NHL 12

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They game still has its flaws but it's also made some improvements. Overall it's still fun and probably the best sports sim game out. I've played each of the NHL games extensively over the past few years, what I'll focus on here is game play.

Improvements:

-Checking, the physics engine has in fact been revamped and checking is much more realistic. Huge guys will not get slaughtered by 160 lb short guys.

-Defensive AI, the defense has been improved in defending a 1 on 1 or a 2 on 1. Players don't automatically get a free goal for performing the same deak that used to always work to get around a defender

-Goalies, AI has been improved

-Physical play in front of the net

-Stick handeling, it's been revamped, not everyone handles the puck like it's on a string.

-The time between face offs after a whistle has been blown has been reduced (You don't have to waste 10 minutes every game watching people check each other after a whistle).

-Hip checks don't always send someone head over heals by just touching, physics have been improved.

Flaws:

The flaws are mostly in the AI.

-Sometimes the defense will randomly ice the puck in a 5 on 5.

-Sometimes the defense will bail on touching the puck for icing

-AI still lacks aggression in stick checking, etc, when defending an offensive zone rush.

-Far too much contact can be made with the goaly without incurring a penalty

-Occasional graphical/physics glitches, the puck still travels through sticks on occasion or shots are made without the stick visually making contact with the puck.

-Commentating is redundant/ does not always match up with replays

-No real graphical improvements

Overall it feels like the hockey experience is more realistic which is a good thing. There is still much to be improved on, my guess is we probably won't see any real improvements until the next generation of consoles as current games are pushing the limits of the current generation of consoles. If your a hockey fan and you enjoyed NHL11 you will enjoy this game.

EDIT: Dropping 2 stars until EA resolves the freezing issues. Played 6 games yesterday, one was laggy 2 went through alright and 3 ended up Freezing. This occured to me and everyone else who was in the game so I know it's not game/console specific. Until EA resolves this issue it's a 2 star game. Sad that these issues were not found in beta testing.

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As an avid hockey fan, I forked over (yet again) my hard earned cash to buy this year's latest edition of NHL.

Here are some of my early impressions of the game:

Diving right into it, you'll be faced with EA's annoying online pass requirement. In all honesty I didn't like that at all last year, and am disappointed to see it stick around for the 2012 tour. Your wallet will end up taking a hit if you find that you prefer the older version and would like to re-sell this one.

In any case, past that you'll notice that the menus are a bit smoother and more organized than in previous years. The amount of modes and content is substantial almost overwhelming, but if you've played this game before then you'll know what direction you'd rather go in (Online gaming, Be a Pro, etc).

As far as the game play's concerned:

1) The puck handles differently: After a game or two you'll start to notice that the puck isn't glued to your player's stick anymore like it used to be in NHL 10 & 11. Expect to lose possession more than before.

2) The goalies are harder to score on: Mainly during breakaways (at least that's what appears to be the case so far). In NHL 11, you could pull off the same deke time & time again and almost always score a goal.

3) Game freezes and disconnections: Had this happen during an unranked game last night, it took AGES to be able to start a game, and after succeeding it still froze up (for a few seconds). There was no lag on either side, so seems to be a server issue on EA's side and I guess that'll get cleared up eventually.

To wrap up, I've found that it'll take a bit of time get used to this year's edition... but then again that seems to be the case in most sports games. However, if EA's managed to take away some of the glitch goals from previous years, then it'll definitely get a must buy recommendation from me.

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UPDATE:

1) So I've been playing the game for about 5 days now, and it still freezes way too much. I've had the game crash at least once every time I played and once even while it was searching for an online opponent. Keep in mind that the game crash itself will not count as a loss for you or your opponent (if it happened while in-game), but will still show up as a DNF in your stats. I'm already at 11% DNF, and I never quit my games, regardless of how things are going for me on the scoreboard.

