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Every year EA makes a few additions to the gameplay although it has basically been kept the same as NHL 11. They have found a successful formula in keeping the best of the old and adding a few new things. This year we now have the helmet coming off, hitting a player to send him in the bench area, contacts with the goalie (you can hit the goalie, he can hit you), goalie fights which is really cool, shattered glass and the nets can be moved more easily. EA Sports claim there is a better physical engine and I have to say they're right. This is especially true when playing Be a Pro/Legend where you can notice some improvements when it comes to control, hitting other players and shooting. EA have always been about realism and this year it's a little better than the last. However it doesn't "look" any different from what I've experienced it's very much the same graphics. The one big change is in Be a Pro when it comes to gameplay. Now unlike previous titles you can't spend 45 minutes on the ice. Before you could play pretty much as long as you wanted by pressing the B button and taking another player's place on the Ice. Instead of doing that you "simulate" until your next shift on the ice. Now the amount of play your player gets depends on the line you're on. Basically the big new thing in NHL 12 is that you can now play as select legends in whatever team you want. Say what you will playing as those legends is a cool option that should've been available before this year, I'm glad this addition was made.
The Be a Pro mode now offers the possibility of developing in the CHL before being drafted to the NHL which is a nice option and enhance realism factor. Plus there are all time records you can beat which makes it all the more challenging. As far as I know NHL 12 also marks the first time you can play as a female in Be a Pro. Also you have much more choices for the player faces this time around. Be a Legend is basically like Be a Pro where you take the role of a legend and earn career achievements. It's a fun addition to be able to play as legends and its one thing I've wanted EA to add to the franchise for years. The legends you can play as are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios , Gordie Howe, Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy, Jeremy Roenick and Borj Salming . You each have to unlock them except Roenick which is already playable and each of those legends have a degree you need to reach ex: Legend, Legend 2, Pro and so on while in Be a Pro. As far as I can tell, Be a GM has not changed much they basically kept it the same as the previous edition. There are some slight new additions but basically its the same thing with the same options. The 2011 Winter Classic match between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins is also playable and you also have the option of playing with the two teams of your choice. It's a fun novelty, you play in a snowy environment that looks nice (and the arena/crowd area looks great) but otherwise I don't think its one I will play too often, except maybe to show some friends.
Due to recent changes in the NHL the Atlanta Trashers aren't part of this game and the Winnipeg Jets have been added. I noticed that you have the classic Jets jersey but not the new logo, instead you a plain NHL jersey. You can bet that EA Sports will put them in the game as a form of downloadable content sometime soon (hopefully). On a side note,there is no booklet with this game for some reason. The controls are displayed during the waiting screens like NHL 11.
If you thought that NHL 12 would see a whole new gameplay, and major changes it's obviously not happening. Maybe for a future title but this is basically the same as the previous edition with a few changes and things added to it. It does what it sets out to do which is improving on the last one and I think it did just that. I particularly like the legends (an all legends team anyone?) and the fact that Be a Pro offers up to four years in the CHL before being drafted. If you like the new additions I listed and being able to play as legends appeals to you NHL 12 is a great buy, if not you may be just fine with one of the past editions but for the fans who buy those yearly editions each year will want to play it. I won't say it's the best or my favorite title in the series but NHL 12 is a good game overall that will please hockey fans. 4/5
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THIS is what happens when there's no competition.
Let's see, what's broken about NHL 12?
1. Your AI D will still go behind the net, hug the boards, and wait to turn the puck over.
2. Goalie fights in EASHL are a complete waste. I play RW and really REALLY enjoy sitting around doing nothing for 5 minutes because of a goalie fight (it's the RW who goes into the penalty box).
3. I love how if I'm standing near the goalie, I seemingly HAVE to fight him if he so chooses.
4. The hitting was toned down to the point where you can absolutely crush someone, and they will often just shrug you off.
5. The puck still loves to fall off your stick for no reason, and you still fall down at points that are ridiculous.
6. I am the leading scorer in the league in Be A Pro, and guess what ... no power play time. I can not press B and play on the PP. Yeah, that seems to make sense. Oh yeah, you can sit and watch the shootout, too, because apparently your sixth defenseman is far more dangerous than you and your 4 points-per-game average.
