NHL '12

[jbyun04 7]

Quick notes:

- Winter Classic

- Player Personalities

- Helmets fly off big hits and hit players over the boards

- New desperation saves

- Battles in front of the net and goalies react to this

- Goalies are live - collisions and fights

- Reworked Be-A-Pro

Be-A-Pro reworked

Also glass breaking, live goalies and goalie fights

One thing that's always bugged me about NHL video games is the invincibility of the goalie. He's out on the ice diving and making crazy saves with no threat of virtual violence or retaliation. Meanwhile, his teammates are getting face washed, flying face first into the glass, and throwing down all around him in brutal first-person fights.

But in "NHL 12," not only can I rush the goalie and even dislodge the net, I can entice the goalie to fight one of my goons, or better yet, watch as my own goalie skates to center ice and challenges his rival to leave the net and catch a beat down.

"This is something we've wanted in the game for years," explains "NHL 12" producer Sean Ramjagsingh, "and goalie fights is probably the most requested feature we got after last year's game. It's pretty cool being able to fight with the goalies. Our biggest concern coming in was that there just haven't been that many goalie fights over the last five years, but sure enough, this year we had a few in the real NHL. And it's cool to fight as the goalies, because if you run the goalie, your D-Men will take notice of it and go after that guy."

That's right, you'll see players stand up for each other, just like they did last year for their superstar, but push the goalie too far, and he'll decide to handle his business on his own.

If only they'd add the ability to knock out some virtual teeth.

But this year's game isn't just about goalie's beating the saves out of each other. I sat down with Ramjagsingh to get a detailed look at three key areas the "NHL" team has focused on for "12."

1. Don't just be a pro, be a legend

Be a Pro mode was introduced back in "NHL 09" and became an instant hit with gamers. But since then, the feature really hasn't seen much improvement. "Our fans have been asking for more," says Ramjagsingh. "So this year, our motto was 'Become the Next Legend.' This year it's all about you and your character becoming the next great legend, and we've included some presentation elements that capture these legendary moments."

But before you become the next "Great One," you'll first need to earn your ice time. "When we put the mode in back in '09,' we quickly realized that sitting on the bench is not an optimal gameplay experience," explains Ramjagsingh. "Unrealistically, what we did was allow you to put yourself back in the game at any time, but the way we redid the mode this year is when you start to play, your coach will give you a task. The better you execute that task (kill a penalty, score a goal), the more ice time you'll earn."

Also new this year is the ability start your career as a 15 year-old in the CHL. From there, it's off to the AHL before finally making it to the NHL as your journey from teenager to All-Star continues.

And when you're not on the ice, you still have the ability to watch the game from the bench, but now you also have the option to either watch a visual display of all of the action via a text sim called Action Tracker, or you can simply skip to the next time you're in the game (think "MLB The Show"). "If you're on the bench, press fast forward and you're right back on the ice," adds Ramjagsingh. "So now if you're a forward who plays two-to-three shifts per game, you can play the game in about five minutes. But if you're a top-of-the-line center, and you play 25 minutes a game, it's going to take you that long to play. This really makes things a lot more realistic, making you earn that ice time, and having ice time given out based on how well you play."

2. Physics change gameplay

Last year, "NHL 11" moved away from animation-based gameplay and introduced a real-time physics engine that led to more realistic collisions based on the size, strength, and speed of the players. This year, "NHL 12" takes that physics engine a step further. "We're calling it Full Contact Physics this year, and we want everything to be live," explains Ramjagsingh. "Now when you hit a guy, you'll see helmets popping off and be live on the ice. You'll also be able to hit players into the bench with the other players on the bench reacting appropriately, and if you hit a guy hard enough into the glass or if you hit a hard enough slap shot, we have the glass breaking as well. We also have new puck physics, so you'll see the puck rolling more and you'll see knuckleballs off some slap shots."

Best of all, the new physics engine means the goalies are finally in play. You can bump the goalie, hit the goalie, run the goalie, and if you're driving hard to the net and get taken out, you can also take the goalie out and even knock the net off its moorings.

