NHL 13 Season Ticket Impressions

[jyoung]

There are definitely some clipping issues along the boards.

If you do the headfirst slide goal celebration, your player's upper torso will teleport right through the boards.

[savoie2006]

I think EA needs to reduce the "boost" a bit. It seems a bit too effective and leads to alot of breakaways. I've noticed as well that the Cpu likes the homerun passes and spams the puck protect .

[bwiggy33]

Well so far, not so good. I finally got to play this game for an extended period of time since I downloaded it on Friday. I have to say the same issues of what made this game stale for me continue to be there. I am extremely disappointed. I'm just disappointed that this game doesn't appear it will fulfill my hockey gaming needs. In fact I'm not sure if EA will ever fulfill what I want in an NHL game.

First I'll list some of the good things

1. Puck physics. When you set the size to Authentic it truly shows the bounce and different physics with it. Really well done on this end

2. Skating is great but also has its flaws. Much better than the old system no question

3. Better stick physics. The puck doesn't magically go through the blade of sticks when poke checking as much anymore.

There's more good but the bad is outweighing the good by a landslide so I can't really think of any more at the moment.

Now for the bad

1. Lack of whistles/penalties. Completely the same as 12. It's unreal to me how I can go a 10 minute period game with a total of 7 whistles. I'm not ****ting you I just played a game and not one offsides was called. Not for either team. I'm not lying at all. This to me is a god dang joke. I had one penalty in the game otherwise the other stoppages were pucks out of play or icing. Sad Sad Sad! How this issue is in the game I have no freaking clue. Absolutely unreal how EA cannot realize that the game is so back and forth with hardly any whistles. May I also say that I haven't seen their addition of real time presentation and other presentation elements yet because of this issue.

2. Easy entry into the zone and breakouts. It baffles me how EA has no clue how to place your AI teammates on breakouts. I have four guys in my zone and one guy who floats out of the zone at the red line to get a pass. What team breaks out where one of their players floats far down the ice every single time? None! A powerplay, yes but not in 5 on 5. A traditional breakout consists of your wings on the half boards, the center in the middle all looking for a pass from the D man. Of course there's other breakouts but just an example. The normal breakout is just completely non existent in this game. So basically the break out consists of flinging the puck up to your wing floating at the red line. He skates in with 0 teammates supporting him, the computer doesn't realize he has no help in the zone and lets the guy stand there with the puck and then all of your teammates finally get into the zone 10 seconds later. Absolutely brutal how this is still a problem with the game. It has been there for so long and has been talked about frequently. BTW I've tried changing the breakout settings and to no avail.

Also with easy entry is the fact that the CPU d men don't use their sticks. When you enter the zone they kind of step up once you get partially in the zone but don't swing their stick to try and knock the puck away or block the passing lanes from your guy. I mean come on. This stands out so much its unbelievable.

As of now these are the 2 glaring issues for me and it has 100% killed the enjoyment I have for the game. People may think I'm just trying to bash the game but the truth is I'm not. I want to enjoy this game a lot but right now it's near impossible. I'm sick of having to make house rules for breaking into the zone, where I shoot from, etc. It's just not fun doing that.

Now if anyone has any suggestions at all with the "Build Your AI" feature that can help me with the issues I've stated, fire away. I am so desperate right now to fix those two issues and if it can be done I want to know how. I'm trying extremely hard right now trying to figure it out myself.

Overall though I'm just frustrated. Hockey is my favorite sport by far and this game just doesn't do the sport justice. It just baffles me how EA can think that a 10 minute period game with 0 offsides and a total of 7 total whistles is remotely close to hockey. That is how I'd want to play the game when I'm playing a friend for a fun time, not when I want to play the CPU or a serious game against someone online. I'm just really really angry about all of this and as of now I'm kind of angry I preordered the game from amazon. Luckily I'll have a couple days to continue playing this game and decide if I even want to open the package when I get it on Tuesday.

Glad others are enjoying the game though. Sadly my type of hockey game is the one that EA disregards.

[JamieLeeWV]

I don't know what to think of the new true broadcast camera it looks nice but I can never see what's happening in the corners behind the net it's so annoying!

[savoie2006]

