Category Archives: Reviewed

Review – NHL Team iPhone Apps

November 15, 2011   kevkev   No comments

Today, I am going to talk to you about apps.
Big game changer in the mobile industry and any smart phone owner will tell you they make your life so much easier be it catching up with the latest trends on twitter, grabbing a quick game of Fruit Ninja or live score updates from that hockey game your not watching (… and why aren’t you watching it?)
The major sports leagues, companies and broadcasters have all jumped on-board and are producing apps – ESPN, NHL GameCenter, TSN etc. and with such support from those vendors, its only reasonable to expect applications from your NHL Team?
Well, right now, fans of many teams – you are going to have to wait, as sadly right now just 12 of the 30 teams have official apps and amazingly, it is a surprise as to how much each app varies; despite the fact that there are only a few different developers for these apps. So, put your feet up and stay with us for a little while as you are about to find out what team has the best mobile app (and who doesn’t at all). Before I begin, I would like to add that all these applications are Free; and I am testing them on an iPhone 4S. There are more screenshots at the end of the article for your enjoyment.

Anaheim Ducks -
Application Developer: B3Connect
This application loads with a sepia toned picture from a Ducks game, and then immediately takes you into the Ducks news, which arguably is a great place to start. The menu for the app is at the bottom of the screen and taping itbrings up a myriad of options, including a Live Scoreboard, Media, Tickets and Promotions. Additionally, you can view details about the arena such as Parking info and Upcoming Non Ducks Live Events. In addition to these more ordinary features are a few more unique ones. Fans who click on the Fan Zone option in the menu can listen to the Ducks Goal Song, Browse whats on Players iPods and also see what music they may have heard recently at the Pond. All music links back to the iTunes store to make for easy purchasing should you not already own it. As well, fans can browse through an array of iPhone sized wallpaper. Being the only team to feature this function on their app, they certainly deserve a point just for that feature in my opinion.
The app loads quickly and the interface is really pleasant to use with nicely sized buttons and easy navigation. In addition to standard information, this application has the ability to push scores, game information, team news, promotions and sale information to your phone without even loading it up.
Sadly, all is not good and this application utilizes full screen adverts. These are timed to dismiss themselves after 10 seconds, however it breaks up an otherwise really fluid experience and really brings the application down. Its worth mentioning that they are the only team to utilize full screen adverts; so shame on you Anaheim for ruining an otherwise perfect app.
Final Score  – 4/5 – as it has some great functionality and nice fan features but is let down by fullscreen adverts – boo!
Screenshots -

Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres
No Applications

Calgary Flames -
Application Developer: In House, using Atimi Orchard source code.
A bright “`we are the C of red” splash screen greets you on loading before you are taken straight into the news section of the app. Here you can view the news or social news of the team or select an option from the buttons below. The default buttons are News, Schedule, Videos, Photos and More; however these can be edited in the More section.
In general the application functions well, and there is more than enough to keep an avid Flames fan happy and the application even features access to the forums should you wish to tell everyone just what you think of The Oilers.
There are no adverts at all in this app which is great, however there are no notification options, so users will have to load the app to check out the latest news, or use another application for scores. Besides this, there is no real gimmick or novelty items like Wallpapers or Goal Horns, and it feels lacking having seen what other teams feature.
Final Score – 2.5/5 – As whilst the app is easy to use and functional, its a little boring compared to the others.
Screenshots -

Carolina Hurricanes -
No Application

Chicago Blackhawks -
Application Developer: In House, using Atimi Orchard source code.
Another application developed using the same source code, so you would expect it to run much like the Flames one – however you are mistaken.
Like the other apps, you are presented with a bright load screen, featuring a Chicago Jersey. You are then taken to the Featured page. On this, is the last score, a news ticker and a spot for you to select your favourite player and then you will be able to see videos and news on this player right on the home page.
Similarly to the Flames app, the buttons are at the bottom, and feature News, Video, Schedule and More; with them being fully adjustable once again. In addition to these standard functions there is a Live section which will allow you to view Press conferences etc when they are happening right on your phone and also a rather nifty little feature entitled Fan Noise. This feature uses the microphone to measure the noise level and give you a reading – Pointless, but a nice little novelty I guess to measure noise levels at ‘hawks games. Additionally, the app features a fan gallery allowing you to upload and share your Blackhawks pictures or to view the media ones an share them with friends by email, Twitter or Facebook.
As with the Calgary App, there are no adverts at all and again no notifcations; which is a shame as they really would elevate this app above the others.
Final Rating: 3.5/5 - A real step up from a basic application, but lacks anything extra such as wallpapers or music.
Screenshots -

Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets -
No Applications

Dallas Stars -
Application Developer: B3Connect
The same developer as the Anaheim Ducks app was used here, so you would expect a similar experience; but no once again it is different. Being released literally the same day as I am writing this, this application is by far the newest so should be expected to set the benchmark for applications.
You are greeted by a bright photo of the team celebrating then taken directly to the Promotions section. Obviously this is useful to anyone who wants to know what deal they can get at the AA center when they visit; but for people who want the news or score information, its a small hassle.
Navigation works the same as the Ducks app, with Media, Fantasy Hockey and Tickets all being key items on the menu besides the usual additions. However, there is no Fan Zone like on the Anaheim version, so no wallpapers, goal music or players iPod lists. However, there is a really detailed section with a good collection of photos from the Ice Girls along with their profiles which is a nice addition.
Unlike the Anaheim one, there are No Adverts in the app which makes for a great browsing experience, and there are push notifications too which means Team News without having to load the app.
Final Rating – 4/5 - No adverts show off the apps full potential, however it feels a little lacking on the fan features side; and defaulting to the promotions versus the news knocks the apps rating down just a little bit more.
Screenshots -

Detroit Red Wings -
Application Developer: Mobile Box Office
The only application in this review that is produced by Mobile Box Office, however that is not necessarily a bad thing.
The boot screen flashes past very fast leaving you no real time to spot it. I’m using a 4S, so perhaps older phone users will get more time to look at it. The application immediately greets you with the news, but with no option to see social media news. News articles load up quickly and do not feature zoom mode, so if you have bad eyesight; you may struggle to read the very small text. Additionally, some photos for the news article are of bad quality and look like they may have been taken using a 2004 Camera phone; whilst others look great – its a real mismatch. Schedule, Stats , Standings and more are the buttons located at the bottom of this app, and are not customizable. nder the more category you have a twitter Feed, YouTube Feed (there is no built in video feed), Facebook Page, Player Playlists and a link marked Blog. Sadly, the Blog button asks to open Safari and take you to the regular browser defeating the applications purpose so really shouldn’t be there. The Player Playlists are the apps saving grace in my opinion as they present you with a pretty lengthy list of what music players like to listen to before the game. From here you can go straight into iTunes like with the Ducks app and purchase the song. Oddly, you can also see what Mike Babcock likes to listen too in the “player playlist” section; which is odd as he is their coach.
Yes, this application has adverts, however it is only a small banner that is stuck at the top of every page. This doesn’t get in the way, however it feels redundant as it doesn’t work; and for me it just displays an AT&T placeholder image. No notifcations, but did you expect these; however the app remains easy to navigate throughout.
Final Rating: 2/5 - It feels basic and in comparison to all the applications reviewed here; is by far the weakest and often seems to rely on jumping to the browser, YouTube or iTunes store to complete actions. Also, not being able to zoom in on text on news articles and the like is a real letdown.
Screenshots -

Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild -
No Applications

Montreal Canadiens -

Application Developer: In House, using Atimi Orchard source code.
Another one with the same code and again different features albeit more similar to the Hawks version than the others.
This app loads with a smart Canadians wallpaper, and taes you to the more than familiar featured page. Usual features include the news, vidoes and schedule functions and these again are customizable. In addtion, you have the forums, a statistics featureanother fan noise calculator and slightly differently, a 3 stars feature. Here you can vote on the app for who you feel are the three stars from the most recent game; however this is just an extension of a regular web page. Like the Blackhawks app, you can upload fan photos which is nice. However, the video section is notably different on this app though, as it features a whole section dedicated to Bell Wireless customers only. On touching any video here it asks for a password; which not being a Bell subscriber I don’t have. I feel this knocks the app back a little as any habs fans not on Bell loose out here on content. The option to pay for access would have been a nice option seeing as they have chosen this route.
No adverts make the application more fun to use, however once again there are no push notifications for this app.
Final Rating – 3/5 - The application looks nice, and is easy to use with some cool features. However, locking in video to certain users only is a big let down. For shame.
Screenshots -

Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders -
No Application

New York Rangers -
Application Developer: Madison Square Gardens, using Atimi Orchard source code.
Once again, we meet the Atimi Orchard source code design, but once again the application is different from the Hawks or Flames.
The application boots with the usual splash screen entitled “Blueshirts United” claiming to be the official fan support of the NYR. After this you are taken to a similar home screen as on the Chicago app, where you can again add your favorite player to the home. Buttons at the bottom are the same as well, however underneath the more tab are considerably less options than either the Hawks or Flames app. There is a photos page, however it misses out on the option to upload fan pictures, and again the usual option to buy tickets and view standings. Besides this there is very little to say about this app.
No adverts again, and no Notifications either; however as this application features the rather excellent looking featured page it is a step up from the Calgary Flames application.
Final Rating: 3/5 – A step up from the design of the Flames app, but it lacks functionality again compared to apps such as the Ducks one, Hawks one and others below.
Screenshots -

Ottawa Senators -
Application Developer: In House, using Atimi Orchard source code.
Again, the same code used so a similar looking app with different features.
This application uses a heritage splash screen advertising their 20th year celebration. This is then followed by the featured page which is the same as the Hawks and Rangers. The icons for buttons is different and have been customised to feature the Senators logo – a nice touch and is made up of the usual culprits. Again, this is another app that features exclusive videos for Bell customers (which sucks). Again the option to pay for access would have been a nice option seeing as they have chosen this route. Under the more option are options to see the arena, player information, buy tickets and like in the Hawks app the ability to measure fan noise. Additionally you have access to the fan forum like on the Flames app.
Once again, there are no adverts or notifications; but it remains a nice enough application to use.
Final Rating – 3/5 - Could have been a little higher but again, locked in content with no alternate viewing method makes this app less fun to use than the Blackhawks one for example or the others below.
Screenshots -

Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes -
No Application

Pittsburgh Penguins -

Application Developer: YinzCam Inc
The first of two apps developed by YinzCam, and the only two with a completely different approach to the other applications.
After the splash screen featuring Crosby disappears you are taken to a home screen / hub wuth a plethora of options to pick and choose. Right at the top is a button marked radio. pressing this will indeed immediatly fire up the Penguins Radio Network; and this will continue to run until you turn it off or kill the application in the task manager, making it great for running in the background. below, iis the last score or next match-up accompanied by statistics for both teams. Below is a scrollable list of headlines not unlike what we have seen elsewhere; along with buttons for a full preview of the next game, or a recap on the last game. Animations here are slick with a smooth motion animation when you touch something; all adding to the overall experience.
At the bottom is a similar menu to what was seen in the Ducks and Stars application, however its options are quite different. Here, you have access to News and Video feeds, as well as audio; another control for Penguins Radio, a Gametracker (like what is in the Ducks and Stars app), Fantasy Hockey, Schedule, Social Media, Tickets, Hockey IQ and a More option.
Hockey IQ is not seen in any other application that I tested, and besides giving you random facts or tips about hockey or your hockey game features videos showing you different strategies for them as used by the Penguins.
Under the more option are the usual settings as well as two more unusual features, a QR code reader and a Jumbotron.
The QR reader allows for you to scan square shaped barcodes (the weird looking ones that are appearing around the place now) which presumably can open Penguins related links or offers.
The jumbotron allows you to upload a photo off of your phone and super impose it onto the Consol Energy Center Jumbotron. However this feature of the app crashes it every time I attempt to load it, and needs to be fixed as soon as is possible.
This application does feature small banner adverts which are all Penguins related and appear at the bottom of the app. These are easily dismissed though it gets a little tiresome to have to keep doing this. They sure beat the full screen adverts seen in the Ducks app however. Sadly the developers were too busy adding all the cool features to remember that push notifications are great to, and as such there are no notifications to tell you scores or news without loading the app.
Final Rating – 4/5 - This application is well designed, a joy to use and has some great features, like Radio and Hockey IQ. What it lacks however are fan zone features like Wallpapers, What Songs are being played at the arena, and push notifications. Assuming the jumbotron feature gets fixed and small touches like wallpapers and notifications get added soon this application has the potential to remain as an example of what all teams should have to represent them on a mobile device for the considerable future.
Screenshots -

