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

# 341 MizzouRah @ 08/25/11 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Money99


	This is what I'm worried about as well. I love the new stat tracker. But the longevity of this game will center around Be A GM and Be A Pro. If neither has made that many strides, I don't know if I'll make it past Christmas with this game. The gameplay is certainly improved, but since I'm a big offline gamer, I hope those modes can keep me interested throughout the season.

Be a GM for sure as I'm ready to play every single game for at least a couple of seasons.

# 342 Vikes1 @ 08/25/11 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gopher_guy


	Some things though, are testing my patience, like presentation. Presentation/commentary needs* to be changed next year.*

I agree Gopher.

NHL's overall presentation and commentary package is starting to really show it's age. And it sure seems to be hurting the games overall perception.

Personally...I'm glad they've spent the time they have on the gameplay. If that was left mostly unchanged, I'd really be bummed. And so far, I'm digging the changes.

But I am sure hoping that next year, the overall presentation and GM mode see the upgrades they deserve.

# 343 sroz39 @ 08/25/11 07:12 PM

After playing the demo a bunch more yesterday, I have had to stop. It's literally destroying my excitement for the game each time I play it. It kills me to say it too, because this game long ago replaced Madden as the game I take time off work to play when it's released. I've realized that if I'm going to enjoy 12 like I've enjoyed NHL 08-11, it's going to be with the full retail release. This demo is not doing the game justice, as it's far too short to get the ebb and flow of a hockey game in a 5min period going and without anything all that new (many minor enhancements, no one BIG addition) it's going to take playing game after game to really fall in love with NHL 12.

# 344 Tide311 @ 08/25/11 07:57 PM

The demo was ok, but like every EA game i've played....Demo's just don't get the blood pumping for the new game. I will get NHL 12 no question, just less than excited about most of 12's features. No Online franchise, little improvement to BeaGM, and presentation looking mostly the same doesn't bring so much excitement. But EA, you still got my cash for another year. Kudos.

# 345 Vikes1 @ 08/25/11 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sroz39


	This demo is not doing the game justice, as it's far too short to get the ebb and flow of a hockey game in a 5min period going and without anything all that new (many minor enhancements, no one BIG addition) it's going to take playing game after game to really fall in love with NHL 12.

I think I get what ya mean, Sroz.

With a more refined/polished retail version, and our personal settings dialed in...it should make a nice difference.

The demo isn't exactly knocking my socks off. But I'm very sure NHL will dominate my sports gaming time again this year. 9/13 can't come soon enough!

# 346 Steven547 @ 08/25/11 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	Maybe they should just ship the game and not support it at all. There really is no pleasing some of you guys.

They should test the game THEY created before they ship it then. I understand supporting a game, but when the same issues pop up each year, makes you wonder what EA was thinking...or maybe not thinking.

In the DEMO, I still had the goalie pass the puck to the opposing player, still do the "swat a fly" animation way too much, and dump the puck in the wrong areas. Support should have been there for these issues in last years version and the years before.

# 347 Araxen @ 08/25/11 09:04 PM

97 Goalie rating for the Canucks? I see the roster support is going to be just as terrible as last season. I wish whatever money they spent on the "legends" they would have saved it and spent it on other parts of the game.

# 348 zjl0821 @ 08/25/11 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	I feel the same way, I was up til 3am this morning just saying over and over one more period, one more period. I love the puck physics and AI improvements, that my CPU team mates now actively get in passing lanes and the contact in the front of the net make point shots deadly. The game feels like hockey to me. Less scripted, any shot can go in and I don't feel as though it's just a rehash by any means. Obviously peoples MMV but if the sim engine works out like they say it will, I'll be very happy with this year's game offline. I actually really also like the hitting as well. if you catch a guy mid shot or pass, he's going to go down more than likely. Or really line him up on the boards and crush him, at times your skater dropping to a knee or stumbling from momentum. There's alot of subtle things that really improve the game for me, the bench reactions to what's going on. Lively puck bounces off the boards that come back out in front. That dump and chase is viable now that the puck has very little magnetism. Maybe I'm easier to please with this series due to that I've enjoyed it every year since 07, but for people to say this is 09.3 or what not, and doesn't play a much better game on the ice, well I'm sorry I just don't agree.

