NHL 11

 Xbox 360
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 73 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 73
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 73
  3. Negative: 12 out of 73
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  1. Zephyn
    Dec 12, 2011
    2
    The physics and gameplay I'd put in the B to B+ range, same with the in game commentary and music.

    However, that all gets dragged down by an economy size F grade regarding an extremely glaring bug, along with EA's refusal to fix it: How can you have two decades of licensing to make video games for the NHL, and be completely incapable of getting the points right for the standings in Be a    The physics and gameplay I'd put in the B to B+ range, same with the in game commentary and music.

    However, that all gets dragged down by an economy size F grade regarding an extremely glaring bug, along with EA's refusal to fix it: How can you have two decades of licensing to make video games for the NHL, and be completely incapable of getting the points right for the standings in Be a Pro mode? How can your playtesters miss the fact that the game fails to record the single point earned for an overtime loss? And how can your company then refuse to fix that bug despite making two patches that fix other aspects of the game?

    One point for an OTL, EA. --- It's in the game.    … Expand
  2. Prediculous
    Sep 16, 2010
    3
    I am not sure what to give this game. On one hand, the visual aspect of the game is incredible. The fans all stand out and eat popcorn and the ice looks amazing, the players are all pretty good as well. The music sounds good, but most of it is pretty lame, I guess that is debatable. The announcers are pretty bland, there is no humor in what they say, and they repeat a lot of the thingsI am not sure what to give this game. On one hand, the visual aspect of the game is incredible. The fans all stand out and eat popcorn and the ice looks amazing, the players are all pretty good as well. The music sounds good, but most of it is pretty lame, I guess that is debatable. The announcers are pretty bland, there is no humor in what they say, and they repeat a lot of the things they say quite a bit. There are a ton of modes, and online seems to work ok. But I did have trouble navigating and trying to find things I could edit easily. The huge problem I have is the complexity of the controls... and that I personally could not customize them. Clearly sports games are not for your girlfriend, or your parents, not anymore anyways, but it would be nice to change your control scheme. I am sure I am noobing up and that there is a way, I sure couldn't find it though. The controls are sluggish at best, and honestly ruin the whole game for me. The whole gameplay mechanic seems to be buggy, I have had my player get stuck in multiple places on the ice, and even skated into the score keepers box and couldn't get out. The fan reaction doesn't ever seem to change, and the home crowd boo's the 3 stars on the home team. How does that make sense? For me, I like sports games where you pick up, learn the new control scheme, then play a season, make a player and giver, the rest of the stuff I have litttle use for, and I don't really think most people get into all the new modes as much as EA would have you believe. Again, controls controls controls, every time I stick handle, the player shoots the puck and/ or stops moving, regardless of how the left stick is orientated. The passing mechanic is brutal. I figure they were looking to add some depth for epic loser players who sit and geek out on hockey, but can't skate. However, its makes little sense that the puck doesn't go where you want it to. Even the AI makes brutal passes 99% of the time. Call for a pass, and its behind you, or way ahead of you, or hits a guy. Maybe its my controller that is broken, or low on batteries, but I doubt it, even in the tutorial I couldn't score. Ive played every NHL since the original, and 94 is still the best. Its so good they give you the control scheme from it. (sort of) but that makes things worse as you can't do anything other than pass, shoot, and poke check. Bottom line, NHL 11 is not very fun. I plan on giving it some time, mainly to get over the controls and sit from the penalty box in be a pro to watch the action (which is beautiful). Hopefully I didn't waste 70 bucks. I should just sit in my basement and play Nintendo and super Nintendo, and throw out my 360, ps3, and wii. Ill give it a three, 3 points for looking and sounding fairly nice, and no points for boring me, and making me go play blades of steel.… Expand
  3. GsPlayer
    Oct 19, 2010
    3
    As an on and off player of this franchise since the mid 90s, I was disappointed with most aspects of the game outside of the graphics. The opening sequence adds 5-10 minutes of work when all our group wanted to do was play head to head. The controls and game play were more troubling. The stating is slow, the passes are hard to control, and scoring touch very hard to find (we played 4As an on and off player of this franchise since the mid 90s, I was disappointed with most aspects of the game outside of the graphics. The opening sequence adds 5-10 minutes of work when all our group wanted to do was play head to head. The controls and game play were more troubling. The stating is slow, the passes are hard to control, and scoring touch very hard to find (we played 4 games and score 5 goals combined). Remember delivering exciting bone crushing checks - gone (unless it the computer lays the hit), Remember exciting one-timers - gone. All these are aspects my friends and I loved in NHL 07, can we please go back in time? looks like they made a game to thrill programmers and industry folk, not end users like us.… Expand
  4. Serotam
    Nov 25, 2017
    4
    I'm very surprised by how many positive reviews I've read on this site already. It's not that I haven't seen any negative user reviews, but didn't see any from the actual critics who usually go much further with their critiquing. This game just feels sluggish and slow compared to last years game. It's not that there aren't any improvements at all to the gameplay. Hip checks are a nice,I'm very surprised by how many positive reviews I've read on this site already. It's not that I haven't seen any negative user reviews, but didn't see any from the actual critics who usually go much further with their critiquing. This game just feels sluggish and slow compared to last years game. It's not that there aren't any improvements at all to the gameplay. Hip checks are a nice, realistic addition to the game that had been missing for many years, but even better than that I noticed was the improved puck physics. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but it was practically impossible to lift the puck any higher than the goalie glove even while he was in the butterfly in last year's NHL 10. That can significantly diminish your chances of scoring on certain breakaways, penalty shots and shootout attempts depending on where the goalie slides and/or which side you commit to first. Anyway, these improvements just aren't enough to outweigh or counter how much different the speed of NHL 11 is compared to last year's 10. Also, the addition of the pressure sensitive passing is also somewhat realistic and gives you control over how hard/fast you can pass the puck to a teammate, but it just doesn't feel right with how the skating flows. Your players move slow enough that it's just all too easy to get drilled before you can get the pass off, and this is extremely frustrating when you have an obvious player to pass to for a huge scoring chance but is denied and is all for not despite his perfect positioning for the nearly developed play. I also like to note that there is finally a an advanced faceoff feature that involves bodily position as well as timing a quick pass off the bat with the right thumbstick which we've already been accustomed to in previous titles. Despite these key four additions to the series, It's arguably just as much of a step backward than it is forward, and for someone like me who doesn't buy the games year after year, this is one of the reasons why.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2010
66
#66 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 49 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 49
  3. Negative: 0 out of 49
  1. Video Game Talk
    Jan 12, 2011
    90
    This is easily the best NHL hockey has ever been on a console, and it sets the bar incredibly high for EA's next release.
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  2. SpazioGames
    Jan 10, 2011
    85
    For the puck lovers, it's still the best simulation out there. Yet, it shows too many similarities with its predecessor.
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  3. RealGamer
    Jan 10, 2011
    70
    That said, there is no denying that NHL 11 provides an enjoyable recreation of ice hockey, which manages to be both accessible to newcomers and packed with content to entertain more dedicated fans.
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