San Jose Sharks, St Louis Blues -

No Application

Tampa Bay Lightning -
Application Developer: YinzCam Inc
After the excellent experience of the Penguins application, I was glad to see the same developer made the Tampa app. Like the other apps, you get an exciting load screen and then greeted with a similar looking hub to the Penguins app. Missing however is the radio button and the menu is much smaller. The home hub features the same slick graphics and animation as in the Penguins version, with the same features being offered (previous game, upcoming game). The menu features a media option with news, photos, video and audio; a schedule and a fan zone option once again. This fan zone also features the barcode scanner as seen in the Penguins application, and also the Jumbotron option (albeit renamed Video Board). This time, the video board works and I was able to upload a photo from my phone to the jumbotron – the result is shown below.
No adverts are featured in this app, cementing this feature really as a team decision – and again no notifications.
Final Score – 4/5 - It is a nice application to use, but when you compare it to the Penguins version from the same developer it just feels lacking.
Screenshots -

Toronto Maple Leafs -
Application Developer: PolarMobile
A minimalistic loading screen leads straight to a home screen, featuring the last games score, and previous scores from recent games. The page scrolls down to show a feed from the blog, and even the Marlies; the Leafs AHL affiliate. Other features include Stats, Standings, Schedule and a media option. The media option shows both photos and videos, however the video option just taps in to the Leafs YouTube Channel. I wish I could say the app has more, however it doesn’t. It purely serves as an information hub to the team and leaves you to look elsewhere for any frills found in other teams apps.
There are no adverts which is good, but no notifications.

Final Score: 2.5/5 - Its boring. Sure, its easy to navigate and loads quickly but would it kill then to add some stats or better integrate social media functions like Twitter?
Screenshots -

Vancouver Canucks -
Application Developer: In House, using Atimi Orchard source code.
Another in house app using the same code, and it follows the similar formula, arguably quite well.
The splash screen gives way to the features section, which again has edited icons to include the logo. There are your usual choose a player to follow features on the home page, and a news, video and schedule section. ONCE AGAIN though, there are exclusive videos for subscribers to Rogers Wireless (makes a change from Bell I suppose), and without any payment options, non subscribers are left in the dark. Under the more option, you can view the arena, forums buy tickets, catch up on the latest promotions, vote for your three stars and measure fan noise (this version seems to be the most sensitive to noise interestingly). Additionally, there is a live option, which is promising Live Games coming soon and access to press conferences when they happen. If this app can follow through and offer live games it may be a step ahead of the competition, but no match for Game Center Live. Besides this, the application matches the Chicago application functionality wise and whilst isn’t a bad app, leaves a bitter taste in your mouth for once again locking away content.
There are no adverts here (yay), but no Notifications again (boo).
Final Rating – 3/5 - I would have matched this to the Chicago one, but again locked out videos. That and there’s no notifications.
Screenshots -

Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets -
No Application

So overall, surprisingly for me – the Penguins have the best application. However, if the Anaheim Ducks application removed

those damned adverts and offered an audio feed it would clearly give the Pittsburgh app a run for its money, as it does offer fans that little bit more; however the interface is slightly less fun as the Penguins app and it doesn’t have features like Hockey IQ – Easily added I will put.
The Stars application is a pretty good contender but as it does offer less features than the Ducks version has to sit behind that; although its saving grace is the lack of nasty full screen adverts.
The middle ground is filled with almost what feels like a pretty generic application template developed by Atimi Orchard, which is not necessarily a bad thing but it could be enhanced with some notifications and wallpapers or audio feed. Sadly some teams have decided to lock content away from fans in these apps which is a shame as well. Chances are when more teams get applications, they will use this template as it is by the looks of it already popular template which is a shame because the one used by The Ducks, Stars, Penguins and Lightning is much better by far.
Toronto has a pretty boring application compared to those above however this pales in comparison to the Detroit Redwings application which is left feeling like it needs a little love and attention.