Couldn't agree with you more man. Well said

# 349 Money99 @ 08/25/11 10:39 PM

Just played a few more games and the gameplay has definitely improved.
I saw so many more loose pucks, incidental contact and mistakes from both me AND the CPU!
Not only that, but I'm seeing some differences between some of the players.
Kesler was an absolute defensive beast. He was all over the ice, backchecking and hounding the puck carrier. I never saw this from H.Sedin.
Malhaltra was also noticeable as a defender.

The better offensive players complete passes and convert big chances, while the lesser players are making more mistakes.

Another thing I noticed is how much smarter your CPU teammates seem to be.
On one play I carried the puck into the corner with Savard and Marchand went to the high slot. It seemed liked in years past your teammates would simply follow you or hang out by the boards.

One last thing, on Allstar no berzerker mode seen so far.

I hope my eyes aren't deceiving me, but so far me likey a lot.

I just wish the presentation didn't look so similar to what we've experienced over the past 5 years. I can see why some people think it's the 'same game'. But from what I've seen from the demo, the gameplay is certainly not.
The demo feels a lot more organic and greasy than past versions.

# 350 Josam27o7 @ 08/25/11 11:04 PM

This game would have been a BUY for me if they had spent some time improving BE A GM. As it stands, I would probaby get bored quickly with this game because of the neglect of BE A GM mode.

# 351 DJ @ 08/25/11 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Josam27o7


	This game would have been a BUY for me if they had spent some time improving BE A GM. As it stands, I would probaby get bored quickly with this game because of the neglect of BE A GM mode.

No doubt about it, this is the No. 1 thing holding me back. Of course the presentation/commentary issues I've talked about before tie into BAG, but other things like customizable season lengths (NBA 2K, MLB 2K and MLB The Show have the option) and CPU teams all pretty much playing the same styles would make it hard for me to invest in BAG again, as it would feel too similar to what I played in NHL 10-11.

I know people will read my posts and think I'm harping on the same thing over and over. I really don't mean to sound negative. I've been a big supporter of EA's hockey series since the very beginning and I want nothing more than for EA to offer up the COMPLETE hockey package to its fans.

As it stands now, the offline gamer is being frozen out of the game to an extent by EA not changing up the commentary in over 4 years and keeping the presentation very similar year-to-year. I could deal with that if the CPU teams had unique styles of play (similar to NCAA, although obviously in hockey there aren't that many different schemes out there), but with the CPU Sabres feeling the same, competition-wise, as the CPU-Red Wings, it does make it hard to play through a season, or even multiple seasons.

The gameplay in NHL is still a lot of fun. I have no doubts that I will enjoy myself when I play the game. I still find it rewarding when I score a goal using the shot stick, or when I pull off a nice deke move (I'm very limited in this regard), or when I see that sliders do have an effect on the game and I can make shot accuracy lower and pass accuracy lower to try and reflect what we see on TV or live in person. If we could get the CPU to play tougher in regards to letting the user skate into the offensive zone, then I would have little to complain about with the gameplay. I like that I can play a game in 35-40 minutes and get realistic stats.

I should just stop myself as I'm rambling now a bit. I just wanted to clarify my stance on the state of the NHL series and why I want to see certain things improved moving forward.

# 352 Lordofthething @ 08/26/11 01:19 AM

I have played the demo a handful of times and the more I play the more I like it. The one thing I've found out of whack though with the AI is that when they are on the penalty kill both their forwards will pressure my d-man, with both of them even going around the same side of the net...which makes the outlet super easy.

I hate manual passing so I know I'll enjoy this even more when I can turn that off.

My only worry now is if they fixed BEAGM or not. I had to play last year with the salary cap off or the CPU teams wouldn't sign their RFA's. When I saw Eberle and Hall sitting unsigned for 2 years I had to start all over with cap off.

The gameplay kept me committed to my BEAGM but turning off the cap just isn't the same. And even still I was able to pick up Perry off of waivers - as if.

# 353 bukktown @ 08/26/11 01:52 AM

I cranked my forecheck up to 3-2 and I was getting smoked by some amazing 2 line dman AI breakout passes on Superstar/Hardcore.

And the AI backchecking forwards are awesome. Yes you can carry the puck into the zone but the AI forwards will cut you off before you can get deep.

# 354 DJ @ 08/26/11 02:11 AM

I've seen some nice-looking goals by the CPU, including a nice one-timer by one of the Sedin twins from one knee.

Speaking of one-timers, I really struggle getting them to work. Any tips?

# 355 Vikes1 @ 08/26/11 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	I have a feeling if the roster management/sim stats etc aren't addressed this year, they'll lose alot of credibility it being a main selling point for this years game. I do agree though. (Cept I like manual passing)

Oh man, Realmk....I'm sure hoping the roster management for the AI has been addressed this year.

