Very nice! Smart AI and great Gameplay...
Last night I drove over the border to Canada to get the game. I had four hours of sleep becuase I played all night and had a meeting at 7:30a.m. So hopefully what I will write below will make sense. I have been playing NHL even before it had a year attached to their name..so, that has been awhile. I was looking forward to this game so that I could dissect it. Well, here is a summary version.
Gameplay:
In All-Star mode, it has been really kicking my a$$. That is actually a good thing. Once I began to analyze why they were scoring on me, I realized because i wasn't playing hockey like the way I play on the ice, but I was still playing arcade hockey. Once I began to play hockey, I was able to get a tie. This is an amazing improvement in my book because it has turned the game finally to a sim version of the game. I kept taking shots in the slots, only to be reminded by the announcer that this particular strategy was already old. The skating is smooth, and the control options are great. I do wish there was some tutorial that showed what kind of moves can be pulled in this year game. So all and all, the goalies are tough, the AI is smart, and the game is at the right pace.
Score: 10
Graphics:
I thought NHL 08 was going to be the best game in terms of graphics from the EA lineup, until I saw NBA Live 08. Okay, so now, they are second best, but even at 2nd place they are great! Can they be better, not sure if the Xbox 360 can manage it, but as a pc gamer, it does satisfy my need for crazy graphics.
Score: 9.5
Presentation:
Lame, lame, lame. It doesn't really get me excited. I know that this is a tough thing because you don't want to make the presentation too long where people are like "start the game already", but they can do a better job in integrating presentation with the game to make it more exciting...for example, we have all talked about displaying players milestones... this is in the direction I would go towards. Score: 7
Audio:
Besides some annoying songs, and you can ever please everybody with the selection of songs, the game audio is really great. On a surround system, it is great to hear on the left back channel "Point! Point!" The sounds of hits against the board is really well done. The only question is "Who the $% #& is Will?"
Score: 9
Value: Having Practice mode is awesome. The AHL team in Dynasty is a great addition. Create a team and create a player, very fun. Online functionality, getting to where we all want it to be, BBBBUUUUTTTT... I really wish that more was done to Dynasty. I want more involvement with the finances of the team and more involvement with the media. Having practice in Dynasty would have been great as a way to improve players. Fantasy draft should have not been left out including the skill competition. So, since I play the game mostly in Dynasty mode, I wanted more.
Score: 8.5
Total Score 8.8