NHL 12 News Post

NHL 12 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here (360, PS3)

06:52 AM - August 23, 2011 by Steve_OS

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NHL 12 demo is available now, please play a few games and post your impressions here. The demo weighs in at 1.34 GB. Available now for 360, later this afternoon for PS3.

UPDATE: PS3 demo is available now.

What's included in the demo? Check out the NHL 12 demo announcement blog.

Game: NHL 12Reader Score: 7.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 26 - View All

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Member Comments

# 221 Bosborne @ 08/24/11 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBeaule04


	Played more games last night and have to say that overall, I like the game more than at any time in NHL 11, especially playing locked as the goalie. There's a bit of disappointment on the presentation side I have to say. What's the point of showing the the crowd after a goal if it's only to show 2-3 idiots going forward, backward, forward with their upper body? After that, you see the goalie skating up-close and then boom, back to replay. Just giving a 5 guys together congratulating each other after a goal would be just perfect, you don't need to push it up to the moon to get a celebrations that's just fine. Even Blade of Steel on the Nintendo had figure it out with one guy pumping fist in the middle with the other 4 guys tapping the ice with their stick. On a real positive note, I have to say that the AI D is finally playing almost the way it should when you play locked as the G. No more funny pinning and skating backward until getting pressure. I don't know if it's the case, but seems like Johnny Boychuk has the "pinching type" trait since he's pretty agressive on forwards leaving the zone. Chara is a monster while Kaberle was my most painful D to watch in front of the net. Also seems like the CPU is shooting more. On 5 minutes period, I had an average of 7 shots. CPU is passing the puck well in the offensive zone. Playing the Sedin as a goalie wasn't easy at all, while Burrows net presence was a pain in the a..! So far so good. I guess I will have the exact state of the game when we see online play with experts exploiting all weakness of the AI and showing us how bad the game can be when those experts are playing it.

goalie sounds fun, im going to try it tonight

# 222 Qb @ 08/24/11 10:36 AM

After playing the demo for two hours last night followed by two hours of NHL11 EASHL play, I take back what I said about the skating in the demo. I still think it could be tweaked -- a little less acceleration & agility -- but it does seem improved both in form & function.

In my first 20 minutes of play yesterday morning, I noticed some of the new animations, but I also saw the awkward "hovering" moment when a player turns around from a standstill. However, after more time with the demo it seems that will be less frequent this year. Plus, I play with auto-backskate off and tend to over-use vision control, which can lead to some awkward moments due to user error more than anything else.

Overall, especially compared to NHL11, the skating looks much better and I think it feels somewhat better as well. Looking forward to playing with the speed/acceleration sliders a bit with the retail. It feels a bit fast to me when playing on the broadcast camera (my offline preference), but has a fairly nice pace using an up & down view. Or maybe I'm crazy.

One thing that's bothering me after more time are some of the rebounds. I feel some are coming off the goalie with too much force, particularly from straight-on shots. A lot of shots die when they hit a goalie IRL due to the amount of padding they wear, especially if it's above the waist. I suspect that's a hard thing to replicate without making the rebounds too dead overall.

I don't know... it's hard to describe because I see many good moments with the puck physics and live goalie improvements -- no more puck on the back, yay! -- but I think the goalie needs to absorb more of the force of the shot when he's squared up to it.

# 223 born_bad @ 08/24/11 10:54 AM

I was pretty excited to play the demo. I fired it up and saw that the menus looked the exact same as last year and was thinking, OK, no big deal. It would be nice if it looked like a new game, but the menus work fine, so no big deal.Then, the game starts and all the pre-game stuff (showing of the lines, players, etc.) also looks the exact same as last year. Hmm… this is the new demo, right?

The game starts up and we’re down on the ice. That was nice there was hardly any load time. This is a pretty short intro and looks pretty much just like last year’s opening cut scene with the guys coming to the bench. This face-off looks exactly like last year’s, too. No new angles, cut scenes? That’s a little disappointing.

Then, I play 2 full periods and it felt like I was playing an improved NHL 08 – 11. The game just looks and feels the same for too many years now. The commentary, the cut scenes, the camera angles, the replays, etc. It’s all rehashed from year to year and it really has grown pretty stale to me. Yes, there are some nice improvements with gameplay. To be honest, though, because everything else is virtually unchanged, it feels to me like if a PC version of NHL 11 had been modded a bit for some improvements and tweaks.

