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NHL 13 tweaks trades, player ratings

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Modern sports video games open up the fantasy of running your own team, but they still have a long way to go to truly ape reality.

Game Informer’s Matt Bertz provides a detailed preview of some of NHL 13’s tweaks that should appeal to armchair GMs, beginning with some changes that seem relevant in the wake of the Rick Nash trade.

... A team in true Cup contention like the New York Rangers may be willing to trade away high draft picks or well-regarded prospects to acquire a veteran player to fill out the roster, while rebuilding teams may part with their veterans to gather more draft picks and build for the future. Teams will constantly re-evaluate their standing throughout the year, so they are not locked into a specific philosophy.

One common criticism of the series’ (and many sports games’) ratings system is that stars might stand out, but not as much as they should because it seems like even mediocre players receive solid ratings.

That could change a bit with NHL 13, according to Bertz’s account.

Based on early fan feedback on NHL 13’s direction, the development team decided to change the player ratings to create more of a gap between the star players and the average skaters in the league. Franchise players like Sidney Crosby are still rated in the 90s, but the average ratings of third-line defenders are in the mid-70s instead of the low-80s this year.