Full Disclosure: the EA Sports NHL franchise is, and has been for a quite a while, my favorite video game sport franchise. It is the only sports game I get every year. I have always felt the team at EA Canada has had the best yearly advances of any sports game and that each year truly brings a brand new game.

Earlier this year, EA Sports announced the changes fans would see in this year’s iteration of the hockey simulation. And it’s a doozy. For a few years now, as much as I love the series, I have felt that NHL has been missing something, something that left a rather large gap between the somewhat arcade-y feel of the games and the fast, gritty nature of the real sport.

With NHL 13 however, it looks like that gap is virtually disappearing. All thanks to 2 major games improvements that could propel the franchise into true realism: True Performance Skating and EA Sports Hockey IQ.

In the past few years, sports games like Fight Night and NBA 2K have advanced into an unprecedented level of realism thanks to the introduction of realistic physics engines and cleverer Artificial Intelligence. In NHL 11, the franchise took a major step toward that same realism, replacing their old animation system with a new physics engine which made the game flow more realistically: every check and collision became unique, the puck bounced around the ice, passes and stick play became more accurate and realistic, and momentum truly came into play for the first time.

In NHL 12, further, more minor steps, were taken to add realism to the physics of the game: players were more realistically weighted so that the 6’9, 255 lb Zdeno Chara wasn’t necessarily sent to the ice when the 5’8 150 lb Martin St. Louis came in for a body check on the monster defenseman. The success of checks now depended on balance, speed, and size.

So now we arrive at NHL 13. When the game was officially announced a few months back, the developers at EA Sports Canada promised that this year’s game would feature the biggest, most game-changing differences since the huge “skill-stick” addition in NHL 07. After playing the demo at E3 2012, I can assure you that this is almost an understatement. According to the devs, they have been working on a brand new physics engine for a few years now that will change the game forever. Titled “True Performance Skating”, players now have the speed and bursting power of the real players. Hockey is a sport that relies on sudden bursts of tremendous speed as well as sustained speed across the length of the ice.

Players like Alexander Ovechkin and Marion Gaborik rightfully are regarded as some of the league’s best players thanks to their explosive power, able to suddenly burst past the defense in few steps until leading to incredible breakaway goals. Until NHL 13, this advantage was completely missing from the game. In NHL 12, all players skated at roughly the same speed, forward or backwards. This means that the defense could easily catch up and stay right with even the fastest, most explosive

forwards in the game without much effort. The defense could even cheat forward, looking for a big hit before the forward with the puck got down the ice, and even if they missed, it was simple to catch back up to the forwards. This is no longer the case with NHL 13. Now, players must be strategic when on defense, as one missed step could lead to an easy chance for the offense.

In addition to explosiveness, top-speed is another valuable trait for many players in the league that was noticeably absent from previous installments of the NHL franchise. One of defenseman Duncan Keith’s great strengths is his ability to beat out quick forwards to a loose puck due to his incredible ability to reach his top speed very quickly and sustain it. Now in NHL 13, players like Keith or Capitals forward Jason Chimera can make use of their incredible top speeds to create chances that have been impossible in past iterations of the game.

While “True Performance Skating” gives players more realistic control over themselves, the AI in NHL 13 has gone through a major overhaul as well. AI controlled characters without the puck will no longer focus all their attention on the puck, they now have a greater understanding of the whole ice and can comprehend when plays start coming together. This same mindset also is ingrained in goalie AI. Goaltenders will no longer leaves themselves as open when 2-on-1s are on the attack. Instead of having their entire body turned toward the player with the puck, goalies will now adjust so that they are ready for a pass or a shot from all nearby players, just as in the real game. To put it simply, AI now plays just like a skilled human player would play.

I’ve played the last 6 iterations of the EA NHL franchise and feel that I have a pretty good handle on how to be successful. But getting my hands on NHL 13, the advancements are so tremendous, that I will need to adjust my gameplay style dramatically. But I am excited for this change, because it signals a revolution for the sport.

NHL 13 will be released Sept,11, 2012 from EA Sports for Xbox 360 and PS3.