NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

[Qb]

Between midnight releases and retailers opening nation(s)wide, many of us finally have our grubby little hands on NHL13.

Use this thread to post your impressions of the full game. Please remember to use the stickied Q&A thread to ask questions.

[Gosens6]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Love the game, but the feature I was most excited about, GM Connected Careers, is nearly unplayable for me. The loading times, and the menu lag is SO SLOW in this mode I can't even muster up the patience to sim 3 days worth of games.

I continuously get locked out of going into the menu, scrolling through simple stats is hard enough, and let's not even talk about the sim times. Until EA gets this fixed I won't be playing it.

Other than that, the gameplay is the best iv'e played in an NHL game. I'm having fun in every other mode and i'll be addicted to this game for a long time.

[kerosene31]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

(just wondering, why not just rename the old thread?)

Well, I've never been to a midnight release before in all my years of gaming. I just happened to be off of work this week and I figured why not?

Just some very initial impressions. I only played one game so far.

All star diffficulty
10 minute periods
Sabres (me) vs Leafs

I didn't play the demo very much, so I was not used to the skating and out of practice quite a bit. I got outshot like 18-3 in the 1st. I took some dumb penalties and was just playing poorly. Miller held me in there (he is rated like a God in this game) and I was only down 1-0. By the 2nd I started to get going and eventually won the game 4-1 with an empty netter.

Now, for the good, the bad, and the ugly:

The good:

-Game is a lot more "sloppy". You can actually poke the puck away if you are in proper position without having to time it down to the nano-second.

-Passing was great (not laser beam accurate all the time) and I wasn't even playing on hardcore mode yet

-The physics overall are even better than previous games. Things like puck battles in the corner and poke checks used to feel scripted, now they feel natural.

-The skating engine is great and really adds to the realism. Momentum is huge now as it should be. Passing to a player standing still is completely different than hitting him on the fly.

The bad (and ugly):

-The teammate AI needs to get better. What's strange is that the teammate AI in some ways took a step backwards. One glaring example is with a simple behind the net D to D pass. I play left D in the EASHL and often in BAP and for years if I was under pressure, I would make the easy behind the net pass to my CPU d-man. Well, this year too often the D man will stand in the right spot but for some reason will watch the puck go by. What should usually be an easy clear ends up being a nightmare. This is only made worse by the skating engine. If your d-man doesn't have great mobility (lots don't) and your partner doesn't help you out, you end up in a lot of bad situations. It is hard to describe. It kind of punishes d-men who aren't the best skaters in the world a little too much?

-The home team still can't see the visiting team's line choice. This was only a minor annoyance in the past, but with the new skating engine I think line matching might be a lot more important. Most of the time in the past I would roll my lines, but now if I were playing the Pens, I would pay much more attention to when Sid is on the ice and which line matches up. However there's no way to do that even if you are at home.

-After about a period and a half, I pretty quickly figured out that after I gain the blueline that the old move of spinning towards the boards about the top of the faceoff circle seems to send the AI into a state of total confusion. Granted, I was playing a lower ranked team, but the Sabres aren't exactly rated high either (except goalie). By the 3rd period I was able to skate across the slot and get some really crazy scoring chances (maybe I finally need to "graduate" to superstar)

-While the physics are great overall, there are still a few "what the heck" moments. Not a huge deal but sometimes the puck just does strange things. For example I take a weak shot right in front of the net which hits the goalie and ends up getting "punted" out to center ice. I'm not talking a kick save on a 100 mile an hour slapper, but a quick wrist shot from in close that suddenly gains a ton of momentum that seems physically impossible. Again, far from a gamebreaker, but you can end up with a few comical moments in your game.

-I had zero penalties in the game except for dumb ones I took when controlling a player.

Overall:
As always my negatives seem to outweigh the positives but overall I think the game is another great one.

[gopher_guy]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Apparently I have to wait until the weekend to get it!

[striker3771]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Apparently I have to wait until the weekend to get it!

Thanks for your impression.

[BobSacamano]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Well, I had my first freeze within my first two hours of playing. I was backing out of the Be a Pro player edit screen. I hit "Apply and Save" or whatever the option is called, and... yeah, that was all. I couldn't even get to the XMB. Some impressions from the two games I got to play.

