This game was a major let down for me. For the last 2 or 3 weeks i read about how great this game was and that there was no reason to even consider any other hockey game. When i brought it home, i started playing on pro, and it was a fun experience, but it gets very easy very fast. The AI falls for the same moves over and over even if you turn the AI learning up. So I decided it was time to make the jump to All-Star. man, talk about cheapo AI. The opposing AI has been totally revamped this year, but playing defense is still a joke. the opponents cycle the puck for up to 2 minutes while you just sit and watch. poke checks are ineffective, checking only pushes the guy further up ice, and laying your stick down never works. It seems like moving up in difficulty in EA sports games simply means they tilt the game in your opponents direction. They don't do anything to make them smarter, they just ramp up their stats. I really wanted to like this game, but it just wasn't going to happen. I traded it back in for NHL 2k8 and I personally think 2k made the better game this year. This game does so much right, but it screws so many other things up. the Create-A-Play, while fun, is completely useless, the create a player is almost the same as last year, except you can kind of choose your equipment. There is no face molder, just 9 pre-created faces. Franchise mode SUCKS. It's completely hollow, just like last year, and, AGAIN, players ask for way to much money after the first year, so keeping your roster full and competitive is overly difficult. In the end, this is a game that could have been really good, but EA found their way to screw it up.
Each year, hockey seasons come and go, leaving hockey fans with memories of exhilarating, heart-pounding on-ice action. Hockey video games follow the same path as their real-life counterparts as new renditions are relea... Read Full Review
If somehow NHL 08 and NHL 2k8 could be combined we could have ourselves a perfect hockey game. The shot stick feature is still as slick as last year and the addition of the left bumper as the one on one move improves on ... Read Full Review
