The NHL series has been one of the most steady sports offerings over the last several years. EA Sports innovated and delivered vast improvements earlier this console generation but has started to come under increased scrutiny for lack of advancement the past few years. While it didn’t completely break out of that growing perception NHL 12 delivered enough improvements to keep the majority pleased at least for one more year.

The ranking of games in the best of 2011 list is based on number of factors including the personal amount of enjoyment had with a particular title, whether advertised features were fully delivered, post-release support, community interaction and communication, overall gameplay experience, feature set, and online play performance. Again this is largely a personal take and one with the advantage of tracking the games beyond just the release frame and does not act as some sort of recap of those with the highest scores on Metacritic. The analysis is weighted heavily towards those high in fun factor while considering them as a whole and compared relatively to the field.

Termed the “hat trick of innovations” NHL 12 delivered enhancements based on ‘anticipation AI’, a new physics engine, and dynamic goalies. For the most part they delivered in those areas – though the extent to which they ended up mattering can be called into question. The physics engine was not quite as impactful as some initially anticipated it would be, while associated hip checks were out of control and severely damaged realism.

In an effort to capitalize on the “legends” craze EA hyped up the addition of their own – which turned out to only be nine (not even enough to form their own team). Be a Pro mode made some important changes helping it remain one of the best career modes in sports gaming. Bringing in the Winter Classic was long overdue, and though it was handled well it was still relegated to using the previous year’s venue (Heinz Field). There was also an issue for a time with “pile” slots in Ultimate Team that took far too long to be addressed – while the Winnipeg Jets didn’t get their jerseys added until mid-November.

NHL 12 contained a great deal of quality content both offline and online – it just didn’t do anything dramatic to expand its value or help it appeal to a larger audience. The gameplay and feature tweaks that were made, though certainly appreciated by those who continue to enjoy the series, arguably came up short against expectations considering other areas of concern that continue to go unaddressed.

Earlier Year-in-Review Pieces
•#8: NHL 12
•#9: Fight Night Champion
•#10: MLB Bobblehead Pros
•Vote for the Community Choice Awards

With the new ones for this season having now all been officially revealed EA Sports has released the alternate jersey code for NHL 12. The code, which is input through the menu of the game, introduces an additional jersey for a handful of teams while a new roster that includes updates to both the NHL and CHL has also arrived.

The code: 2wg3gap9mvrth6kq
•Florida away jersey (Whites)
•New York Islanders 3rd jersey
•Ottawa Senators 3rd jersey
•Toronto Maple Leafs 3rd jersey

The first patch for NHL 12 is out now for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. The most anticipated part of the update comes with the introduction of the Winnipeg Jets jerseys that sadly took all the way until November to be added in. Also included are some fixes for freezing issues and improvements to various aspects of gameplay. Continue on to check out the full list of changes brought by the patch for NHL 12. 

• Winnipeg Jets 2011-2012 jerseys, pants and socks
• St. John’s IceCaps jerseys, pants and socks
• Several fixes for freezing issues
• Disabling of all buttons not used during net battles to fix net battles exploit
• Improved the fidelity required to break the glass from a hit
• Several Goalie Improvements
• Several Physics improvements
• Several AI improvements
• Improved interference penalty logic
• Performance trackers fixes
• Fix for goalie injuries while simming with injuries turned off.
• Double OT fix for no goals being scored after sim.

EA Sports is on a streak of sales successes as NHL 12 follows Madden 12, NCAA Football 12, and Tiger Woods 12 by delivering a significant year-over-year increase of its own. NHL 12 sold 451K copies worldwide in its first week which is up 19% from what NHL 11 was able to collect in the same period of time.

Pre-order deals which offered a $10 promotional credit, and the company’s early play subscription program the ‘Season Ticket’, should be considered factors in the rise but it has simply become a steady and dependable product and with NHL 12 was able to build off a well regarded iteration. Adding in a handful of legends didn’t hurt either. Next up FIFA 12 will likely continue the run of setting sales records as it looks to top FIFA 11′s mark as the fastest selling sports game of all-time on a worldwide scale.

Meanwhile the company took the opportunity to announce the upcoming launch of NHL Superstars on Facebook. The free-to-play game (supported by microtransactions) will arrive in October and joins FIFA Superstars, Madden NFL Superstars, and World Series Superstars on the massive social platform.

For those who have already purchased the EA Sports ‘Season Ticket’ or choose to do so now – the download of NHL 12 for the Xbox 360 has been made available and as of Friday afternoon it is out for the PS3 as well. The ‘Season Ticket’ costs $25 and runs for a period of one year – providing three day early access to (and a 20% DLC discount for) Madden NFL, NHL, FIFA, FIFA Street, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and NCAA Football.

The digital copy of NHL 12 will expire early Tuesday AM at 6ET/3PT after which a retail copy will have to be purchased. All game saves and achievements will transfer over. The only mode that will not be available during the ‘Season Ticket’ period is Hockey Ultimate Team.

For those who choose to purchase the game consider the Amazon deal that provides a $10 promotional credit to be used on a future site purchase and release day shipping. 360 – PS3.

