EA Sports NHL 12

[JakeTheSnake]

Ea Sports seem to have opened a new website for NHL 12 (http://www.ea.com/nhl/1/nhl-12)
The game is to be released september 13.
There's a few images of the game in the media section and a video on the new features and it looks fantastic. The physics engine gets an upgrade, more emphasis on play in front of the goal and goalies can be hit and get into fights. So far i'm liking everything i'm seeing here, although the info is quite limited at this point.

Can't wait to get my paws on the game.

[Jypfan92]

goalies can be hit and get into fights...

That's not pretty new thing, you could hit goalies in NHL99... However, it was automatic 2-min penalty.

Btw, that game looks good with Winter Classics and such a stuff.

[JakeTheSnake]

goalies can be hit and get into fights...

That's not pretty new thing, you could hit goalies in NHL99... However, it was automatic 2-min penalty.

I thought i remembered running into a goalie in some incarnation of the NHL franchise, wasn't sure about it though. I seem to recall that there has been goalie fighting some year too, am i right?

[Jypfan92]

I have NHL 04, 08 and 09 and in one of them goalies fought rarely. I think it was 08.

[McSkippy454]

NHL 2008 did have goalie fights, but I think you had to start the fight almost right next to the goalie for it to happen.

[archibalduk]

Didn't one of the NHLs from the early 2000s have goaltender fighting? I seem to remember a cutscene showing one goalie skating over to the other goalie and clotheslining him...

I thought to save others from having to navigate through the NHL site, I'd quote the relevant news item here:

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs heating up, we're getting in on the action with new features for EA SPORTS NHL 12, shipping on September 9in Europe and September 13in North America. Play your way to superstardom in the revamped Be a Pro mode and experience the authentic action and energy of real life hockey with the Full Contact Physics Engine.

Follow all feature announcements at the Hockey Whiteboard!

In the revamped Be a Pro mode, experience the pursuit of greatness and legendary moments in your playing career, shatter historic records and cement yourself in NHL history. Additionally, the better you play, the more ice time you’ll get where you can simulate to your next shift so you’re always on the ice as you play out your entire career in pursuit of the Stanley Cup.

The NHL 12 Full Contact Physics Engine puts you in the rink with everything now live on the ice, from players to the environment - everything is interactive and in play. Experience the skill and aggression of hockey from shattered glass to flying helmets to knocking players over the boards and into the bench; crash the crease too hard and you’ll knock the net off and send the goalie flying. Size and physicality will be emphasized as bigger players will be able to throw their weight around as they screen the goalie and battle in front of the net.

This year marks the first time players will face dynamic goalies in the game. Players can knock the net off and make contact with goalies, knocking them down or out of position, as they crash the crease. Watch as goalies battle through screens to make awe-inspiring saves. Additionally, we’re reigniting the beloved fighting engine that first appeared in NHL 10 with all-new goalie battles. When the action gets heated, send a message by leaving the net, dropping the gloves, and trading punches with rivals during fights.

All new gameplay presentation creates an authentic, fresh new look and feel throughout NHL 12 with presentation graphics that mimic real life hockey broadcasts. For the first time ever lace up outdoors under the lights in one of the biggest hockey events of the season, the 2011 NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, within seconds of putting in the disc. Inspired by the NHL GameCenter Ice Tracker, the all-new EA SPORTS Action Tracker simulates action without missing a beat with a shift-by-shift breakdown of stats and key moments leading up to your next shift.

This is just a sneak peek of what’s to come in EA SPORTS NHL 12. Stay tuned in the coming months for more news on the franchise as well as the EA SPORTS Hockey League and Hockey Ultimate Team.

What they say above does sound very good and I'm sure will make the game feel even more like a game of hockey. I do hope that this isn't their "killer feature" this year. I've found in the past that there are just a couple of features which they concentrate solely on and everything else is left relatively unchanged/unimproved. I hope they take a leaf out of EA FIFA's book and look at improving the whole gameplay, making improvements to the existing game rather than solely introducing new features.

It's also very positive that the first announcement doesn't mention anything about online multiplayer. It has really bothered me that EA has mostly concentrated on developing the online multiplayer over the past few years. I really hope they'll spend most of their energy on improving the main gameplay and perhaps Be A Pro.

The last copy of NHL I owned was NHL 09 for the XBox 360 although I have played the demos of both 10 and 11. Seeing as it has been a few years since I owned a copy, I'd really like to buy one for next season. I wasn't all that addicted to NHL 09 and the development of 10 and 11 didn't really interest me as I felt the changes/improvements wouldn't lead to me enjoying the game any more than I did with 09. I just hope 12 can rekindle my love of the EA NHL series which has dropped since after NHL 2004 (partly because I never owned 2005-2008 and partly because I haven't particularly enjoyed 2009 onwards).