Quote: Originally Posted by bwiggy33

Well so far, not so good. I finally got to play this game for an extended period of time since I downloaded it on Friday. I have to say the same issues of what made this game stale for me continue to be there. I am extremely disappointed. I'm just disappointed that this game doesn't appear it will fulfill my hockey gaming needs. In fact I'm not sure if EA will ever fulfill what I want in an NHL game. First I'll list some of the good things 1. Puck physics. When you set the size to Authentic it truly shows the bounce and different physics with it. Really well done on this end 2. Skating is great but also has its flaws. Much better than the old system no question 3. Better stick physics. The puck doesn't magically go through the blade of sticks when poke checking as much anymore. There's more good but the bad is outweighing the good by a landslide so I can't really think of any more at the moment. Now for the bad 1. Lack of whistles/penalties. Completely the same as 12. It's unreal to me how I can go a 10 minute period game with a total of 7 whistles. I'm not ****ting you I just played a game and not one offsides was called. Not for either team. I'm not lying at all. This to me is a god dang joke. I had one penalty in the game otherwise the other stoppages were pucks out of play or icing. Sad Sad Sad! How this issue is in the game I have no freaking clue. Absolutely unreal how EA cannot realize that the game is so back and forth with hardly any whistles. May I also say that I haven't seen their addition of real time presentation and other presentation elements yet because of this issue. 2. Easy entry into the zone and breakouts. It baffles me how EA has no clue how to place your AI teammates on breakouts. I have four guys in my zone and one guy who floats out of the zone at the red line to get a pass. What team breaks out where one of their players floats far down the ice every single time? None! A powerplay, yes but not in 5 on 5. A traditional breakout consists of your wings on the half boards, the center in the middle all looking for a pass from the D man. Of course there's other breakouts but just an example. The normal breakout is just completely non existent in this game. So basically the break out consists of flinging the puck up to your wing floating at the red line. He skates in with 0 teammates supporting him, the computer doesn't realize he has no help in the zone and lets the guy stand there with the puck and then all of your teammates finally get into the zone 10 seconds later. Absolutely brutal how this is still a problem with the game. It has been there for so long and has been talked about frequently. BTW I've tried changing the breakout settings and to no avail. Also with easy entry is the fact that the CPU d men don't use their sticks. When you enter the zone they kind of step up once you get partially in the zone but don't swing their stick to try and knock the puck away or block the passing lanes from your guy. I mean come on. This stands out so much its unbelievable. As of now these are the 2 glaring issues for me and it has 100% killed the enjoyment I have for the game. People may think I'm just trying to bash the game but the truth is I'm not. I want to enjoy this game a lot but right now it's near impossible. I'm sick of having to make house rules for breaking into the zone, where I shoot from, etc. It's just not fun doing that. Now if anyone has any suggestions at all with the "Build Your AI" feature that can help me with the issues I've stated, fire away. I am so desperate right now to fix those two issues and if it can be done I want to know how. I'm trying extremely hard right now trying to figure it out myself. Overall though I'm just frustrated. Hockey is my favorite sport by far and this game just doesn't do the sport justice. It just baffles me how EA can think that a 10 minute period game with 0 offsides and a total of 7 total whistles is remotely close to hockey. That is how I'd want to play the game when I'm playing a friend for a fun time, not when I want to play the CPU or a serious game against someone online. I'm just really really angry about all of this and as of now I'm kind of angry I preordered the game from amazon. Luckily I'll have a couple days to continue playing this game and decide if I even want to open the package when I get it on Tuesday. Glad others are enjoying the game though. Sadly my type of hockey game is the one that EA disregards.

Not sure why EA hasn't added differenct breakout types myself. You could have your D hold the blue line and such in the Custom AI section, but with boost as effective as it is you run the risk of having a breakaway fest. I'm pretty much convinced EA would rather have a pretty north/south kind of hockey game, rather than anything that actually resembles real hockey.

[bad_philanthropy]

I take back what I said about the AI not being much improved. I just played a game where I ended up smoking Edmonton 6-2 SS/Hardcore.
I really settled into anticipating what my teammates off the puck were going to do, managed my space better, and clicked with my manual passing. The game really shone as a whole, and was one of the best experience I've had with a hockey videogame in years.

The game itself had a little bit of everything. Jarome Iginla got injured in the first and Edmonton got a 5:00 minute major boarding call on the play. I scored once on the ensuing PP. I way outshot Edmonton 32-12, and even though Edmonton scored two goals on so few shot, both were legit—a mistake by me, and a nice goal off a good cycle. My goals were all different; I had a breakaway snipe, couple junky goals, one-timer, and a deflection. I also thought it was impressive how mediocre Edmonton's defense felt in their own zone. In the past every team playing "D" felt rather generic. Eberle was definitely the most dangerous Oiler, and I learned pretty quickly to stop Hall by shutting down the outside on the wing.

There are definitely some things that need to be tuned (like penalty frequency), but I think time with the game will reveal a rewarding experience if you can settle into some of the steeper aspects of its learning curve. I'd also like to see the cpu defense be more aggressive with their sticks defending a puck carrier attempting to carry into the zone.

EDIT: Sorry about the quality, but is it ever satisfying when you make a pass like this on a two-on-one with manual passing.



Also, I love how Khabibulin is rendered helpless on this play. The whole thing happens too close and too fast, and he ends up unable to even really attempt a save when the perfect pass slides to the player crashing the net. I don't know if the animation is new, but I thought it was cool.

[bwiggy33]

Quote: Originally Posted by savoie2006

Not sure why EA hasn't added differenct breakout types myself. You could have your D hold the blue line and such in the Custom AI section, but with boost as effective as it is you run the risk of having a breakaway fest. I'm pretty much convinced EA would rather have a pretty north/south kind of hockey game, rather than anything that actually resembles real hockey.

Ya you are no question correct. I wrote on the FIFA board today about it to. NHL and FIFA are so much alike. It's back and forth and no stoppages. You look at FIFA and what's a big thing missing? Fouls. NHL it's penalties. Only difference is there are more offsides in FIFA than NHL which is pretty sad to say. They are so alike each other besides that one game is on ice and the other a field.

EA loves their fast paced "fun for the cauals" game. I'm realizing that and that's why I just don't have any more hope that this series is going to get much better than what it is now. Whatever sells them games is what they're going to do. They must be doing alright and until they don't I don't think we are going to see any dramatic changes. I can only hope and pray that one day things change. It really sucks that we don't have any other options. I almost have to force myself to like this game.

[JimmyDeicide]

No doubt EA has a certain formula to their games, Im a huge Fifa player too and its true a mirror image of each other.
Its such a shame that there is always something there that takes away the longevity to their games whether its AI not enough separation from players,teams and styles.
If you break down both games on a whole they are brilliant pieces of work the control is second to none in both.
The stuff in the NHL game is mind boggling, broken sticks,goal reviews, chop puck, incredible features and it all gets glossed over by many people because of some niggly thing with their games.
They should seriously look at some of this stuff and complaints as their games could get more credit than they even do now.

Ive relaxed on the annoying things and tried to focus on the enjoyment of the whole package, thats easier to do with NHL than Fifa right now.

Id say both products are top notch and deserve anyones money when you break them down.