EA gambled on a new control scheme and a more realistic feel with NHL '07, and for the most part, it is a success.
The most talked-about addition to the franchise is the new control scheme, which recalls the drastic changes EA made to their boxing franchise a few years ago. Gone is the need to rely on face buttons to pull off your moves; now, all controls--with the exception of fight initiation and line changes--are mapped to the two thumbsticks and the shoulder buttons. While this move could have been potentially limiting and oversimplified, a whole new puck management system transforms the offensive control scheme into one that is incredibly deep, and eventually becomes very intuitive.
In past years, player animations with and without the puck were more or less pre-scripted. This allowed for tight control and precision passing, but with the puck glued to the player’s stick, some of the chaos and creativity of the real game was lost in translation. With NHL ‘07’s new puck physics, the puck is now a separate entity that moves more independently of the player’s stick. This allows for players to cough up the puck when they get too fancy, and also allows for a player to drop a puck around a player and pick it up on the other side of their skates, for instance.
If the changes to the puck had been attempted with the control schemes of old, it would have undoubtedly ended up as a sloppy and unplayable mess, but with the addition of the skill stick, the game offers unprecedented control. The left thumbstick controls your skates, while the right controls your stick. Moves with the right thumbstick just make sense: move right and left to deke, flick quickly forward to take a snap shot, back and forward to fire a slap shot, and roll the stick to give the netminder a taste of your wrister or a backhand. It’s a bit disorienting at first, and admittedly, there is a somewhat steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of the controls, you’ll never want to go back to the face buttons again.
The new puck physics also make for more unpredictable circumstances when crashing the net. Rebounds are more unpredictable, and goalies react in more realistic and varied ways. Beating the netminders relies less now on one-timers, and more on drawing them out of position and shooting through traffic.
Another enhancement is the vision control option, which is mapped to the left trigger and allows you to keep your player facing up-ice. This gives you precision shooting and blueline control right when you need it. It’s also a big help on defense, when you want to skate backward to contain an oncoming offensive rush.
Passing is now handled with the right shoulder buttons, which takes a few minutes to get used to, but eventually becomes as intuitive as the rest of the scheme. The control this year is less precise, but is actually a more accurate representation of the way passing actually works in the game.
On defense, the control is a bit more disappointing, if only because it is not as radically improved as the offensive controls. Hits are mapped to the right thumbstick, and require a bit more timing to pull off. Reaches, dives, and poke checks are handled by the shoulder buttons, which is fine, except in the case of the poke checks, which require the use of both the right bumper and the right thumbstick. This combo is a bit awkward, and you may find yourself delivering a body check by mistake more often than you’d like.
Veterans of the series may also notice the absence of turbo controls. While some may lament their loss, it should be said that the skaters do respond appropriately to most situations, turning up the gas automatically when they’re on open ice, on the breakaway, or scrambling for the icing touch-up.
All of these changes serve to transform EA’s NHL franchise into something few would have ever believed: simulation-style hockey. It’s a breath of fresh air for a series that in the past had tried too hard to create a hard-hitting scorefest, though fans of EA’s previous brand of hockey may be turned off by the new, more methodical style of play.
If there’s one thing that EA has been known for, it’s presentation, and NHL ’07 does not disappoint. The graphics are nothing short of stunning, from spot-on character faces that animate beautifully, to the fluid goalie animation, and even down to the smallest details, such as tape over the pads, and modeling of actual custom equipment worn by the players. The close-ups also reveal exquisite detail, such as fabric textures and stitching around the crests on the sweaters. The arenas are also fairly busy, and while they’re not entirely accurate representations of the real arenas, seeing stands full of thousands of nicely-modeled 3D fans is quite a sight to behold.
During gameplay, however, most of these graphical touches get lost in the distant camera angles, and some cracks in the foundation begin to show. Given how fluid most of the animations are, it makes some of the less polished transitions a little more jarring. And the ice, while beautiful and dynamic, lacks a lot of the texture and depth during gameplay that you see on the surface in NHL 2K7. Also, since the game shines so much in close-up situations, the relative lack of variety in the cutscenes and replays will undoubtedly cause some disappointment.
