NHL 12 first look video

[toonarmy]

Very impressed after two PLAY NOW games. The game just feels more organic and real. I love the game play variety thus far. Players
seem to react more realistically, especially in the neutral zone and in front of the net. The A.I.'s aggressive has really wowed me both offensively
and defensively. Offensively though, they are still able to pass tape to tape faster than I can. That's really my only negative so far.

Neutral zone play is something I forgot to comment on. Glad you brought it up. This is the first hockey video game where there is actually neutral zone play that resembles real hockey in some manner. It may not be uber-realistic, but it beats the hell out of any other game. I also enjoy the board play. Lack of board play used to be a big problem I had with EA hockey, but now it makes a difference. The scraps along the boards are cool and integrated well. While playing NHL 12 I almost get the feeling that the developers read my mind and addressed my biggest complaints.

[10spro]

Besides the battles in the corners, one of the things I really like about the board play this year is that a player can smartly board pass creating many 2 on 1 chances, especially on online play but offline, I've seen also the AI sidestepping a D-man in the neutral zone while chipping the puck off the boards.

[greggsand]

Does ea have a PDF version of the manual online? I can't seem to find one.

[MizzouRah]

I never knew you could make the puck and shadow "authentic" thus making it look more realistic than a huge puck and a shadow surrounding it.

I am starting to get pissed off on AS defaults though as I've been shutout twice in a row and scoring still seems to be at a premium in this game - and I don't like playing on Pro because I dominate the possession.

Game really seems fast, I think I'll turn that down a notch as well as the CPU passing accuracy.

Also, since that 9 penalties total game, the CPU has yet to get a penalty.

[Gangrel]

I have heard the hustle button thus year has to be held, not three clicks like last year. I've tried both I can't tell the difference.

Anyone know for sure?

[vader29]

Does ea have a PDF version of the manual online? I can't seem to find one.

I couldn't find it online anywhere either, so I made a pdf manual from screen captures of a video someone had on youtube:
http://www.2shared.com/document/66DssXE ... anual.html

[toonarmy]

Does ea have a PDF version of the manual online? I can't seem to find one.

I couldn't find it online anywhere either, so I made a pdf manual from screen captures of a video someone had on youtube:
http://www.2shared.com/document/66DssXE ... anual.html

Nicely done!

[MizzouRah]

I'm actually thinking about knocking the game speed down 1 click, anyone else do that yet? Game seems super fast this year to me.

[toonarmy]

I'm actually thinking about knocking the game speed down 1 click, anyone else do that yet? Game seems super fast this year to me.

I thought the demo was too slow, but the retail version seems to be a bit faster, which suits me fine. I may bump the speed up, actually. Slow hockey takes the realism and excitement away IMO.

[MizzouRah]

I'm actually thinking about knocking the game speed down 1 click, anyone else do that yet? Game seems super fast this year to me.

I thought the demo was too slow, but the retail version seems to be a bit faster, which suits me fine. I may bump the speed up, actually. Slow hockey takes the realism and excitement away IMO.

I'm just trying to get the shot totals down a bit.. CPU is getting 40 on me on average. Although it seems like this year, they take shots every chance they get.

[sportdan30]

I'm actually thinking about knocking the game speed down 1 click, anyone else do that yet? Game seems super fast this year to me.

That's the one change I have made thus far. I haven't touched anything else, but I do agree the game felt too fast on default settings.

I really wish the after goal celebration can be patched. It's really really weak. That's my biggest negative with this game.

Really enjoy this game so far. More so than in years past, I feel as if I can create an array of opportunities on a two on one, three on two rush to the net. I've
scored on some really sweet plays. I have yet to score on the slap shot, but the CPU scored two in a game last game in a 5-4 victory by me.

[Rodster]

I dropped the game speed 1 notch as well. I found it way too fast as well.

[MizzouRah]

I'm actually thinking about knocking the game speed down 1 click, anyone else do that yet? Game seems super fast this year to me.

That's the one change I have made thus far. I haven't touched anything else, but I do agree the game felt too fast on default settings.

I really wish the after goal celebration can be patched. It's really really weak. That's my biggest negative with this game.