Who knows what is next for these applications, and what teams will be getting an app next; but we will try to keep you informed when we do see big changes. Its exciting to see how teams will compete with each other next in these difficult times.

I’m KevKev, and I hope you enjoyed reading.

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Gallery Of All Screenshots:

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NHL GameCenter Live – Review

October 22, 2011   wildwing64   No comments

Never mind the Bruins winning the Cup, Sidney Crosby’s concussion, the return of the Winnipeg Jets or whether the Guardian Project still exists: the hottest topic during the 2011 offseason for European NHL fans was whether we would get to watch hockey at all.

ESPN lost the European broadcasting rights, so that means no more NHL on ESPN Player – which I imagine is quite a blow for them – and no more NHL on ESPN America, the one and only TV channel we could watch it on. The rights were purchased by Medge Consulting/AMI, and it’s thanks to that fact that most of us in Europe can purchase an NHL GameCenter Live subscription, unless you live in Scandinavia where MTG have instead acquired the rights to broadcast all NHL games this season. If you’re from the Nordic countries and need more information, please click here.

GameCenter Live as viewed on Internet Explorer

ESPN Player proved to be a decent enough way for NHL fans in Europe to watch whatever games we liked, whenever we liked. However, compared to GameCenter Live its options were very limited. With GameCenter you can now choose from either the home or away broadcast – in case a certain commentary team’s bias is too much to handle – and as the commercial says you can watch up to four games at once, chat in-game (a feature that doesn’t appear to exist), view stats, get real-time in-game notifications from around the league: however, some of these features, particularly the viewing of multiple games, requires a high broadband speed which not everyone has. In addition to all games from this season, you can go back and watch any from the last four years that have been archived, and you’re also given access to the NHL Vault where you can watch a selection of classic games dating back to the 1960’s. For more recent games this season you can also watch either full length replays or condensed versions of the game.

Much like ESPN Player, GCL is Flash based, and there are a number of streaming options that are suitable for different broadband speeds. If you’re lucky enough to have a fibre optic connection and thus an insanely high download speed, you can pretty much watch games in very high quality, pretty much HD with no problems (however this may put some strain on your CPU, so be careful). And if your download speed is at a pitiful 1mbps, much like my own, the 800kb option still provides a decent enough quality feed, although you may come across the occasional bit of lag and the stream skipping ahead when you’re behind. If there’s something you missed you can click on a button which allows you to go back 10 seconds, and as many times as you need to, and then whenever you want you can click on Live to jump back ahead.

All in all it’s a pretty awesome deal, but there are a few minor issues with GCL that may lead to annoyance. Firstly, for those of us shifting over from ESPN Player, the way GameCenter Live works may throw you off as it doesn’t appear to be its own separate player or anything. However what the NHL has done instead is integrate it fully into their website, so you can log in to NHL.com with your account and literally jump into a game’s broadcast via a link from the home page. You’ll be left scratching your head at first wondering where GameCenter is, but once you get used to it – which shouldn’t take long – it’s a very efficient system.

Another issue of mine – and this will apply to anyone with smaller browser space – is the way the video is displayed. Basically the way it works it that, the bigger your monitor or the more space you have on your browser that isn’t taken up by toolbars, the bigger size the streaming video is. It looks great on an iMac for example, but annoyingly this works in reverse too, so for my 1280×800 laptop screen and if I want to watch it on Firefox, I have to disable all of my useful toolbars, which will give me a slightly bigger video size but will also prevent me from switching to a Game Day Thread on a forum I’m on, for example, or browsing the net while waiting for the intermissions to be over. Instead I find that Internet Explorer with its default settings is finally being given a purpose, and that provides me with a much more reasonable video size. However in doing this I lose the drop-down menus for some of the options as they for some reason go behind the video. Stupid Flash.

GameCenter’s smaller video on Firefox, at least for me anyway

And speaking of the options to view stats, the ice tracker, etc., that’ll be my final complaint. Not so much the options themselves, those are great. But the buttons located just above the streaming video will actually redirect you to their respective pages and away from the video, so basically if you want to avoid having to reload the video or anything but still want to view the stats and stuff, open them up in separate tabs. This is mainly nitpicking on my behalf, but overall the good things far outweigh the bad – after all, it’s providing us with a way to watch NHL hockey and the options GameCenter Live gives us far exceed anything ESPN Player had to offer over.

