
	Platform Playstation 3 Genre Sports Publisher Electronic Arts Developer EA Canada ESRB E +10 (Everyone) Released September 13, 2011

- Some smart AI on both sides - Goalie fighting - "Be a Legend" mode

- If you aren't already a hockey fan, the game will have a hard time winning you over

Review: NHL 11 (360) Review: NHL 12 (360) Review: NHL Slapshot (Wii)
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NHL 12

Score: 8.0 / 10

I was actually really nervous reviewing this game once I saw it in the mail considering I haven't played a hockey game since NHL '93 for the Sega Genesis. I pretty much hate watching most sports and, despite being Canadian, I really hate Hockey. I've always been a fight fan, but a critic can't always expect to feel right at home reviewing a UFC game. With all of that aside, I decided to give this a shot and had a pretty interesting time reviewing this game.

Keep in mind I have no clue what half the penalties I got were for or anything of the sort, but being new to this, the game isn't half bad at all and overtime I found

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myself having more fun with it and although the AI would kick my ass over half the time, I did have fun playing with a friend or one of my brothers. Now I can understand how lost some of my friends are when I pop in a fighting game and they complain they can't pull off any of the special moves or anything. Naturally, I would assume most of you reading this are obviously hockey fans

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and are more than familiar with this series and most likely just want to know what makes this game different than the previous instalments. Luckily the people I played the game with are familiar with EA Sports and some of the additions in this is that you can now not only fight other players, but the goalies as well.

But speaking of fighting, I would always pick a fight with somebody and I just kept doing it until I eventually wasn't allowed to do it anymore (even with penalties turned off, lame). That was the only part of the game that I felt at home with, but back on topic you can also hit the goalies and the nets can now be ran into or knocked off, glass can break and you can hit players into benches. The physics have also been improved so when you bodycheck another player, it doesn't look so stale anymore and if you hit somebody hard, it'll show.

Another big change, according to friends, is that your AI is smarter this time which is improves performance. For example: if the puck is dumped and if you or one of your teammates is clearly going to get the puck, your players will start to act offensively where before they wouldn't until you actually got the puck. Also, a player with a more offensive mind like Ovechkin will start to cherry pick a bit. I can see why a smart AI is completely essential for a NHL game considering it's going for a realistic simulation rather than say the arcade version demo that the game comes with.

Most of the game's focus is on the Be a Pro mode. You start with a junior on the CHL and play in four seasons there, progress through 18 career levels and then you start to try and get drafted into the NHL. You have to earn your spot on the ice by completing tasks. I think this is where most fans will be spending their time even though I have read that the mode was introduced back in the game for '09. However, If you don't feel like being some junior anymore and get a little tired of your character and just want to be one of your favorite retired "legends" you can unlock favorites such as Wayne Gretzky for the Be a Legend mode.

The game doesn't exactly have the most impressive visuals I've seen on the PS3, but they aren't bad and there is also the usual commentary you would expect from a sports game. The main focus here was to improve the AI and even though some of the additions like the ones I mentioned above are welcomed, overall it just feels more like some tweaks to the veterans of the series rather than something that's completely new and improved.

Again, this was a tough game to review and being a game in a running series where I had no idea what was new and what wasn't or what has changed over the years (which I felt were the most important aspects to cover), it was still easy to get into knowing nothing about hockey and I recommend it to any fan. It was a refreshing experience.

- J'Tonello

(December 13, 2011)