First NHL 12 Video Posted, New Release Date Set [UPDATE: Extra Info Added]

[Section_25]

The fighting engine looks the same. I hope they at least tweaked it so it's a little bit more realistic.

[Peter_OS]

If the presentation hasn't been beefed up at all, I'm not buying the game this year. What's the point! I'll just stick to NHL 2011. Might pick it up later when the price drops after say 6 months or so.

[Araxen]

If there isn't a roster share feature in NHL 12 I'm taking a pass on the game this year. The roster updating by EA for 11 was horrible.

I do like they are finally addressing goalie screening. It was long overdue.

[ComaFaction]

I thought it looked pretty good. The battles in front of the net and live contact with the goalies is a very welcome addition in my books. It looks like the collisions can be subtle (in the WSH clip), so that's excellent. I'm hoping the hitting and contact has been refined.

Sure all the over-the-top stuff caters to a younger or more casual audience, but I suspect that it won't be overdone unless you setup the game specifically so it "will" be (i.e. you want to have some arcade-ish fun with your pals).

If everything is indeed in play and the physics engine has improved, I'm psyched! I'll save any other skepticism for later when they have revealed more. For now, good stuff.

[VanCitySportsGuy]

The NHL series is a victim of its own success.

After playing NHL 11, I thought the series is stale and I'll probably feel the same way about NHL 12. I'm sure it will be a good game (like NHL 11) but there's only so much they can add/tweak since the game is already good.

I've wanted Classic Teams (with real players) for a long time and I hope this is the big announcement.

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by DJ

Very well said. I'm not a hockey "expert" but I'd like to consider myself fairly knowledgeable about the sport; I follow the Avs pretty closely and growing up in NY, I was always watching hockey even though I didn't have a favorite team as a lot of my closest friends and many of my relatives played the sport (I played basketball. You couldn't play both b/c both were winter sports). So, I have a good idea of what I want to see out on the virtual ice. There are some things NHL does very, very well. It's not like the game is complete rubbish. But, at the end of the day, the arcade elements definitely take over compared to what we would consider simulation. I'd love for more realistic battling on the boards for the puck. I'd love to see better center ice play (teams using different trapping systems), and of course, I'd love to see a revamped sim engine. Like you said, NBA 2K11 produced a mostly sim game with some arcade elements and it sold over 5 million copies. A good number of those copies were bought by people who are very casual basketball fans. It goes to show that if you make the game mirror what we see on TV, people will buy the game. MLB The Show on the PS3 is the same way. There's a thread on the forums with over 100 posts by people who specifically BOUGHT a PS3 just to play that game. That should tell you all you need to know about people wanting a simulation product. You don't spend $500 if you want to cheese a game and rack up a ton of goals/points/runs. You spend that money when the game you are playing closely replicates what you watch on television, yet still offers that fun factor that brings you back game after game. NHL keeps looking for clever marketing features, when really, that's not needed. The shotstick IS THE MARKETING! It was a brilliant addition and the tweaks they've made to the mechanic have only helped improve the game. The focus now should be on making the game as true to real life as possible. Adding the Winter Classic (yes, I know it's a few years late, but better than not having it again) is a step in the right direction, as is increasing the presentation elements. Those touches help with the immersion factor. NOW, the key has to be with the on-ice play. Like Money said, we've got to have a game where exploits are null and void. I give the Madden and NCAA teams credit as they took an honest look at their game and FINALLY addressed the defensive side of the ball, fixing both man and zone coverage. I think we'd all love to see NHL take that next step. Clearly there's a lot of passionate people on this board about hockey. That's great to see. I'm hoping that NHL 12 moves us closer to that true simulation of the sport that we've all been craving the past few years. EA's been like a baby, crawling on the floor. It's time for them to get up off the carpet and take some steps on its own.

Excellent post DJ!

As you mentioned Dan, and I completely agree....today's sports games that mix realistic gameplay, nice animations, and great presentation, are imo too, the blueprint to follow.

Personally, I like to think with NHL, that EA Canada has a decent launching point to work from. Like you, I also believe mostly all gamers want the same thing. As true to life gameplay as possible. Even with the limitations it would bring. I'm sure hoping that with the further tuning of the physic, that NHL'12' will really show us the direction their taking my favorite sports game. Making it as realistic playing as possible. And if ya don't like it, well...that's what sliders are for.

The biggest thing I'm hoping for outta NHL'12' is...that the gameplay really feels different from past years. That you can clearly feel the difference between types of players, right through the controller. And the players play accordingly.

[Scottdau]

I hope the floaty puck is gone. I like that there will be more puck physics.

[plaidchuck]

Quote: Originally Posted by Scottdau

I hope the floaty puck is gone. I like that there will be more puck physics.

Good god yes! Forgot about this! It's so ridiculous to see the puck sit on the goalies head and fall into the net..