The ‘Season Ticket’ kicked off with Madden NFL 12 and while it didn’t collect a huge number of consumers the response from those who got involved was generally positive. The program worked as advertised and the time with the game ended up being over the promised 76 hours. EA Sports initially claimed they were targeting the program at the hardcore fans and held true to that as they did nothing to advertise it – barely anyone even knew it existed. It may get a big surge come FIFA 12 however given its intensely dedicated and gigantic fan base that will likely jump at the chance to play early.

The complete team ratings for NHL 12 have come via an Operation Sports video. Offense, defense, and goalkeeping ratings are on display and provide a look not just at top line performers but how each team shapes up depth wise.

Pittsburgh comes away with the highest offensive rating, three teams tie for the lead in defense, and Roberto Luongo helps lead the Canucks to the highest team rating at goalie. Overall it’s the Penguins who have the highest total rating followed by Vancouver, the Rangers, and the Sabres.

Anaheim: OFF (78) – DEF (74) – GOA (79)
Boston: OFF (87) – DEF (92) – GOA (91)
Buffalo: OFF (92) – DEF (91) – GOA (92)
Calgary: OFF (87) – DEF (87) – GOA (89)
Carolina: OFF (85) – DEF (85) – GOA (91)
Chicago: OFF (92) – DEF (85) – GOA (79)
Colorado: OFF (87) – DEF (80) – GOA (77)
Columbus: OFF (80) – DEF (80) – GOA (77)
Dallas: OFF (77) – DEF (89) – GOA (80)
Detroit: OFF (91) – DEF (93) – GOA (79)
Edmonton: OFF (88) – DEF (85) – GOA (77)
Florida: OFF (82) – DEF (85) – GOA (73)
Los Angeles: OFF (88) – DEF (91) – GOA (80)
Minnesota: OFF (85) – DEF (78) – GOA (85)
Montreal: OFF (91) – DEF (85) – GOA (89)
Nashville: OFF (81) – DEF (87) – GOA (93)
New Jersey: OFF (87) – DEF (85) – GOA (75)
NY Islanders: OFF (81) – DEF (79) – GOA (77)
NY Rangers: OFF (95) – DEF (89) – GOA (93)
Ottawa: OFF (80) – DEF (79) – GOA (77)
Philadelphia: OFF (89) – DEF (93) – GOA (85)
Phoenix: OFF (82) – DEF (81) – GOA (76)
Pittsburgh: OFF (95) – DEF (93) – GOA (92)
San Jose: OFF (89) – DEF (92) – GOA (80)
St. Louis: OFF (92) – DEF (85) – GOA (82)
Tampa Bay: OFF (85) – DEF (88) – GOA (77)
Toronto: OFF (92) – DEF (87) – GOA (73)
Vancouver: OFF (92) – DEF (89) – GOA (97)
Washington: OFF (84) – DEF (88) – GOA (95)
Winnipeg: OFF (78) – DEF (91) – GOA (77)

The demo for NHL 12 is out now for the Xbox 360 (can be queued up for download here) and will arrive for the PS3 when PSN updates early this evening. Coming in at 1.34 GB the demo features the opportunity to try out three different modes: Play Now (NHL Finals rematch Boston vs Vancouver), Be a Pro, and Hockey Ultimate Team. As always leave any thoughts on the demo in the comments!

NHL 12 is bringing in a set of legends that will be integrated across several modes and now the full roster of nine has been revealed. Check out the gallery or FB album for shots of the players. The nine legends are: Wayne Gretzky, Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, Steve Yzerman, Borje Salming, Patrick Roy, Jeremy Roenick, Mario Lemieux, and Gordie Howe.

These legends will form their own team – filled out by top current players – and they will be available to use individually in Be a Pro mode and have rare cards that can be obtained in Hockey Ultimate Team.

For the second straight year EA Sports has put together a soundtrack for the NHL series with the intention of replicating the in-arena experience. With a mix of classic and new songs continue on to check out the full track listing for NHL 12.

Against! Me – Occult Enemies
Anthrax – I’m Alive
Beady Eye – Standing on the Edge of the Noise
Billy Idol – Mony Mony
Black Tide – That Fire
Blackguard – Farewell
Bush – Sound of Winter
Death Letters – I Wish I could Steal a Sunset
Dropkick Murphys – Hang ‘em High
ELO – Don’t Bring Me Down
Judas Priest – You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Manchester Orchestra – April Fool
Middle Class Rut – Busy Being Born
Murderdolls – Whatever you got, I’m Against It

Though promotional credits had been added for several upcoming titles on Amazon what had been missing for some was the release day shipping. NBA 2K12 recently got it as did FIFA 12 last week and now listings have been updated for NHL 12 providing the $10 promotional credit (which can be put to use on future purchases on the site) along with the release day shipping. The credit had been $20 for NHL but has now been reduced to $10 for new orders. Copies of NHL 12 can be pre-ordered here: Xbox 360 - PlayStation 3

With the deal NHL 12 will be delivered on Tuesday September 13th for free for Amazon Prime members or just 99 cents for everyone else. Those who may have previously pre-ordered on Amazon can go in and switch the shipping on that order to ‘release day’ and the change to the total charge will be reflected. Considering the lack of tax in most states the savings can essentially amount to as much as $16 when considering that and factoring in the promo credit.