NHL 12 Video - Stage Demo

[BlueNGold]

Quote: Originally Posted by bwiggy33

Nice catch. Maybe they added old school teams, or just added in old school arenas. It would be pretty sweet to play at the Maple Leaf Gardens, Montreal Forum, Chicago Stadium, or MET CENTER (this would be sick).

I think you might be on to something.

I just finished watching the EA live Q&A videos with Rammer at E3 (they were posted a month ago) and he said the big feature they're holding back until closer to launch is something he's excited about and it's probably the most excited he's been for a feature they've done in his four years. But the main thing he said was it would resonate with all hockey fans, even casual fans. Maybe they added some type of classic mode with classic players and stadiums?

[DJ]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlueNGold

I think you might be on to something. I just finished watching the EA live Q&A videos with Rammer at E3 (they were posted a month ago) and he said the big feature they're holding back until closer to launch is something he's excited about and it's probably the most excited he's been for a feature they've done in his four years. But the main thing he said was it would resonate with all hockey fans, even casual fans. Maybe they added some type of classic mode with classic players and stadiums?

Man, that would be so awesome if that is the case.

I admit, I am on the bandwagon for NHL 12 now. The past few videos have gone a long way to selling me on the game. Looks like NHL 11 will be getting traded in to make room for NHL 12.

[Jattbreed]

Man, I'm just happy to see Littman again.

[FBeaule04]

Great video!

I hope that the AI improvements are there in NHL 12, it was so awful in NHL 11 that they had to do something.

What the video showed was how bad EA did their job in NHL 11 with the AI. I understand that the focus is on the online play, but you can't offer a product like that for offline modes and still be saying you test the game.

Littman video was a proof that the game wasn't tested at all for offline modes. Would have be happy to see no more D pinning themselves or W going for the corners on a breakaway, but I guess there's a limit for self-punishment in that presentation!

[SinisterAlex]

Anyone else notice the stadium looks different in the first part of the original video with Alex Ovechkin? Look at the crowd, glass, arena, etc of the NHL 11 clip then watch the NHL 12 clip.

Maybe it's just me, but does it look better and more "alive". Or do we finally have real arenas?

[Juiceman612]

Quote: Originally Posted by GameSeven

Lots of gameplay footage at http://www.gamespot.com/shows/on-the...ar%3Btitle%3B1 Starts around 28:00 into the show

Thanks for this. Watching the gameplay it still seems way too easy to gain the offensive zone. Defense isn't pinching at all from what I can see. Not that they should every time, but I didn't see it at all. That's pretty disappointing. A ton of up and down too. This is frustrating to see again.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Juiceman612

Thanks for this. Watching the gameplay it still seems way too easy to gain the offensive zone. Defense isn't pinching at all from what I can see. Not that they should every time, but I didn't see it at all. That's pretty disappointing. A ton of up and down too. This is frustrating to see again.

I noticed that too.
The one thing that's hard not to notice also is that every pass is tape-to-tape. It doesn't even matter if it's an errant pass or deflects off something it's always on someone's tape immediately. There are very few loose-puck moments in this game it seems.

Watch an NHL game and it's kind of turned into a trench-warfare type process. With each loose puck, comes a collision or scrap for the puck.
You don't get that in EA's game.

And it's quite obvious that the physics don't apply to board pinning. There's still a tonne of suction with size and strength playing no role in who's doing the pinning and who gets pinned.
I bet I can pin Chara with Hudler anytime I want to.

I'm still going to pick it up. I haven't really had a full-time hockey game in 2 or 3 years now.
I think I've gotten used to this series' shortcomings.
The game is what it is and until the next consoles come out, it's not going to change.
It's always going to be very north-south with no neutral zone pressure and very 'clean' gameplay.
It's still fun and I think I just need to get over my hangups. It's a game and I should simply try to enjoy it.

[Qb]

A couple things... first, ChaseB is at this event. Hopefully he'll be able to share some insight from more hands-on time.

The "Anticipation AI" stuff is promising. Hopefully it comes off as well as can be expected. Kind of hits on what I was saying in another thread about AI players always reacting to what we're doing, thus often putting them a step (or several more) behind. I really hope the net battles and balance control are, well, balanced. Again, promising stuff.

As for the footage from Gamespot -- which I can't watch now because I'm at work -- depending on what it's from, it could be on casual gameplay settings if we're seeing non-stop tape-to-tape passing (like the E3 stuff). I know the game has a way to go when it comes to representing the type of hockey Money talks about, but the settings can make a big difference in how the game plays in many ways. And yeah, I know we're stuck with the online settings, but at least offline we have control over a lot of things.