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

[nddurst]

My impressions so far:

1. Overall, the game does play better. The AI plays more aggressive and smarter in most situations than it did in '11.
2. At times, the CPU seems a little shot-happy. It might just be me, but there have been instances in the demo where I was scratching my head, wondering why the CPU didn't show some more patience to let a play develop.
3. As a defender on the rush, I simply feel like I've been neutered. They have not given a defender any way of upending a rushing forward other than simply getting in their way, or using the poke-check (which rarely produces good results). It's far too easy for the puck-handler to maneuver around a defender to get a shot on goal in the slot.
4. The commentary MUST be upgraded in '13. I mute it--it is just so completely stale and boring.
5. The CPU's line change logic needs work. In the demo, I've played well past the 13:00 mark of the period as Vancouver, and Chara has been on the ice the entire time. Perhaps messing with some sliders can affect this.

All this being said, I still really enjoy the game and am looking forward to the new sim engine in action during Be-a-GM. I'm in!

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by Rogie Vachon

The cpu isn`t playing too bad on SS/hardcore........some fine tuning/tweaking should make the game pretty intense. It`s definitely a better game than NHL11 from what I can see from the demo.

Agreed.

I'll be playing on AS myself. Superstar is just beyond my skill level. But yeah, I agree about hardcore. Having a good game experience on AS hardcore, and don't foresee too drastic of slider changes.

And no question in my mind either...that '12' is a very nice step forward from '11'. NHL '12' will get LOTS on spin time this year.

[canucksss]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vikes1

Agreed. I'll be playing on AS myself. Superstar is just beyond my skill level. But yeah, I agree about hardcore. Having a good game experience on AS hardcore, and don't foresee too drastic of slider changes. And no question in my mind either...that '12' is a very nice step forward from '11'. NHL '12' will get LOTS on spin time this year.

same like you Vikes... SS is beyond me, i guess if i was 20 years younger then sure

but AS and hardcore is a challenge for me, in fact my average SOG is 4. i still have to figure out this passing in the DEMO (i know i can change it in the actual game). Im still wishing that the SIM engine will be great for the BaGM this year because Im pretty sold out in buying this game after playing so many games thru the demo.

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by canucksss

same like you Vikes... SS is beyond me, i guess if i was 20 years younger then sure but AS and hardcore is a challenge for me, in fact my average SOG is 4. i still have to figure out this passing in the DEMO (i know i can change it in the actual game). Im still wishing that the SIM engine will be great for the BaGM this year because Im pretty sold out in buying this game after playing so many games thru the demo.

Yeah Canucksss, taking 20 years or so off myself as well, couldn't hurt. I've got a few miles of rough road behind me too.

But anyway...yep, I took a look last night at the SOG for the period, and I got out shot 24 to 3!! So oh yeah...AS hardcore will be all the challenge I'll need. I really got waxed in that one!

[Rogie Vachon]

Quote: Originally Posted by nddurst

My impressions so far: Overall, the game does play better. The AI plays more aggressive and smarter in most situations than it did in '11. At times, the CPU seems a little shot-happy. It might just be me, but there have been instances in the demo where I was scratching my head, wondering why the CPU didn't show some more patience to let a play develop. As a defender on the rush, I simply feel like I've been neutered. They have not given a defender any way of upending a rushing forward other than simply getting in their way, or using the poke-check (which rarely produces good results). It's far too easy for the puck-handler to maneuver around a defender to get a shot on goal in the slot. The commentary MUST be upgraded in '13. I mute it--it is just so completely stale and boring. The CPU's line change logic needs work. In the demo, I've played well past the 13:00 mark of the period as Vancouver, and Chara has been on the ice the entire time. Perhaps messing with some sliders can affect this. All this being said, I still really enjoy the game and am looking forward to the new sim engine in action during Be-a-GM. I'm in!

I`ve looked at the fatigue and fatigue recovery sliders in the demo,.....and they all are set to allow for super long shifts.

We`ll need to have the real game in our hands to be certain.....but it looks like the most realistic setting for 10 min periods will be full (6) fatigue and maybe 1 click of fatigue recovery.

This is probably a likely starting point for me,as it`s how I had it set in NHL11

[JumpierPegasus]

As I said over at the EA forums I am really enjoying the demo. Shooting is great and I hope they don't over do it with tuners.

They only really need to tune the hitting. NHL 11 looked really good with it's physics engine and NHL 12 is jsut trying to do to many things at once. It has it's puck physics, new skating engine and the hitting just became neglected.

One tuner done right should do it. I'm really hoping they get that right.

Excited for the game after the demo though as BaP looks playable

[bwiggy33]

Man the more I think about this, it is really hard to judge the game off of one period of play. I just can't get a feel for the game yet. I tell ya what, they're doing a hell of a job forcing me to get the game in order to find out how this game will truly play out. I just wish they would allow us to play one full 5 minute game on all star or superstar. I just don't know what to think yet. All of the judgements I've made could be totally incorrect by the final release.

[BlueNGold]

One thing that needs to go is the on-ice sounds playing during replays. Not sure why they suddenly started doing that this year.