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

[Mikey88]

Just had my 1st glass breaking hit!.. I had Chara and lined up Daniel Sedin into the corner glass.. CRUNCH!

[thedudedominick]

I am loving the changes I am noticing in the demo. While there are a lot of subtle things that don't completely stand out, there are enough of them that I feel this game plays a lot better than NHL 11.

-New shot block animations that add to the realism of D men in front of the net as well as forwards blocking shots from the point.
-Puck physics are very much improved, no more bouncing in the air off the goalie and landing on his back.
-I am hoping the checking is just tuned up for the demo and will not have as many big hits as we do now.
-With the checking I have seen some things that just amazed me. I hit a guy who was coming by the net, it was a big hit where my player ended up on the ice pretty much on top of the guy he hit.
-Lot's of little bumps that knock the puck away or drop a guy to his knees. Players size and attributes come into play more in checking.
-The AI is much improved. CPU actually takes shots from different spots, and I have had to play much smarter on D or they will find an opening and take advantage of it. The toe drag to make a defender stop doesn't work anymore, which is amazing.
-The computer plays much better defense. They take away passing lanes in the neutral zone, and sometimes their forecheck seems suffocating. In the defensive end they play aggressive on the point, and when entering the zone they have active sticks to take away the cross crease and don't allow you to just deke by them.
-I would love to see more penalties called, I hope they just have them turned down for the demo. I checked Thomas behind the play and no penalty was called.
-The variety of goals I have seen is a breath of fresh air.

I think this is a much improved game. I have enjoyed the past versions of NHL, but they are finally adding to the "sloppy" and gritty parts of hockey that real hockey fans have been waiting to be translated into this game for years.

Edit: Forgot to mention I love the ability to throw the puck around the boards in the offensive zone with RB+shot stick

[gopher_guy]

do we get anything for sharing the demo?

I seem to remember some games where you get extra little perks for sending it to x number of people.

If so, I will send it to a bunch of my friends who haven't been on XBL in like 6 months

[thedudedominick]

Also want to mention the dekes have been slowed down a lot and your player loses speed while deking so hopefully it stays this way to really make it more of a team game online.

[BaylorBearBryant]

Quote: Originally Posted by The Amaizen Blue

Am I the only one experiencing terrible framerate on the PS3? Takes away the fun of the game when the sound keeps spazzing out and players are skipping around.

Not having an issue with this.

[HARTSTOPPER]

The Demo for PS3 is out now. I had to go to Demo > New Releases to find it. Not sure if this has been passed around yet or not

[Section_25]

Quote: Originally Posted by BaylorBearBryant

Not having an issue with this.

I'm not having any problems like that either.....

As far as my impression, I like the polished (updated) look it has and yes I will probably be buying the game although it is somewhat disappointing how similar some of the features are to NHL 11.

I mean they used the same exact cut-scenes as last year? Just seems lazy on the part of the development team. Maybe the retail version will have other/extra stuff.

Guess we will find out next month.

[SinisterAlex]

There are two things that are really annoying me and I know can be fixed.

1) A.I players, CHOOSE A SIDE AND STAY THERE! I've lost count of how many times I'll be skating down the ice, and my A.I teammate goes right in front of me, then I'm like "Fine, I'll go down the middle" then not even 5 seconds later, he follows me.... seriously.

2) For the love of god A.I team mates, If I get tied up on the faceoff, GO AND GET THE PUCK! Don't stand there and let me lose it....c'mon.

Aside from those two annoyances, this demo is awesome and I cannot wait until the retail game comes out!