NHL 12 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360, PS3)

[adayinthelife]

I hate to say it, as I've been a staunch defender of this series in previous years when others say it, but after a few demo games this feels a little NHL 11.5ish to me.

Granted, this is only a demo and for the past 2 years I've been playing on ps3 not xbox, but nothing really jumps out at me I'm sad to say. Also to keep in mind all of this is being experienced with default sliders.

- Skating feels different, though I don't know if it's better.

- Puck physics are definitely improved, but there is still room for improvement, and maybe some slider adjusting will help.

- Full contact physics engine... Can someone explain this? To me so far the hitting feels the exact same as last year. Exact same. Sure there are "net battles" bit that essentially appears to just be canned animations of two dudes leaning into one another.

- Where are the player traits/player separation? Apparently Kaberle can still skate faster backwards than Mason Ramond can forwards. Once again it doesn't feel like it matters if I have my first line or my third line out there because the playing field feels pretty level for every single player in the game.

- Goal variety is nice. Last year was a huge improvement and this year it seems better again, happy to see this.

Overall for me it just feels like a lot of the same old, same old. Yes, it feels improved from last year in my short time with the demo, but not by much at all.

[Mikey88]

Quote: Originally Posted by adayinthelife

I hate to say it, as I've been a staunch defender of this series in previous years when others say it, but after a few demo games this feels a little NHL 11.5ish to me. Granted, this is only a demo and for the past 2 years I've been playing on ps3 not xbox, but nothing really jumps out at me I'm sad to say. Also to keep in mind all of this is being experienced with default sliders. - Skating feels different, though I don't know if it's better. - Puck physics are definitely improved, but there is still room for improvement, and maybe some slider adjusting will help. - Full contact physics engine... Can someone explain this? To me so far the hitting feels the exact same as last year. Exact same. Sure there are "net battles" bit that essentially appears to just be canned animations of two dudes leaning into one another. - Where are the player traits/player separation? Apparently Kaberle can still skate faster backwards than Mason Ramond can forwards. Once again it doesn't feel like it matters if I have my first line or my third line out there because the playing field feels pretty level for every single player in the game. - Goal variety is nice. Last year was a huge improvement and this year it seems better again, happy to see this. Overall for me it just feels like a lot of the same old, same old. Yes, it feels improved from last year in my short time with the demo, but not by much at all.

Well, we can't change any of the sliders so im pretty sure when you increase "attribute effects" slider things will be way better

[goosedennis]

I got to the shootout in my first demo "game."

A few things:

Pros:
-Checking isn't bone-crushing checks 10 times a game
-Skating seems more fluid

Cons:
-I won on an Andrew Ference shootout goal

[adayinthelife]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mikey88

Well, we can't change any of the sliders so im pretty sure when you increase "attribute effects" slider things will be way better

One would hope. Previously that slider hasn't been extremely effective however.

[skabatula]

The comment about this being NHL 11.5 looks pretty accurate.

Wouldn't be such a bad thing if NHL 11 wasn't NHL 10.5.

[goosedennis]

Quote: Originally Posted by skabatula

The comment about this being NHL 11.5 looks pretty accurate. Wouldn't be such a bad thing if NHL 11 wasn't NHL 10.5.

Last sentence:

You have to be kidding.

[mondoguitar]

Quote: Originally Posted by blinkfan77

Crushing, crushing disappointment- No face for Brad Marchand. Absolutely crushing. I'm so sick of the gigantic lack of real faces in this game. So pissed right now. For ****s sake, they still haven't changed Thomas's generic face either and he won the Vezine and he's STILL only rated an 89. Pathetic.

It's a demo, not the real game. Thomas' face is plastered all over the goalie fighting video... it looks pretty realistic to me.

[mondoguitar]

Quote: Originally Posted by straka91

Like the puck physics. I actually scored a 5 hole above the the circles. AI is still pathetic though lol. Just ran Raymond with Chara, Chara bounced off....

Hopefully the hitting is something they tweak with sliders, they did it last year. I think if more "slot goals" are scored legit, then people might feel the need to glitch less. If the only way you can score on the goalie is with a glitch move, guess what, people will do that. It was the goaltending that needed fixing the most. When you have a 5ft shot in the slot, it should go in half the time, not 1% of the time.