NHL 13 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360, PS3)

[franch1se]

i really SUCK at this game. Just opened up my HUT and got some good players.

Forwards

Malkin
Perry
Zetterberg
St. Louis
Nugent-Hopkins

Defense

Weber
Seabrook

Raask as goalie

[Shortyman96]

Has anyone else noticed what seems to be the removal of Goalie contact? They seem to have gained their shield from NHL 11 once again. I think it's there somewhat, just alot harder to even make contact.

[SinisterAlex]

Quote: Originally Posted by Shortyman96

Has anyone else noticed what seems to be the removal of Goalie contact? They seem to have gained their shield from NHL 11 once again. I think it's there somewhat, just alot harder to even make contact.

I've noticed that as well. You can still hit them, but they don't leave the goalie stance animation that they're usually in. Hopefully it's just a demo thing.

[LionelHutz]

Flame me if you will, but I really don't like this demo. I kept trying to like it, I beat the HUT and played it for about six hours today, but it just doesn't feel right.

I know one-timers were an issue for a long time with these games, but now it seems just impossible to score on one. I have played probably 50 periods and haven't scored a single one. What seems to work for me is to just get in the opposing end, deke a bit and take a weak shot. That or slap it from just over the blue line. It reminds me of playing games like NHL Breakaway 98 in that way.

In the shootout what works is a wind up for the slap shot then quick left or right deke and wrist shot. It seems to work too well.

What is up with not being able to hit the goalie anymore? It was a big deal for NHL 12 and it's pretty much gone. In fact it's really hard to finish any check after the whistle, and pretty damn near impossible to start a fight at any time other than on the faceoff. It was always fun to get a couple of cheap shots in, and if the other team did that at least you could stand up for yourself in a fight.

The sound is glitchy. If the away team scores on you at home, the crowd is very quiet. Then once the puck is dropped all of a sudden they're super loud. With no transition whatsoever. Before any replay it plays the WHOOSH should like when the EA Sports logo transition occurred last year but there is no logo transition. There is still that kid in the crowd yelling "LOOK THERE HE IS" every 30 seconds or so. It's been grating on my nerves since 08. The announcing is the same recycled garbage since god knows when.

When there is a PowerPlay (oh wait I mean the HONDA POWER PLAY) the score for the team on the PP stays yellow and is hard to see.

When the ref is skating around to announce a penalty or something other players bounce off him and it looks very weird. NBA 2K11 had this with all on-court people but it was fixed for 12. It's very distracting.

What's up with the empty arenas in HUT?

The icing glitch still exists where a missed pass will cause an ice even if the pass was barely missed, and on the other hand if the icing is on the other team you can just stand around and wait for it to cross the line and touch it for the ice. These really should be waved off and it's been an issue for a long time.

I have seen a few times where after checking someone, they hit the ice, bounce in the air and hit the ice again. It also is ridiculously easy to hit someone at centre ice into the boards head first. And the glass still shatters arbitrarily for no real reason. The glass breaking hits never looked good since they were introduced.

The goalies move way to quickly, it made me laugh out loud a few times with the desperation saves and glove high saves. Nobody moves like that.

Sticks still go through the boards all the time and the goalies still go through the posts constantly. The goalies still will get a penalty for grabbing the puck then rotating their stick outside the trapazoid.

I wasn't expecting too much from this year's game to be honest but there is such a lack of polish and so many nagging issues from the past that I just can't justify spending another $60 on the game. If one of my friends picks up the retail copy I'll re-evaluate then, and really want to know what everyone else thinks. From the past posts it is almost unanimous praise so maybe it is just me...

[Shortyman96]

Quote: Originally Posted by SinisterAlex

I've noticed that as well. You can still hit them, but they don't leave the goalie stance animation that they're usually in. Hopefully it's just a demo thing.

Yeah, I keep telling myself that too, but I can't remember the last time they've added/removed something that big from their demos. It seems the last couple years what you see in the demo is pretty much what you get when it goes live. Of course I'm jaded, like many, with last years goal celebrations. I don't think I could have hope more than I did that it was just a "demo thing".

Oh well, we'll see I guess.

[admt726]

Quote: Originally Posted by gopher_guy

edit: LOL, in my second HUT team game, there's like literally 8 people in the stands. Looks like an 8th grade girls hockey game crowd, except some of the parents forgot to show up.

I had this too, thought it was hilarious!

Can't wait for the full game.

