NHL 13

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Upon receipt of NHL13 you will need to pull down the 37MB patch (1.01) for your brand-new game. You'll also want to download updates for a few tuner/roster settings. Having played 4 games online thus far, I'd say it's pretty consistent with what you'll experience if you've played the demo. Player speeds seem to be a little more noticeable between characters (in otherwords, if you've set your accel/speed higher, it should pay dividends compared to last year). I haven't received the boost pack code from amazon yet, but I think the terms/conditions say they've got ~2 days to e-mail that.

Graphics: A lot more polished compared to last year. The character renders are really solid and the overall presentation has fewer delays. Otherwise, a lot of the animations seem similar to previous years, though some physics tweaks have already brought about a few comical collisions.

Audio: The commentary has been updated, as has the audio track. It's nice to get new music, but note that you can pull your own tunes off your PS3 using the "EA Sports Media Hub", going into "Custom Music" and then pulling in your own songs (you've put music on your ps3.... right?). After a few days, I typically turn down the in-game commentary. I got really tired of hearing "a soft dump into the corner" during NHL12 every 10 minutes -this is in reference to a play where forwards send the puck ahead into the offensive zone aka "dumping the puck."

Gameplay: It feels pretty different with the addition of more flexible backwards skating, new physics on your skating mechanics and more "bumping" other characters. Already, I've heard people in-game complaining about "interference" from other players who skate into them without attempting a check -this will not result in a penalty but might be just enough to take you out of a critical play. Pokecheck is really powerful now; as a defenseman, this was something I really missed last year. I have a feeling the developers will release a patch that tunes down the pokecheck in the near future. At least it's not as bad as the hipcheck-gate issue at the beginning of NHL12.

Sony/EA need to stay on top of game releases. You can't buy any boosts or slots as of the time of this writing (I was trying to get another slot). You'd think Sony could go ahead and make that available the day before the game is released. A friend who is playing 13 says he'd give the game 3 stars, as it feels like the same old grind, year after year. There's some truth to this, but I really enjoy getting online to play with friends. You see something new every time. In that way, it's like real hockey, you never know if someone is going to go flying into the bench (probably not) but who knows? Maybe next time I play the goalies will get into a fight... that'd be great. If you liked NHL12, go ahead and get '13.

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Once you play you don't want to stop. Rosters always up to date. Many different game modes to come from!

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Gameplay is solid, and online play runs flawless. I've shared several great moments with friends online and we had some unforgettable times.

The menus and off-ice interaction is so sluggish and slow that its pretty hard to run a franchise mode or season... or do much of anything. I'm a sports gamer through and through, and a franchise mode player almost exclusively. I could not stomach more than a couple games in the mode because off-ice operations take way too long. Simulating the CPU games, just to get to my own game took a few minutes. Changing menu screens takes sometimes a minute. Too painful. By the time you get where you want to be, you have forgotten why you are there.

As a result, I have already stopped playing the game. It's a shame, because on gameplay alone I was tempted to write a 5 star review... but that wouldn't be far as the navigation experience does bring it down a peg (or two)

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The game first came out back in sept and was amazing. As a college hockey player the game was legit and you had to actually play hockey in order to do well.... Then came the first tuner set. Wow.

Absolutely horrendous. I don't know what happened but it went from legit hockey. To forehand backhand glitches. Again. The online play as of April 2013 is the worst since the game came out. It's to the point where if 2k sports made an NHL. I'd return EAs to buy that one. NHL 12 was actually better than this. I can't explain how goalies make the most amazing saves known to man but can't stop a simple shot that's coming right at them. It's like they've never seen a forehand backhand deke in their life. Here's a thought. Stop doing interviews saying "the AI in 13 is the best we've ever had" when you start off being correct and then you release a tuner set and every computer player is worse than 5 year olds who have never skated in their lives. Make up your minds. I recommend not playing online and sticking to GM mode. At least those goalies are halfway decent and can stop a pass from the other end of the ice. EA I recommend you figure it out and either make all of the online modes superstar or have different divisions for different caliber of players so that beginners can play at their level and experienced players can enjoy the game without wanting to break the disk and give up on all EA sports game forever.

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i never really played to many sports games, but my son got me to try this game , now I'm hooked