Really enjoy this game so far. More so than in years past, I feel as if I can create an array of opportunities on a two on one, three on two rush to the net. I've
scored on some really sweet plays. I have yet to score on the slap shot, but the CPU scored two in a game last game in a 5-4 victory by me.

I just played a game with the speed down one notch and the game flowed much better, imho.

I'm haven't won a game on AS yet.

[tjung0831]

Yep...demo and the 3 day trial, the game speed was too slow, but retail game is way to fast on default, so I dropped it down a notch as well. All Star plays a good game, scoring might be an issue on all star defaults so shot accuracy might need to be tweaked at least for me. I think what I'm going to do though for now is leave it on Pro and mess with sliders, at least put them in favor of the CPU for the time being and see if I can find a perfect flow for what I'm looking for.
One thing that's bugging me though is in my BAP mode, I've started in the OHL with the Soo Greyhounds as an offensive dman on the right side. Not sure about last year but in 2010, I think I could position lock my position so I could play the entire game whether my pro was on the ice or not. So far this year, when my pro goes of the ice, I can only watch the game until my pro is ready to return. I'm not playing authentic BAP because then I have to play 20 minute periods and I don't care for that skip ahead in play to my next shift...kind of ruins the flow of the game for me. Anybody know if I can position lock my BAP's position and play the entire game? I'm thinking not because I sure can't find it.

[dbdynsty25]

Funny you guys think it's too fast...I think it's too slow. I guess I'm showing my non-hockey die hard roots.

[MizzouRah]

I played a game tonight vs the Sharks (their intro is pretty cool, wish all teams had them) and dropped the difficulty to Pro, back to default game style, speed back to 3 and had my best game yet.

Beat them 4-3 and shot totals were 27-26 Sharks. I also went back to manual shooting and scored on a wicked wrister in the slot. The Sharks scored a goal as the player went down to one knee after I hit his skates with my stick. Penalties were 3 for each team too.

The puck really seems to fly with it set on "authentic" for size and shadow, even though I lose sight of it at times.

[Gangrel]

I find the game speed fine on default. ONe thing that I've done to help my scoring is to leave manual passing as is, but give myself two clicks of pass assist. I found it too hard trying to thread the needle on some passes, so the two clicks gives me some leeway to generate more scoring chances.

[Leebo33]

I played a game tonight vs the Sharks (their intro is pretty cool, wish all teams had them) and dropped the difficulty to Pro, back to default game style, speed back to 3 and had my best game yet.

I'm having a lot of fun playing on Pro with the CPU difficulty slider and a few other sliders to favor the CPU maxxed. However, even with penalties and aggression up all the way I'm not getting many penalties. I'm seeing some great variety from game to game though. Last night I played and the scores were 2-1, 2-6, 3-2, and 4-2.

[TCrouch]

I am really loving the sports games this year. NCAA, Madden, and NHL all feel fresh to me somehow.

Offline, I've always played on Pro in NHL. I never could score on anything higher because I couldn't ever dump properly. I'd have to skate in near the boards past the blue line, and figure out a way to dish it to the C or something. I still get caught up in that from time to time in NHL12, but the CPU teammates are much smarter in positioning themselves this year, so a pass around the boards behind the net frequently gets picked up by my teammates. This leads to a much more varied offense.

I started a Be A GM on All-Star, and consistently win this year. I don't maintain the puck for the entire game like I could on Pro, and the shot totals are generally pretty close. My last game was Anaheim at home vs. the Sharks, and I think the final shot total was 27-26 Sharks. However, what really had me impressed was the overall feel of the game. I scored 5 goals (7 min periods, All Star defaults with no changes whatsoever), and all 5 were totally different. I still haven't found any easy way to score, but it seems I CAN get a goal from almost anywhere this year.

The Sharks slipped right past my defense and put a goal in net less than a minute in. It took me all the way to the 2nd period to answer. But when I did, these were the goals I got:

1st goal - Corey Perry 1 on 1 vs a defenseman. The defender was obscuring the goalie's vision, so I just flicked a quick wrister to the top corner. Goalie never even reacted until it was past him for the 1-1 tie.

2nd goal - Dump and chase ended up with me behind the net. In the scrum in front, Ryan Getzlaf muscled position on the defenseman, and a quick one time pass from behind and to the side of the net to the front was an easy shot to a net that was wide open. 2-1.

