 version (which it should be)?
 
Unless its a completely new engine, NHL 2K8 = no purchase from me.

I'm sick of playing an updated NHL 2K3 for the past 4 years. EA started from scratch with NHL 07, which was my favourite hockey game last year, and NHL 08 looks like its going to do it again this year with the ton of improvements they are making.

EDIT: WOW, umm...those shots actually look really good. It does look like a new engine. I'm looking forward to hearing more.
 
i hope NHL08 is not going to have the jerly stuttering effect it had last year. It was weird not really dropping frames but looked really jerky.
 
nhl-2k8--20070620024011630.jpg


Motion blur? Maybe you mean bloom...

Kabuki Waq said:
i hope NHL08 is not going to have the jerly stuttering effect it had last year. It was weird not really dropping frames but looked really jerky.
Click to expand...

60 fps this year.
 
Hmmm game actually looks pretty nice...

Hopefully the magnetic puck is gone like what was posted above...

I almost bought a 360 just for NHL07...Man i was hyped for that game.

Looking forward to playing as my Oilers this year. Hopefully then can pull off some good trades.

also...Does the above article mean that this year all the goalies will have their actual real masks and real equipment? if so thats pretty awesome.
 
bdoughty said:
Nope, I meant blur, as in everything in the background of this image
Click to expand...

Ah ok. Actually that's referred to Depth of Field (DOF) blur. Motion blur is when things blur when they are moving.

One thing that's obvious about these 2K8 shots is that they are anti-aliased. Which would be a first. Kush has never traditionally released bullshots...so maybe it's gonna be in the game.

08 looks AA and it was like that last year, so I don't expect that to change.

I really wonder if 2K8 is gonna run at 60 fps. I mean...to look like that and stick at 60fps...I'm a bit skeptical!
 
Souther said:
I almost bought a 360 just for NHL07...Man i was hyped for that game.

Looking forward to playing as my Oilers this year. Hopefully then can pull off some good trades.
Click to expand...

Hey that gives me an idea!

Implement the Fight Night engine for fighting...

...and use the Tiger Woods engine for the Oilers off season!
 
Fight for Freeform said:
Hey that gives me an idea!

Implement the Fight Night engine for fighting...

...and use the Tiger Woods engine for the Oilers off season!
Click to expand...

yeah, last year sucked pretty bad...but I'm confident they will turn it around this year. Friday night can't come soon enough.
 
bdoughty said:
What the heck - comparison shot
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Both look great . . . but how do they play?

I wonder what features they've advanced in NHL 2K8. I refuse to believe that the only advance they made is brand-name sticks, gloves, skates, etc.

I wonder if they tried to implement their own skill-stick?
 
Souther said:
yeah, last year sucked pretty bad...but I'm confident they will turn it around this year. Friday night can't come soon enough.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was just kidding. There are teams in the West that are pretty happy with their teams and are sticking with their core...ie. Vancouver, Calgary, Detroit, Anaheim...but teams like Edmonton can pretty much try whatever they want. With all the UFAs out right now...some teams could perhaps muster a 180 and have a completely different season this year.

I wonder if they tried to implement their own skill-stick?
Click to expand...

They've always had that feature. It was borked in last year's version but very useful in 2K6.
 
Wasn't it the NHL2K series that started the Skill stick to begin with?

I remember having the option to shoot and do toe-drags with the right analog in 2K6
 
They need to fix easy one timers, made playing online pointless. Go on far side of rink, pass to a player on the other side, instant goal, every time.
 
The 2K8 hype-train is only beginning, I'm sure we'll soon find out about fixes etc.

Really pleased about the new(?) graphics engine, though.
 
Fight for Freeform said:
nhl-2k8--20070620024011630.jpg
Click to expand...

That is cool that they give a comparison between 2K7 and 2K8 to show that the graphics engine has improved. Thorton is looking much more real this year . . . especially when you see the full shot:

nhl-2k8--20070620024007505.jpg
 
Fight for Freeform said:
Ah ok. Actually that's referred to Depth of Field (DOF) blur. Motion blur is when things blur when they are moving.
Click to expand...

Actually, the DOF blur is really annoying. If this is actual gameplay, this sucks because I'm focusing on other players or the goal, not on my player. For example, the 2K8 part of this shot would suck . . . how can you line up a shot when the goalie is just a blur?

nhl-2k8--20070620024008677.jpg


I'm assuming that shot is just a replay.
 
I am sure it is just a replay and is overblown just for that but you still get your fill of it in games. Madden 07 is a perfect example of terrible use of "DOF" during gameplay.
 
Yeah, I'm sure it's just a replay shot. I agree, even in replays it's way overdone.

And about the Wii...Nintendo themselves should be making another Wayne Gretzky's Hockey for the Wii. With all that money they have they should be making more software.

Though I think Sony now has Wayne Gretzky licensed for their PSP hockey games...but you get my point.
 
Hopefulyl 2k8 is also uping the ante in the presentation department. It was sad to compare the presentation between NHL2k7 and NBA2k7. Also Puck physics please!
 
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