Let's face it ...

[half-fast]

EA Sports doesn't make a good hockey game. They're an old franchise that has one leg up on all other companies who have or want to make a hockey game. I have a lot of appreciate towards the contributors on this site that spend dozens, maybe hundreds of hours assembling these slider settings for all of us, but let's face the facts - No amount of sliders, patches or unter updates will make this game good, ewven if it is currently the best and most realistic game yet. It is simply beyond EA to make a realistic hockey game because they try to please everyone.

We all know what issues plague this series, so I'll keep the list to the things that really destroy it.

1) AI - playing against the cpu in a GM mode is absolutely stupid and frustrating. I know ppl who have fun, but most of the ppl I know that play are NEVER happy, even when they say they are having fun, all they do is complain about the gameplay. The AI cheats to win, cheats to let YOU win, is either way too easy or way too hard(unfair). Very seldom do I play a game I'm satisfied with, and as long as they have lucky bounces and the high number of staged goals that you can see coming a mile away, I will NEVER be happy with this series.

2) Online play - while here you think, ok the AI is unfair so I'll play another human, EA in fact helps teams catch up and gives them garbage goals so ppl who are getting killed will come back for one more game, in turn buying next year's title. The very fact that I can play someone online, have 45 shots to 7, almost ALL the time on attack and be leading by 3 goals just to have them cluster 3 in to tie me is simply ridiculous. EA doesnt have regular luck, they create luck to keep games as close as possible. Inversely, when I play a tight game online, the score is lopsided somehow.

3) Simulation or Arcade? - EA tries to make every audience happoy by making the game the best of both worlds ... unfortunately, it works out that this game is most fun to the casual gamer. Most of us that are on this site want simulation sports, which is something that will never happen to EA hockey as long as they continue to cater to kids and casual gamers ... not that you shouldnt cater to them at all, but I somehow think an xbox live title with lesser functionality would be more ideal for those people.

We want accurate stats, no bs goals or plays, smart AI, both in gameplay and in management(on and off ice) and EA *can* do this, but they cater to both crowds which puts the game into some sort of weird hybrid category that is just bologne.

I hate to rant, but with all the tuner updates, all the slider settings for each tuner, my own slider experiments, playing dozens of hours in every mode imagineable trying to find something fair, challenging and fun, I have utterly failed, wasted a TON of time I would rather spend on a sporting franchise worth a look and frankly cant see how I will be buying next year's title.

I wont go into a full comparison, but let's even compare FIFA and NHL. I play both sports in real life, and I certainly am not saying stick handling is easy, but it is indeed far easier than ball handling, and yet FIFA does such a good job with ball handling and skill moves, and NHL looks like ice hockey for nes in comparison. The dekes are limited in numbers and in flexibility, and there are such a small number of celebrations to boot for after youve pulled off a great goal.

Sorry to rant all, but I just cant take it anymore. This game is just a facelift of last year's. They need to take time off and create something new and special or we need a new company to walk in and create something different.

[GlennN]

Look, I am as critical of NHL 13 as anyone, and I agree that BeAGM mode is largely unchanged since NHL 10, however, to say EA doesn't make a good hockey game is silly. The NHL series is a great series. In fact, for me, EA is a victim of its own success - every game since NHL 10 has failed to improve the product substantially (again, just to me). NHL 13 is a great game . . . it just isn't worth $60, and, to me, isn't a substantial improvement over NHL 10. I could never call NHL 13 a bad game though.

[Al_Tito13]

Even if I love NHL 13, I understand that some of you guys might be disappointed by the game and I fully respect your opinion. However, it's not the first time I read about the money issue and I don't really understand why anyone could be saying that this game isn't worth 60$. What exactly is worth 60$ today? For example, this year, I ordered some UFC events on PPV and it cost me over 65$ for about 3 hours of fun every single time. And I have to say that a few of these fights were not as good as they were supposed to be. This is only an example, but everytime I go to a sport event or to a restaurant, it cost me a lot of money just for one night. So, even with some flaws, I don't understand how 60$ for a game that we will use for a lot of hours and that took several months to create could be too much?

