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

[jonapaloma]

Quote: Originally Posted by 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.

Nice post iaxy. A good review of NHL 13 without any a**-kissing or unnecessary whining. its just your own opinion

[Money99]

Got in a few more games. I absolutely LOVE the look of the True Broadcast view.
My only problem is I'm confused with the control layout, haha, so I need to figure that out.

I'm really enjoying NHL13 more than I have with NHL09>NHL12.

For one, on all-star, I actually had a breakaway and scored. My guys are able to beat the defenders into the corners, out hustle for the puck, and beat weak dmen wide with speedy forwards. None of this occurred since NHL07. (for me at least).

My breakaway goal was scored by Petr Sykora and tied the game up with less than 30 seconds to go. He took a beautiful two-line pass to break in alone, behind the d-men.
Sykora actually used some intelligence to cut hard across the blue-line and took a perfect pass from Elias before deking Quick and sliding it past him.

Right now, after a couple of games on All-star, I feel like my stars can actually skate against their stars - something I didn't think was true in previous versions.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by gopher_guy

Just did HUT in the demo. I got Stamkos and Byfuglien in my pack, the difference between those two on the ice is very striking. Stamkos can FLY, one or two strides and he is seemingly at full speed. On the other hand, Byfuglien is the exact opposite, he is harder to control. Can't turn as well, and it takes more time to get to his top speed. He's strong on the puck, just not as good of a skater as Stamkos. I love that you can tell the difference between players now. 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.

Add a buffet at the end of the rink and Byfuglien will FLY!

[kerosene31]

I am loving the new puck physics.

Puck battles feel natural now and not scripted. On one play I made a terrible pass from the side of my net to a forward in the neutral zone. There's a player on the other team right there to grab it and come in. My forward turns around and manages to get a stick on the puck and it bounces just over the line.

[RoyalBoyle78]

Quote: Originally Posted by Splitter77

my impression of the demo is that it killed my original 60 gb fat ps3. yup. got the ylod while it slowly tried to dl the demo. Now i gotta figure out how to get mlb the show 12 out of the system .

I have a Fat 80gb with a 128gb SSD installed and I had no issue..was even surprised how fast it installed.

[Fiddy]

let me say, you know me and the same old same reviews etc from the past.

i came into this NHL 13 stuff with an open mind bc of the info they released on the game and what not. my mindset was that of, it cant be worse, right?

and i was right. it couldn't be!!

just in general, very impressed.

the AI being a lot better than all the years past combined. cpu playing hockey for the most part and not just skating all over the place starting and stopping. all levels look like they can be fun with the right set of sliders.

the strategies being overhauled and looking good. we can now get teams to play different, awesome!!

the skating is better, the heavy feel and not being able to cut on a dime is great. the transitions from skating forward to backwards are solid and were much needed.

not a fan of the push the puck burst being gone, puck is to glued to the players stick once they get it.

line changes seem to work better..

the goalies movement in general, solid. still some issues but better than in the past.

pass reception actually meaning something now on the hardcore level. finally some bobbled passes. still could use more, but at least its back some what. slider adjustment help this? hope so.

board play seemed to have gotten better.

players look better, dont know how, maybe less bulky or something?

true broadcast camera, glad they added this for everyone that has been calling for it. IMO, needs to be zoomed out a few notches. but solid first effort.

scoring, seem some better variety in the demo. maybe bc of the goalies new limb movement?

but in general scoring wise, same old same here. same breakaway dekes work, same top shelf wrist shots work. i know slider adjustments etc will make some things a bit tougher on d, but still very concerning to me. makes online HUT and versus worthless if same old same works. in a league, with rules, this obviously not an issue. guys miss up their scoring attempts etc.

with the above said on scoring, looks like another year of auto shoot for me vs the cpu. that way i get more variety in scoring. plus, will be fun to actually play the cpu now in a season mode or gm connected bc of the ai overhauled and strats making each team play different.

all in all this be a fun year, looking forward to it after the same old same the past 3 years or so.

kudos to the EA Dev Team..

[Money99]

Good stuff Fiddy!

Regarding the same dekes, top-shelf goals, etc, I really don't have a big problem with that as long as getting into those spots to score those goals is earned.
(But I'm an offline gamer so I don't know how that will be with online guys).

In past games, I would have to rely on some of those 'cheese' goals just to keep things even. With the CPU always appearing to be faster and more talented than my team, I had little choice.
But in the games I played last night, I could actually use my stars to get into prime scoring chances.
I actually jumped out of my chair with the goal I scored with Sykora. It felt organic and earned. I didn't have to worry about a flat-footed, slow dman, turning around and catching me in 1.5 strides.
I'm not sure I could have said the same thing about NHL12.

[jake19ny]

Well I finally was able to play it last night....granted I worked 12 hrs and stopped for a few beers on the way home, but man I was terrible. The new skating is going to take some getting used to. I think overall its much improved and Im looking forward to getting my hands on the full game. My only beef is in the 3 play now games I squeezed in I only saw one penalty called total.....I hope to God we dont have a repeat of last years penalty issues. I also felt board play was virtually eliminated. There was not much in NHL12 to begin with, but the CPU didnt pin me to the boards once and whenever I pinned the CPU to the boards they just brushed me off in mere seconds. I guess the bottom line is if the sliders actually work this year the game will be awesome if they dont, all us happy demo players will be pitching a fit by Halloween

and Realm and Harsh, you both seem like really good guys and you both often make good points so you should just agree to disagree and keep posting away without the battle....