Hockey, the fastest game on earth. Hard hits, fast paced action, fights, and lets not forget the wonderful goals. What more could you expect from a sport, let alone a game. With the excellent history EA has had making hockey games since the days of the SNES, let me get one thing straight. If you like hockey, there's no need for you to read the rest of this review, just go ahead and buy the darn game! If you need some convincing, read on.
The game modes include quick game, season, playoff, tournament, shoot-out and net play. This year, you can actually create a player of your choice, throw him into the draft and play him through a fifteen year career. Although I don't see why there are fifteen years (you're not going to play them all) it's a neat addition in case you're boared. All thirty NHL teams are here including the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild. In addition to that, there are twenty International teams including Ukraine and Latvia. If you still aren't satisfied, make your own team, name your own town!
There were two main problems with last year's version. Too many shots and too many cheap behind the net goals. Both have been fixed. There are now sliders in which you can change certain options. If you want shots to miss the nets more often, a slide of the bar will fix that problem. If you think the golies are giving up too many or too little rebounds, a slide of the bar will also fix that problem. As for the cheap goals, you can no longer go behind the net and do a wrap-a-round and score. It doesn't work no more.
The physics of the game are also better than ever. If you want to shoot the puck from center ice, it will feel differently than if you want to dump the puck in and rush after it. If you want to push the puck off the boards to get by a defender, the puck will go by the defender off the boards and will be waiting for you. The passing is also better than ever. The computer AI will actually do tic-tac-toe plays and score on you. You can also call a play to have a deflection take place. A player will stand in front of the net while a player takes a slap shot. The shot will deflect off the other player's stick and will change it's direction. Just like in real life, this play does not always work.
What other imporvements have there been this year? Well, for one thing, the TV Presentation is a whole lot better. There is a coach standing behind the bench. Unlike last year, he will react to certain things. During time outs, he will tell players what play he wants to do. Another welcomed addition is the pre-game skate. Players will come out to screaming fans and skate around the rink. Then they stand for the national anthem. If you thought these additions weren't enough, you can get a hold of the "Retro Jerseys". Don't you just miss the days when the Winnipeg Jets played the Quebec Nordiques or how the Vancouver Canucks had their good logo? To put it in one line, the presentation is perfect!.
While we're on the subject of TV, lets not forget the play by play and all the other sounds. The play by play is perfect and so is the color man. They say things when it's at an appropriate time. They won't say how great a team is doing when they're losing by three. The crowd also reacts at the right time. Cheering their home team when they get a scoring chance, booing the away team when they score. The sound is downright perfect.
Unfortunately, this game is not perfect and there are some minor (and I mean really minor) flaws to this game. The fighting system just seems to get worse and worse every year. This year, you're allowed to mash two buttons and hope you come out on top. Fights last an amazing three to five seconds! Wow! Another thing, the ever so famous "backyards shot" where the player is not facing the net, shoots forward, but the puck goes backwards is still here. Although the player sometimes does a "180" before he shoots, it's still awkward to see a guy shoot backyards and score. The "Import your own Face and Logo" features are quite useless. But fear not, these are all minor flaws, they won't even affect your playing experience!
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