[zukes]

Sorry, this is the best effort that NHL has had in a long time. There is no comeback code, or anythign like it. If you are beating a guy by 3 and outshooting them 45-7, you probably let your foot off the gas and the other guy is trying to save face. I have been on both sides of this coin in my GM Connected league.

Easily the most fun I have had with the NHL series in years, and the longest I have played it in years. In recent years I am almost always back playing The Show or NCAA or Madden by now. None of those games has seen my PS3 since NHL came out this year.

[pl4tinum]

Sorry, I agree with the OP.

The game has fun moments, but the game is clearly in favor of the team that gets down by a few goals. When you see time winding down in the third you know that the other team you're beating 2-0 is going to send the game to overtime. Probably no less than half of the games I play this year end up in overtime, and about 9/10ths of them are 1 goal margin victories. And most of them should be 5-0 or 5-1 wins, if the goalies weren't superhuman spidermonkey goalies with elasticity like a world championship gymnast. Incredible plays get stopped with ease, fluke bullcrap shots go in way too often, and the tables get tilted to make for as many close games as possible. Out-TOAing your opponent 10-3 every game, forcing the other team to take shots from the outside and hardly even get a single scoring chance all game, you shouldn't be winning 1-0 or losing 2-1 in overtime.

The bottom line is this game is only rewarding to scrubs. Amazing plays and breathtaking passing sequences are almost always stopped with ease by the goaltenders and there is hardly any reward for being a good player.

Anyone defending NHL13 is a scrub who enjoys the benefits of bullsh-t goaltending and garbage goal scoring, I'm convinced of it.

[brandon27]

Honestly, when I read rants like this I think its more of a player issue than a game issue. To me, alot of people complain that the AI is cheating, simply because you aren't getting the desired outcome you want from the game. Whether its, you felt you should have scored on that shot, or you thought your goalie should have made that save and he didnt. But... that's sports. It happens in every game, every night. Now, did you see something the game that you dont think you would have seen in real life that makes people think the game is flawed, or unfair. Probably. However, its important to keep in mind, its just a video game. It's not real life hockey. It's impossible for anyone, anywhere to make a 100% realistic video game. Whether its hockey, football, soccer, or baseball. There's too many variables in sports that change constantly. It's darn near impossible to program it that way IMO. To me, it seems like some people just want to win every game 15-0. I'm not saying that this is what the OP is saying, doing, or looking for... its just my feelings alot of times on these rants. I think its important to remember though... its only a video game. Maybe thats just me because I'm older now and its just not that important to me anymore. I like it to be as realistic as possible, but at the same time, its important to remember that its just a game.

Online,... I can't comment about, I don't play online.

As for the game being sim or arcade. Honestly, I can't fault EA for trying to walk the line in between both. Afterall, they are a company. Companies try to make a profit in all they do. You can't completely sell out to one side of the fans of this game, because then you loose the other half. Nobody in business in their right minds would ever do that.

That being said, I think NHL 13 is a fantastic game this year. Does it have its quirky little issues...absolutely. But, what sports game doesn't? They all will. The physics engine is fantastic, new skating is fantastic, the gameplay to me, is fun. That's what it should be. I get it though, there's times where you're left scratching your head. To me though, thats sports.

[pl4tinum]

The game would be playable if the tilting/goaltending/momentum was taken out. EA can lie thru their teeth and say it isn't in the game but it is. If you played on a good team every night and had Time on Attack on a scale of like 10 to 3 every game and probably out-quality-chance your opponent 20 to 1 and regularly lost games you would think the game was broken too.

[kyussmanchu]

while i am not a believer in the comeback code myth, i do think that cpu does get an unfair advantage on the ice. that advantage is the ultra fast reaction time that the cpu has. i think if we had a slider to tone that down, the game would be golden.