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

NHL 12 Videos

Member Comments

# 281 CCPiper @ 08/24/11 06:14 PM

Here are some things that I noticed:

Pros:

- Love how much better skating looks/feels.

- As mentioned before, puck physics are WAY better.

- Love that the puck is live on slapshots, because now it's much harder to pull off slappers in a crowd. It's also a bit harder to slap it whenever you're going sideways and then the player turns his body like in NHL 11, 10, so on.

- Goalies seem to react better on longer shots.

- D-men try to force people outside.

- Checking is way more realistic and feels way more natural than NHL 11.

- Goalies are WAAAAYYYYY less predictable on breakaways, which is a big game changer to me.

- Love the feel of the live goalies. I got a goaltender interference penalty called against me that negated a goal.

- Helmets come off at a realistic rate it seems.

- Still haven't seen the glass break, lol.

- Presentation is improved a bit.

- Haven't seen goalies do any really questionable/stupid things yet.

- Thomas plays like Thomas.

Cons:

- For one, some people like that they still included the sounds on replays, but I don't like how it was implemented. First off, I think that the sounds should ONLY occur on replays that are in real-time, not on replays in slow-mo. Also, on replays where they use the sound effects, they have to use the crowd noise that happened DURING the play that they're showing for it to sound realistic.

- It's still too easy to pass it cross crease, and it's still too easy to get a perfect shot off of a cross crease pass as well.

- Deking is still way too easy. They need to make the puck live on dekes like they made the puck live on slapshots. This is what would make the deking realistic. As of right now, the puck is glued to your stick movements.

- It's still way too easy to get full power on wrist shots if your momentum is going the other direction.

- Had a goalie fight in my first game/period. Should be much harder to initiate, in my opinion.

# 282 Ninjoid @ 08/24/11 06:17 PM

From a cpu v cpu point of view it's disappointing to see that there are still no cpu initiated fights and as yet I've yet to see a penalty called.

Granted we can't change any of the sliders settings but so far disappointing.

# 283 savoie2006 @ 08/24/11 06:33 PM

Did anyone else notice the two new options in the controls? They have Manual or Auto human Goalie coverups and Goalie Sweeps on or off. They are under the Autoskate Backwards option.

# 284 Section_25 @ 08/24/11 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	It's the nature of yearly cycles and having new "modes" to appeal to the casuals who as much as we here hate to admit it? Those guys make up most of the sales. Believe me, I'd kill for the presentation to get a major lift, and not even see modes like legends or HuT suck up precious development time. But that's the reality of the industry. I'll say it right now as it came up in a conversation I was having with OBG on the phone yesterday and we both agreed, if NHL13 doesn't majority overhaul presentation and get it to the level we all think it should be at this point to go along with the gameplay, I'm sticking to 12 next year and voting with my wallet.

I understand and agree with this.

If you are coming from NHL 09 or maybe even 10, NHL 12 is definitely worth the full purchase price, but if you are coming from 11, NHL 12 (judging from the demo to me) seems so similar that it almost makes it not worth it.

That's the way I feel anyway, but my love for this sport/game usually ends up with me paying more than I think I should have to just for the few upgrades the next years game offers. Almost makes me feel like I'm being ripped off if I end up paying full price which I will probably do if I can't find it cheaper soon after release. Maybe my lack of will power is a part of the problem..

LOL

I'm not trying to bash EA as I do like a lot of their games.

It's a tough situation between the dedicated fans who buy the game each year and the game developers actually. As it has been said and as unfortunate as it may be the dollars will dictate the attention this game gets and direction that it goes.

# 285 mazinkaiser @ 08/24/11 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCPiper


	- Deking is still way too easy. They need to make the puck live on dekes like they made the puck live on slapshots. This is what would make the deking realistic. As of right now, the puck is glued to your stick movements.

This is probably the biggest thing that needs to get fixed. It's so unrealistic to see the puck stuck to the stick while deking and especially while deking in traffic.

# 286 TheDutchDad @ 08/24/11 06:58 PM

For you UT fans, did they really raise the salary cap to 30k, or is it just raised that high for the demo?

# 287 Vikes1 @ 08/24/11 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerosene31


	EA would never put in a true trap. That would drive all but the most hardcore fans away. The funny thing about realism is that people don't always really want it. I've run across a few EASHL teams that really do it well and it was really tough.

No truer words have been spoken.

I don't think there's much question that the people that just want to pickup the game and play, prefer the gameplay as is. The up and down...back and forth. And would most likely be very put off, if it was a struggle just to get a good scoring chance. [Ie, realism] And I certainly don't blame EA Canada for programming the game to play like this outta the box, vs the AI.

But dang it...I sure wish there was a place in the game vs the AI, that was reserved for those that do prefer a more realistic gaming experience. I just wish if you choose "hardcore"...that's what ya got.

# 288 kerosene31 @ 08/24/11 08:18 PM

I just played a bunch of be a pro games (periods) allstar difficulty with the Bruins (it feels weird to take the #1 center away from Sedin)

BAP offline is going to be tons of fun:

-Battles in front of the net are so much better. The D will fight you off a lot more when you are in there. Just getting there is harder, especially if you want to be on the outer edges of the crease looking for garbage or cross crease passes.

-The deking is so much better! I got a break with my BAP and I tried the old money inside out deke and couldn't pull it off fast enough and fired it into the goalie's jersey.

-Skipping to your next shift is great. We're going to be able to get quite a few games in with less time. No more watching 3/4 of a period when you are on the 4th line.

