NHL 09 is one of my favorite games of all time. NHL 07 might have introduced right-stick puck-handling, but it took two years for the series to perfect it, creating one of the greatest sports games of all time. Since that halcyon year EA Canada has continued to tweak various systems and mechanics, but success has varied. This time around the selling point is “True Performance Skating,” a system whereby speed and momentum play more realistically into gameplay than ever before. The result is a slower, more deliberate experience that is sure to be divisive.

As its name implies, “True Skating” more accurately reflects the way skaters behave on the ice. Overall player speed has been noticeably diminished, but holding down the left stick will cause your player to hustle. As a result, you will have to be more deliberate in your cuts, as sharp turns are more difficult at high speeds. Likewise, the differences between low and high-end players has become more pronounced, resulting in a more strategic game. The days of lugging the puck up and down the rink as a defenseman are over.

Sports games may have a reputation for slow change over time, but this is probably the year’s most dramatic change to core gameplay outside of Madden‘s Infinity Engine. You may be able to choose classic face button controls before a game begins, but make no mistake: this is far from an arcade experience. More than ever before, EA Sports has brought the NHL franchise closer to a simulation of a real-life sport. This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

For instance, the changes in collision animations are interesting. There are supposedly over 1000 new animations, but I found there to be an overall decrease in the physicality of play. Players fall down, drop sticks, and jostle the net free more often, but these touches of verisimilitude seem token when you can’t seem to crush opposing players with any reliability. My faith in the game was somewhat restored when a poor approach angle got Jason Pominville (I call him Pommy) tossed ass-over-teakettle into the opposing bench, but even then, his glitchy return to the field of play was disappointing. I won’t go so far as to see checking in NHL 13 is bad, but I will say that the shift to more realistic simulation has toned down some of inherent violence of the sport.

This change is more or less emblematic of the only real drawback of the game: sometimes realism is boring. Improved defensive A.I. means crashing the net is a lot harder, while more flexible and alert goalies lead to far fewer easy points. For the last couple of years I have found the CPU utterly incapable of executing a neutral zone trap, meaning I never had to perfect the dump-in or forecheck. As long as you had two men on the ice, you could set up a reliable goalie screen. This time around everything is different. It may not perfectly capture the ebb and flow of the game, but it’s a reasonable simulacra–to the possible detriment of casual players.

With that said, I personally found the newfound challenge refreshing. It’s certainly not as jarring as the change from “Press B to Shoot” to “Pull the Right Stick back, then Push it Forward to Shoot.” As long as you aren’t bothered by lower scores and having to put some more time and thought into your play, I don’t think the game asks an unreasonable amount from players. Even newcomers to the franchise will be able to appreciate the uptick in goaltender play. But by the same token, it seems as though it’s now actually possible to sneak a shot between Roberto Luongo’s knees.

Despite all of this going on between the whistles, it’s the stuff off of the ice that may be of more interest to many fans. As of this writing, the National Hockey League Players’ Association and their team owners are still fighting over a collective bargaining agreement, which will likely result in a truncation (if not outright cancellation) of the 2012-2013 hockey season. Therefore it is even more important that this installment serve as a virtual equivalent for fans. EA Canada’s answer to this is “GM Connected,” an online game mode allowing up to 750(!) people to play in the same league. It sounds ambitious on paper, but really amounts to the same “Franchise Mode” experience you know and love.

However, I did note a few issues during my time with the different online modes. First of all, the myriad menus that litter the game expose the considerable loading times required to recall every stat and option. The user-interface could also stand to be streamlined in much the way that Madden 13‘s front-end was pared down. The highly touted improvements in CPU GM logic are questionable, given that I was almost immediately propositioned to trade several draft picks for some no-name second-liner. I also noticed a bit of lag and slowdown while online, which wouldn’t be such a big problem if EA wasn’t supporting their servers with online passes. All in all, the experience is far from unpleasant, but there are some areas that could serve to be tightened up or refined.

While the graphics, music, and feature set are more or less par for the course, there are a few outliers worth mentioning. The licensed soundtrack is notable for being one of the few left in the recent crop of EA Sports releases, although it is considerably weaker than past entries (The Offspring are still around?). However, any misgivings I have about the background music are forgotten when it becomes clear just how much customization is available under the hood. The game already includes seven leagues, but is still nice enough to include substantial create-a-character and create-a-team tool-sets. As you can see above, there are plenty of variables to tinker with if you are willing to invest the time to creating a personalized experience.

NHL 13 is an important step. It may not be as groundbreaking as Madden 13, but it is different enough from the last few years to warrant a purchase from most fans. The only warning I can give is that this certainly isn’t the most accessible the franchise has ever been. If you just want to sling the puck around and run some fools over like a Zamboni then I have a much better alternative to recommend. Otherwise, at least give the demo a download.

A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes and played for about 20 hours. The title was played on Xbox 360, but is also available for PS3.

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