7. Boosts are still there. And I still hate them. I either pay a bunch of money to have my online character better, or have to suffer through Be A Pro.
8. Players online clearly know exactly what attributes to use, as per usual. So, at this point in time, they skate so much faster than the AI D, that they skate consistently right past them. And I'm sure they'll find more exploits and cheats.
And the following needs to be addressed NOW!!!
9. FIX THE MATCHING SYSTEM! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired of ONE person ruining a Lobby game because they did not get the position they wanted. Let us choose the position BEFORE. How hard is this? Because, apparently, its too difficult for someone to pick a position or leave.
Thanks EA! I'm SURE NHL 13' will be better! (the common refrain of the EA damned).
Best Deals for NHL 12 - Xbox 360
This game is unacceptably bad.
I'm a very big fan of EA's NHL series. I have religious played each game released in the series since NHL 08, and I've seen the series come a long way in that time. The forward progress of the series, and, indeed, the quality of the experience as a whole, has come to a crashing halt with this year's rendition. This game has barely more content than its predecessor, and, worse, it plays in highly unrealistic fashion and is riddled with bugs.
The major addition touted by the EA NHL team for this year's rendition--indeed, it was the main feature in the game's Internet and television advertisements--was Legend Mode, which allows one to play as a legendary player (i.e. Patrick Roy, Jeremy Roenick, etc.). This is far less fun than it sounds. This mode is essentially Be a Pro--a mode present since NHL 09--played with a highly-rated player. In other words, literally the only difference between this mode and standard Be a Pro is that your player will start out with excellent attributes, something which makes the experience immensely easy. This game mode no doubt took almost no work by the developers, the necessary changes being limited to simply creating these players within the game and making them selectable. As for the legends themselves, you initially only have access to Jeremy Roenick; the other legends are unlockable only by playing the Be a Pro or Be a Legend modes and achieving certain milestones, something that can take a long while. Indeed, it takes such a long time to unlock such players as Lemieux and Gretzky that you'll likely have become tired of the game mode by the time you have access to them. All told, this mode is not anything special; it's ridiculous that it was the main addition in this year's rendition.
On that subject, the changes to Be a Pro do not work properly. This year's rendition gives you a more real-time experience, with your shifts being played in real time rather than time passing at an accelerated rate. Your time off the ice can either be simulated or watched from the bench; in the latter case, it likewise occurs in real time. This leads to some significant issues. For one, it's not out of the question for you to sit on the bench for five or six minutes at a time, regardless of if you're the team's top scorer. Too, you'll run into maddening situations in which instead of being put on the ice with the empty net so as to help your team score a goal--as before, this occurs even if you're the top scorer on your team, or even in the league--you're dumped onto the ice with one second left in the game. This happens on a regular basis. Further asinine quirks in Be a Pro include being traded for peanuts to another team even if you've scored 200 points in a season, and not being played on the power play--regardless of your stats and abilities--unless you've put sufficient points into offensive awareness, a statistic that is of extremely marginal value and not at all a good use of your hard-earned experience points. I'd call this year's Be a Pro substantially less enjoyable than it was in NHL 11.
Be a GM, too, suffers from substantial issues, issues even greater than those found in prior renditions of the game. First, the AI makes a horrendous GM, often failing to re-sign effective players who are not asking for much money; worse, it's not uncommon to see the AI inexplicably waive a player who is leading the league in scoring. Too, the players make asinine choices during negotiations; many of them ask for ludicrously long contracts at ridiculous price, leading the UFA list to often feature numerous top-tier players whom neither the AI GM nor the player GM are willing to take at the players` asking prices. Like Be a Pro mode, Be a GM mode has taken a step backward from last year's version.
