MizzouRah wrote:I've been playing a ton of NHL 11 lately and it's actually renewed my interest and excitement for NHL 12.
I play it at least 3-5 times a week. My goal for the summer has been to get my online record to .500. I am within 6 games of .500 . 259 - 265. Absolutely love the game and can't wait for NHL 12.
I believe that video came out awhile ago.. nonetheless, it's great to see a difference in last year's game to what they have done this year as far as the AI goes.
Should make the game feel more like a real hockey game.
MizzouRah wrote:I believe that video came out awhile ago.. nonetheless, it's great to see a difference in last year's game to what they have done this year as far as the AI goes.
Should make the game feel more like a real hockey game.
Video definitely was just released today by EA. But yeah the anticipation AI concept looks interesting.
Looks like another step forward but my biggest peeve with the EA Hockey series is I want to see the defense get rugged on defense around their net. I hate when I can bring one of my guys in front of the net untouched, take a few shots, the defense just looks at my guy until the goalie grabs the puck and stops the action. I don't follow Hockey that much but I remember what it was like around the opposing net in the Nucks vs Bruins finals.
Yeah that video is a rehash... and while the offensive example is promising, if a bit subtle... the defensive example is *terrible* IMHO
For one, the scenario is completely different. In the first the center is trailing the puck carrier who tries a lead pass while the D, predictably for the series, backs off the receiver and into the zone. But the "good" example from 12 shows a situation where the "good defensive forward" is in the D-zone while the play is underway in the O-zone. Was he checked out of the play to be trailing so far? And where is the 5th Hawk skater? Are they on the PK? If so, why the hell are their wings breaking up ice like that.
You can pause the video at 1:21 and there is, fully, *one* skater in the NZ.
I've got it pre-ordered and am likely to enjoy it no matter what, but that is just a terrible example to use when trying to put your best AI foot forward.
Ah, didn't realize it was old footage with a new voice over. EA brought it out as something new yesterday, but I guess it wasn't entirely new.
I've already preordered the game since it is only 39.99 at Amazon, but with some reservation. I hope the offline AI is improved enough this year to hold my interest long-term. If they could only make the board play more realistic and get it so the CPU has more realistic shot totals I would be very satisfied. After seeing how much RTG was beefed up in NCAA 12 I am excited to see what the NHL team has done to improve their career-style mode. It sounds like it should be quite a bit more compelling than in the past.
toonarmy wrote:Ah, didn't realize it was old footage with a new voice over. EA brought it out as something new yesterday, but I guess it wasn't entirely new.
I've already preordered the game since it is only 39.99 at Amazon, but with some reservation. I hope the offline AI is improved enough this year to hold my interest long-term. If they could only make the board play more realistic and get it so the CPU has more realistic shot totals I would be very satisfied. After seeing how much RTG was beefed up in NCAA 12 I am excited to see what the NHL team has done to improve their career-style mode. It sounds like it should be quite a bit more compelling than in the past.
I see Amazon has done what they did for NCAA 12 and Madden, giving $20 off your next purchase. I was wondering if they would do that, time to finally get my preorder in... think I'll do it for Madden as well while I'm at it - two games for essentially $80 isn't too bad.
toonarmy wrote:After seeing how much RTG was beefed up in NCAA 12 I am excited to see what the NHL team has done to improve their career-style mode. It sounds like it should be quite a bit more compelling than in the past.
Apparently the 'Be a Pro" mode has been revamped quite a bit as it was getting a bit stale for me personally. Like you, I have been playing mainly RTG in NCAA 12 so I hope the improved Pro mode has me glued in for more than just a month.
toonarmy wrote:Ah, didn't realize it was old footage with a new voice over. EA brought it out as something new yesterday, but I guess it wasn't entirely new.
I've already preordered the game since it is only 39.99 at Amazon, but with some reservation. I hope the offline AI is improved enough this year to hold my interest long-term. If they could only make the board play more realistic and get it so the CPU has more realistic shot totals I would be very satisfied. After seeing how much RTG was beefed up in NCAA 12 I am excited to see what the NHL team has done to improve their career-style mode. It sounds like it should be quite a bit more compelling than in the past.
I see Amazon has done what they did for NCAA 12 and Madden, giving $20 off your next purchase. I was wondering if they would do that, time to finally get my preorder in... think I'll do it for Madden as well while I'm at it - two games for essentially $80 isn't too bad.
Guess that's the norm for EA games on Amazon now?
Seems to be the norm since their major releases this year have had the 20 off deal. The good thing about it is you can recoup almost all of the 39.99 with a tradein if you do not like the game or play it and get tired of it. EA's NHL games almost never drop in price until the next version is released so they hold their value quite well.
toonarmy wrote:
Seems to be the norm since their major releases this year have had the 20 off deal. The good thing about it is you can recoup almost all of the 39.99 with a tradein if you do not like the game or play it and get tired of it. EA's NHL games almost never drop in price until the next version is released so they hold their value quite well.
Exactly.. I just shipped them NCAA 12 and got $33.75, so I essentially paid $6.20 to play it for a week.
I'm going to give Madden a fair shot this year and after not playing NHL 11 much at all (played the heck out of NHL 10) I know NHL 12 should hold my interest this year.
Seems like my sports gaming cycle is every other year for each release.
Too bad the hive mind at OS are turning this into the biggest affront from EA since the vision cone.
I think it might be neat. I doubt it is going to be worth the hype. I play the NL vs. AL All-Time Greats game every now and then in MLB 2K11 (and earlier versions. It's not reason to buy, nor a reason to avoid.
I thought APFB 2K8 was a blast, once you accepted it for what it was. I think this legends mode could be that cool. Or it could be like the MLB game, and just be soemthing you mess around with every now and then.
I think it is likely that it will be underwhelming. I reeks of EA trying to pull off what 2K did with NBA 2K11, and what they expanded on that for 2K12. I doubt it will be anything approaching what 2K did for their NBA games.
That said, when they stuck Ultimate Team into the NHL series, they created a fantastic mode that blew away what the Madden team had done. And this year, it looks to be even better. With Play-a-Friend in, I think it will be worth the time now. So if these same guys take the challenge to make what a marketing wonk forces on them to be that cool, maybe the legends thing will be awesome.
But at OS, they are treating it as though this just ruined the game, which is really odd.
With launch right around the corner, the NHL 12 demo is almost here! The highly anticipated demo will be available through Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network beginning August 23. The demo will feature access to three modes: Play Now, Be A Pro, and Hockey Ultimate Team.
I don't know how many trailers EA intends to use in this process (isn't 1 enough?), but the first 3 legends unveiled in the second trailer; Gretzky, Bourque and Chelios.