Only one thing has managed to cool me down. No, it's not NHL , great though its depiction of ice rinks are and refreshing as its simple yet addictive gameplay is. It's the bag of frozen peas I've stuffed down my underpants. But let's talk more about the game. The annual review of NHL is hardly one of the highlights of my gaming year, concerned as it usually is with trying to spot a difference from the previous edition, praising the gloss and fast-paced fun and, finally, advising everyone to buy last year's version on budget.
For once though, instead of taking NHL , refining it slightly and sending it out into the world with a hefty price tag and a new number on the end. EA Sports has gone for a complete redesign. It might look identical in many respects but there is a real difference in the way it plays, with much more accessible gameplay.
It takes time to master, but you do feel more « in control than in any previous incarnation. For hardcore players there are new levels of realism, from the Al and puck physics to the tactical options. Multiplayer has been improved too you can now create online clubs though there still seems little point in playing someone you can't scream and laugh at.
Crucially, the most important part of hockey has been given an overhaul: the violence. Fights don't take place randomly any more and you can grapple and throw punches in an occasional mini-game, while being able to trip players during the match itself, as well as elbow them in the face and crush them against the walls hard enough to smash the glass panes.
Although I would have preferred it go further down this arcade route, NHL remains a simulation at heart. For starters, the computer now gives you more to think about offensively.
Last year, the offensive AI was simply atrocious, seemingly limited to just one or two attack strategies. Limits like this have been removed for ; now the computer presents different offenses, depending on the team and coaching style, and will throw the puck around with abandon in an attempt to generate scoring opportunities.
But don't mistake this for the usual pell-mell arcade action that makes no real sense to hockey fans - there is method in this madness.
Positional play is much stronger this time around. Centers get down and dirty behind the net, wingers fly down their sides and let shots fly from any and all angles, and offensive-minded defensemen have no qualms about moving in off the points if the situation is right.
Computer players will both dump the puck in and rag it across the lines. Because of all this, you've got to have a good idea of where you are at all times. Get into a run-and-gun affair and you'll almost certainly be gunned down And the computer's defensive game has been beefed up as well. While opponents in the NHL series have always gotten in your face, now they play smart. They'll cover the open man, take away passing lanes, go after loose pucks, and of course deliver some really bone-crushing checks if you cross the blueline with your head down or get too cute along the boards.
Pressure like this even helps to keep the statistics and shot clock close to reality, as long as you don't go over minute periods. The other major change to NHL is its revamped control system. One of the biggest complaints about the series has always been the helter skelter play. Players seemed to slide a little too much and pucks were often hard to corral. Much of this has been improved this year. Skates now seem to really dig into the ice and the puck has more than a passing acquaintance with friction.
Other aspects of play are also more precise. Passing is reminiscent of recent editions of the sister EA Sports FIFA soccer series, in that you can't play tic-tac-toe with the puck any longer. Now you have to be cautious about the amount of power you put into each pass, and gauge whether or not you need to saucer-float the puck to get it past enemy sticks. On the whole, though, passing is a lot less accurate than it has been in previous years. It presents a fairly steep learning curve to series veterans used to the one-touch pinball passing.
And saucer passes can turn into a real adventure, as they're very hard to properly direct. Perhaps the best change with the control scheme comes with fighting. Previously, if one of your heavyweights wanted to go, there was no way of avoiding the scrap. That annoyance has been removed now, with the addition of an option to ignore an opportunity to fight.
Of course, there are times when you'll want to let 'er rip. And this year you really can, thanks to an all-new fighting engine that emphasizes grappling and blocking. League and dynasty play have been greatly improved. Around 40 teams have been added representing the European elite leagues in Sweden, Finland, and Germany, freshening things up for those a little tired of the NHL game. Dynasty mode has received a total facelift on par with that given the franchise mode in Madden NFL , so running an NHL franchise has never been depicted so completely.
It isn't perfect, largely due to players demanding absurdly high salaries at times, a preponderance of goofy trade offers from the computer, and a year cap per career. But it's a lot better than anything that this series has presented before. EA Sports never lets you forget that this is a big-budget production.
Graphics are phenomenal in every way, though particular attention has to be paid to the outstanding animations. Skaters now look like they're actually pumping their legs, not whirring on an invisible treadmill.
Hits are powerful and impressive without going over the top into wrestling land. Goalies are acrobatic and turtle-like by turns. The only somewhat sore point is the interface, which remains a little too console for the PC edition and a little too PC for the console editions. Audio quality has been boosted with a lot of new lines for play-by-play man Jim Hughson and a greater sense of situational awareness.
His new color commentator, former Oilers sniper Craig Simpson, also does a good job of weighing in with some key observations, and is a huge improvement over the stand-up comedy stylings of his predecessor, Don Taylor. Last but not least, multiplayer modes haven't been forgotten - unless you're stuck on Xbox or GameCube, that is. PC and PS2 owners are pretty well set up with a variety of options that run the gamut from quick single-game matchups to fullblown tournaments.
EA is running the same subscription angle with the EA Sports Online service for PC as it did last year, although you receive a card worth an entire season of free online play in each box. So online play with the official EA servers is essentially free of charge. You can still, of course, dodge the servers altogether on PC and link up directly with your friends and enemies. Few new beginnings in games go as right as this one for NHL EA Sports made a brilliant decision to shake up the franchise last year and turn it over to a new design team with no vested interest in the mistakes of the past few seasons.
This is almost certainly the best release in the history of the NHL series and one of the most authentic action-oriented sports games currently on the market. Screenshots from MobyGames. Beppe 0 point. I've downloaded the game, the patch 1. I can only play single game mode, if I try to play "season" or "dinaty mode", the game crashes to desktop.
Insiles -1 point. Adam Orlowski points.
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