The sound is generally very good, and makes excellent use of the surround soundstage. From the grinding of skates, to the crack of a slapshot, the on-ice sound is spectacular. The crowd is very dynamic, matching their volume and fervor quite well to the on-ice action. Individual voices can occasionally be heard over the din, which adds a whole lot of depth without being too obtrusive.
The music is the same misguided mix of modern pop that we’ve seen over the past few years, and is entirely forgettable. Perhaps the lack of quality would not be so evident if there weren’t such a profound lack of variety in the musical offerings.
EA made a wise move this year in bringing broadcast icons Gary Thorne and Bill Clement to this year’s commentary. While the legendary Jim Houghson offered great commentary over the past decade, a lot of his presentation had stagnated over the years, and seemed destined to keep the game mired in the arcade-style attitude. Thorne and Clement help to take the series in a more serious direction with their trademark banter. However, as great as it is to have the pair call the game, the whole commentary feels underdeveloped.
After just a handful of games, you’ll notice that a lot of the commentary repeats... a lot more than it did in years past. In addition, Clement is horribly underutilized, almost to the point that minutes may pass between the moments you hear his voice. More attention should have been given to providing color to on-ice events, player backgrounds, in-game rivalries, and events in other games, because the illusion created by the commentary feels very thin when the action stops. Given how robust some of EA’s NHL commentaries were in the early 2000’s, this presentation seems like a step back for the genre in general.
The only other complaint that could be lodged against the commentary is the fact that Thorne repeatedly refers to the slot as the “scoring area” or “scoring chance area,” and never “the slot,” as pretty much any fan or commentator would call it. In fact, there’s a noticeable absence of a lot of hockey slang from the commentary, such as “five-hole,” “point,” and “top-shelf,” to name a few. It’s almost as if EA were directing Thorne and Clement to dumb it down for players who aren’t as familiar with the game.
NHL ’07 breaks from EA’s next-gen tradition by providing a more robust franchise mode that allows you to take as little or as much control over your team over a 10 year period. For those who like a little micromanagement between games, there is a lot to like, but it’s still not as robust as those found in other sports titles. Online is simple, but fun, with smooth gameplay and very little lag.
A few other criticisms should be mentioned, as they do drag the game down a bit. One is that the AI is still rather suspect. Players on offense have a tendency to lose track of the play through the neutral zone, and push the play offsides way too often. This is a very frustrating problem that really hampers the play at the blueline. In addition, the AI players still don’t do a very good job at creating traffic in front of the net, and are still a little too lax on defense.
Face-offs also suffer in this edition. They are downright difficult to master with the new control scheme, and even with a good face-off artist in the circle, it will be a few dozen games before you win more than one or two in an entire game.
Finally--and this is a small gripe--the score display does not give any persistent indicator of whether or not the net is empty. When a goalie is pulled, there is a quick display at the top right of the screen, but it quickly fades. When there is a stoppage in play, the goals are usually out of sight, and it is not made clear whether or not the goalie has been put back in. In a critical situation, you shouldn’t have to count the number of skaters on the ice to figure out that the net is empty.
One of the big questions for Xbox 360 hockey fans this year is where their $60 should go to get their hockey fix. Based on previews and demos, most would argue that EA had the upper hand. However, the truth of the matter is that the quality of NHL ’07 and NHL 2K7 is quite comparable, though each offers a different take on the game. For the first time since the inception of the 2K hockey series, EA’s offering presents the more realistic game of hockey from the standpoint of gameplay and pacing, which may win over some of 2K’s fanbase. Graphically speaking, EA wins when the camera is up-close, but during actual gameplay, the differences in the player models is a lot less noticeable. 2K7 has a much better camera system, and a stunning ice surface that puts NHL ’07 to shame. In addition, the AI in 2K7, on both offense and defense, outclasses NHL ’07. However, it is hard to ignore how fresh NHL ‘07’s control scheme and puck physics feel, and how they transform the gameplay into something really exciting.
All in all, NHL ’07 is a superb game of hockey that truly captures the essence of next-generation design. While it is by no means a perfect game, the few flaws are only noticeable because the rest of the game sets such a high mark in terms of gameplay and presentation. With its steep learning curve and radical departure from the old EA NHL formula, NHL ’07 may not be for everybody, but those who take the time to get the hang of the new controls will find a rich and rewarding game of hockey on the Xbox 360.