Has anybody heard the news about NHL 2K12? Unfortunately it has been canned (link). It is unlikely there will ever be another NHL 2k game other than for the iPhone. I remember a time when 2K was leading the way in hockey games but it seems they lost their way and they're unable to compete with EA anymore. 2K was taking a break from their NHL game for a year and had planned to come back better and stronger with a game for this September/October. It's such bad news that this won't happen. Without the competition, EA don't have to any competition to keep them on top of their game.

Interesting tidbit on NHL 11. They accurately predicted with simulation that the Canucks would win the president's trophy. Secondly, they have done each round of the playoffs as the round begins, with updated rosters and line combos (in series injuries and coaches decisions not accounted for) but they have got ALL but one series correct so far. The only mistake was Detroit-San Jose. EA had the Wings winning Game 7, not the Sharks.

That's a really interesting anecdote - and quite reassuring about how good the EA NHL engine is. I wonder how EHM 2007 would fare with updated rosters and ratings...

[Jypfan92]

I've "the best one on pc" on my computer (NHL 2002), and I'm not sure is it that were goalies can fight. I haven't played much that game, I prefer more PS2 -games.

[Manimal]

I remember a verion where you could fight the ref! That was fun

[JakeTheSnake]

It's also very positive that the first announcement doesn't mention anything about online multiplayer. It has really bothered me that EA has mostly concentrated on developing the online multiplayer over the past few years. I really hope they'll spend most of their energy on improving the main gameplay and perhaps Be A Pro.

I agree. While i've never been all that excited or interested about playing nhl online, this year my interest hit an all time low. Mostly because i didn't find the EASHL (or whatever the acronym is) and the 'ultimate team' features to be all that intriguing and partly because my few tests on playing single games online resulted in frustration and disbelief in the stupidity of online gamers (first guy i played against quit on me and the second one, after being defeated 3-2 in a great and evenly matched game, sent me a message calling me a 'fag'; i found this really unbelievable ). Hopefully this year the game mechanics will get the attention instead of online gaming.

[B. Stinson]

I've "the best one on pc" on my computer (NHL 2002), and I'm not sure is it that were goalies can fight. I haven't played much that game, I prefer more PS2 -games.

Ah, good old NHL 2002. That was easily my favorite. So many hours in front of the TV with that one .

[archibalduk]

There's a good article here on the planned new features in NHL 12. It sounds very promising - they'll be working on improving the Be a Pro mode and are completely re-writing the simulation engine. The improvements in presentation sound interesting too.

[archibalduk]

Some more details about the AI improvements in NHL (there's also some videos at the bottom): http://www.operationsports.com/features ... -gameplay/

It sounds quite promising! I'd be interested to hear what improvements they're making to the defensive AI (most of the article is about offensive AI).

[JakeTheSnake]

The offensive improvements sound great! I suppose there will be a different blogposts for the defensive and goaltending improvements. All in all, NHL 12 is looking pretty great at this point.

[racicot]

I hope they manage to clean up the Hockey Ultimate Team a little bit this year. I found that it was nearly impossible to develop a good team without forking over some real cash. I doubt they will fix this (I suppose it would be borderline crazy), as card packs were money makers.

[Deleted 25-08-19]

I have bought the NHL series since early 2000

And so again...
I love they finally have game with AI movement...... even Fifa 07 PS2 version had it... so NHL 12 Next gen version has it ... Im kinda dissapointed, but kinda happy too..

[JakeTheSnake]

I love they finally have game with AI movement...... even Fifa 07 PS2 version had it... so NHL 12 Next gen version has it ... Im kinda dissapointed, but kinda happy too..

What do you mean by 'AI movement'?

[archibalduk]

The demo of NHL 12 has today been released on the XBox Live and PSN Network. The demo features three modes: Play Now, Be A Pro, and Hockey Ultimate Team. The Play Now mode allows you to play the third period of the Stanley Cup final between Boston and Vancouver.

This season's game boasts over 300 gameplay improvements and NHL 12’s "hat-trick of innovations"; all-new Anticipation AI, the Full Contact Physics Engine including Net Battles and All-New Dynamic Goalies. There's also notable improvements to the Be a Pro mode (about time too, IMHO!) and to the dynasty mode.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet myself, but Operation Sports have described it as "more solid fundamentally than previous years, but it definitely feels very familiar." I'll post my views once I've had a chance to play it (probably later this week). If you've played the demo then be sure to let us know your views in this thread!

[dabo]

I tried it and liked it, physics feel much better and I like the fact that stick lifting is not as effective in NHL 12. Looking forward to the full version.

