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