NHL 12

Review from Barry - Wednesday, 28 September 2011 @ 12:38pm

Let me just start off by saying that I haven't played a sports game since NBA jam on the SNES - needless to say it has been a long time between Gatorades, so I was a bit weary when NHL12 arrived in the mail. Like the trooper that I am I fired up the 360 and put hands to controller to find out what it is all about.
NHL 12 is the 21st sport game from EA sports so it's fair to say they know what works and what doesn't so it was no surprise to me when NHL12 looked and sounded like a million bucks!

When I first turned on the game I was ready to pick some sort of basic training or career mode that would start me off on some back water loser hick team to let me hone my skills with the puck before taking on the all American dream team. NHL12 had other ideas however and through me directly into some sort of exhibition match between last season's grand final teams.

Dick thrusting is a key strategy to winning

Boy was I lost. What was pass? How did I get the puck, what do I do with the puck now I have it? Shit - how do I do anything? Once NHL12 realised its mistake it brought up a pop up menu asking if I was a total noob and needed to know what was new in NHL12. Oh sweet lord, now I can learn the basics and find that before mentioned backwater hick team.

Alas no - NHL12 taught me what was new in this iteration of the much loved series, not the basics. So now I know how to flick the puck into someones face from the starting face off - which I am sure is a valid tactic if you then know how to pass it to your teammate. After I fumbled my way through the "whats new" tutorial I was then given the option to replay the match from before.

The game looks amazing

Shit yeah, now I can use all my puck to the face moves and win me some ice hockey trophies. Once again NHL 12 had other ideas, because it was at this point that my disc failed and the game crashed. All in all not a fantastic start.

One thing that is amazingly obvious is that this game is made with so much love, there clearly are some major fans of the sport in the development team. The sounds for example are amazing, from the whacking of the hockey sticks in the initial scramble for the puck to the sounds of the skates hitting the ice rink as you power up towards the goal in your flying V formation.

The learning curve is steep though. Not necessarily in game play, more so in the controls and technical jargon departments. If you are new to the sport I highly recommend you get a friend who knows the sport to explain what the hell a deke is and why multiple dekes will help you score or why you want to poke check your opponents.

Let's hope he deked enough to score!

Not to be outdone by the visuals and game play sounds the commentators in NHL12 really make the game pop. Talking about how the game is progressing in terms of a how you are actually playing the game can help give you some clues on either switching up some of your tactics, as they clearly are not working or to stick to your current play style but increase your offense.

Veteran players will be quick to work out who the better players are on the opposing team and to quickly take them out. This is a dirty way of playing, but hey - you cant spell win with lose. You do of course by throwing down your gloves and punching on, something that I feel should you should be able to do in ALL sporting games.

The Y button will initiate the fight and once it starts the left thumb stick will control your hold on the other player while the right stick is your punching arm! Flick it up to punch and place a powerful uppercut by moving the thumb stick down then quickly up. You can also block with the left trigger but I am not sure why you would want to do that.

Punch him hard enough and his helmet comes off!

The fight sends both players off for about 5 minuets which can greatly boost your chances of defending your current score if the bloke you took out was their star attacker or even turning the game around if you sent off their star defender. Your player also is sent off, so it pays to know your strengths and weakness as a team.

Pros

• Excellent visuals
  
• Amazing audio
  
• Top notch commentators
  
• A fighting mechanic that should be implemented in all sports games
  

Cons

• Ice hockey jargon meter is off the charts
  
• Unhelpful beginners tutorial
  
• Not a mighty ducks reference in sight