Positives:

- The game is hard. I consider this a good thing
- Skating is hard. I consider this a good thing as well.
- The puck feels very lively.

Negatives:

- Holy mother of slow menus (PS3). EA, I would trade every bell and whistle you've crammed into every screen for some functional, snappy menus. They're sluggish, slow, and unresponsive. I knew all the pretty screens would come with a price tag.
- I guess this is a "legacy issue" by now, but I really dislike how much crisper the CPU plays than me. Not only are their passes way more accurate, but they're able to control their players so much better. They're able to scoop up every rebound and loose puck and immediately shoot or pass, while my guy takes a second to orient himself. It's almost as if the physics engine doesn't really apply to them. This is frustrating.
- The aforementioned freeze

[DirtyJerz32]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

There's already a thread about penalties, but EA has an issue with penalties not being called in there games. Some people are saying the tuner/patch that came out did some good while others are stating it's a placebo effect. I just want more penalties and over aggressive cpu when it comes to penalties and fighting.

[Money99]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

- I guess this is a "legacy issue" by now, but I really dislike how much crisper the CPU plays than me. Not only are their passes way more accurate, but they're able to control their players so much better. They're able to scoop up every rebound and loose puck and immediately shoot or pass, while my guy takes a second to orient himself. It's almost as if the physics engine doesn't really apply to them. This is frustrating.

It's for this reason alone that I won't be buying this game but rather renting first.
And you're absolutely right, it's a legacy issue that has gone back as far as NHL08.
It took me a long time to finally come to the conclusion that this won't change until next-gen consoles come out. And even then, who knows.

[Section_25]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Just played my first game after downloading the patch and tuner sets. Play now flyers Vs. the blues all default settings on pro difficulty. Won 1-0 from a slapshot in the first period. As I knew from the demo, the skating will take me a little while to get used to but I really like it! Blues only got 1 hooking penalty in the game, but all the stats seemed very realistic.

Fixing to start up a season and maybe tweek a few sliders. I know I have only played 1 game but I like what I'm seeing so far. Had a few shots in that first game that bounced off the post and had me yelling "AWWW" out-loud.

In for some good / close games this year it seems. Works for me !

Need some cold beer now!

[Vikes1]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Really enjoying the game.

At least for me...the challenge is up, way up this year. I was able to get two periods in last night [vs the AI] on All-Star normal 10 minute periods. I was out shot 28-5! Simply caught out of position far too many times, with still trying to adjust to the physic, and the aggression of the cpu.

Imo anyway...I think it's great that at this stage of this current gen, I feel as though the gameplay has really changed for the better. And to the point where I have to rethink the way I play the game. Playing the game in the same ole way will get you beat. Love that!

[adayinthelife]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Playing retail PS3 version since Friday, quick list...

PROS:

- Skating engine. Game changer. Long overdue perhaps, but so far it's made the wait worth it because it's just that good. Having to completely change the way you play the game on offense on defense is refreshing as hell. I love that I keep getting caught taking bad angles to loose pucks and give up odd man rushes as a result. I love that when I get a good break with a star player the defense isn't able to catch me, while at the same time it's not an automatic goal because it's tough to get off a solid shot or deke when flying at top speed.

- True Broadcast Cam. After changing the control scheme to "Always Up" and spending some time in Free Skate to get a bit of a handle on it, I don't know that I'll ever switch back to Ice, or any other up and down angle for that matter. No, you can't see the ice as well and can't see shooting lanes as well but I just don't care because the way it changes the game play is such a positive for me. The game feels more organic and I just feel like you can get an even better sense of the new skating from this view. Love it.

- The puck. Sure, I'd love to see even looser, but this is pretty damn good and easily the best it's ever been in any EA hockey game. Passes and shots both have an excellent mixture of fluttering and bouncing, which seems to happen based on situation and how clean you get the shot or pass off.

- New lighting/real time cutscenes. Sounds like a small upgrade but it really does enhance the graphics all around. These are more or less the same buildings and same player models as usual, but the new lighting feels like a much needed face lift. At this point it's unrealistic to expect a full graphical overhaul, so this is a good middle ground to me. I'll take the real time cutscenes over what we've had the last few years, any day.