I really wish there was something there for me to want to pay $60 for this year, but it looks like I’ll be skipping this year and sticking with my 2-year cycle for sports games. I was really looking forward to having an NHL game where the Bruins were the defending champs, but I feel like I might as well just stick with and continue playing NHL 11.

I wish the devs had the time and resources to actually make this look and feel like a new game year to year, but apparently they don’t.

# 224 cardswin2006 @ 08/24/11 10:54 AM

Played one game last night. I only played NHL 11 a couple times at my brother-in-law's place, but I own NHL 10. Overall I like the how the defense seems tighter and doesn't give up easy access to the goal anymore.

One thing that did concern me tough: The only goal of the game (in OT) happened when one of the Sedin sisters pushed my goalie out from his crease while there was a slapshot from the point, destroying the angle and leaving the net basically wide open. It certainly wasn't done on purpose (and without replay it's tough to go back and break down exactly what transpired), but this really concerns me as it could be really exploited in online or even human vs CPU games (for those with little self-control).

It is definitely a nice leap from NHL 10 and I'll give it some more tries over the next few days to decide if it's worth $60 to me or not.

# 225 tmac55 @ 08/24/11 10:55 AM

At first glance, I was like "really.. this feels like games gone by"; however, after spending more time with the demo last night, I can honestly say that this demo is impressive. The two things that stand out for me is skating physics and AI defense. The AI is so smart this season and to me it adds a whole level of enjoyment to the game.

We shall see after playing some more games, but for now I am pretty happy with the demo. Nothing new to see; however, it feels like they improved on past faults.

# 226 Section_25 @ 08/24/11 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by born_bad


	I was pretty excited to play the demo. I fired it up and saw that the menus looked the exact same as last year and was thinking, OK, no big deal. It would be nice if it looked like a new game, but the menus work fine, so no big deal.Then, the game starts and all the pre-game stuff (showing of the lines, players, etc.) also looks the exact same as last year. Hmm� this is the new demo, right? The game starts up and we�re down on the ice. That was nice there was hardly any load time. This is a pretty short intro and looks pretty much just like last year�s opening cut scene with the guys coming to the bench. This face-off looks exactly like last year�s, too. No new angles, cut scenes? That�s a little disappointing. Then, I play 2 full periods and it felt like I was playing an improved NHL 08 � 11. The game just looks and feels the same for too many years now. The commentary, the cut scenes, the camera angles, the replays, etc. It�s all rehashed from year to year and it really has grown pretty stale to me. Yes, there are some nice improvements with gameplay. To be honest, though, because everything else is virtually unchanged, it feels to me like if a PC version of NHL 11 had been modded a bit for some improvements and tweaks. I really wish there was something there for me to want to pay $60 for this year, but it looks like I�ll be skipping this year and sticking with my 2-year cycle for sports games. I was really looking forward to having an NHL game where the Bruins were the defending champs, but I feel like I might as well just stick with and continue playing NHL 11. I wish the devs had the time and resources to actually make this look and feel like a new game year to year, but apparently they don�t.

This is pretty much exactly how I feel about it also. I do like some of the gameplay tweeks this year but I'm hoping the retail version has a little more to offer as far as presentation.

I do plan on buying it eventually, but I will be looking for it on sale somewhere. I just can't see paying full purchase price for it.

I sure wish I would have taken advantage of that $20 off Amazon pre-order deal when I had the chance.

# 227 chrisg19 @ 08/24/11 11:12 AM

Was playing a BAP game, and simmed to my next shift. So live play comes back on, and Krejci who I am replacing, skates to the bench, and just stands there. He won't get off the ice, and I can't get on. I guess he was pissed I took his first line spot or something, but play went on for over a minute, before a whistle let me out.

Really liking the game so far. The by product of not releasing many game play videos is that my expectations were low for this years game, and now I am pretty psyched with what I have seen. Kind of like "anti-hyping" a game.

# 228 blinkfan77 @ 08/24/11 11:24 AM

Loving the demo, but hating the hitting. It's just too much. Way too much. Wayyyyy too much. I'm playing on All-Star too. I hate the fact that a good % of collisions result in both players going down to the ice, often times when the guy delivering the hit shouldn't be in a situation where he falls with the other guy.

I hope to god a slider will fix this.

Still, I'm LOVING the new enhanced skating. I like how you see players with a "jump" to their beginning strides. There are all kinds of subtle animations and tweaks that create a lot more real looking game.

Edit- just seeing now that the Hitting Power slider is only at about 75%. OUCH!

# 229 FBeaule04 @ 08/24/11 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by born_bad


	I wish the devs had the time and resources to actually make this look and feel like a new game year to year, but apparently they don’t.

