EA Sports has innovated a new, physical brand of hockey that includes first-person fighting in NHL 10 to match the toughness and emotional intensity real-world NHL players endure in pursuit of a Stanley Cup Championship.

EA is aware of the freezing issues that people have been experiencing and they’ve addressed many of these issues in the TU.

Fixed the exploit to slap-shot a 5-hole goal from below the face-off circle.

Although our goalies are much improved in NHL 10, there was an exploit when shooting from below the face-off circle that resulted in a goal more often than not. The goalies are now tuned to better handle shots from this area.

Increased speed of passes with Manual passing on.

This year we added Hardcore Passing (manual passing) that gave you total control of your pass speed and direction. Overall, the new passing was well received but the consensus was that you should be able to pass the puck harder and that the bottom-end speed was too slow. We've increased the bottom-end speed so the passes are crisper and also increased the top-end slightly as well.

Reduced the ability to boardplay players who are far away from you.

It was a little unrealistic being able to 'suck' a player into boardplay as he was skating away from you so we've made it much harder to pin a player that is skating away. The further he is from you, the less likely you'll be able to boardplay him.

Tuning of trade logic.

Too many superstars were being offered up for trades so we've dialed this back along with reducing how often players are repeatedly offered up for trade.

Added the ability for a user to apply boost slots to authentic helmets.

We've added the ability to apply boost slots to an authentic helmet so users can get the benefit of the boosts without having to wear a helmet with a design on it.

Here are some of the other main fixes that will be in the Title Update:

• Fixed the bug that would make a player sometimes exit pass blocking (L1/LT) when they got close to their goalie.
• Fixed the bug that would prevent offline Be a Pro player from getting ice-time in some situations.
• Fixed a crash that could happen on delayed penalty shots.
• Improved logic for how fighting affects teamplay scores in Be a Pro.
• Prevent L1/LT from allowing players to bypass stumble animations.
• Improvements to goalies to reduce 5-hole goals in some contexts.
• Tuned thresholds for injuries from hard shots.
• Added the ability to escape a prefight circle by pressing L2/LB.
• Fixed the bug that made it possible to "shoot" a puck slowly out of the one-handed animation such that nobody could pick it up.
• Improved goalie aggressiveness when poking the puck on cross-crease passes.
• Improved the ability of defencemen are able to do puck pickups behind them to help defend cross-crease passes.
• Reduced the ability to stuff the puck through the goalie by running into him without shooting (most common on wraparounds and reaching puck pickups).
• Reduced accidental interference in front of net.
• Fixed the offline Be a Pro line-change bug where the player is stuck at the bench.
• Prevent slap passes from being deflected at large angles.
• Fixed the bug where the goalie does not react to a shot if he's banging his stick on the ice to signal the end of a penalty.
• Fixed the bug that makes flip dumps to the middle of the offensive zone go over the glass frequently.
• Fixed the bug that makes CPU center win draws to the the same side all of the time.
• Fixed the bug in the stat tracking of passing.
• Prevent accidental saucer passes after receiving the puck while trying to poke check (because both actions are on R1/RT).
• Tuning to reduce occurrence of tripping penalties when the player being tripped is stationary or moving slowly.
• Tuning to game logic to make it a little easier to stay up on the NHL team during 4-game trial in BAP.
• Many other changes to improve our ability to refine the gameplay tuning with via tuner sets.

The franchise that has won 19 sports game of the year awards over the past two years begins a new era with gameplay innovations that deliver a new standard of toughness, the emotion of playoff hockey on the ice and in the arena, and over 200 gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse that every fan sees throughout the NHL playoffs.

A new first-person fighting engine enables players to trade punches with an NHL tough guy. Feel what it’s like to be on the ice in the skates of an NHL player to throw and dodge punches. Grab and tug an opponent’s jersey to land a punch that ignites the fans and sparks your team to victory. Challenge a skill player and an opposing team tough guy will step in to settle the score.

On ice toughness and intimidation is taken to a new level in NHL 10 where winning one-on-one battles for possession of the puck along the boards becomes a test of will and skill. Utilizing an all-new board physics engine, players can use their body to shield the puck on the boards and then kick-pass it to teammates. Bigger, stronger players pin opponents to the boards while fanatical fans bang on the glass, just like real life. Fore-check defenders, pressure the puck and finish checks to intimidate your opponent into mistakes. Players fatigue, bobble passes, and avoid collisions under threat of constant physical pressure. Inspire teammates, ignite the fans and change the momentum of a game by instigating scrums, drawing penalties, and mixing it up — all after the referee blows the whistle!

NHL 10 features more than 200 gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse of hockey and deliver the most responsive and authentic action ever for the series. Players can one-time loose pucks, score from their knees, knock pucks out of the air and lift a leg to fake a shot on goal. A new 360° precision passing mechanic delivers control over the speed and direction of passes so players can bank passes off the boards or play the puck into space for teammates to skate on to it. Plus, all-new interactive crowds bring the emotion of playoff hockey to life with towel-waving fans, glass bangers and crowds that react to the action on the ice.

Prove you are tough enough to quiet the crowd, silence the opposition and survive a playoff run to lift the Stanley Cup in NHL 10.