NHL 2013 REVIEW
For anyone who read my short intro post, you’ll recall that I listed my favorite gaming series to be none other than EA’s NHL. Being that it is nearing the end of September, that means that I have had my annual offering for a week-plus now and can safely make a broad review on this years title. So without further delay, I bring you my NHL 13 Review!
Anyone who has ever played or watched hockey, or even ice skated at all, can attest to the skill and fluidity it takes to accelerate and stop on two thin blades while on ice. In all previous NHL games, that little bit of general knowledge has been sort of thrown to the roadside as players, regardless of their accel/spd skills, could seemingly start at fast speed and stop on a dime to either play D or immediately switch directions. That is no longer with NHL 13. The “True Performance Skating” might be one of the most welcome additions to the franchise in recent memory (second to only the true physics engine that was introduced last year in my mind). Now players are forced to accelerate and decelerate at much more realistic speeds and no longer are the immediate 90 degree turns possible by anyone that falls outside of the very elite. When paired with the true physics engine that was added into NHL 12, the game now plays more realistic and fluid than ever before. For the first time, if you have a speedy winger, you can utilize that speed to beat a back skating d-man and start the rush. Of course this also means that the old standby of just pushing your left thumbstick straight at the net and hammering on the shot stick will no longer suffice as the player will careen off the goalie and likely take out the net resulting in a faceoff, and possibly a penalty.
For the casual gamer the addition of a new skating engine may have little or no impact on their enjoyability of the game as they just want to get some big hits, get in some fights, and score some goals all while hopefully doing that with some friends. It is for these individuals that EA has added the GM Connected mode. It falls in like with the Connected Careers mode that is in Madden 13, except it doesn’t fully replace Be a GM and Be a Pro mode like CCM does to Franchise and Be a Pro in Madden. However it does allow over 300 players to play in the same NHL universe and compete against each other over the course of a career. The biggest complaint against Madden and their implementation of CCM is that it replaced the old standbys (franchise and be a pro) and NHL was wise to not go that same route. Fans of the old faithful modes can just bypass the new GM Connected and continue right along as a GM or Pro as they see fit. This sort of flexibility proves that the NHL team is all about keeping the customer happy.
Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) makes a return to this season as well with a brand new interface. The idea remains the same, collect player cards to create your team and compete in offline or online tournaments to show off your prowess. One key change is that each players “career limit” has been removed. This means that if you have your favorite superstar, you can keep playing with him as long as you have the contract cards. He no longer has a retirement “age” like players did in NHL 12.
The only complaints I have with this years version is that some of the graphical and psychic components glitch every once in awhile. Similar to the problems in Madden, there will be times when players have limbs bending the wrong way or piles of players that just looks absurd. Some of the loading screens seem to take FOREVER and the soundtrack isn’t as legit as it has been the past few years. Otherwise, I would say the NHL team has really come through and delivered a clutch product.
Pros:
True Performance Skating makes the game so much more realistic
GM Connected creates a whole new way to play and breathes new life into the online community
Ultimate Team still remains one of my personal favorite game modes because of all the possibilities
Cons:
Physics and graphical errors that lead to quizzical limb and body placements
Soundtrack isn’t all that great, but it’ll grow on me I’m sure
Loading screens seem to take longer than ever before
NHL has been a game in the past 3-4 years that seems to be a perennial contender for “Sports Game of the Year” if not overall “Game of the Year” and this iteration proves to keep it in that same echelon. With the addition of True Performance Skating and the GM Connected mode, it looks like 2012 may have officially been graced with it’s “Sports Game of the Year”.
OVERALL: 9.25/10
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