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

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by 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.

Yeah Bwiggy, I agree...it is pretty difficult to really judge for sure, what the retail game will bring, as compared to the demo. With the final tuning that was done, who knows...maybe the issues we've discussed, will prove to have been tweak for the better. Or possibly the sliders in the retail game will be VERY effective.

One really nice thing for sure though...we don't have long to wait to find out.

[BobSacamano]

I skipped '11, so with that in mind, a few impressions:

+ The game has a very realistic "flow" on All-Star/Hardcore. I started off playing on All-Star/Default, but Hardcore is quite clearly the way to go if you're looking for a more sim experience. The puck physics are simply awesome.
+ This is a little thing, but I like that the replays seem to highlight the important plays.
+ Very cool seeing the bench react to hits and pucks near them.
+ Jostling in front of the net has made for some nice deflections on shots from the point.
+ The goals I've seen have been very varied: Blast from the high slot on the PP, rebounds, slap pass on a 3-on-1, etc.

And now for the minuses...

- I've played maybe 15, 20 periods and have already seen the glass break. It was on a Tyler Seguin hit, and it wasn't a particularly hard hit either. The whole thing was a little goofy.
- I don't know what I'm doing on faceoffs (NHL 11 learning curve...)
- The hustle button feels weird (NHL 11 learning curve again...)
- I had one goal scored against me where Henrik took the puck from behind the net and just sort of pushed the puck into the side of the net. Thomas was hugging the post and the puck eventually just slid in. Sedin wasn't trying to stuff it or anything, he was just standing there. It was not very cool.

[gopher_guy]

I do like the "last player back" function, where you hold the button to switch players, and it switches to the farthest guy back on the ice. I don't know if that's a new thing or not, could have been in the series for years and I have just missed it

[rangersfan30]

Well two days after posting that i may wait a few months before buying this to see how guys were finding it and that this may even be the first year i dont buy the EA NHL game i went and pre-oredered it. Man i am weak.

I downloaded the demo a couple of days ago too and i have actually enjoyed it to the ponit where i decided to just say to hell with it.

The feel on the ice feels a lot more fluid this year and the puck physics which to me always felt very floaty in the last few years are a big big improvement. I also like that the goalies seem to be a lot better and dont seem to have as many awkward animations that always left me scratching my head asking, why?

I like the fact that breaking out your zone and gaining the ai zone seems a lot tougher, Even if its not perfect i think it is at a level where its tough enough and has shown enough improvement to give a challenge. The ai from my experience does seem to be a lot smarter and i dont see as much standing around from the user ai.

My only real worry is the defensive side of the game, it still seems that there needs to be work done because the poke check is still very poor and we still need more options as defense is a massive part of real hockey. I am hoping the goalie improvements somewhat offset this and hopefully an enjoyable balance will be found.

I dont think that anyone doubts presentation and commentary need to be given serious attention. The commentary for me isn't really an issue as i usually turn it of anyway but presentation is in dire need of a new freshness for lack of better words.

If BAGM can just have improvements that we dont know about i should be pretty happy this year.

Hopefully i should receive the game a day before release day as i usually do from the place i get my games from. £35 wasn't bad either.

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by gopher_guy

I do like the "last player back" function, where you hold the button to switch players, and it switches to the farthest guy back on the ice. I don't know if that's a new thing or not, could have been in the series for years and I have just missed it

Oddly enough, Gopher...I just noticed this feature too, just the other night. For the heck of it, I was checking out the controller functions screen when I spotted the "last player back", option. Not sure myself...but yeah, I think it may be new for this year.

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it but...I only use half the controller options available, as is. But I think this is a nice little addition to the game.

[CupCrazyManiac]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vikes1

Oddly enough, Gopher...I just noticed this feature too, just the other night. For the heck of it, I was checking out the controller functions screen when I spotted the "last player back", option. Not sure myself...but yeah, I think it may be new for this year. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it but...I only use half the controller options available, as is. But I think this is a nice little addition to the game.

Sorry guys, thats Not New. ;-)

[Qb]

After last night, I think I'm more or less done with the demo (aside from playing some goalie maybe). I'm never a fan of default settings to begin with, and those greyed out sliders are really starting to tick me off!

[tofubrain2]

yeah i'm done with the demo too....bring on the retail copy! ilm ready to go!