I didn't play NHL11 because of how broken it is, but I caved in and picked up NHL12 this weekend.
So far I've played about a dozen games in BAP and think that:
- the SIM to next shift is an AWESOME feature and works fairly well.
- ice-time is a lot more appropriate for the situation. As a 3rd liner I get about 15 mins per game.
- the AI is much improved from NHL10. Positional play seems better and there just seems to be some 'Common Sense'.
- battling in front of the net is a bit tricky, but fun and worthwhile.
- legendary milestones and legendary players are an awesome and fun feature.
A couple of downsides:
- Game freezing sucks, although its not very prevalent (for me).
- The menus (PS3) are insanely slow. Heck, loading a saved BAP file takes ~45-90 seconds, weird.
- Garbage goals (can) happen.
Overall I am glad to have spent $60 on this years title. It is DEFINITELY better than NHL10 (for those who didn't grab NHL11), and I there's a ton of playability to the game. Hell, a GM-Dynasty alone could keep someone busy until rapture.
My (completely unscientific and probably pointless) ratings are:
Video: 10/10
Audio: 7/10
Controls: 8/10
Fun: 10/10
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