As far as sports games goes, this one is incomplete. Sure, it has a dynasty and the new skill stick, but what else?
The new control scheme that is hyped up everywhere is innovative and everything, but it makes you wonder if these people have actually ever watched a hockey game. There's much more to Hockey than NHL 07 allows you to do.
Actually, even though using the stick may appear to give you more freedom, the new controls really limit the hockey strategies you can do. Most games will just be about going up and down the ice, trying to take a shot. That's hockey you say? Well go watch a game, in case you've forgotten, and come back here. What do you notice? A lot of passing? Ah, exactly what you're not going to see here. The only passes you make here are either up the ice or lateral for vicious one timers. If you'd like to, say, screen the goalie and pass to a defensemen for a shot, you're pretty much out of luck.
You're also out of luck if you'd like to guard your opponent by skating backward (on your own, mind you), sweep with your stick (you can only poke check), bend down to block passes, slide to block shots, plunge, etc. There's just too little control over your players. While you may think it would make for a perfect arcadey experience with your friend, the average of 5 to 10 games getting used to the new controls pretty much prohibits the 'quick game for fun' you're used to play once every now and then with your buddies who play only casually.
While you're at it, forget also about running a league, or even a simple tournament online. This game has the bare minimum of Online options.
There is one area that stands out in this game and it's in the graphics department. 360 owners demand great graphics and they've got them, but at what cost? The out of game segments simply look stunning, but these actual 'cinematic' animations lack variety and look so much better than the actual gameplay that it stands out like a sore thumb. The actual in-game lacks a lot of polish-- animations are jerky and oftentimes physically impossible. You simply cannot slide sideways when you're wearing ice skates and this glitch is one of many that you will find: players taking speed after tripping without actually moving their feet (backwards, no less) and strange animation connections are just a few of the icky graphical glitches in there. Call me picky, but I like my animations non-jerky and realistic. It adds much more to the feeling of immersion.
Because it feels incomplete and lacks many features we're so accustomed to in Hockey games, NHL 07 may be worthy of a lengthy rental, if you feel curious how the skill stick plays out, but overall the game is sure to leave you on your appetite. It's pretty difficult to base a review on thin air in the sports genre, so I will do the inevitable comparison to NHL 2K7. Most people consider the skill stick to be a worthy innovation but so far it throws back the actual gameplay to the 16 bit days: dekes, hits, passes, and very little else. Combine this with the fact that there's not 1/10th of the options, game modes and online components of the 2k series and you've got a dud that you'll be bored with really quickly. EA's series sure has a promising future with this brand new engine in their hands, but you can't help but feel they've tossed this one out the gates much too early.