I completely disagree with that statement for one reason. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Most of the criticism about NHL 11 wasn't the look when game is on, but the game itself. It's also everything around the game, the lack of presentation, the same menus, the exact same intro and cut scenes.

If EA would have come on with a game that feel brand new, most people would have scream like crazy that again, EA is working on things that they shouldn't and not give enough time on thing we're asking for years. AI was a problem in NHL 11 and they work on that. Goalies animations and reactions was a problem, they work on that.

I understand people that want a brand new game each year, but like in real life, if my wife is having lapses on various aspect of our couple life, I don't want her to get a new hair cut, a new set of boobs and some new shoes! I want her to work on what's not right and fix it!

The only place we're I'll agree EA is doing a lazy job is over the presentation, but the way the game play, why change it all if for 2 years, it's not been what really bugs people playing the game?

Just my two cents.

# 230 blinkfan77 @ 08/24/11 11:41 AM

What pisses me off is that the Bruins won the damn Stanley Cup and EA didn't see fit to at least give ONE new player a real face?

I'm sitting here seeing Boychuk, Seidenberg, MARCHAND (really EA? You couldn't give one of the best rookies and a huge impact player on our team a face?), Thornton, McQuaid, Peverley, Kelly, Campbell alllll have fake faces. I understand 4th line guys and bottom pairing D-men, but there's no excuse at all to leave Marchand, Peverley and Seidenberg should have fake faces.

I'd even go one step further and say that if they made the effort to make a badass looking Shawn Thornton it would add a TON to the game for me. Seeing authentic faces adds a HUGE amount of realism to me.

It's a shame it's not more important to the designers. And trust me, I understand it's a 9 month cycle and they can only do so much, but still. If you can't improve on ONE face for the Stanley Cup champs, that's unacceptable.

# 231 Russo @ 08/24/11 11:50 AM

Might as well call this NHL 11.5. After playing for 5 minutes, I thought to myself 'Is this NHL 11?' Ya, dont fix whats not broken, but why 60$ for updated rosters and new 'collision' system which BTW they really dropped the ball on. The hits are ********. Lucic 360'ing in the air from a little shove, bodies are flying everywhere, really unreal. I like the new puck physics, the puck is more fluid and more unpredicatable. Goalie collision are unoticeable as should be but whats with the AIRPORT type arena announcer? What gate do I board at?

prob buy it, but this shows it was last ditch effort by EA before new generation consoles, LIKE WHERE'S ONLINE FRANCHISE?

# 232 FBeaule04 @ 08/24/11 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinkfan77


	What pisses me off is that the Bruins won the damn Stanley Cup and EA didn't see fit to at least give ONE new player a real face? I'm sitting here seeing Boychuk, Seidenberg, MARCHAND (really EA? You couldn't give one of the best rookies and a huge impact player on our team a face?), Thornton, McQuaid, Peverley, Kelly, Campbell alllll have fake faces. I understand 4th line guys and bottom pairing D-men, but there's no excuse at all to leave Marchand, Peverley and Seidenberg should have fake faces. I'd even go one step further and say that if they made the effort to make a badass looking Shawn Thornton it would add a TON to the game for me. Seeing authentic faces adds a HUGE amount of realism to me. It's a shame it's not more important to the designers. And trust me, I understand it's a 9 month cycle and they can only do so much, but still. If you can't improve on ONE face for the Stanley Cup champs, that's unacceptable.

It's just a demo, give them a break! If that's the case when the retail goes on the market, then, feel free to bash them, because it will be deserve.

The NHL Dev. Team, like I stated in one messages earlier in the month, is just like Alexandre Daigle. They could, but for some reasons, there's a lack of effort that made us think they only do it for the money, not the love of producing a sports game that is as detailed we expect it.

You know, they had the CHL last year, and I can't count the numbers of juniors teams uni's that weren't correct. Montreal Juniors never, ever, ever, wear black pants, not even when they wore the black uni's. They always wore the burgundy pants. EA's came out with the Juniors with the black pants!

EA should know pretty well that perception is stronger than reality. And all these little misses makes us perceive the NHL Dev. Team as a lazy bunch overall.

# 233 tyler289 @ 08/24/11 11:55 AM

Played a couple games on Superstar/Hardcore and it was challenging and an improvement, but honestly, the game still feels like NHL 10.5.

There are few real faces in the game, no momentum or physics, and the commentary, goaltender animations and honestly most of the game is about 3 years old.