The general experience on the ice has, too, taken a step backwards. Player AI--both for your opponent and for your unselected players--is horrid. Players often make nonsensical decisions, for example failing to keep proper position on a 2-on-1 or hanging around in ridiculous spots in the offensive and defensive zones. The degree to which players can maintain control of the puck is ludicrous, as is the agility possessed by every player; players can routinely make turns that would, in real life, result in spectacular wipe-outs. Also excessive is passing accuracy; an average fourth-liner can be expected to have the pass accuracy of a real-life superstar. The main addition to on-ice play in NHL 12, goaltender collision, is a disaster. It is very common to see goaltender interference penalties called when no contact was made, and it is very possible for a human goaltender to initiate contact with a player outside the crease and draw a penalty. Worse, flagrant goaltender interference is often not called. It is not uncommon to see a goaltender deliberately crushed without a penalty being called, a play which almost invariably results in the team with the puck scoring into the empty net. Another, more minor addition to the game is tie-ups by defenders. Essentially, defenders may tie up forwards in front of the net to prevent them from making deflections or banging in loose pucks--at least, this was the intent of the developers, because the function actually does not at all function properly. It is, instead, almost utterly useless; offensive players can disengage from a tie-up with ridiculous ease, and taking oneself out of the play in this manner as a defenseman almost invariably decreases one's ability to protect the net. Just about the only practical use of this feature lies in a defender's ability to tie up with a forward and drag him into a goalie; this will result in a goaltender interference penalty. Also of issue are such matters as deflections being utterly useless, shots being overly accurate, and checking being often pitifully useless. The new player animations are more lifelike and well-tuned than those found in earlier games of the series, but this is about all that NHL 12 has going for it over previous renditions. As with the two previous categories, general on-ice play has, in sum, taken a step backward.
EASHL--online team play--one of the biggest draws of the series, is a disaster. Every forward is capable of feats unmatched by real NHL players. Each forward with a legend card is a mix of the best qualities of the league's best-ever players: the passing ability of Gretzky, the balance of Lemieux, the speed of Bure, the shot of Hull, and the stickhandling and agility of Datsyuk. Meanwhile, defenders have roughly the ability level of second-line defenseman in today's NHL. This results in infuriatingly-imbalanced gameplay that bears little similarity to that found in the NHL. Instead of being rewarded for cycling the puck in the offensive zone, forwards will find the most success in hogging the puck low in the zone and repeatedly attempting a cross-crease pass until such inevitably succeeds. There are, as well, certain moves on the AI goalies that have a ridiculously high percentage of success. Too, defenders often will have an immensely difficult time of impeding the forwards at all; forwards can stop, twirl or turn on a dime and maintain the puck through numerous pokechecks--there is no stick-on-stick collision, and the defender's stick will also often sweep directly through the puck without dislodging it from the forward's stick--sticklifting will nearly always result in the forward maintaining possession of the puck, and hits will often simply encounter an almost literal force field in existence around the forward; the forward will, indeed, often be completely unfazed. This results in defenders generally being at the mercy of the forwards. The issues with this game mode could be described at much greater length, but there's no use; it works just as well to note that this it is horrendously imbalanced and neither fun nor realistic... unless, that is, you like playing as a puck-hogging forward in arcade style.
It also bears mention that the EA NHL team has shown little or no interest in solving these issues. Their level of communication with the community is horrendous, and little work has been put into improving the game's myriad issues. In sum, it feels as if this game was rushed and was released in incomplete state, yet with no plans of supporting it such that the issues inherent to the release version would be eventually fixed. Indeed, no premium whatsoever was, either, put on making the game exceptional in any way.
I advise against purchasing this game. If you have NHL 11, stick with that. NHL 12 is likely to provide you with more frustration than fun, and it does not justify its price tag.
Honest reviews on NHL 12 - Xbox 360
Like the title says, it's a great and fluent game but EA Sports is yet again stealing our money by releasing these sports games every year and still making the presentation horrible.
The teams always come out to the same intro and with the same animation.
The commentators still say the same things.
My Be a Pro goalie always goes through the same routines and animations.
The AI can be anticipated (meaning a skater will stop near the boards for someone to come and trip him up).
It's sad, really. Overall, it's a good game but after your second game played in Be a Pro you will have seen and heard everything at least twice already. Come on, EA. Don't be idiots.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for NHL 12 - Xbox 360
Been playing the NHL franchise for well over 20 years and this year's version is great once again, online team play in the EASHL is awesome. Many small improvements over last year's game but when combined make for a decent impact. Not sure EA shouldn't start selling these franchise games as $35 updates, but NHL 12 is definitely the best hockey game on the video game market (maybe the only hockey game).
