Description: Everyone knows that EA has had some trouble for, oh, let's just say the past eleven years or so, when trying to duplicate the magic that was NHL 94-95. Finally, the not so little company that could, has, once again come through and created what can best be described as a hockey experience.

OK, Since this game is so different than any hockey game that has come before it, I think it deserves a different type of review. It's hard to describe how it's more of an experience when breaking it down into different categories. So, instead, for this review, I will give my categorical ratings below, along with brief descriptions, and then give more detail of my experience with the game below that.

Graphics: 9.5/10 Absolutely stunning player models. The crowd looks good too.

Sound: 9/10 The commentary is spot on, without an overuse of color like in previous EA NHLs. The arena sounds are just plain incredible, especially in surround sound...

Gameplay: 9/10 This is an area where the game really shines.

It just FEELS like hockey. The puck doesn't stick to anyone anymore. It's its own seperate entity that slides, skids, and bounces all over the rink. You really feel as though you have complete control over your stick.


Controls: 9/10 Things are much different this year.

No longer do you use the face buttons for passing and shooting (you can, but it's the "classic" control setup). Instead, you use the right stick for shooting and checking. push forward on the stick for a wrist shot, while using the left stick to aim. Pull back and then push forward for a slapshot. Passing is now done with the R trigger. The L trigger is used to make your defensemen skate backwards and defend better. And get this... There is no speed burst button. Your players do it automatically. AND IT WORKS! For as little time as they actually spend on the ice at a time, they SHOULD skate their hearts out. You shouldn't have to push a button for it. The players will speed up when they're open, while pushing the puck out in front of them.

Experience:

The players look so good in this game, it's almost eerie. I was expecting something that looked really nice, but this just blew away my expectations. All that I really wanted was a game that looked great, but pretty much played like NHL 06 (for the original Xbox). I would have been completely happy with that.

While a few features are missing (Create-a-Team, and single season modes), most of what you would really want is there. These are the only things that I hope they include next year along with better presentation. They should show more before and after game animations. I know that it's not really substance, but when you have this much horsepower to work with, you should show it off a bit more.

That being said... This was my experience last night. I came home with NHL in hand. Ripped open the plastic, and popped it in as soon as I could. Hockey is my favorite sport, and with the exception of NHL 2K1-2K5, EA's games have always been my favorite recreation of that sport. I started playing them on the PC with my dad back in the mid ninties, and have been playing them ever since.

My mom (who doesn't like video games or anything by the way) came in to see it, and was blown away. She was astonished as to how it looked, sounded, and that it did all this while I was playing it. Even my dad, who has fallen out of love with the hockey games since they became more complex than two button affairs, admited that it was astounding.

This is the first hockey game that I cannot do "the move" in to score 80% of the time. No, I'm not talking about the one timers that people always do, which used to score all the time, as well... Rather, I'm talking about moving in an S shape in front of the net and just shooting past the out of position goalie. It was a great deke for years, but completely unrealistic, and it made playing against people who would use it miserable.

The game just sucked me in. It felt like I was at Joe Louis Arena. I had the volume turned up, so the crowd was really loud, and I could almost feel the floorboards shaking. Even my video game hating sister (not counting the DS I bought her), interrupted a phone call with her boyfriend to watch for a few minutes. What I found incredible was that you could actually make out the individual stitches in players jerseys and pads. Slices form in the ice where the skates have been, and clouds of it fly up when stopping a player suddenly. I won my first two games, but lost the third, and it actually felt like I accomplished something when I won, or even when I scored. Winning is a challenge, as it should be. There shouldn't be a ton of gimme goals, as there have been in previous years. I just started a dynasty, so I may elaborate on that eventually, but not until I really get into it.


Overall: 9/10

This is a great game for fans of hockey, or competitive sports in general. It has the European and National leagues in addition to the NHL. Everything in the game plays great, and the animation is awesome with just a few infrequent hiccups during replays... Never during action. I've never heard a videogame announcer keep up with the action this well before. He's a bit repetititve, but not so much that he gets annoying. Winning is FINALLY rewarding. When you score, you feel as though you earned it.



Jmann2K1