2K Trots Out New NHL 2K7 Additions
You want a new engine with more animations and tighter control? Done!
Published: July 18, 2006
Non-sports game fans love to gripe about the fact that little changes from one year to the next in most sports games. With the exception of a transition to newer hardware, the perception is that it's just new rosters and minor upgrades. We know that's hardly fair, nor is it true (and even if it was, Matt would kill everyone in the office for saying it), but it's the perception. Well guess what? It's a transition year, and that means, if nothing else, 2K Sports and their eternal coding lifemates Visual Concepts are throwing a ton of new stuff into the 2K7 iteration of their hockey sim.
"Year after year, we've been delivering new and innovative ways to play the exciting game of hockey," boasts Greg Thomas, president of Visual Concepts. "The new skating engine in NHL 2K7 far surpasses anything we've ever produced and the advancements made in Pro Control add the excitement and control our fans have been craving."
Have you been craving it, fans? Have you? Well good, cause here's the skinny on what's been added. The aforementioned Pro Control (note the caps, it's important) means you can now issue drop passes while on offense to set up screens and create better shot opportunities, and during defense, you can set up varying levels of pressure -- including giving your AI teammates the go ahead for a huge check. Mmmm... user-controlled glass-smashing.
The bigger improvement to the gameplay itself will come from a completely overhauled set of motion-captured animations. 2K is promising a newfound sense of momentum as the players now glide into stops, dig into the ice for starts and carry their weight better thanks to hundreds of new animations. The skating took the main focus, but new passing, shooting and checking animations were recorded as well, all to ensure that you, Superfan Number 99, have yourself a merry time after plunking down the cash for the game.
If you're lucky enough to come by a PlayStation 3 this November, you can pick up that version of the game, but should you need your hockey fix a little earlier, the PS2 version will have to do when it hits in September. Hey, at least it gives the development team a bit more time to tweak any nagging problems that exist with the earlier release, right? We'll have more as 2K passes it along to us.
"Year after year, we've been delivering new and innovative ways to play the exciting game of hockey," boasts Greg Thomas, president of Visual Concepts. "The new skating engine in NHL 2K7 far surpasses anything we've ever produced and the advancements made in Pro Control add the excitement and control our fans have been craving."
Have you been craving it, fans? Have you? Well good, cause here's the skinny on what's been added. The aforementioned Pro Control (note the caps, it's important) means you can now issue drop passes while on offense to set up screens and create better shot opportunities, and during defense, you can set up varying levels of pressure -- including giving your AI teammates the go ahead for a huge check. Mmmm... user-controlled glass-smashing.
The bigger improvement to the gameplay itself will come from a completely overhauled set of motion-captured animations. 2K is promising a newfound sense of momentum as the players now glide into stops, dig into the ice for starts and carry their weight better thanks to hundreds of new animations. The skating took the main focus, but new passing, shooting and checking animations were recorded as well, all to ensure that you, Superfan Number 99, have yourself a merry time after plunking down the cash for the game.
If you're lucky enough to come by a PlayStation 3 this November, you can pick up that version of the game, but should you need your hockey fix a little earlier, the PS2 version will have to do when it hits in September. Hey, at least it gives the development team a bit more time to tweak any nagging problems that exist with the earlier release, right? We'll have more as 2K passes it along to us.
