NHL ’12 video preview: EA Sports boasts ‘hat trick’ of innovations

We don’t mean to rub it in, but opening night in October is a long way away. That being said, there are distractions for hockey fans who cannot get enough. Obviously, the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and free agent frenzy provided equal portions silliness and hope for puck enthusiasts. PHT will carry you through these warm, hockey-free months with updates regarding the latest moves, looks into the future and features to tickle your fancy.

One could probably consider September the month in which the light at the end of the tunnel gets a little bigger and brighter. That’s when training camp starts and it’s also the time of year when the next round of NHL video games are released. For the second consecutive year, it seems like EA Sports’ best-selling NHL series won’t have major competition (besides other sports games, TV shows and other bigger picture distractions) with the 2K series in road kill mode.

For those who worry that the software giant will rest on its laurels without another puck-based game making them sweat, it seems like the company will try to bolster its impressive foundation. We’ve already covered the fact that the game will include a Winter Classic mode and shared the September 13 release date/first preview video, but EA provided a more complete view of the biggest changes in store for NHL ’12 recently.

EA unveiled its “hat trick” of innovations, which you can check out in this video from GameTrailers.com.
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Here are some of my observations about each innovation after watching that video and reading up on how these changes might impact the game.

1. “Anticipation AI” - The company claims that computer players will do a better job of anticipating the puck changing hands and generally reacting to on-ice events in a more organic way.

2. “Full contact physics” - As I discussed in Todd Marchant’s retirement post, speed used to be an overriding asset in hockey video games. There’s no doubt that fast skating is important in today’s game, but the perceived disparity often makes bigger players seem useless. The reality is that big players are often very useful in the NHL, especially in front of the net. NHL ’12 claims to address that issue better than before. (To be fair, the series made some progress in this area already, but this might be the big leap some were waiting for.)

3. “Dynamic goalies” - This innovation strikes me as the next installment of the “broken sticks” gamble from last year. There are plenty of ways that this could go wrong (example: will the game know if you’re trying to shoot or if you want to initiate contact with a goalie?) but it could add some needed realism to the game. If nothing else, it would be great to see more personality from goalies.

Things look promising overall, but it’s tough to overlook how awkward Zdeno Chara’s battles in front of the net ended up looking. It’s something that Operation Sports also tackled in their preview.

In terms of impact, I do think the physics engine is the biggest deal of the three. It essentially ties into a lot of what’s happening with goalies this year, and it also works to improve and fix much of what was wrong with the physics last year. However, I want to start with a negative here and point out that some ugly animations crop up with the implementation of this physics engine. I think it’s the price you pay, at least for now, to experience more organic moments, but it doesn’t excuse the look of some of the interactions. For example, nudging and bumping some players from behind causes the puck carrier to react in some questionable ways. It’s nice to see some new stumbles, but it’s just not that common for players to be checked down or pushed to the ice from behind as much as they are here. On top of that, some goofiness crops up when the goalies interact with players.

It looks like NHL ’12 could be a significant upgrade over NHL ’11 if EA’s innovations work out as well as advertised. The series has a great track record of delivering on their promises so far, but we’ll keep you updated as more information surfaces and the September 13 release date approaches.

(Screenshot via Operation Sports.)