NHL 09 Review

[RaychelSnr]

We have posted our review of NHL 09.

Quote:

"Last year, EA’s NHL 08 took home seven “sports game of the year” awards. In fact, I'm sure you picked up on that tidbit of information somewhere along the way because it has continuously been shoved down gamers' throats. (It's even on the NHL 09 box art this year!) But after such a well-revered title, how did EA Canada take it to the next level? During the early portion of this console life cycle, EA found a formula for fun and fantastic looking hockey. The NHL series was the one franchise the company completely turned around and revived during the beginning part of the "next generation."

[Scottdau]

Great review Pat. Really enjoyed it.

[swanny5489]

the goalies do the splits wayy too much, i proly see a goalie do the splits once every 10 games in real life, not every 10 minutes. they should have celebrations after the goals, and have the player continue skating around the boards, not just magically stop after a goal. u should b able to control the speed of passes, a 5 foot pass shouldnt have the same giddy-up as a goaline to center ice breakout pass. the font is so small on every screen and the color tones make it even more troublesome to read. everything else is superb

[StormJH1]

Fair point on the goalie animations...every goalie in the game plays like they're Marc-Andre Fleury, which kinda impedes your ability to suspend disbelief. But even though it looks a little unrealistic, I think the goaltending is better this year because goalies actually behave like they're on ice this year. In other words, if said goalie lunges across the crease, and the puck gets sent back to where it came from, the goalie will actually have to deal with momentum, so they'll have difficulty getting back. Last year, it was pretty easy to dominate shot totals, but '08 wasn't "easy" per se b/c shots missed the net all the time and goalies were superhuman. '09 has a better balance--goalies are more human, but the defense has been given more tools and ways to stop you, other than simply putting you on your butt.

[MC Fatigue]

Quote:

the game has so much replay value that you will not regret having it in your game library.

I already do - and I've only had it for a week. Kind of wish I'd saved my money to go towards Fable 2 instead.

[asu666]

I love the fact that the sim scores are 3 to 2 type games. In the past they have been too high to compensate for user controlled teams regularly coming up with unrealistic results. EA removed the Finance tab from the Franchise mode too. I was hoping to see them blow that aspect out, not remove it from the game. Anyway, the action on the ice is as solid as ever.

[RoyalBoyle78]

I didn't see you talk about the lack of atmosphere and penalties . WHy?

[BleacherCreature]

Quote: Originally Posted by Timmay

I already do - and I've only had it for a week. Kind of wish I'd saved my money to go towards Fable 2 instead.

I'm starting to wish you did that too. That way we wouldn't have to hear how much you hate the game in every thread.