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NHL 12
By Reardon Jones
Melbourne;
the most liveable city and sporting capital has added the Medibank
Icehouse to it's pedigree.
So we thought we would follow suit and give
NHL12 a go and despite my hatred for cold, wet weather, NHL12 instantly
got me fired up.
I
will tell you one thing, having shaky knowledge of the sport of Ice
Hockey didn’t deter me from whacking the game on and not suprisingly
the game came through with some really enjoyable moments.
In
terms of a sport simulator NHL 12 comes pretty close to perfect. With
improved physics, the hits and the biffo look better then ever.
Every
tiny detail is included that fans of the sport will appreciate (For
Example, for the first time ever, getting the Goalies involved in
Melees with the players).
The gameplay gets pretty intense and
at times I found myself frustrated with the level of difficulty. But as
with most games, practice makes perfect.
The players have
their own physical traits, making the tactics and gamestyle vary from
team to team. Certain players have the ability to be crazy accurate
every time it counts and others have the hardness and strength of a
rhino when defending.
Commentary and replays are nothing new
in sporting simulators yet NHL12 provides a great selection process
regarding which moment to replay.
The Commentary provided by
Gary Thorne and Bill Clement is authentic and entertaining, however
like most sport games, can get repetitive depending on the length of
match time.
NHL12 offers a variety of game modes to support
the quick match option. Be a Pro Mode is back, with the gamer doing the
hard yards in the CHL hoping to be selected in NHL draft.
The
NHL Winter Classic puts gamers outside in the elements for the annual
New Years Day event. This mode is a visual treat as the snow
falls across the outdoors hockey rink situated at Heinz Field
Pittsburgh.
The
introduction of Be a Legend is another mode in NHL12. This entails the
gamer to take up the mantle of one of Hockey’s legends. Like Mario
Lemieux, Ray Bourque, Gordie Howe and the Great Wayne Gretzky.
Take the legend on a journey from winning the Stanley Cup to defining
"another" awesome career.
Ultimate
team mode enables gamers to collect and trade players, deal with
injuries and contracts and ultimately lead your team to
success.
If
you, like me, spend a lot of time trying to hit people (I have watched
The Mighty Ducks) then NHL12 won't disappoint. The bonecrushing, glass
shattering hits into the bench give the game a genuine, authentic look.
And to put it plainly, it's really fun and it just looks fantastic.
So
it's not surprising that the 'non-ice-hockey' guy after every goal kept
chanting "Quack" like an idiot. For the more diehard fans of Ice
Hockey this game will not disappoint. It’s fast, it's fun and it's
pretty cool.
Quack.
Game: NHL 12
System: Playstation 3, XBox 360
Developer/Co-Developer: EA
Canada
Publisher: EA Sports
Rating: 80%
(Ratings
Key/Explanation)
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