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

[Dispatch]

Quote: Originally Posted by SinisterAlex

I've literally hit the same player against the boards three times and all three times they've maintained control. It's beginning to piss me off.

What worked for me was more or less letting off the left stick and gliding, then checking the player. When I was skating along and would go to hit someone nothing was really happening. Hip checks are also your friend in this game I've discovered.

[Block M]

You can easily see the difference in skating and the way goalies play. Everything looks cleaner and better graphics wise as well.

BUT did not even take three tries with the demo before I got the freeze where the camera pans down the ice to the other end and locks up.

I have season ticket so I'll be playing NHL 13 a lot for three days, I really need to see different teams play with different styles or I'll just stick with 12.

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by MizzouRah

I can score on Phoenix pretty much each time I play the moments thing. It's tough playing as either LA or NJ and trying to score on those two great goalies in the play now mode.

The thing I've notice about Brodeur in the demo at least compared to Quick is he gives up rebounds, Quick swallows everything up if he can. It's going to be tough playing defense as Boston this year with how much looser the puck is in the crease and how looser overall it is around tenders. It's great that the suction in regards to goalie/puck interaction is pretty much not there anymore.

I ended up with Rask in net the last time I tried hut, nice to see that he's still really solid even though he's not rated super high.

[SinisterAlex]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dispatch

What worked for me was more or less letting off the left stick and gliding, then checking the player. When I was skating along and would go to hit someone nothing was really happening. Hip checks are also your friend in this game I've discovered.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a try! I've had so many goals allowed just because of stuff like this.

[JamieLeeWV]

Why no Brodeur scorpion save ;|?

Seriously though Brodeur has a unique style and it should be replicated. Haven't come across Marty giving up rebounds and quick not in the time I have had. Or is that just me?

[DJ]

I finally had the chance to get in 15 minutes with this demo (downloaded for both, but have only played the PS3 so far), so keep that in mind as I roll into the impressions:

-I really liked the feel of the new skating engine. The players have more weight to them, which was much-needed. It'll take a few games to un-learn some bad habits I've developed the past several years.

-CPU dumped the puck in several times (this was All-Star/Hardcore) which was a welcomed sight.

-The dumping of the puck was due to my players really playing tight to the blue line, so NJ really couldn't carry the puck into the offensive zone.

-It seems easier to actually set up shop behind the goal and look for cutters in front of the net.

-AI teammates seem to move around more to get themselves free in the offensive zone instead of just staying in one spot.

-The real-time presentation post-whistle is great; those old cut-scenes were past worn out.

-The lighting is impressive and it does indeed appear that the arenas have unique touches.

-Passing was still too accurate for my tastes, but I know I can fix that with sliders.

-Didn't see any penalties, but again, only played a couple of periods.

I'll close with this: the demos for the last 2 NHL games (11 and 12) really didn't sell me on the game and looking back, I probably could've just rolled with NHL 10 for those years and would've been content. The NHL 13 demo gives you a feel that indeed there have been significant changes to how you play the game, and how the AI will play the game. As an offline gamer, that is key to me. We'll see if the team strategies really work once we get the retail, but I have no reason to think otherwise, as I've seen the strategies first-hand with the few teams we have access to in the demo.

[meep3162]

Quote: Originally Posted by Qb

I noticed this last night and I think it extends to even wristing a loose puck. I like to one-time wrist the puck around the boards with my D if there is a heavy forecheck. I suspect it's got something to do with L-trigger being dedicated to pivoting. In the past we usually had to hold down L-trigger (then 'vision control') to shoot a loose puck.

EXACTLY. I do the same thing, it's a huge part of my game, so I was kind of annoyed to see it gone, it's also very unrealistic. Maybe it's just been allocated to a different button or something??

[leger433]

I've probably played about 10 "games" (3 periods) worth on the demo and overall I am quite impressed. I just had a really cool play with a give and go 2-1 where a trailing player cross-checked the forward into the net as he was receiving the second pass. The puck went off his skate/shin pad and in the net before knocking the net off the moorings. The play was reviewed to determine if a kicking motion was called or not and possibly if the puck went in before the net came off. The commentary was focusing on a kicking motion. The play was upheld with a good goal as it should. Pretty cool play, review, and correct call.

Pros:
-skating engine: much needed improvement and brings a new level of realism to the game.
-active sticks: this makes playing defense and blocking the lanes a legitimate tactic as compared to taking the body 100% of the time as I used to. Major improvement IMO.
-Forechecking: seems to work much better with all the changes
-Goalie anticipation: cross crease is no longer goes in 100% of the time if executed properly. Much better at reading the play.

Cons:
-AI: still stands around a lot and doesn't help out in all situations. It appears to be improved but could be much better.
-Goalie: Overall the goalies seem to be better but the reaction time is way to fast. In one game I had a double deflection on a 90+ MPH slapshot from the point and the goalie reacted to both. No way that is realistic. Hopefully this can be tuned out (e.g. lower reaction time).
-Quirky animation/physics: On a few occasions I had some players bounce of of checks like the didn't happen when I head them really lined up well and hit solidly. In addition, some odd warping/sliding across the ice with some contact. It's infrequent but kind of odd. Hopefully it's fixed in the full version.
-Slapping the puck: horrible control layout for this one. Hopefully I get used to it. At the moment I cannot pull it off consistently.