3rd goal - Bobby Ryan gets hooked as I'm on a breakaway and I score on a penalty shot. 3-1.

4th goal - the forecheck started completely taking over the game. I was able to cycle around and play keepaway in the offensive zone. As I ended up in the corner, I noticed Beauchemin completely alone near the blue line. I fired a pass back to him, and knocked in the most ridiculous slapshot from the blue line I've ever seen. When I fired the shot, there were 2 defenders and my own guy in the way. I couldn't even see a path to the net. But in super-slow-mo replay, my player nudged one defender out of the way as he cleared the shot path, and the puck literally fit through a 6 inch by 6 inch hole between all the bodies to the corner of the net. Again, no goalie reaction until the puck was behind him. 4-1.

5th goal - Forechecking still completely taking the Sharks out of their game, I was behind net kind of killing time in the final minutes of the game. No defender came to pick me up, so I darted around the left edge of the net and snuck a wrap-around goal in the 5 hole for the final 5-1 tally.

In a single game, I saw more goal variation than I think I've seen in 6 or 7 game spans for me in the past. Plus, the CPU can exploit me when I try to get overaggressive, yet manage to do the same if I'm not aggressive ENOUGH and let them set up in the zone. I've given up one timers that I could see coming a mile away, and felt helpless in my inability to clear the puck when they get set up and keep getting rebounds.

This is one glorious hockey sim. I might finish a full season for the first time in my life.

[greggsand]

I'm really digging this game, but I'm playing as STL & just getting destroyed (pro). I've started out 0-3-2. The cool thing is the difference between playing a great team and a bad team. As soon as I started playing SJ, I knew I was going to get killed (and did 5-1), and when I played Nash, I could tell I actually had a shot to win (lost in OT shootout). Good stuff. I get about 4x as many penalties as the AI, that's my only complaint.

[Gangrel]

I'm finding games change period to period even.

I played the Jets as the Send last night and while the first period was even, I took over and dominated the rest of the game, possession wise and score wise.

I also thing on the second of back to back games my guys felt sluggish too.

[LAking]

I'm finding games change period to period even.

I played the Jets as the Send last night and while the first period was even, I took over and dominated the rest of the game, possession wise and score wise.

I also thing on the second of back to back games my guys felt sluggish too.

I see that happen. I remember one game where the CPU was controlling the flow in the first. Clement made a mention of it in the commentary and I kind of realized that I wasn't employing enough of a real strategy. I started turning it around immediately with a big shift in their zone and then scored on the next shift. I had momentum for a while but eventually lost, as I have in every game I've played so far (all-star).

[Rodster]

I did a Play Now game Panthers vs Lightning. I went up 2-0 on Tampa in the first and saw that lead eroded in the second as it was 2-1 and by the 3rd they beat me 2-3. Fun game and I got outhustled by the CPU.

Clements comments came back to haunt me as he said Tampa just wasn't hungry enough in the 1st. They started putting the pressure on and eventually beat me. I'm like everyone else i'm seeing more of an ebb and flow in this years EA Sports games I haven't seen in the past. Before I could just sit back and eventually beat the CPU. This years games NCAA, Madden and NHL it's a tussle from start to finish. If you let the CPU gain momentum they will make it hard on you.

I remember NCAA 06 or maybe it was '07 (PS2) Football that used momentum in the game but it was more artificial. This plays out in a more realistic way which makes each game fun and unique.

[TCrouch]

Yeah, it's the first year I've paid enough attention to commentary to change things. I think that was my biggest moment. Near the end of that San Jose game, Clement said something like "Anaheim is really changing it up. Sometimes it's in the slot, others it's working the puck to the outside. It's almost like they're a different team every shift."

I was happier than a pig in slop. All I ever get is the stuff about how I got something working in the slot, or the one-timer, or that it worked earlier, but not anymore. I had never had it tell me that I was kicking ass at changing it up. Coincidentally (or not), it was the best game I've played yet

[toonarmy]

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1195848p1.html

Biggest first week of sales in franchise history...451,000. Glad to see quality rewarded. Hopefully increased sales will push EA to make future installments that much better than what they have already been doing.