EPThttp://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=258533
I've had the full retail game for a week now and I just want to post my thoughts on it so far. It's mostly going to be from the standpoint of pure game play as that is what keeps me coming back to play it.
The game is a much more difficult game on offense as it's predecessor NHL 11. The amount of ways that a player can effectively score a goal are far fewer than before. The defense and goalie are both significantly improved in this version of the game. The defense will not allow you to blow past them and always seem to put the body on you just when you're in the perfect position to pass or shoot. Add to that the fact that goalies are very difficult to score on via breakaway chances and regular wrist shots and you have a lot of one-timer, screened, and tipped in goals. In this way, it's a very realistic game as it mirrors a lot of what the actual NHL plays like in real life. There are no set ways to score in real life, you just have to read and react to what the defense is doing and find holes.
So far the gameplay has both positives and negatives.
Positives
-Forces you to play a more patient game, can't always try and create plays on the rush
-Rewards anticipation of teammates as well as defenders to create passing lanes and avoid checks
-Good positioning and passing is vital to set up one timers (By far the most effective scoring technique, but also the most predictable and easy to stop)
-Getting in the right position and tipping a puck in for a goal feels awesome every time you do it and it happens enough to be a legitimate strategy
-You can burn bad teams who chase the puck on defense, rather than sticking to their zones, with one timers all day
-Your goalie can bail you out on a bad play on defense or on an opponent's breakaway
-Playing the passing lanes is incredibly effective as most teams want the one timer and try to force it, leading to a lot of turnovers in your favour
Negatives
-Can be incredibly difficult to score if the opposing team is playing the passing lanes correctly
-Goalies can still let in weak goals on random shots
-Combine these two facts and you can have one team carry the play all game and run into a hot goalie and lose. This creates a kind of "random" factor in the game where the better player or team doesn't always win.
-It's too hard to score on breakaways. A team should be punished for allowing a breakaway or else they won't have any reason to stay back on defense. They will just play up looking for the hailmary pass and rely on their computer defense or computer goalie to save their ass.
-The hip check, it is disgustingly effective. It creates an invisible wall where anyone who touches the player who's in the hip check position WILL fall. It does not matter if the player is already past the defending skater, if any part of the defender touches the skater while in the hip check motion, that player will fall. It is incredibly unrealistic and a stupid gameplay mechanic. Needs to be fixed ASAP.
-Battling in front of the net. When you are trying to position yourself in front of the net for a tip, if an opposing player gets anywhere near you, it will engage in a little battle for position. In this battle, your player's movement is severely hampered and you are essentially stuck to this opposing player for a few seconds. It's meant to recreate the realism of battling for position in front of the net to screen goalies and such. However, it's implemented poorly. Your player can be 10 feet off to the side of the net and about 10 feet in front of it and engage in one of these battles. You would be too far away from the front of the net to even affect the play when this happens so it's just an annoyance. Also, if you are the one in front and being battled with from behind, you can not just skate away at normal speed back towards the blue line. You are stuck in this "slow circle" until it decides to let you go. This is not realistic at all and such an annoyance. It's so annoying that it actually makes a person want to avoid playing in front of the net and trying to screen goalies because of the punishment that comes with it.
So in one way, the skill gap in this game is increased. A team with great teamwork will be able to create scoring chances while smothering the opponents with their defense. However, I feel the overall skill gap is lessened because there are less reliable ways to score, and thus, less ways to punish the opposing team for making a mistake.
Now, I will acknowledge some things. If I played in the EASHL with 5 friends and only played 6 on 6 games where we control every position, I would have no complaints because each player is being controlled by a person who is capable of choice. Also, the goalie would be subject to human error and would make it easier to score.
I also acknowledge the game is only a week old and as my player levels up and gains more skills, I will likely be able to score more effectively and get past the defenders more effectively. This is just my core gameplay mechanics experience so far.
I love the game, not as much as I loved NHL 11 but this is a great game in its' own right.
I'm sure I'll be playing it until NHL 13 comes out and I encourage people to give it a try. Don't be afraid of the EASHL mode, it's difficult at first but it's also the most deep and fun experience I've had playing a video game in a long time.
Thanks for reading, especially if you read it all
Tribalgravy
