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Preview: NHL 13 and “True Performance Skating” in-depth

Oh, you already know we loved previewing this new EA Sports title, right?

I had the chance to speak with EA Canada’s Andrew Tennent at the NHL 13 booth about the new “True Performance Skating” feature of the title.

Andrew explained the three key components of the feature: explosive starts, top speed, and how physics actually affect your player if you’re hustling down the ice too fast.

Picking up a controller, Andrew helped me understand that each player will have an explosiveness rating; that being, the explosive power of their skating start from a stationary or gliding position. EA Canada has analysed players this season and is confident that each player’s explosive rating is accurate. Andrew’s Kopitar to my Brown demonstrated this (of course we were using the LA Kings for the demo!) — I always ended up a stride or two behind Kopitar after a stationary start.

By clicking down on the left stick while in motion, you can activate the player’s top speed. This isn’t a boost so much, but just a player giving it their all. This top speed is rated as well, so don’t expect to catch the fastest players in the league with an average joe. Using your top speed shows off some amazing animations; the player will grasp their stick in one hand and push the puck up as they’re flying down the ice. The function can be used in both offence and defence; I pulled off a great goal by activating the function just inside the blue line and breezing past a defenceman caught unaware. Then, in the next shift Andrew used it against me to chase me down and take the puck off me to score himself. I think the EA Canada developer was toying with me a bit…

Lastly, don’t expect to be able to use all out speed to wheel around the ice with precision. Andrew demonstrated how using all out speed will really mess with your cornering. If you’re going fast, you’ll take wider corners, and just for added affect, you’ll get some feedback in your controller as well.

In short, NHL 13 continues to innovate and with each year gets closer to a true-blue ice hockey experience. It’s a fantastic addition to the already stellar franchise, and I can’t wait for its release on Xbox 360 and PS3 on 13 September.


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About the author

Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.