"We're really focusing on making size and strength matter more," adds Ramjagsingh. "When you look at the EA Sports Hockey League, last year, all anyone used were the small, quick guys. This year, we make the big, strong guys matter more, especially in front of the net. We've created a lot more scrambles in front of the net as we've made that area come alive with the big guys pushing and bumping. And to go along with that, since we have all these crazy scrambles going on in front of the goalies, you'll see a lot more desperation type saves and scramble type saves where maybe the goalie is bumped out of position, so now he's diving back to make the save and doing whatever he can to keep the puck out of the net. All of that interaction has been a real focus for us this year."

3. Presentation really matters

Some games, you pop the disc in and it takes five minutes of maneuvering through menu screens before you can even do what you paid your money for, and that's play. In "NHL 12," start the game and you're instantly transported into the franchises newest environment, the Winter Classic." Says Ramjagsingh: "In terms of the NHL, this is now the pinnacle event outside of the playoffs, so we have Heinz Field, we have the snow falling, we have fireworks and fire. We really just tried to capture everything about the Winter Classic presentation-wise.

"Another thing we really tried to capture is a cohesive television package. Last year we started a partnership with a company that does graphics for everyone from ESPN to The Golf Channel, so this is our second year working with them on the art direction of the game. It's a cleaner, flashier, sleeker look to the game this year where in years past we tended to focus on the dirtier elements of hockey with the scratches on the ice and dirty snow. You see this new look in all of our screen wipes, overlays, and menus."

The team also focused heavily on the game's broadcast replay package. "When you see three or four big saves or a bunch of big hits, we have a new replay package that will give you the broadcast package with the player's name flashing across the screen," explains Ramjagsingh. "And anytime you pause the game, you'll see the EA Sports Action Tracker with all of the stats on the screen. You'll see all the shots you've taken, where you've taken them from, where you're shooting on the net & just making all of the stats we track under the hood available for you to analyze."

Add to that a completely new simulation engine that was created from scratch for "NHL 12," and we are just scratching the surface of this incredible looking game.

Just a warning for anyone who wants to play me online. My goalie is itching for a fight and I finally have the ability to do something about it.

Source: ESPN Go

http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/videogames/blog/_/name/thegamer/id/6589174/nhl-12-revamps-pro-adds-goalie-fights-shattered-glass?readmore=fullstory

Talks about Star Players being Star Players this year. Rough translation indicates

players like Stamkos will leverage shots down on one knee for one timers.

http://www.gameswelt.de/articles/pre..._12/index.html

New sim engine built from scratch

[Chadd 916]

The whole thing was about fighting and intimidation, even the video game version of hockey is going down the toilet.

[porky45 1]

The whole thing was about fighting and intimidation, even the video game version of hockey is going down the toilet.

The whole thing was about fighting and intimidation, even the video game version of hockey is going down the toilet.

then at the end they say "I don't want people to worry that our game this year is going to be all about fighting and being physical. In fact, I think it has the opposite affect. I think adding all of these features actually calms the game down because that's what fighting does."

REALLY!?!?

[K9 Unit 1]

lol if the hittings like this year where you turn the down the power to nothing and still ever hit makes you fall on the floor....i'm really flushing it down the toilet...and there better be some board play!!!

[jbyun04 7]

http://insideblog.easports.com/archive/200...play-fixes.aspx

[Chadd 916]

http://insideblog.easports.com/archive/200...play-fixes.aspx

Video blog?

Why force people to watch the whole thing as opposed to just letting them scan for info that they want?

Oh and sit still for god's sake.

[Ahriman 1]

The whole thing was about fighting and intimidation, even the video game version of hockey is going down the toilet.

After reading I just thought "Well I wonder when they'll get to the other 4 things I should know about besides the fights"

[TBLfan 25]

He has a little head. I can't stand video blogs.

I just hope by the passing change they let you pass off the boards.

I like that every year I say "*Random explicit word(s)*, I hate this damn game" less and less during gameplay.

[GoWings85 0]

The game sounds UNREAL. Can't wait til it comes out!!

[K9 Unit 1]

The game sounds UNREAL. Can't wait til it comes out!!

rofl...compare this to all the other comments xP

[Leafsrule16 5]

When is this coming out?