Felt the exact same. That's fine in MLB the Show, which plays like real baseball.

This plays nothing like real hockey, nor does it look like it. The NHL series has gone from trying to be authenic and realistic to catering to the online EASHL crowd, which doesn't really care about commentary, presentation (literally nothing looks improved here. Honestly, it got WORSE with their new after-goal sequence. Terrible. Absolutely terrible.), authenticity, BAGM or any of that stuff.

I'm as big of an NHL fan as they come, but I wouldn't have gotten this game unless Amazon offered the free shipping and $20 credit.

EA NHL has taken a significant step back over the last two years. IIt used to be one of the best sports games out there. Now it's falling in line with other mediocre EA Sports products. Failing to have strict attention to detail. They throw in new features like "new goaltender desperation saves" but then it turns out it's the same exact terrible animation from 3 years ago. And goalie fights? THAT's a big feature?

Very disappointed. The days when their "Sports game of the year" graphic actually meant something are long, long, long gone.

I hope the retail is much better, but I doubt it will have the things I really want fixed. But I can play with 10 legends and HUT! Great...

# 234 FBeaule04 @ 08/24/11 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russo


	Might as well call this NHL 11.5. After playing for 5 minutes, I thought to myself 'Is this NHL 11?' Ya, dont fix whats not broken, but why 60$ for updated rosters and new 'collision' system which BTW they really dropped the ball on. The hits are ********. Lucic 360'ing in the air from a little shove, bodies are flying everywhere, really unreal. I like the new puck physics, the puck is more fluid and more unpredicatable. Goalie collision are unoticeable as should be but whats with the AIRPORT type arena announcer? What gate do I board at? prob buy it, but this shows it was last ditch effort by EA before new generation consoles, LIKE WHERE'S ONLINE FRANCHISE?

That's funny. You ask why 60$ for a roster update and new collision system, but state few lines after that that you'll probably buy it.

You answered yourself right there. Because people who don't like the effort are buying the product. That's why they ask for 60$ for the game, 25$ for the Season pass and some more for DLC.

I agree, there's many times EA shows us they are lazy, but for myself, I've been so pissed off about the lack of intelligence in their definition of AI that I'm happy with this demo effort.

As nice and clean a game can be, if the AI isn't playing like it should be, the game is garbage. If the AI was the same in 12 than 11, I wouldn't have buy it because that's the only answer to make a company understand your point.

# 235 Qb @ 08/24/11 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyler289


	I hope the retail is much better, but I doubt it will have the things I really want fixed. But I can play with 10 legends and HUT! Great...

Sorry to be the one to tell you, but it's only nine legends.

# 236 FBeaule04 @ 08/24/11 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redskins_Hokies


	I am happy broken glass is very rare

I have to agree, I was really hoping it won't be like broken stick (wich I saw less in 4-5 games last night than in 1 game of NHL 11 online). I only saw it once and that was a pretty hard hit in the corner from Lucic to Bieksa. I hope it stays that way.

# 237 bwiggy33 @ 08/24/11 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBeaule04


	I completely disagree with that statement for one reason. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Most of the criticism about NHL 11 wasn't the look when game is on, but the game itself. It's also everything around the game, the lack of presentation, the same menus, the exact same intro and cut scenes. If EA would have come on with a game that feel brand new, most people would have scream like crazy that again, EA is working on things that they shouldn't and not give enough time on thing we're asking for years. AI was a problem in NHL 11 and they work on that. Goalies animations and reactions was a problem, they work on that. I understand people that want a brand new game each year, but like in real life, if my wife is having lapses on various aspect of our couple life, I don't want her to get a new hair cut, a new set of boobs and some new shoes! I want her to work on what's not right and fix it! The only place we're I'll agree EA is doing a lazy job is over the presentation, but the way the game play, why change it all if for 2 years, it's not been what really bugs people playing the game? Just my two cents.

See I disagree with that. They have areas with the AI that need serious improvement. There is no feeling that one team is better than another because of a certain style they play. There is just zero strategy that goes into the game. You can score the same way pretty much everytime. Of course there are tip ins and weird rebound goals, but the majority of the time the same goals are scored because you don't have to play differently in order to beat a team. It totally decreases the playing time of the game. Why should every team allow you to enter the zone easily everytime (hardcore Superstar even)? That just should not happen. I've used this example before. The Isles probably would collapse into the defensive zone because they aren't very good defensively. The Red Wings on the other hand would not. They are known for their strong neutral zone play which denys the opposition from just skating into the zone at will. There has to be strategy and adaption that needs to take place otherwise this game will be the same year in and year out. IMO that's how it's been since NHL 08. 07 was fresh because of the controls and next gen graphics but now it's the same each year because they don't change the real problems in the game.

