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

[kerosene31]

Quote: Originally Posted by HeroWorship

Am I one of the only people who has enjoyed the demo?

Not at all. The poll on the front page shows we're not alone.

People are looking for different things in games. For me, all those "little" fixes to the gameplay really add up and are what will keep me playing this game for a very long time.

Also, I think there's a gap between those of us who follow the news over the summer and those who just download the demo and come in knowing nothing (and expecting things we knew wouldn't be there).

It is those "little" things that change the game. In BAP I purposely lost the draw in the zone so I could purposely run the goalie to see what happened, and I couldn't get through to the front in time.

I'm going to play a bunch more games tonight to see what else is there. I don't think you can play 2-3 games and really rate all those little things.

Anyway, I pre-ordered today. Since '09 this game has easily been worth $60 for me.

[Splitter77]

its way too similar to nhl 11.
the only thing that would make me buy nhl 12 is if that sim engine actually got fixed.

[blueduke]

At the risk of sounding like an echo chamber I'm really enjoying the demo. The goal variety, puck physics, and AI make this a blast to play. Only gripe and it's a small one is it's a little to easy to bring the puck in the offensive zone. I'm sure sliders will help this. This is the best demo EA Sports has put out imo

[Flyermania]

I wasn't expecting too much from the NHL 12 demo, and that's pretty much what I got. There are subtle changes, but there are still some glaring gameplay issues that still haven't been addressed (way to easy to enter the zone, poor teammate AI, goalies not covering the puck, etc.).

Let's not make excuses about the time of the development cycle...this is EA we are talking about. Their resources are top notch. What it comes down to is priorities, and for the past 2-3 versions it's quite clear that the priority is on online play (EASHL, HUT, etc.). This is the new cash cow for them and they spend a lot of time and resources on it.

As a result, the offline game suffers because it doesn't get the attention it deserves. EA doesn't need to gut the core gameplay or reinvent the wheel...it just needs to dedicate some time and resources to it. Instead they try and crank out several tuner sets to band-aid things after release and that never works out either.

This series has gone up-and-down in quality over its history, and the current trend is for the online aspects. For this predominantly offline gamer, it makes my decision to pass on NHL 12 pretty easy.

[tofubrain2]

based on the complaining and griping going on aound this series for the last 3 years, you think that everyone would get the idea that EA doesn't listen to us. The creative team write what they want on the whiteboard and they stick by it, thus alienating the community that supports the game.

it is what it is, love it or leave it. EA is not SCEA, nor 2K to a lesser extent in terms of our product feedback and wishes. our suggestions are insignificant and they stick to what sells, who can really blame them. there are thousands of developers out there, and with the NHL brand they can slap the crest on the front of the box and it will sell itself.

[cheechoo98]

Re: the new in front of the net play...

I did play one game as Chara (locked on LD - in a PLay Now.. pause, goto Control Settings, Choose Sides, Press SQUARE to cycle thru positions) ) and i didn't really notice the effect too much .. kept pushing R-Stick etc...

yeah, the game is a better version of NHL11 for sure.. a 'refined' edition of it..

I did score some nice goals on wristers from different spots.. which i guess is what we were use to in 2K...

I do give NHL12 a thumbs up, i guess... i'm just still bitter, we had that shot chart, replay from anywhere for so long in 2K, and our beloved series died... i just think.. what if.. what if.. it was received better... the sports gaming media did 2K hockey a huge disservice... where would 2K be from 2005 'til NOW??!?!!??!?! I can't imagine the possibilities... we'd be waaay beyond this NHL 12 Demo...
and, EA is just gettin' this s$% (puck physics, weight etc... ) in the gamen now... in 2011/ 2012..

Screw EA! but they will still get my money, so I am definitely a sucker.. LOL!!!!!

[CCPiper]

Here are some things that I noticed:

Pros:

- Love how much better skating looks/feels.

- As mentioned before, puck physics are WAY better.

- Love that the puck is live on slapshots, because now it's much harder to pull off slappers in a crowd. It's also a bit harder to slap it whenever you're going sideways and then the player turns his body like in NHL 11, 10, so on.

- Goalies seem to react better on longer shots.

- D-men try to force people outside.

- Checking is way more realistic and feels way more natural than NHL 11.

- Goalies are WAAAAYYYYY less predictable on breakaways, which is a big game changer to me.

- Love the feel of the live goalies. I got a goaltender interference penalty called against me that negated a goal.

- Helmets come off at a realistic rate it seems.

- Still haven't seen the glass break, lol.

- Presentation is improved a bit.

- Haven't seen goalies do any really questionable/stupid things yet.

- Thomas plays like Thomas.

Cons:

- For one, some people like that they still included the sounds on replays, but I don't like how it was implemented. First off, I think that the sounds should ONLY occur on replays that are in real-time, not on replays in slow-mo. Also, on replays where they use the sound effects, they have to use the crowd noise that happened DURING the play that they're showing for it to sound realistic.

- It's still too easy to pass it cross crease, and it's still too easy to get a perfect shot off of a cross crease pass as well.

- Deking is still way too easy. They need to make the puck live on dekes like they made the puck live on slapshots. This is what would make the deking realistic. As of right now, the puck is glued to your stick movements.

- It's still way too easy to get full power on wrist shots if your momentum is going the other direction.

- Had a goalie fight in my first game/period. Should be much harder to initiate, in my opinion.

[Ninjoid]

From a cpu v cpu point of view it's disappointing to see that there are still no cpu initiated fights and as yet I've yet to see a penalty called.

Granted we can't change any of the sliders settings but so far disappointing.