CONS:

- Hitting. I don't know what the hell has gone on since the introduction of the infamous "3 year plan" to make the game entirely physics based. The hitting in NHL 11 had some odd moments, but on the whole it felt pretty good and there was some excellent variety. That more or less went out the window with '12 for whatever reason. Players felt oddly rigid in comparison to the loose (and perhaps overly done), more rag doll feel that '11 had. Fast forward to '13 and I don't know what to say. Hitting looks terrible. Some of the incidental stuff is quite nice, but it seems like every time the game identifies that a player was hit hard enough to be knocked over, they just go completely stiff and tip over. It looks bad and it feels off, I hope there's something that can be done about it.

- Penalties. I'm seeing calls every game, but could use a few more for sure. I'm not seeing game after game without calls as some are, but I'm seeing about what I saw in '12 I guess and that wasn't quite enough.

- Menus. I like the new design sure, but they're slow as hell even when playing offline and even when not even signed into PSN or the EA servers. They're just menus, keep 'em simple and snappy and focus efforts elsewhere. Also can't stand the little "news" box thing in the bottom right corner.

- Gear. A small problem that only a few care about, and I don't honestly expect anything to be done about it, but I just don't like how gear is removed year after year. I know new stuff comes out, and it's great to see that included (new Bauer and Warrior helmets, etc.) but it'd be awesome if they kept the old stuff in there too.

- Goalies. They feel a little bit off. I'm not as upset by them as some, but I am seeing too many of the same saves over and over and over again. I don't like how they overdo the glove save attempts basically every time a shot goes to that side. Between that and the constant split-save it gets a little repetitive. Also, the new skating engine does really make you see how floaty and warpy the goalies can be sometimes. Don't get me wrong, there are some fantastic looking saves, but for every one of those there are 2 or 3 straight up odd ones. I'm also not sure what's up with the goalie contact physics. They were way, way overdone last year but I think they've scaled it back a little too much this year. I've seen a couple good instances, but for the most part it seems like we're back to goalies made of boulders.


Overall it's probably too early to call it, but right now to me this is the best hockey game of this generation. After playing just the demo I've found myself completely unable to play any of the previous iterations, which says a lot about this game. I haven't started a BaGM or really checked out many game modes, so this is based entirely on gameplay, and really that's what counts the most, right?

[Nomah5]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

I have been reading lots of posts about slow menus. I have been playing 360 since Friday and have not seen any slowdown at all with menus. I have noticed the ps3 version seems to be the common thread though.

[kerosene31]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

- I guess this is a "legacy issue" by now, but I really dislike how much crisper the CPU plays than me. Not only are their passes way more accurate, but they're able to control their players so much better. They're able to scoop up every rebound and loose puck and immediately shoot or pass, while my guy takes a second to orient himself. It's almost as if the physics engine doesn't really apply to them. This is frustrating.

The CPU boosts seem really ridiculous this year. It is kind of sad, the CPU seems to get more boosts yet the AI seems to have taken a step backwards. Overall the game seems to be much easier once you figure out how to counter the CPU.

It is like they forgot to tell the CPU about the new skating engine. My slow guys skate like dump trucks while the CPU seems to get to use last year's physics.

In some ways this game is a massive step forward but it seems to take steps back as well.

[gomuherdclassof2k10]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Even though I said I wouldn't get it due to the impending lockout, I did any ways the SC edition. So far it is great I am a little upset that they have not fixed John Carlson's face even if it is not scanned in. Also I ROFL when I saw Omark is in the red for potential.

[kerosene31]

Re: NHL 13 Available Now - Post Your Impressions Here

Can I post a video to show my impressions of the game?

http://www.easports.com/media/play/video/134789294

Am I the only one seeing this stuff? I'm making a full line change and the AI still seems to struggle 4 on 1 (I'm on all-star with no slider adjustments so far).

Granted I haven't touched sliders or tweaked anything, but all-star used to give me a pretty good challenge in past games. I'm hoping I can find a better balance.