NHL 12 Review

I play the EA Sports NHL games more than any other video game and they are easily my favorite. The series is so deep and realistic with many modes and online options for the players to immerse themselves in, its easy to lose many hours to these games. So I am pleased to report that NHL 12 improves on everything the series is known for, making this the best NHL game yet.

The biggest improvements to this year's game are on the ice, with the newly improved physics and player animations. The size of players is now very important, so small players like Marty St. Louis will fall over when they try to hit Zdeno Chara. If two players collide with each other, they could both stumble or fall over, an extra layer of realism that we haven't seen in the past. Players also can get tired and when they do, they will skate slower and with their heads down. Small animations like that look amazing because they continue to mimic the actual NHL. Though it's not something you think about, getting tired happens in actual hockey games and it's nice to see EA care so much about their game that they are willing to add such small but important details.

Goalies are also live and free to be hit which is cool but not as believable as the player on player hits. The goalies are still pretty solid on their skates, and it takes a few hits to actually knock them over, which is disappointing. I am glad they designed the game so goalies cannot be hurt from hits, as people would certainly use that as strategy. Now that the refs will call goaltender interference you have to be extra careful when standing near the net; another awesome small detail. Goalies can also fight, but it is simply the same as fighting a player, so if your into that, you'll also like the goalie fights.

Another major addition added to the game is the new stat tracker engine. Like NHL Gamecenter, when you pause a game or sim a game, you can now see all of the event notifications. When and where hits, goals and penalties occurred can now be seen from the pause menu. While sitting on the bench in Be-A-Pro mode, you can sim through the game while watching this cool stat tracker, or while simming a game in Be-A-GM mode, you can see where your teams strengths and weaknesses are. This is a cool feature that I didn't expect to be as useful as it actually is and I'm glad EA included it.

Every year there is a new mode and this year is no different. This time, legends are back and now you can play with such players as Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky in all the game modes. You can replay their careers in Be-A-Legend mode, which is played out like Be-A-Pro only you can choose between Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Jeremy Roenick, Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, Patrick Roy and Borje Salming. And so that's the biggest problem with legends. There are to few of them. Though it's awesome to put them on your Ultimate team or your favorite team, with so few to choose from, to gets boring rather quick. I understand that it is hard to get permission from the players to be used in the game, but I would have thought they could get more than nine. I hope they can improve on this mode in the future because it is neat to relieve the memories of these legendary players.

With all of the modes and options available for gamers, there is plenty for everyone. If you have been playing the series, you should certainly continue to play with NHL 12. And anyone who is hoping to try NHL out, 12 provides the perfect start for you too. All the new additions sound small, like the Winter Classic mode, but when put into action, they look and play amazingly well. Anyone who plays this game will enjoy their experience so make sure you go and get it right away.

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