Much like the Madden franchise, it has been years since EA Sports has made sweeping changes to its NHL franchise. The biggest change in recent memory had to be in 2007 when EA Sports made the unprecedented move of going with the skill stick. That is using the dual analog sticks to control players, shoot, body check, etc. Like many, I embraced the change and ended up playing 07’ for months on end. I just loved skating down the wing, cutting towards the net and winding up for a wicked wrist shot. Since 07’ it has been all about making tweaks, adjustments, addressing exploits, adding more animations and just polishing an already strong franchise. Unfortunately for me I seem to have lost some of that burning desire to play the game year after year. Perhaps it is because I am cranky and older or maybe it is just because there is just not enough “new” for me. Whatever the case may be, I am looking for a game changer with the NHL franchise and this year the team at EA Sports Burnaby may have done exactly that.
This year the emphasis is on skating. EA Sports is calling it “True Performance Skating”. With over 1000 new animations and physics driven skating, the development team hope to capture the explosiveness, momentum and top end speed displayed by the real NHL players on the ice. In the demo I had to chance to watch and play at E3, I took in this new feature in action. What I noticed is that players with the puck are now able to demonstrate a quick burst of speed and in some cases fly past the defenders. That said you won’t see ‘big lugs’ like Z. Chara skate around players like P.K. Subban. A players attributes will play a significant role in terms of how quick and powerful that initial skating burst will be.
In NHL 13 players will be able to reach top speed by pressing the left trigger or L3 for PS3 users. Some may call it a turbo button which has long since been removed from the game but this not the case at all. Over using the speed burst will come at a price as your player will fatigue and run out of gas in the second half of the period. The idea behind the burst is to give players the ability to turn on the jets when the action on the ice calls for it. I had a chance to give this new mechanic a spin and I loved it. When using it however you have to be careful not to crash into the boards as stopping on a dime is difficult as your momentum carries you. This is most noticeable when skating around the boards behind the goalie. After triggering the top end speed burst my player was not able to make any sharp turns instead it was a sweeping turn behind the net. Regardless it felt very natural and looked very realistic.
My only concern with this new feature is that I question whether this will open up some more online exploits and make those top end players a little dominating. For instance, if P. Kane can consistently skate around the defence in theory we should see higher scoring games. EA Sports however tells us that the defensemen will be able to adjust and use a similar speed burst and make other defensive adjustments in order to combat this. I will be curious to see what our hardcore community of NHL fans think of this when the game arrived in September.
Also new this year is EA Sports Hockey I.Q. This is all about the A.I. and the player’s awareness on the ice. In previous NHL games the AI was only aware of skaters in their immediate proximity and goalies could only react to the player in control of the puck. With Hockey I.Q., all the players on the ice are now fully aware of every other player on the ice. This results in more true to life decision making and results in players less prone to be out of position. To be perfectly honest I only noticed this during the demo I watched. When I played this was hardly noticeable but I guess that is a good thing as none of the players on the ice seemed out of place and the game ran with sweet fluidity.
Another new feature is “GM Connected”. This is a fantasy league of sorts to play with your friends. GM Connected essentially takes the “Be a GM” mode and allows you to play with and against your friends in your own 30-team NHL. This mode is all about building your team and appears to be geared towards the veteran NHL gamer. What is cool about this mode is that you can take your experience with you with a mobile companion app.
Overall, NHL 13 certainly looks and feels more true-to-life. The skating looks much more natural, the new animations are slick and the new additions will likely be embraced by fans of the franchise. This being said, EA Sports appears to have taken the “if it ain’t broke then don’t fix approach” which is okay because EA Sports NHL franchise is top-notch. So much like previous years, I would not call these changes revolutionary or a massive overhaul but I would consider it enough “new” to give NHL 13 a go if you are a fan of series or someone who has never picked up the game before.
NHL 13 will launch for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 11, 2012.