[Primis]

Initial thoughts:

* Goalie contact doesn’t add much to the game from what I can tell. Though it was fun to plow over Tim Thomas a couple of times, just because. I don’t know that it’s going to be any kind of game-changer, even for online goalies.
* I love the “sim” ability during a Be a Pro game. Now you don’t just have to sit on the bench and wait, or use Position Lock. This really is a nice addition.
* In-Game Be a Pro Coaches Points/Goals seemed actually broken in the demo (and not in the way that 11 was either). Coach told me to Fire Away on the PP so I did, and no matter how many shots I took it stayed at 0% Complete.
* There appears to be a new Crease Clearing “chuck” move which can send an opponent flying. I hadn’t seen it before in 11. So now hitting a guy doesn’t just leave him laying in front, you can actually clear him away from the crease. Chara used this on me once. It was not pretty, I woke up out near the top of the faceoff circle…
* There is something different with net battles but... you don't really notice it until you really think about it after the fact. Very subtle IMO.
* The defensive AI on Pro level really *is* smarter now. They’re still prone to mistakes, but there aren’t quite the Money Moves of the past. I’d assume at a higher level the defensive AI shines even more. They just seem make better decisions all around, and they don’t leave you as much time to take shots.
* Goalies…. well, the goalie AI didn’t seem improved. One deke is enough to get many goalies, and sometimes not even that.


Overall it seems like 11, with tweaks. It almost feels like a "patched" 11 with updated rosters or something. NHL 11 2.0 is a very good way of describing it if it were a PC title. 11 is a very good game of course but... I'm not sure if goalie contact, improved defensive AI, and few other notable things are enough to justify a lot of people plonking down $50. We'll see I guess. I know after playing the demo, I'm personally not sold on not just sticking with 11's offline play... in fact I later went back to playing 11 offline for a bit, just to see if maybe I was missing differences and really didn't notice much.

[Saapas]

I hope they have done something with the scoring in Be A Pro... Or does someone think that it's cool to play as enforcerer defender and lead the in team scoring? Even if you have players like Spezza, Jumbo Joe, Heatley etc. in the first line

[Deleted 25-08-19]

I love they finally have game with AI movement...... even Fifa 07 PS2 version had it... so NHL 12 Next gen version has it ... Im kinda dissapointed, but kinda happy too..

What do you mean by 'AI movement'?

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... oq=ai+anti
sry for late responsz

[JakeTheSnake]

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... oq=ai+anti
sry for late responsz

Oh, right. Didn't really understand you there at first.
That does seem like a pretty nice feature, it can really make the game deeper. It's one of those things i expect to be totally frustrated over for the first month of extensive playing and to rave on about how cool it is after that.

[Jypfan92]

Does they release it on ps2?

[archibalduk]

I've been playing a couple of games (well, third periods at least) of the demo today. I also played one game of Be a Pro and one game of Ultimate Team.

Of course the game looks great as always. However, I think we're now at the point where we don't really care about any advances in graphics - it's only the gameplay we all care about.

Be a Pro is certainly improved. I love how you can sim through the parts where you're sat on the bench. However, it did still feel a bit like the team is ineffective when you're on the bench. Having said that, I have only played on period of BaP so far - so perhaps it's bit harsh for me to say that.

In terms of playing regular games, I didn't really see the difference between the NHL 11 demo and the NHL 12 demo. They seemed pretty much the same to me. Something I did notice was that the AI offence feels a little less robotic. They seem to skate, pass and shoot in a more natural fashion now. I've noticed in previous versions that the AI players would always stand in exactly the same places, play the same moves very effectively (i.e. robotically), and shoot from the same sort of places. It doesn't feel like this is quite the case anymore.

The last full version I owned was NHL 09. It doesn't really feel like things have developed that much since then. I completely agree with Primis in that it feels like NHL 11 v2.0. If you look at the FIFA series, there have been some big leaps/improvements between releases whereas it doesn't feel like NHL has made such a big leap for some time. Maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe the full version of NHL 12 will actually be more of an improvement over NHL 11 than the demo suggests. The individual player characteristics/types sound cool, for example. Also, I did notice a player frantically slap the puck away using his glove when he lost his stick - that was a nice touch.

I haven't made up my mind yet as whether to buy this version. I was intending to, but I just don't know if I'll enjoy it. To be honest, I haven't been hooked to an NHL game since NHL 04 (although NHL 2K6 was quite enjoyable).

Does they release it on ps2?

No, it's just PS3 and X360 I'm afraid. Heck, I don't think it's even available for the PC anymore.

[Metalbrian2]

they stop making PC verison, the last one was 09.

I hope Be a Pro is better.