NHL 13

NHL 13
Developer: 2K Games

System: Xbox 360

Score 3/5

So my latest adventure took me to the arenas of NHL 13. I have not played a hockey game in a long time so I was a bit rusty on teams and controls. I played My Pro and was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers and then I played GM mode and was the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Visuals (B+)

Okay so in My Pro the visuals were not that impressive compared to GM. I have noticed then in other games where you are just one player. Some of the hit animations are really good just as long as it’s in open ice. If you get along the boards they get knocked down and flail like a fish. The bodies don’t bend to the hit on the boards they slide out as they are falling down. The puck is hard to see sometimes. The off screen indicator is way too big and I sometimes missed the puck because I was off by just a tad. If there are a lot of people around the puck is impossible to follow in the up/down camera view.  The fans in the stands were common and not that exciting. There just as many fans with away jerseys as home but the hat trick scene is neat but they have had something like that from the SEGA days. I did like the part if you are on the boards the fans will get up and smack the glass and it is also possible to break the glass with a hit. I would have liked to have seen a “white out” game or at least the option on GM mode as a fan promotion.

Controls (B+)

Like I mentioned earlier it has been awhile since I’ve played a NHL game and I must say the controls were difficult to pick up on. There were a lot of combinations to remember. Skating took some time to get used too since they are using a new game engine for it but once I got used to the realism it was pretty easy, oh and the skating backwards is awesome. I do recommend that if you haven’t played a NHL game in awhile to do the tutorial.

Audio (A)

All I’m going to say is that Zombie Nation is only good in an NHL game. Hearing the fans boo when you come onto the ice or score a goal is a nice. You can hear the players yell offside if it occurs. The sound effects are pretty good for a sports game. The commentary is not repetitive unless you suck at something like the face off  then they let you know about it over and over. The beginning of the game is repetitive letting you know something about the team. NCAA and Madden have done away with actual artists doing the soundtrack in the menu screens but NHL hasn’t and I must say that it’s not bad.

Gameplay (B-)

To create a player (male or female) is a pain in the butt. I had trouble finding it, couldn’t figure out how to change the name. Make sure you go to the creation zone and make your person first not just go to “Be a Pro” because it’s not there. While in “Be a Pro” after your line shift you can simulate to the next time that you are out on the ice. The problem with the line shifts is regardless of your stamina if there is a whistle even if your guy is on for 10 seconds they pull you off. In “Be a Pro” it is very difficult to score goals since your guy is awful (68) for me. But once I played with Sidney Crosby I had no trouble running up the score which seemed a bit unrealistic scoring 5 goals even on the default settings. If your player sucks it is much harder to maintain puck control. The defense will just poke checks and your push is over.  “Be a Pro” your AI teammates do the same thing over and over. They advance it deep into the zone on the wings and turn it over which doing that doesn’t allow for an offense to be set up. In GM it’s much different and you are able to make passes back and forth and across ice to get an open shot.
 

Replay Value (C-)

If you’re not a fan of hockey then don’t bother with this game. The “Be a Pro” isn’t bad once you get going, and now a days you can “Be a Legend” so that helps playing over and over again. Other than that it’s a good rental. Not much done to keep people playing season after season.