-Leveling up my player offline should be more fun. Early on you are going to have to work for your points (I think the longer progression will work well).

On the other hand, I'm worried about online play:
-Someone is going to find a way to glitch the goalie bump
-With player separation being better (at least in certain attributes), I'm worried that the EASHL is going to be even more of a case of those that have the boosts and those that don't.

I'm buying this game for offline play and if online is fun, that's a bonus. A game online can only be as good as the community wants, and this community just has too many cheesers/glitchers.

# 289 bwiggy33 @ 08/24/11 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vikes1


	But dang it...I sure wish there was a place in the game vs the AI, that was reserved for those that do prefer a more realistic gaming experience. I just wish if you choose "hardcore"...that's what ya got.

Exactly what I was trying to get at. I totally understand that people don't want to play a hardcore style of hockey that really replicates real life. The only thing is, I DO. I'm sure many others would like that to. All of my friends don't understand my gripes about the game because they never actually played the sport and don't watch hockey quite as often as I do. I try and tell them this and this shouldn't happen, but they don't understand. That's because they don't care about that crap. They just want a fast paced up and down style of game without offsides or icing. That's not for me. I want that difference between teams and players. To me there really isn't much of a separation between "Normal" "Casual" and "Hardcore". Vikes as you said If you choose hardcore, that's what you should get. I don't feel like I get that.

# 290 sroz39 @ 08/24/11 08:45 PM

I'm seeing alot of comments about the devs focusing on online play so the offline game is getting the short end of the stick. But as someone who plays this game online the large majority of the time, I can wholeheartedly tell you there's not much to get excited about. Different builds for OTP/EASHL? Good job BUT shoulda been in from the beginning. At least in NHL 10. I was pretty jacked up about HUT last year until I realized how much easier it is to cheese/glitch in HUT than even Online Versus. HUT was a disaster to PLAY. The team building aspect was cool but playing it online was not fun.

I always have high hopes that with every year's tweaks to make the game play a more realistic brand of hockey, the online play will follow suit. And the first two or three weeks are great. But in the long run, glitchers find new ways to glitch, cheesers will always cheese and loopers will always find new ways to loop games. So to say that the devs focus on online play at the expense of offline, I'm not seeing it. What's so new about online play in 12?

In the end, guys like myself have to put up with ALOT online to get enjoyment out of it. Maybe the truest testament to this game's overall quality is that we do.

# 291 Vikes1 @ 08/24/11 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerosene31


	-The deking is so much better! I got a break with my BAP and I tried the old money inside out deke and couldn't pull it off fast enough and fired it into the goalie's jersey.

I noticed this too, Kerosene. Looks like the dev team responded to the complaints about this move. Good job guys!

I have too admit to something though...vs the AI in shootouts, I did use this move.

I know, I know. I just figured if I got'em this far [into the SO] I'm doing what I gotta.

Now I have to find another cheese ball move vs the AI in the SO.

Seriously though...it is cool they worked on this.

# 292 RoyalBoyle78 @ 08/24/11 09:36 PM

dont really know what to say but i was not impressed. kinda upset.

# 293 Steven547 @ 08/24/11 11:10 PM

Yea...game should NOT be $60. I saw a FEW enhancements, but nothing to constitute $60.

Also, I tried position lock, and during shootouts, I'm still controlling EVERY player?? Last year EA mentioned they were going to fix this where you would only control the position lock. Guess not.

And as "good" as the Goalie AI is, it still makes those poor decisions. Thomas passed the puck AGAIN to an opposing player and again to an area where there were opposing players. How can EA forget this again??? Along with Goalie Fatigue as well....

The action replays would be a nice touch and I assume they aren't working because it's a demo. But where are the replays for the goals? EVERY goals scored should be an action replay.

I don't, I said it before, game just feels like NHL 11.3 with the patch that should have already been in there.

# 294 canucksss @ 08/24/11 11:33 PM

im mixed emotion about this game, based on what i experienced playing the demo and on some observations of people here. the thing that will be a make or break deal for me is the BaGM (schedule the following year) etc. & SIM engine.

# 295 BleacherCreature @ 08/24/11 11:52 PM

Is it just me or do the players seem almost too big for the ice surface?
I do realize players are bigger than they used to be but the first time I played the demo I thought "these guys are f'in huge!"

# 296 TheMatrix31 @ 08/25/11 12:31 AM

So for a guy who's new to the series, is it better to just get NHL 11 for cheaper or something?

# 297 bad_philanthropy @ 08/25/11 12:39 AM

The more I play, the more I appreciate the puck physics. The game overall doesn't seem hugely different than last year, but if I went back and played '11, things like the puck physics and skating would bother me.

# 298 gopher_guy @ 08/25/11 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMatrix31


	So for a guy who's new to the series, is it better to just get NHL 11 for cheaper or something?

I would just rent NHL 11 and see for yourself. I'm sure you could rent it pretty cheap.

# 299 bad_philanthropy @ 08/25/11 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMatrix31


	So for a guy who's new to the series, is it better to just get NHL 11 for cheaper or something?

I'd go with '12 for the small improvements, plus the improvements to the sim engine for BaGM, and if you're into the Be a Pro type modes, this year there is the ability to sim to your player's next shift (like how it sims to your next event in The Show.). This will really allow you to progress with your player a lot more quickly and not have to watch the cpu play when you're not on the ice.

# 300 H to the Oza @ 08/25/11 12:48 AM

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.

Completely agree. Couldnt have said it better myself

Why wreck a good thing

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