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

[Money99]

Played quite a bit more last night and this morning and while I'm still enjoying it a lot, I'm starting to grow tired with your lazy and passive AI teammates.
I have to do everything in the defensive zone. Wingers just stare at their d-men at the point, and my own dmen just stand in the corner and watch the CPU do whatever it wants.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the plate, the CPU dogs my point-men with extreme prejudice and I have to really work hard downlow in the corners because their wingers come back to help their dmen.
If my teammates played like the CPU it would be SO much better.
I hope sliders can fix it, but they didn't last year. So hopefully that's different this time around.
Not sure I can stomach having another year of playing grab-arse while my teammates stand around picking their noses.

[Flamesfan102]

NHL 13 is such a phenomenal leap over NHL 12. I love the true performance skating and the presentation overhaul. I can't see this game not getting at least one 10/10 review when it launches.

I cannot wait to tryout GM Mode with the new GM Brain and Hockey IQ!

Only 2 1/2 weeks to go which seems so long. What makes it worse is the game is already manufactured and ready to play, it's just waiting to ship from their warehouse... haha

[Spanky]

Played several games of the demo; my opinions pretty much mirror what already has been said.

I played NHL 08, 09 and 10 and really liked the series, but there was little upgrade from one year to the next, so I did not purchase 11 and 12. However, I feel there is a significant enough upgrade from 10 to 13 to justify a purchase.

I enjoy the skating and the fact that it is harder to complete passes (almost everything in 10 seemed to go tape to tape).

I will buy this as long as I can get some type of discount, either right away or a credit for a future purchase through Amazon, which is where I buy most of my games from nowadays. I'll pay $40 to $45 for a game, not $60. Just on principle.

[Vikes1]

Quote: Originally Posted by Flamesfan102

NHL 13 is such a phenomenal leap over NHL 12. I love the true performance skating and the presentation overhaul. I can't see this game not getting at least one 10/10 review when it launches. I cannot wait to tryout GM Mode with the new GM Brain and Hockey IQ! Only 2 1/2 weeks to go which seems so long. What makes it worse is the game is already manufactured and ready to play, it's just waiting to ship from their warehouse... haha

I agree Flames, the leap from '12' to '13' is large...very large.

I must admit, I was taking off guard by just how much different the game is in just one year. I'm just so used to the small upgrades that get pretty much lost in the shuffle after a few weeks or so. Imo...NHL '13' is far from the same ole same ole. And ya, I'm really looking forward to getting a GM mode started. [After some practice]

[bigbob]

My biggest complaints are three things I noticed that are back from last year, even though one of the issues EA said they had taken out completely.

1. Computers still get an extra boost whenever there's a loose puck.

2. Every other hit seems to be over-exaggerated.

3. Players don't reach back for the puck, forcing you to stop and lose all momentum.

[Steven547]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigbob

My biggest complaints are three things I noticed that are back from last year, even though one of the issues EA said they had taken out completely. 1. Computers still get an extra boost whenever there's a loose puck. 2. Every other hit seems to be over-exaggerated. 3. Players don't reach back for the puck, forcing you to stop and lose all momentum.

1: Don't think this will ever be fixed, but I'm hoping the sliders / attributes can adjust for this.

2: Remember, this is a DEMO. I believe the hitting slider is maxed out, so yes, you will get exaggerated hits.

3: Haven't see this too much.


Overall, decent DEMO, but the goalies still have a very weak AI. (Passing to the opposing team, or coming about 15 feet out of his net WHILE the opposing team is next to him...almost getting delay of game penalties again). I'm anxious for the game, but I don't think the goalie AI has been addressed very well, or not at all.

[bigbob]

Quote: Originally Posted by Steven547

1: Don't think this will ever be fixed, but I'm hoping the sliders / attributes can adjust for this. 2: Remember, this is a DEMO. I believe the hitting slider is maxed out, so yes, you will get exaggerated hits.

1. EA said that they removed it for NHL 13, so it should have been fixed.

2. The hits are exactly how they are right now for NHL 12. You barely tap someone and it's like you swung a baseball bat at their head. They flop back like a fish. I'm not saying it's every single hit, but it happens too much.

Fortunately, they fixed the goalie hitting where you could hit a goal and he'd float 5-6 feet in the air at times. Seems like he's more of a brick house now, which is good.

[RealmK]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigbob

My biggest complaints are three things I noticed that are back from last year, even though one of the issues EA said they had taken out completely. 1. Computers still get an extra boost whenever there's a loose puck. 2. Every other hit seems to be over-exaggerated. 3. Players don't reach back for the puck, forcing you to stop and lose all momentum.

1. Wrong, I routinely beat out the AI to loose pucks on SS/HC

2. Hitting assistance is jacked pretty high, lowering hitting sliders in the retail build should tone down some of the crazy checks.

3. If you're talking about reaching back for passes when they're sprinting out of the defensive end they do if you're not mashing the stick forward so much that they're already way beyond the intended pass location.