Fistfights added to ‘NHL 10′
They call it “a new standard of toughness.” To the rest of us, it’s just fistfighting.
EA Sports says its “NHL 10″ coming out in September will include a “first-person fighting engine,” so gamers can take as many swings as shots during gameplay.
“Feel what it’s like to be on the ice in the skates of an NHL player to throw and dodge punches,” EA said in a news release to Game Guy on Thursday. “Grab and tug an opponent’s jersey to land a punch that ignites the fans and sparks your team to victory.”
The toughness feature is among 200 refinements from last year’s title, all added chiefly to increase realism, EA says. “This is the most authentic simulation of hockey we have ever created,” insists David Littman, one of the game’s producers.
EA didn’t do this just for the fighting; the engine also improves the players’ physics so they can push harder for the puck against the boards and muscle past opponents while racing up the ice. In that the real game is so physical anyway, this improvement makes sense.
But lately, on-ice fights have become like crashes in NASCAR: everyone wants to see them. A game that goes on ignoring this aspect of hockey, Game Guy presumes, won’t be one real hockey fans want to play much longer.
So, yes, maybe a fighting engine in “NHL 10″ was essential. Now, if EA could figure out a way for consoles to spray blood and broken teeth …
So what, its a video game. Is it a new concept that action, sex,violence sell movies? Does it not sell video games also?
There are the same age restriction on games as movies. If you are a parent it is YOUR responsibility to know what your kids are into. If it is not Ok with you, then don’t let them play the game or watch that R rated movie.
Grow up, quit blaming the industry, and take some d*mn responsibility for yourself.
Fighting used to be a standard part of hockey games. (Remember making Gretzky’s head bleed in NHL ‘94?) But fighting was removed in later years, as the NHL’s front office prevailed upon video game companies to remove it. I guess they thought that if the fighting was gone from video games, people would want to see less of it in the real world.
But hockey fans continue to show passionate enthusiasm for the fisticuffs, and it appears that EA is now willing to listen to them instead of to the NHL brass. I wonder how Bettman and company will respond.