NHL 13 Review | GamersCast
16With the NHL locked out this season, it looks like hockey fans will have to settle for virtual hockey rather than the real televised events. But does EA's latest installment to the long running NHL series satisfy the starving hockey fan? Here is my review of NHL 13.
A lot has changed between NHL 12 and NHL 13, including new features, new gameplay, and an overall sleeker package. GM Mode is now GM Connected mode. Here you can be the general manager of your own league online, with upto 750 playing together in the same league. It's a great new mode that adds depth to the existing game modes.
And much like Madden Moments are for the Madden series, the mode has made its way to NHL in the form of NHL Moments Live, which allows you to relive and recreate moments from the 2011/2012 season and the 2012/2013 season, as they happen. Of course, with the latter being on lockout, I'm not sure what EA plans to do with that. But new moments from the past season are already available for download, indicating the feature will still be supported throughout the year.
Of course, all the modes you have come to know and love are still here in full swing. NHL Ultimate Team allows you to buy, trade, and sell players looking to make the best possible combination of a hockey team. Be a Pro let's you build up a brand new player from rags to riches. And of course, you can pick a team and play with them throughout a season.
The game itself is very good looking. The stadiums and ice rinks shine with great polish and makes for a very pretty looking package. Facial models and animations are a bit on the stiff side and can look a bit clunky at times, but that doesn't take much away from an overall great looking game.
The commentary team is also superb. Gary Thorne and Bill Clement provide great and appropriate commentary throughout each match, making nice comments and insights when appropriate.
Now, to the gameplay. This is probably one of the biggest and most impressive changes to the game this year. True Performance Skating is definitely a huge step forward for the NHL series. Abandoning the old "arcade-styled" method of control, true performance skating takes real skating physics into account and adds a much needed level of realism to the game.
The only complaints I have with the system, is checking seems a bit off. Sometimes, you'll fly at a player, checking him at full speed to see that he has barely moved at all, where some light hits can send players flying across the ice. Goal opportunities are a bit odd, where sometimes you'll set up a great play, only to all too often, seeing the opposing goalie make a ridiculous save, and some shots that you wouldn't expect to go in, seem find their way through. It's a learning curve some players will need to adapt to.
Aside from a few shortcomings NHL 13 is a great game and quite possibly the best hockey game to come out to-date. With an extensive selection of modes and features, alongside all the major advancements the game has made in terms of realism and gameplay, NHL 13 is a must-have for any hockey fan, especially since it's the only kind of hockey we're going to be getting this year.
Final Score: 8.5 out of 10