[shotty 7]

i havent been interested in video games for about three years... but this preview has me on the brink of running out and getting an xbox or whatever.

[kosydar 0]

When is this coming out?

I'd assume it'll come out when the others have, the second week in Sept.

[starsfan71 9]

The fighting looks like a crappy ww2 game for the playstation 2 if you ask me.

[GoWings85 0]

The game sounds UNREAL. Can't wait til it comes out!!

rofl...compare this to all the other comments xP

Lol...I'm more interested in the after the whistle stuff and hopefully a few other changes as well. I'm getting bored with NHL '09.

[philatangy 0]

i havent been interested in video games for about three years... but this preview has me on the brink of running out and getting an xbox or whatever.

This is why I own an xbox!

NHL 09 was worth it alone.

[K9 Unit 1]

The game sounds UNREAL. Can't wait til it comes out!!

rofl...compare this to all the other comments xP

Lol...I'm more interested in the after the whistle stuff and hopefully a few other changes as well. I'm getting bored with NHL '09.

i got real bored like in january...when the standing around in the offensive zone ai just started pissing me off and i'm too lazy to make my own plays

[jbyun04 7]

The fighting looks like a crappy ww2 game for the playstation 2 if you ask me.

That screen probably isn't from a complete build and that's only for Be-A-Pro mode anyway.

[bednarz877 0]

the nhl series was the sole reason i bought the 360

[HattrickSwayze 3]

The fighting looks like a crappy ww2 game for the playstation 2 if you ask me.

That screen probably isn't from a complete build and that's only for Be-A-Pro mode anyway.

I don't think so, I think it's going to be for all fights. I'm not completely sold on the first person fighting yet. Maybe it'll be better when I see it in action. The rest of the changes sound really cool though. I especially like that they actually have a momentum "engine" for fighting and crowd involvement. The interactive crowd sounds pretty awesome too. I'm hoping that they've got it where the crowd goes crazy after a big hit and such. Even though they say it's not, I hope the game doesn't get too centered around fighting and checking, where it gets to the point that all you have to do is start a fight and the game completely swings around if it's not going your way.

I like that you can face wash people and start fights with anyone now. I'm excited to see what changes they've made to dynasty and Be a Pro. These changes to the gameplay sound pretty promising, so lets hope the rest is good too.

[eddyo57 0]

its kind of dis heartnening to see how much emphasis they are putting on the fighting. im sure everything else will improve as it has each year since 07. But still lets see them take care of glitch goals and flopping goalies, not worry so much about how to fight, when to fight, and so on.

overall i bet it will be as good if not better than 09 though.

[bar_down_21 0]

I don't know about you guys.. but the name of NHL '10 just sounds bad. haha Just say it a couple times out loud..

Hey guys lets go play some NHL 10..

Weirdddd.

[hockeysc23 0]

Add me to the group not happy with all the emphasis on fighting ... it seems NHL always focuses on 1 thing and completely leaves the rest to either remain the same or downgrades.

NHL 09 was great except goalie AI ... just work on that.

[Hockeyman11385 1]

The guy from EA made it sound like fighting will solve anything. Getting killed 4-0? Start a fight and magically the score will be 4-4. I think it's really stupid. I miss the days of NHL 94 on Sega Genesis. The game was so easy but still a ton of fun. The latest games are too complicated.

[interpathway 9]

There is only one aspect of NHL09 that TRULY needs improvement. I hope you agree.

The patch they added to get more interference and boarding calls was great, because there were none of those calls from the get go, especially interference.

but

Why wont the NHL developers make cross-checking and elbowing a specific button?

My reasoning being, I use the skill stick to hit an offensive player and my player decides to cross-check him rather than finish him into the boards legally (which is what I want to do).

If I want to cross-check someone who is taking liberties at my goalie, make that the Y button so that I earn the two minutes, rather than cross-checking a guy who just dumped the puck in because the skill stick can't tell I just wanted to legally finish a check.

Fix that, and all will be well.

Eh, the goalies could be more difficult to score on ;).