As far as pricing goes you can either go with a one-time payment of $159 US Dollars (roughly £102 or 116€) or a monthly payment of $19.95 which eventually works out to just a bit more than the same cost over eight months. And that’s another thing I like about GameCenter: you’re not being forced to pay additional costs for the playoffs unlike with ESPN Player.

There are other versions of GameCenter Live available, such as the PS3 and iPad apps. Provided these options are available to us at PowerPlayGoal.com, we’ll have reviews of those versions up whenever we can.

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NHL12 – The Review

September 28, 2011   kevkev   No comments


Once again it is time to review the latest version of EA Sports popular NHL series; which this year added new features such as a shiny new collision system that uses real time physics (think GTA IV and its use of the Euphoria Engine), Winter Classic Mode and The addition of NHL legends mode; offering us the chance to play the career of The Great One.

Every year, this game receives a warm welcome from most critics (*cough* unless a UK gaming magazine, when the game is simply ignored); and sales of this years version have been stronger than previously shifting a whopping 451,000 copies in the first week which is a rise of 17% from last year.

So with all these new features and critical praise; is it a solid Stanley Cup contender? Or is it more of a “March to the Playoffs” failure?

Nah Nah Nah, I’m Faster than you…

Picking up the game, the first thing that strikes me is how light the case is. This may seem silly but with most games you expect some weight from the contents; which usually include the disk, a manual and several pages of junk such as adverts and helpline advice.
However, this year NHL12 features only a limited amount of material inside the box. The Manual is now officially dead (well who reads it tbh) but can be viewed in game should you need to. With the control scheme being exactly the same as last years, upgraders like myself will not feel confused.
Inside the box in case you are interested is the controversial EA Online Pass code sheet, an advert for a pre-order of SSX and my favourite waste of space, the EA sports precautions, warranty and PlayStation support leaflet (this may be region dependent). This book contains health and safety advice and my most favourite part; a diagram showing you the location of the buttons on your controller… because it so hard to see where the Triangle button is.

Moving onto the actual game (because lets face it who actually cares about a case after all), on inserting the disk and being entertained by the usual loading screens we are taken to a new function; the option of importing last year’s save profile.
“Fantastic” you think. “This will import all of my data such as players created, custom lines, difficulty settings and even my custom playlists”.

Wrong. The only import it brings in is your be a pro persona – however importing does allow you to skip the training mode you are usually forced to sit through and obviously the usual create your persona that would follow. It would be nice if EA could include the importing of difficulty settings for example in future versions however to have the game recognise you as not being an NHL on console n00b is to at least be appreciated.

Following this stage you are taken instantly to last years Winter Classic. You are automatically assigned to the Pens (sorry if your a fan of any other team) and the game begins almost instantly. Quitting this game takes you to the main menu as would presumably playing the full game.

The main menu is virtually untouched again (not a bad thing), with Invites sitting at top, followed by Play Now, Ultimate Team, Winter Classic, EA Sports Hockey League, Be a Pro, Be a Legend, Game Modes, Online and My NHL finishing off the list.

Working downwards on this list, Play Now is what it says it is. The quickest way to start playing as your favorite hockey team; and you can choose from NHL, AHL, Elitserien, SM-Liiga, DEL, ELH, National League, International Teams, OHL, QMJHL, WHL, Prospects or the New Legends team. As usual, EA has not paid of the licensing of any International hockey team jersey; so do not expect to see Team Canada or Team Sweden’s jerseys as you will be disappointment.
Also available in this mode is Battle for the cup; allowing you to skip the “boring” season and jump straight to either the playoffs or the cup – and lets face it if your a Florida fan perhaps its best you do the latter option there as then you will at least get the chance to play for the cup. This mode also allows you to play for other cups besides Lord Stanley’s Mug namely the Calder Cup, The EA Cup and The Memorial Cup. So if you have always had some sadistic bastardized vision of Detroit and Toronto competing for the Calder Cup; then this will make your dreams come a little closer to reality. This mode can also be saved during so you can start a long series and return to it later if your not “man” enough to play all 7 games in one shot.
One other small note of interest in the menu on Play Now this year is that your last two team choices are saved for your session. So rather than seeing the menu revert back to the last two cup contenders it will now go back to whoever you last played as. Sadly this doesn’t save to the game and will revert back to the cup contenders next time you reload the game. The game play mechanics are discussed a little further on in this review.

