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

[Splitter77]

i kinda like that new tune by Bush thats in the demo too

[Josam27o7]

Quote: Originally Posted by tofubrain2

i believe they added suspensions and retired numbers this year. whoopty doo

LOL. Exactly. Honestly, Be a Gm has stagnated so badly that I can't bring myself to a purchase unless I find out they improved it in ways that I am not currently aware of.

[Vikes1]

Gotta say again...the more I've played the demo, the more I'm appreciating the changes to the gameplay.

All-Star hardcore is certainly going to be all the challenge I'll need. I'm sure finding out the more garbage like goals are going both ways which is great. If you don't take care of the front of your net [like IRL] you'll be in trouble.

I think it was Qb that mentioned about how he thought the rebounds off the goalies pads were a bit over done. I'm starting to feel the same way. Last night I saw a number of shots that did seem to rebound pretty wildly off the goalies pads. I think we've all seen this type of thing IRL...but imo, I do think it might need a little adjusting.

But anyway...it's been a lot of fun knowing, throwing the puck down deep on goal, the puck is no longer just simply vacuumed up by the goalie all the time. Scoring on some loose pucks down deep has added nicely to the game.

[meep316]

Pretty sure I'm skipping out on this one. Not a fan of the game this year. Didn't really like last year's either. Too many unrealistic things going on. There are some subtle improvements, but I think the whole thing needs to be overhauled. I've played hockey all my life at a decently high level, and these games just do not feel like hockey. Can't even enjoy them from an arcade perspective, either. Just my opinion.

It's probably for the best. There are a couple of other games coming out that I know I'm buying (Arkham City, Uncharted 3). It'll be strange not having a sports game to play, because I always have the newest NHL, but I'm really not satisfied with the product this year to justify spending my hard earned money on it.

I had a feeling I'd be drastically underwhelmed when the first things that they announced were checking people through the glass (happens MAYBE once a season in real life) and goalie contact/goalie fights. Playing the game sealed the deal for me.

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by canucksss

i guess you troll too much Vikes1 hahahahah..... im beginning to like the demo...of course how i wish there's more to NHL12 like presentation or commentaries etc. as soon as i decided to get this on release date, i will try to sim it and see if what EA is saying is true. if not, it's easy to turn it back

But Canucksss, only 2,500 of my 3,000 posts were trolling. That's not too bad!

It took a few periods for the demo to grow on me too. With the game speed at default [3]...it's a bit faster than I prefer. So the speed kinda threw me for a while. For me, the game just feels better with the game speed at 1. Of course I do have the reaction time of a South African tree sloth. Kinda suxs to go over 30..then 40...then 50. Damn!

[rangersfan30]

Quote: Originally Posted by meep316

Pretty sure I'm skipping out on this one. Not a fan of the game this year. Didn't really like last year's either. Too many unrealistic things going on. There are some subtle improvements, but I think the whole thing needs to be overhauled. I've played hockey all my life at a decently high level, and these games just do not feel like hockey. Can't even enjoy them from an arcade perspective, either. Just my opinion. It's probably for the best. There are a couple of other games coming out that I know I'm buying (Arkham City, Uncharted 3). It'll be strange not having a sports game to play, because I always have the newest NHL, but I'm really not satisfied with the product this year to justify spending my hard earned money on it. I had a feeling I'd be drastically underwhelmed when the first things that they announced were checking people through the glass (happens MAYBE once a season in real life) and goalie contact/goalie fights. Playing the game sealed the deal for me.

While people have been crying out for franchise mode/BAGM to be given a overhaul EA thinks its better to add these little insignificant additions that people could do without.

The more i read about the gameplay being better the more i think great but then the realisation of the gameplay improvements not meaning anything to me in the grand cheme of things due to the fact franchise is largely untouched means this game would be a waste of time for me.

Online i hate because i cant handle the constant cheese so the only thing that keeps me interested is trying to play a realistic franchise mode which is impossible in the EA series, sure i could play a season but its not the same.

Its really looking like this will be the first installment of this series that i dont buy which is a shame as i have bought every EA NHL game.

The sickener is we dont even have a fallback option

[tgalv21]

i really hope they have the puck control jacked up in the demo or i'll be disappointed. feels like i'm just playing nhl hitz without the puck. the pokecheck is ineffective and unsatisfying. usually the puck just stays right with the guy causing you to spam it 4 more times to maybe finally connect. the sticklift might as well be useless. maybe you can take the puck off a seadogs 4th liner on pro difficulty with a sticklift, but any nhl player you might as well just retreat and clog the passing and shooting lanes and hope they give you the puck back on a turnover. or just charge at the guy like a goober with drool falling out of your mouth. if that doesn't change online play is going to be really tedious and frustrating when people realize they can do whatever they want as long as they avoid getting lined up from far enough to knock them down.

some stuff I do like:
-players breaking to the net on odd-man rushes. really satisfying to hit a streaking winger for a 1-timer. the passing is a little easier and quicker too which is probably better for encouraging people to pass.

-the new skating animations are pretty cool and so are some of the shooting ones.

-nice that shots have been tuned up a notch. makes the game more exciting and satisfying when you can actually score further than 2 feet away.

[KomicJ]

Spent a few more hours playing the demo, and while I can enjoy the new puck physics, and the improved AI...I still can't bring myself to like that game. For the exact same reason I didn't like NHL11.

Because, as much as I like the challenge, I constantly feel cheated by the CPU, who seems to be able to do a whole lot more than I can do. Things such as one touch tape-to-tape cannon passes that goes through my defenders no matter what. Spot on poke-checks. Taking control of a bouncing puck with such an ease, I think my players don't even control the puck that well when it's flat on the ice.

Has no problem whatsoever to lift my stick, and take control of the puck, but everytime I do it, the CPU either keeps the puck, or I get called for slashing.

While I'm a fan of getting rid of the turbo button, the balance between speed with/without the puck needs to be reviewed. I don't care if he has the puck on his stick or not, Henrik Zetterberg shouldn't not be slower than Andrew Alberts...NEVER !

The default positioning, especially in the offensive zone, is just plain aweful ! No matter what strategy I'm using, defensemen aren't playing the blueline as well as they should. The CPU is overly aggressive in the offensive zone, leading to way too many 3-2, even when playing the PK leading by a goal.

And while the goaltending AI seems to be better than what it was in previous games, their play outside the net got worse. Played HUT a my team had Carey Price as a starter...couldn't even stop the puck behind his net.

Been playing the game since '93, never skipped a year, although I did return NHL11 a couple of weeks after buying it last year. Often getting it on both consoles and CPU (back when Thunderpuck was active). Not wasting my money on the game this year...hoping 2K will eventually come back and blow us away like they did with NBA2K, which is by far the best sports game around these days.