It was pretty frustrating the last few years, seeing players stuck in the AHL all season long, that should have, and were IRL...playing for their NHL club.

I sure don't want to see Taylor Hall as an example...missing from the Oilers lineup. This will be a very welcome fix, if it's there.

# 356 Vikes1 @ 08/26/11 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealmK


	For sure, it's about time us offline guys got some love. I think we've been patient. I even tried out a couple periods of BAP and I might actually spend some time in that mode this year as well. That sim to next shift feature is nice. BTW Vikes ol man, congrats on 3000 posts.

Yeah, I gave BAP a try last night. It is pretty cool...and fun. I was kinda thinking playing as Gretzky with the retail game, would possibly be a lot of fun. The BAP, could be a nice way to break things up from playing BEAGM all the time. Man, I'm looking forward to my annual drive up to GameStop to pickup the game.

Thanks for the congrats, RealmK! 3,000 posts...that's a lot of dribble on my behalf.

# 357 BlueNGold @ 08/26/11 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkharsh33


	Screw the online stuff... Fix this game for OFFLINE players, and those who absorb their time into BAGM. This is what makes me mad... You can't tweak a game for morons, so fix it for those of us who play user vs. cpu and want to play multiple BAGM. They killed last year's game with those stupid tuning updates - it was like the game would play completely different. I've been reading comments on the hands-on NBA 2K12 game, and it appears this upcoming game will be phenomenal - they listened to the community and are willing to make major changes. I wish the NHL team cared as much for their fans - not the online cheesers. And then I come to this forum and read many here giving EA a free pass, and almost pat them on the back for all the mistakes. Look, the fact that we're STILL listening to the same old stale commentary after all these years is an embarrassment... But the "well, they've only got 10 months...blah, blah, blah stuff" gets under my skin. How hard it is to lock a couple guys in a room with a microphone and come up with NEW stuff??? The appeasement I'm reading in this thread is laughable... This is the SAME game we've been playing for a few years now, with a few tuning and patched tweaks, but according to a lot of what I read here that is totally acceptable... I don't agree with that...

I agree with most of this, except basically saying 2K doesn't care about their game's online cheesers. 2K11 had a lot of things in it's gameplay to prevent them from doing things which in turn watered things down for offline guys. Physic pass interceptions, anyone?

Also the whole "they don't care about their fans" thing bugs me just as much as what you mentioned bothers you. If "they didn't care", we wouldn't have seen half the things added to this game over the time it's been on these systems. IMO that's a weak way to try to get your point across.

Regardless, obviously all of us would like to see a game that is leaps and bounds better/improved/different than the previous year, but some people can accept that and some can't. I don't think either side is really wrong.

# 358 Splitter77 @ 08/26/11 08:03 AM

after playing a bunch more games on superstar level. Im starting to get into the game more.

The puck physics are definitely the most glaring improvement to me.

I also noticed some more realistic hard one-time tap in animations on some down low 2 on 1s. Looks very nice.

# 359 Money99 @ 08/26/11 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ


	I've seen some nice-looking goals by the CPU, including a nice one-timer by one of the Sedin twins from one knee. Speaking of one-timers, I really struggle getting them to work. Any tips?

I've seen a couple of nice one-timers too.

In my last game, I pinched with a dman and Boston broke out for a 2-on-1 with Burrows and H.Sedin. Big mistake.

Burrows fed Sedin, how one-timed a return pass for Burrows who buried it with a nice one-timer over Thomas' shoulder.

Kesler also one-timed a shot through Thomas for a GWG in another game. But what I liked about that goal was that Thomas got a piece of it, but it squeaked between his arm and side. Very nice.

Regarding one-timers of your own, from what I've noticed, and depending on the settings, you have to time it pretty well.
If the pass is in the players skates, or you shoot too soon, it can affect the results.

In some of my games, I've tried one-timing from the point when I send the puck over from one D to another. But in a few instances, the puck was in their skates, so they couldn't get it off properly.

# 360 BleacherCreature @ 08/26/11 09:28 AM

Seeing a lot of loose pucks, some appropriate kick saves by the goalies, as in if there's a crowd in front he will kick the puck to the corner away from everyone.
Lots more blocked shots and passes too, but the passes that I felt should have connected in 11 but didn't do now. Passing lanes are actually passing lanes.
Lots of little subtle things which I am really liking.

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