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

[gopher_guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by mkharsh33

Just played the NHL Moments Live - twice. First time I lost with only a minute left in the SECOND OT (so they do let you keep playing, which is really fun!). I won it the second time rather quickly. (Can this only be played on "pro" level?). Not a complaint necessarily, but the "immersion / celebration factor" was near non-existent. The commentary didn't really have that "WOW - we're going to the Stanley Cup!!!!!!!!!!!!" feel to it. The whole thing felt numb and rushed. I wanted that "jump out of my seat" feeling by winning this game, but it wasn't there. Also, why did the player - goalie interaction get removed? That was a nice feature added last year, but now it appears to be gone. Agree with the sentiments above regarding the hits - way too strong. I can gain the puck with relative ease just by watching my players bump the opponent off the puck. Hopefully slider tweaks will fix this.

I think goalie-player interaction is still there, but I think they toned it down a lot. In the free skate you can bump into the goalie, it's just not as easy to do. I seem to remember a lot of people complained that it was too easy to bump into the goalie.

There were a few times in 12 where my goalie got glitched out of the goal because of incidental contact with a player, leading to an easy goal for the CPU.

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by Joborule

Really like the new skating engine, but kinda bummed how the defensive A.I. is far to passive defensively still though.

I noticed you were playing on All-Star with default settings. Try playing on the hardcore game style. I noticed that aggressiveness is only set at three on the normal style (not sure about default), but is raised to five on hardcore. That might help some.

Quote: Originally Posted by Flamesfan102

The best controller layout setting to use when playing True Broadcast Camera is 'Always Up'. It's the most effective, didn't know if you heard that from the livestream or not.

Yes, I tried always up controls as well. I need to keep playing around with it. It's just a bit much all at once with the new skating and other gameplay elements.

Lots of quick hitters:

Did anyone else notice your player will stand up in at "at ease" animation if you don't move? I went behind the goal to set up a controlled breakout and my guy stood up straight with one hand on the stick while I waited for my teammates to circle back.

Looks like there are some new animations for board pinning and going for the poke after the pin isn't nearly as effective (user or CPU). I was able to grind it out in the corners & behind the net with the Kings bigger forwards.

I think it was our good friend Lionel Hutz who said one-timers are really hard to set up, perhaps even artificially so. I had a few in tight after some cycling that the shooter seemed to mishandle or take a second to settle, even on what looked to be a good pass. Also notice a lot of them going wide from farther out. I need to play a lot more before I can say it's too hard, but I'd much rather be closer to that end of spectrum than have anything resembling the "rocket passing" and reception ease of NHL12, especially in tight around the net.

I like what I see thus far in terms of goal distribution (not a big fan of "goal variety"). I see clean shots from scoring areas, shots through traffic, a few deflections, and some rebounds. Some were even combinations of two or three of these; my favorite goal was a point shot into a net battle which hit the attacker then rebounded from the goalie's pad to the defender's skate before the attacker scooped it up and put it into a fairly open net. It looked so much like something from a real, especially from the net cam.

Along those lines, the puck seems more loose around the goal, not being sucked to a defender or the goalie. Also, since the goalies are more aggressive and responsive to the play in front of them, they'll sometimes be out of position after the initial shot. This helps with those dirty, gritty rebound goals I love to see.

Finally, I love the new skating engine. Not sure if anyone else has mentioned that yet.

[kicker]

The game is nicer all around but.....

I see a huge problem in this game and hope it's corrected with a tuner. You can basically skate backwards as fast or faster as you skate forward and the agility while skating backwards is ridiculous.

This will be a huge glitch as you can basically skate backwards up the ice while defenders either bounce off or simply fail to tip the puck off the skater.

Anyone playing the demo will see what im talking about right away. It doesnt matter what difficulty level you are playing, it is very easy to skate around backwards into the teeth of the goalie and fire a shot.

I hope the development team realizes this.

[Methlab]

This may be a dumb question but I only got to play the demo for a few minutes. I like the default controls but hate passing with the triggers. It sucks. Can you use the buttons and not have to switch to the 94 setup? I dont remember having an issue with the new controls in the 09 version (the last one I played). Maybe it's just been a while.

[mkharsh33]

I saw a cool animation today where Kovalchuk whiffed at the puck BUT very quickly was able to get a quick shot on net. It looked very real.

Agree with QB above regarding board play. In 12 and 11, you could EASILY steal the puck away while pinning a guy to the boards - near automatic. This year they've made it balanced, and the weight of the players seems to really matter, along with the ability to handle the puck.

I got around 10 more game periods in today, and must say, the more I play it the more this looks like EA's best work ever for the NHL title. I had my concerns about speed bursts from great players, but the puck control isn't overly done once they get the puck and solid defenders seem to be in good recovery position, along with better goalie AI (in which a video was posted here a few weeks ago on their smarter play with regard to player - puck instincts).

I've been critical of this title, but with some slider tweaks, I think this game has a 9.0 + rating given to it, and rightly so. I believe in past years this game was overhyped in pre-release magazine / blog ratings. It wasn't until a LOT of people started playing it that the holes in the game became obvious.

I only wish I had MORE teams to play with.

[Panicshade]

They could have at least had 4 teams like the Madden demo.

Maybe next season for one of their many vote campaigns like they do with the covers they can ask people what teams they want to see in the demo.

[Segagendude]

This will be quick, as I was only able to squeeze in one game before a power outage.....(PS3, defaults, no changes) As an aside, I skipped 12:

Graphics 8/10. Not bad. Lighting really makes a difference. I'm not noticing blurries or jaggies as other PS3 users are reporting. Everything just looks great, IMO....

Presentation8/10. Commentary is really stale, but the addition of real time and the subtraction of the same cutscenes is refreshing. Dynamic attendance "seems" to be in; my third period started with the Devils down 5-0, and I noticed alot of empty seats. BUT, HUT users are reporting empty arenas, so is it a bug or what? I surely hope not....would be awesome if home arenas empty if it's a blowout for the home teams... Crowd noise is great, as always. EAC seems to do this area well, and it continues.

Gameplay9/10 Much, much better. I couldn't score if I was at a women's prison holding a fistful of pardons. Tough, tough defense by the Kings. What worked in NHL 11 definitely doesn't work here. I'm soo used to skating in, turning and firing for a goal, that this will take alot of getting used to. I have confidence our slider gurus will come up with the magic formula as they have in the past.

Animations10/10 Wow. What an improvement! The skating is so much better and realistic looking! No longer is it "Disney on Ice". Very nice to see "almost" what I see on NHL Network. Only thing I really miss is the group hug after a score. Like was mentioned earlier, the teammates just kinda skate to the bench as if they're in a line change rather than celebrate. Goalie animations are also much better. I've yet to see that twisting turning stuff I see alot in 11. Quick made a nice save that was, well quick.........gloved it high. Looked damn real, IMO!

Overall, feels like a hell of an improvement. Really seems like a first day buy to me. Thank you EAC!

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by kicker

I see a huge problem in this game and hope it's corrected with a tuner. You can basically skate backwards as fast or faster as you skate forward and the agility while skating backwards is ridiculous.

I haven't gone out of my way to attempt backskating all over the CPU, so I can't speak to how easy it is. However, I'm leaning towards the need for the speed/agility of backskating, and perhaps the speed of transition, to be reduced when in possession of the puck. I'm not sure about without the puck, as that seems like it might be better balanced. But I need to spend more time with the game before declaring that anything needs to be tuned.