I really think they are too scared to fix the things that hamper the game. Mostly everyone buys the game anyway so whats the point for them taking a major risk. The part I mentioned above along with hyperspeed gliding goaltending just bring this game down for me. I'm a goalie myself and seeing how the goalies move and react just flat out kills me. Will I buy this game, most likely because it's the only hockey option and I love the sport. I just think that they still have a little ways to go to make every game different instead of the same thing over and over.

Edit: On another note, no I don't want change for the sake of change. I would love to have barely any change at all. That is why I absolutely love The Show. Sure that game has its problems, but not enough to not make me play a full 162 game season every year. Every game is different because each team plays like their real life counterpart. They pick up on how you play so you have to change your strategy up. NHL is not in this category yet. The only thing I want to accomplish is to play a full 82 game season, but for me that isn't possible with the gameplay that they have right now.

# 238 shogunofharlem3 @ 08/24/11 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBeaule04


	I have to agree, I was really hoping it won't be like broken stick (wich I saw less in 4-5 games last night than in 1 game of NHL 11 online). I only saw it once and that was a pretty hard hit in the corner from Lucic to Bieksa. I hope it stays that way.

It's a double edged sword. If we want "sim" broken sticks should happen a lot! The new sticks the NHL players use snap all the time.

But, breaking your stick and playing a videogame against other people, well, that can get old I guess.

# 239 Pezell04x @ 08/24/11 12:32 PM

Yikes. What a mess we have here.

So I played about 4 games of the demo and I hate it. Down right hate the thing, which pains me because I've been a hardcore EASHL player since it was debuted in the NHL series and have played every EA NHL game since NHLPA '93.

The game feels like NHL 11.5 to me.

The goalies still have issues covering the puck. The faceoff system is the same from NHL 11 and it wasn't great in NHL 11 to begin with. The "physics" engine that EA keeps toting isn't anything special. For a game that has "physics" in it, the puck and players still do stupid things.

For some reason, the computer gets faster when going to loose pucks in the corner. I don't understand how I'm beating Zdeno Chara into the corner for a puck as Daniel Sedin and he catches me. Makes no sense.

Anyways, it really displeases me to pre-order NHL 12 from Amazon, cancel it, pre-order it again because my EASHL group pre-ordered it and then cancel it again after playing the demo. I'm sure it'll still sell well because much like Madden people "need their sports game" but I can't do it this year. Not at $60 a whack and not when good games like Batman: Arkham City and Gears of War 3 are coming out.

I traded in NHL 11 (for $18 bucks through Amazon) with the hope of putting the gift card amount towards NHL 12, but no thanks. No after this demo. What did the development team spend their time on?

# 240 Fiddy @ 08/24/11 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkharsh33


	played about 10 periods - all-star and hard core. scored one goal total...but that's beside the point. it has some good to it, no doubt. but i hate to say this, it just feels like the same game repackaged with a few tweaks. sorry, but the commentary needs a complete overhaul. also, has anyone noticed the LACK of enthusiasm when a goal is scored?? No "jump out of your seat" type of excitement. i love hockey, so i'll probably end up buying this game because i'm a sucker for sports games. but i expected to be more overwhelmed, and with the disconnectedness of the commentary (and same old stuff) it just doesn't feel all that fun... kinda like what NHL 11 would have felt like with another patch and tuner...

im glad you said it, bc if i did, i would have been hammered for saying EA doesnt care about the product (even though i didnt actually say it, they assume) etc and that its basically the same game we have been playing for years..

again, while i like the demo, has a small different feel to it.. cant wait to see what the full game offers.. but i figure after a few weeks, it will feel the same as past few years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splitter77


	i really wish ea would put in a slider that would immediate blow the whistle when a goalie covers the puck or makes a glove save. I mean like save. whistle. right away. Not only would it stop myself and the CPU from playing the puck with a goalie and give up a goal. But it would also be more realistic as well.

EA stated before, they thought about that, but they want people to keep the play moving etc. thats for the casual fans etc, maybe an option for that for us hardcore guys? bc even with slider at 0, whistle doesnt come fast enough IMO..

funny reading through all these, while most are some what pleased in general, seems like a lot of casual guys dont like it, bc it feels to similar to the previous games, 10 and 11..

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