2) I haven't seen that many glitch goals yet, and for the one I have seen, it takes a bit of a shift in your defensive tendencies to counter it successfully. That alone makes it much less frustrating than NHL 11, where it drove you up the wall to see someone score on you at will using the same exact move / location (regardless of what you did to try to stop it).

3) The new player balance addition is very, very good. For instance, you won't see a smaller sized player take down someone who's Chara's size... unless he's headed at him from the other end of the rink at top speed. Players who play a more refined game (more passing/skating, less pushing and hitting) will appreciate this the most. Your guys will still lose balance after taking a mild strength hit but only for a few seconds, which gives you a chance of regaining possession of the puck.

So for anyone wondering if they should upgrade from NHL 11 to 12, then the answer is YES.

The changes (game mechanics and presentation) are noticeable, and once you've gotten used to them it's hard to turn back.

Still, if you're mainly in it for the online aspect then I'd recommend waiting a bit until the related crashes are resolved. Otherwise, go ahead and buy this new edition, you won't regret it.

Buy NHL 12 Now

Edit: Everyone who says it freezes is right. It's a good game but seriously EA, can we have a game without serious flaws and bugs? It sucks when you are in a great game like me tonight Pittsburgh vs Florida 1-0 (me losing) when with 1:53 to go I tie the game. Then as soon as I cross the blue line to try for the win, freezes, nothing you can do but quit the game. EA should be ashamed of themselves for releasing games with these problems, but instead they laugh all the way to the bank because there is no competition and suckers like me buy their crap.

I was expecting the worst after reading some of the reviews on Amazon. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this EA sports title. Surprised because EA is possibly the laziest and worst sports game franchise out there, and they created the abomination that is Madden 12. Anyway, this game is really pretty good, the commentary is fluid, as is gameplay. The controls are pretty good (you use the analog sticks for everything, which is great for a hockey game). The only problems are a few minor flaws which, considering this is an EA title, are not horrible.

The first thing I was excited about is custom music, yes, you can play your own music from the ps3 during menus and Be A Pro Goals, however I find that after a game, the menu music stops and you surf the menu in silence (which is ok, because the music on this game sucks, seriously, they have Mony Mony by Billy Idol???) The second problem is the menu interface, which is just as sloppy and annoying as that of the worst sports game of all time, Madden 12. Gameplay is great however, it makes me wonder if EA did some headhunting of 2k sports programmers for this one. You cannot just march down the ice single handedly and score, you have to cycle the puck and take shots from open spaces, preferably from the slot to score. Unlike Madden 12, the worst sports game in the history of the PS3, this game is realistic, fun, and not just sloppy predictable play wrapping up screenshots. If you like hockey, this is a must.

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I am an extremely loyal EA Sports Game guy for the Play Station 3. Every year, I buy the new version whether it be Madden, NCAA Football, NHL or FIFA and I can honestly say that EA Sports should be ashamed of the NHL 12 release. I have owned this for a short time and I have never had a game that failed to load a file or freeze up as much as this one! Do not buy it, wait til NHL 13.

I mean seriously, how do you develop a game with so many flaws, and that's even when you turn some features off and don't connect to the EA servers. Terrible, awful, DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!

Some of their ideas for the game are good, but what is the point, when you get 20 games into a season, and the game won't load?? If you surf around the web, you see multiple people with the same problem and other issues. Stay away from this game, do not pay the $60 plus dollars for it, stick with NHL 11 and we can all hope that they straighten out NHL 13.

And as for my loaylty to EA, well if you work for EA, you created a lemon here.

Want NHL 12 Discount?

Continues to be a fun game, but the freezing bit is very frustrating. Seems like it happens more often in the "BE A PRO" mode. It's not by chance EA utilizes the autosave feature because nearly 35% of my games froze up. I've played many of the other EA games over the years and thought this glitch should have been improved upon. Still, when you do get to finish a game, the experience is second to none. Great gameplay, poor performance.