Ultimate Hockey League is the next feature on the main menu and this is unchanged from previous years. Admittedly I have less experience in using it than many; however the premise of it for those who are completely unaware – you create your team and collect/earn players at random competing in the league online.

Next up, is the much hyped Winter Classic mode. This is obviously based on last seasons game and not the forthcoming; and therefore takes place at Heinz Field. A good question here for any game buff – did EA create the stadium from scratch or just pinch it from Madden 12?
Straight away you are offered the chance to play the Winter Classic as it was last season namely either as the Caps or the Pens. Choosing this takes you to the usual setup screen however you cannot change the jerseys (they are set to Winter Classic only) but you can adjust the difficulty and the starting lines.
If you feel more creative, or are the fan of a team who will never get the chance yet to get the chance to play in the Winter Classic, then you are in luck as EA will allow you to create this match up. In this mode you can choose any jersey so if your a fan of a team who is using that now unoriginal Winter Classic jersey template you can choose that and make it look a bit more relevant to your team. Sadly this mode only allows NHL teams to take part which is a shame as it would have been fun to play as an AHL team in this mode and I am almost certain it wouldn’t take EA long to code it in. Following this selection screen you are taken into the game which whilst the mechanics are the same as any other game you have the added bonus of snow, a rougher surface and some flashy visuals with… fireworks. Yay. Playing feels different to an indoor game and the crowd is significantly louder. All in all its a very nice addition to the game but I am not sure as to why its been so hyped.

Traditionalists look in horror as the evil Florida Panthers get their first ever taste of snow

EA Sports Hockey League follows this mode in the menu. Again I don’t play this mode and can’t comment on it – but as I don;t see much mention of it around I will assume its like the NHL11 version except with the new engine.

Be A Pro mode is again like last years offering. If you have ever ambitioned to play as yourself of another rookie in the NHL then this is the mode you will want. Very realistic as you can actually opt to sit on the bench and watch the game when your not on the ice. Its not too hard to work your way up so long as your good and play well in games; however if you just want to go straight to the NHL thankfully EA has included the option to allow you to jump straight in. What is new to this mode however is the added option of being a CHL pro; but besides the team options this is no different to the above mode.

Be a Legend is another new feature added, and in this mode you play very much like the Be a Pro mode; with targets to achieve and playing out a season. You start with only Jeremy Roenick as the option to choose; other legends such as Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzerman and (my personal favourite legend) Gordie Howe requiring you to unlock them. These can be unlocked by meeting your targets in game. No surprises in guessing who the hardest player to unlock is – I won’t give it away; but here is a hint – They don’t require 99 points to unlock.

Howe is in the house

The Game Modes section on the menu follows the Legend Mode, and features previous “flagship” features that used to fit on the main menu but have been slowly booted off. Be a GM mode needs no introduction, and is the best option for anyone wanting to just control the team and to play as the team all season versus a single player. Note: You can only play as the GM of an NHL team, so again lower tier teams get left in the dark.
Playoff Mode virtually mimics the race to the cup mode; however in this version you start at the very beginning of the playoffs up against 15 other teams. This mode allows you to choose other leagues; or to even customize the league. You can then choose to follow the rules previously or opt for a knock out elimination series. Besides this it is virtually the same as the Race to The Cup mode.
Season Mode is the same as be a GM without the added paperwork; and this version does allow you to play as other leagues.
Tournament Mode allows you to play the fictitious EA Sports World Tournament; complete with fictitious jerseys or the more realistic MasterCard Memorial Cup.
Create a Play mode and Practice Mode are what they say they are allowing you to create new plays out to implement int your other game modes; or to try out some new moves respectively. I expect the hardcore fans will appreciate these modes whilst many other gamers will possibly never even glance at them.
Finally, rounding of the main offline game modes, Shootout Mode is the usual “barrel of laughs” shootout mode where you will either struggle to remember what button does what as the goalie, or attempt to outsmart the cpu goalie.
Online gives you the usual options to take your game online and put your money where your mouth is and has the usual modes such as versus, ranked, shootout and league.
The rest of the options in the main menu relate to more functions such as Player Creation, Roster Management, EA Sports media hub allowing you to view videos and photos saved within game and of course to change the in game music – so if your some insane maniac bring back Ole Ole Ole ; Game Settings; EA Sports Profile Management and Game Credits and if you feel like it play the Interactive Tutorial.