[shaunjuan2000]

I've never been someone who makes a purchase decision solely based on a demo. I love the changes they made to the game, especially the team and line strategies. I may have to do 2 Be A Gms, one as a player, and as a coach. That'll allow me to get a better idea on how each strategy works. Seen plenty of hockey games in my life, and now I may need to watch the strategies my teams employ, so my team in NHL 13, plays like my team does in real life. The true demo for me comes out September 7th, when I can download the full retail game using the EA Sports Season Pass.

[iaxy]

My observations thus far.
Platform PS3
I played 10 games in Play Now, 10 games in Moments and about 20 min in free skate.

I genuinely believe that this year EA has made the most significant step forward since the introduction of the skill stick.
The new skating engine, when combined with the True Broadcast Camera, deliverers a truly fantastic experience and brings the game that much closer to watching the real thing.
The skating engine finally addresses the choppiness and jittering associated to past EA NHL titles and it brings a sense of fluidity and wholeness completely new to the series (and not just EA, but any hockey game developed thus far). It is also very intuitive and logical. If you chase a puck heading for the boards, your player will bump into the boards and lose momentum. However, if you change your angle and gather the puck from an angle, the player will maintain momentum and will fly by the boards instead of slowing down – just like real life. To accelerate and then glide preparing for the pass or shot feels incredibly realistic and is actually part of the set-up game. I was able to score some truly stunning goals using this transition. Momentum plays a big role in this game and so it should. Finally EA have recognized the need to implement momentum – they could have easily messed it up, but they’ve really nailed IMHO. Also, thanks to the new skating, defense is now much more strategic and positional. You now really have to play smart positional defense, otherwise you get burnt and buried.
For me it is truly revolutionary and I would even say it is more significant than the skill stick introduction a few years back.

The True Broadcast camera is the other significant introduction. Without it, the game would have been already a winner, but changing the view to TBC gives a new, fresh, unpredictable experience that is very welcome (if a tad overdue). The camera angle allows for the game to be played like a real game of hockey. It just feels natural to move, make passes and shoot, just like you would expect to see it in a real hockey game. It’s hard to describe, but even without having mastered the controls, I was able to make plays which were completely reminiscent of a real game scenario. It just feels organic, intuitive and ultimately very rewarding (but equally punishing if you don’t get it right).
Little things like having to get the angle right on a dump and chase (either on offence or defence) or the defenseman standing up straightening his body up when behind his own net – it just feels great. I tried to go back to Classic and Ice cameras, but the game just felt like an NHL 12.5 patch, whereas with the TBC it feels like an NHL 13.5 game.

I am genuinely impressed with what EA have done here, especially in a year where they had no competition from any other hockey developer. Kudos for the effort put.

Having said all that, there are certain things that still need to be ironed out and I am hopeful they will be before launch.
Firstly, the collisions / body checks / pin ups don’t feel natural or realistic. There is a lack of sense of weight. They feel light and generally uninspiring. Every now and again you hear the crowd explode after a hit, but you don’t even see or feel the hit as a player. It just feels cumbersome.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but the light / frame rate does not feel quite right on my PS3. It feels as if it’s darker than it should be and the player models look kind of blurred. I think this is more evident in a real game, but Free Skate feels better somehow. Not sure about this one, but it’s very evident – especially on the initial face-off when playing in TB camera.

My other gripe is in connection to the puck contact physics. Often you don’t actually see sticks making contact with the puck, yet the puck changes direction. This is more evident this year than last year.

Summary

Pros:
- Skate engine – a comprehensive winner
- True Broadcast Camera – fantastic new way to play the game
- Ice looks fantastic and degrades more realistically
- SFX sounds a more realistic
- Less shots hit the post / bar
- Larger variety of goals
- More intuitive AI
- More unpredictable gameplay with all sort of interesting developments and scenarios.
- Subtle visual improvements, such as the D man straightening his body when behind his net are just welcome little additions that add a lot to the realistic athmosphere.
- Goalie animations are fantastic to look at.

Cons:
- Collisions between players don’t look or feel realistic (it actually feels like a step back somehow).
- Light, shadows and crispness are not great (PS3 version)
- When winning the puck on defense it still feels disconnected from the actual animation (i.e. you don’t actually see the stick making contact with the puck).
- For some reason, you can’t make contact with the goalie any more
- Commentary is stale and needs an overhaul

Closing comment. The demo is very promising. If EA irons out some of the glitches mentioned above, this could truly be the best sports game developed thus far. Right now, the game feels like a solid 9 – may be even 9.5
If they were to give us the possibility to customize the height and zoom of the TB camera, I would give this game a perfect 10 score.