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

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by bwiggy33

While you may be right that there have been some good changes, MKharsh is 100% right with the AI. There was barely any change. The AI feels exactly the same as last year. The puck physics and what not are better, but the AI is the exact same except for the AI things EA showed in their short clips. I don't think that it's because he's more of a basketball fan either. I'm pretty sure he knows hockey. Even if someone didn't know much about hockey they could totally see the things that he mentions in his post by just playing a few games. If people don't see the problems with the AI then that is great for them because this game would be that much better. I wish I didn't have a watchful eye for things that are wrong with the AI. When people complain about Madden or NCAA I would rarely ever find those issues on my own because football is not like hockey to me. Hockey is my sport and big AI flaws that happen in NHL bug the hell out of me. I wish that wasn't the case. I would enjoy the game a whole lot more.

Strongly disagree even with the locked sliders not only is the CPU more aggressive for the puck on the whole, by my AI teammates drive the front of the net rather than hang out and do nothing, and AI forwards on both sides attempt to pick off passes in the neutral zone. Is it perfect? No, but it's laughable to say its exactly the same because it isn't.

[JimmyPelican]

Quote: Originally Posted by mkharsh33

Are all the arenas going to continue to look the same again this year? One thing I'm loving about Madden is the uniqueness of each stadium...those images are jaw-dropping. Every EA NHL game feels canned...

I didnt download the demo yet but the first thing EA could work on is what side the home team benches are on. They are different in every arena. I know this is a very minor issue but its a start as far as getting arenas right. This is something the 2k series had right.

[Strings74]

Played the demo and considering picking it up this year. I haven't played a hockey game in years.

I think the game is really, really hard for a noob. However, I'm intrigued and I love the presentation.

I'm definitely a hockey fan and understand the game well, but for some reason I don't get as hung up on hockey video games not being "true sims" like I do with football and baseball games. Hopefully that will work in my favor.

I'm so backlogged with games to play I'm not sure I'll have the time for a new sports game but since NCAA is so lackluster this year, I might dive in.

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by FBeaule04

I won't answer for Bwiggy, but for myself.

OK, thank you for expounding on the subject of the easy zone entry. I think most people get what it means, but it always helpful to have more details than generic "bad AI" statements.

One thing that comes to mind for with the zone entry issue is the speed of the puck carrier when they hit the blueline. I think an under-appreciated aspect of it is that players are too often moving at full speed as they enter the zone. The proper reaction to this by a d-man is to give the blueline to avoid getting burned.

This is part of the reason I always nerf puck control, pass accuracy/reception, and play with manual passing. I have a much harder time stringing perfect passes together on the breakout or carrying the puck through a crowd. I'm looking forward to settings like that combined with CPU AI that pressures more in the neutral zone and actively plays the passing lanes (which I am seeing in the demo to some extent).

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by Segagendude

One more thing...... When I score a td in Madden, I'm like "cool". When I score a goal in this demo, I literally jump up with hands raised and a "YESS!!!" Especially playing as the home team, Canucks. The crowd is deafening, I love the pa announcer afterwards, the music playing, the celebrations, etc. What a game! And this is only the demo....... Wow!

My experience has been exactly the same, Sega. Exactly.

Not meaning to bash the football games but...they just simply got boring for me personally to play. Like you Sega, getting or allowing that big TD, was just like...whatever. The immersion and feeling that it mattered just wasn't there for me. Just..bahh.

But yeah...with NHL, I'm still yelling..."He scores!" And it feels great. And trying to hold on to a late 3rd period lead, is dang exciting. And I even get a bit pissed when I don't.

In the end...for me now, NHL is just plain fun and interesting to play. Unlike the football games that well...bore me.

[gopher_guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by BobSacamano

One of the problems is the arenas themselves. They're not really all that distinguishable, or at least not nearly as much as NFL stadiums or MLB ballparks. I do think that arenas have different "feels" though, and I'd love if NHL could replicate that atmosphere better. When I play as the Bruins I should be terrified going into Montreal. I don't really get that impression right now.

Agreed. Most of the NHL arenas all kinda have the same feel to them. Sure they are all different, but without the colors and logos, you wouldn't really be able to tell the difference between a lot of them.

Unlike MLB and NFL stadiums, which have tons of intricacies in them. I think I could identify a bunch of NFL and MLB stadiums without the logos and colors.

[Rogie Vachon]

Just got my hands on the demo,.....please look at my thread "NHL12 goalie controls - observations,suggestions" for my impressions on the goalie stuff so far.

I`ll add more of my hands on comments as they pop up.

[bwiggy33]

Quote: Originally Posted by RealmK

Strongly disagree even with the locked sliders not only is the CPU more aggressive for the puck on the whole, by my AI teammates drive the front of the net rather than hang out and do nothing, and AI forwards on both sides attempt to pick off passes in the neutral zone. Is it perfect? No, but it's laughable to say its exactly the same because it isn't.

FBeaule this is exactly the same thing I've seen. Perfect way of describing it. Realm see I see it completely different. I've played on every level but rookie just to see what the game was like on each level. My main level however is superstar. I find that even on superstar I can enter the zone with ease about 90% of the time. It's the exact same thing I felt when I played NHL 11. In fact I can take Chara from in his own end and rush the puck up untouched and enter the zone to take a shot. The AI defense forces me to do nothing differently each time I enter the zone. It's annoying. Now I know there are two sliders CPU difficulty, and AI learning. When raising them up in NHL 11 it does make a difference with how the CPU reacts to your game style.

I've also come to realize that I should not be judging the demo as harshly in this department as I have been. The reason is because the CPU normally doesn't start to change their gameplan until the second period. Since the demo is only one period the CPU really can't adjust. I'm just going to have to wait until the retail comes out in order to find out.