Also on this menu is the hated Jersey Code Entry option, meaning once again you have to wait for EA to release the code and then allow the unlock of jerseys and assuming it is like previous years, this code will not save to the game and require re-entry every reboot.

So besides game modes, what else is new?
Hitting is one area that’s sort of new and improved – Changing to a real time physics engine has allowed the whole On Ice feel jump to a whole new level, with players moving more realistically and slamming people into the sides that much more satisfying. Also, goalie fights have been added. Very hard to actually get the two goalies to battle it out but it does happen if you persist and is pretty much as fun as the original fight mode. This isn’t of course the only new interaction for goalies; who you can now take more control of and actually use to hit players, or if your a player you can now hit the goalie. EA also finally decided to sort out the ever annoying functionality of the goalie continuously covering the puck. The cpu goalie will now debate passing to players on reception of the puck and comes across overall as a little more realistic and daring.

I might be down, but I am still going to attack you with my stick…

Also new to the game is Winnipeg. Replacing the Thrashers during the off season; understandably the jersey being kept such a close knit secret has been locked away in the game requiring the Jersey Unlock code. Until then Jets fans, you get to use the generic NHL jerseys – yay. If you’re a Jets fan and think that you will cope waiting, you may be more disappointment to learn that despite the game being in production at the time of the Jets announcement – there is NO mention of the team name in commentary, on the boards or even the center ice scoreboard. You will have to wait until NHL13 for that privilege Jets fans, but I guess after waiting so long for the return of your team one more year should feel like a walk in the park. As you can see in the screenshot below the NHL jersey looks as good on ice as it does off – read: crap. Of course you can choose to use the old jets jersey on ice if this NHL jersey doesn’t take your fancy but however do also note how Phoenix can also still wear this jersey – allowing you to play New Jets / Old Jets.
On the plus side, certain Ducks fans will feel pleased or angered to find that the Mighty Ducks jersey from the not so distant era has finally been included in the game.

Sorry Jets fans, not until late November

Other major changes are to the highlights system. One of the earliest features you will spot is that Player recaps have been added to the between play commentary videos – a nice touch to help make the game feel that bit more authentic. However the biggest change you will spot has been made to the end of period / post game highlights.  Working with the NHL, EA has recreated the Score Center on ice and highlight tracker. This allows for you to review all the action after the game the same way as you would online. A nice touch again that solidifies the offering once again.

However, no game is without its bugs and once again NHL12 has several. The cpu does like to make some strange errors and none better than what can be seen in the following video – where you will see the cpu turn on its own and shoot against their own goalie. Lucky that the shot was saved?

open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions

In conclusion, ignoring the small bugs, the lack of any Jets recognition and the lack of exciting changes made to the Be a Pro mode, NHL12 really is a solid offering. Sure, at times the menu loading feels slow and the online server can take a while to connect to, even when on a high speed broadband connection but these problems can easily be put aside.
The core of the game, gameplay, being able to just pick up and play are superior in every way to previous versions and prove why 2K sports have simply given up with creating NHL games for the time being.

It gets harder every year to see how EA could improve this game and its safe to assume that this is a challenge the employees at EA Sports enjoy facing, and I am almost certain that it is something that can and will be done once again. Something I would love to see personally is the addition of the International game openers – Playing a game in the Globe would be awesome.

NHL12 is a feature packed, exciting and realistic hockey game unlike anything seen before and will keep any avid hockey fan busy well into the off season next year. For this reason I am pleased to hand out to this game our very first 10 out of 10 rating.

Final Verdict: Outstanding 10/10

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