NHL 10 News Post

Top Five EA NHL Games of All Time

01:35 PM - September 21, 2009 by RaychelSnr

September is in full swing, which can mean only one thing for many hockey fans: EA's newest NHL title has hit store shelves. NHL 10 marks the 19-year anniversary for the series, a feat that can only be challenged by the Madden series in terms of sports-gaming longevity. Even if you are not a fan of the series, it is difficult to deny the importance of the franchise to the sports-gaming landscape. NHL Hockey (released in '91) set a new precedent for how hockey games would forever be played, and the series quickly became the gold standard that the competition would strive to match.

And since NHL 10 was just recently released, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and rank the top five EA NHL games of all time. Read on to see if your favorites made the cut.

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# 1 swil @ 09/21/09 02:30 PM

NHL 94 is hands down the greatest hockey game of all time. It was so great that, until the release of NHL 2008, it was the measuring stick for all other hockey games that came out.

# 2 Eski33 @ 09/21/09 02:51 PM

My top five:

1) NHL 94 (Genesis)

2) NHL 98 (PS) -- This game had awesome 3D visuals and great gameplay

3) NHL 10

4) NHL 2000 (PC)

5) NHLPA 93 (Genesis) -- Only game with blood....

# 3 teebee @ 09/21/09 02:54 PM

NHL 98 is my fav of the series, coincidentally that was that last year i was single so maybe i have nostalgic memories

# 4 adayinthelife @ 09/21/09 03:25 PM

Glad to see NHL 2004 on this list, that game was huge for me. I hadn't enjoyed a hockey game (with the possible exception of NHL 2k3) that immensely since NHL 04, period. I gotta say it's been pretty smooth sailin' since as well for a hockey gamer: NHL 2005 was brutal but I've quite enjoyed NHL 06-09.

# 5 statum71 @ 09/21/09 03:56 PM

I think this new one is tops. And yes, I did play '94

# 6 texbuk84 @ 09/21/09 04:31 PM

totally agree

# 7 Broncos86 @ 09/21/09 05:15 PM

NHL 97 was the first non-SNES/Genesis NHL game I played, and I loved it. I can still remember the menu music.

NHL 94 will always be my favorite.

# 8 slingblade73 @ 09/21/09 05:22 PM

NHL 98 by far.

# 9 kerosene31 @ 09/21/09 05:27 PM

I remember NHL 2004 being great on PC because you could edit the heck out of it. I wouldn't be surprised if there was still a group doing roster updates for it.

# 10 allstar3970 @ 09/21/09 06:16 PM

My top 10:

NHL '94 (SNES)
NHL 10 (360)
NHL 2004 (PS2)
NHL 97 (PC)
NHL 96 (Genesis)

I would consider 09 and 08 up there, but felt that by putting 10 in it pretty much covers it as the progression of those 2

# 11 savoie2006 @ 09/21/09 06:24 PM

Top Five:

1. NHL 10...The Most Realistic and Deepest EA Hockey Hands Down
2. NHL 94...Where My EA Hockey Gaming Began, So Much Fun At The Time.
3. NHL 95...First EA Hockey Game To Include A Full Season
4. NHL 2002...I Loved The Player Cards And Story Lines In This Game, Gameplay Was Fun As Well
5. NHL 2005...NHL 2004 Minus So Much Checking And Hooking.

I Know 98 and 2004 Are Among The Favorites For Many, But The Amount Of Checking And Hooking In Both Really Ruined Both IMO.

# 12 stlstudios189 @ 09/21/09 06:33 PM

NHL 94 could still play it today
NHL 98
NHL 10
NHL 02
NHL 09

# 13 ianlast @ 09/21/09 08:55 PM

NHL 2002? That game was horrible, probably one of the worst NHL games IMO. Way too many huge hits, and IIRC wasn't that the game that had the stupid arcadey point system? Oh yeah, and the idiotic commentary. Yeesh, don't know how that got in over NHL 08 or 09. Also, I would have picked NHL '98 over '97.

# 14 infinityBCRT @ 09/21/09 09:02 PM

@savoie: First EA Hockey Game to include a full season was NHL Hockey (94) for PC

# 15 mpt117 @ 09/22/09 01:30 PM

i have every nhl game from nhl 97 to nhl 10, except nhl 04 and nhl 07. my list in no order is:

NHL 98 - this is the first game i remember being addicted to after i got playstation a year or 2 before, i played it all the time when it came out when i was in 4th grade...haha, oh the memories

NHL 2000 - one of the best games in the NHL series

NHL 2002 - i remember playing this game so much when it came out and have recently played it for old time's sake and still to me one of the best hockey games

NHL 09 - havent played too much of NHL 10 yet but NHL 09 is the best hockey game i ever played

NHL 10 - like i said before, i havent played it that much yet. but from what i have seen so far i like it a lot and already on my top 5 nhl games.

# 16 StormJH1 @ 09/22/09 02:53 PM

NHLPA 93
NHL 94
NHL 08
NHL 2002 (PC)
NHL 97 (PC)

In my opinion, not only is it too soon to evaluate NHL 10, but I really don't think that history is going to differentiate much between NHL 07-10. My favorite from that series, and the one that one me back from 2k ever since was NHL 08. I know that the shot stick mechanic was already in NHL 07, but from what I understand, the A.I. and goalies weren't very good, and I just feel like GoTY awards and other widespread appeal didn't come until NHL 08. You could argue NHL 09 actually had the most significant innovations, with stick lift, Be A Pro, EASHL, and loose puck dekes, but I'll stick with '08.

I don't think anything ever supplants 93 and 94 at the top though. Most people have NHL 94 at the top, and obviously, that's a better product with an NHL license. But I think NHLPA 93 (which was the first to have NHL PLAYERS), was actually the seminal video hockey game. Other than slapping a logo on the ice, I don't see why NHL licenses were significant back then when all you saw was the color of the jersies in 16-bit graphics. Plus, as the dude from Swingers said, '93 had blood on the ice!

# 17 sroz39 @ 09/22/09 04:20 PM

My list:

-NHL 09
-NHL 2004
-NHL 94
-NHL 98
-NHL 10

I put 09 at the top because, personally, the inclusion of the EASHL changed the way I view video games. Now, I look at the online modes first and then I check out the offline Dynasty Modes. The amount of nights that I spent playing on my club till the wee hours in the morning were insane and will never happen again, I don't think.

The other games are pretty self-explanatory, except maybe for 10. I think that this year's game may move up the list as this year goes on, but it's too early to say that yet, as the game is only a week old.

2004 still had the coolest Dynasty Mode, IMO. Having the option to outfit your office was really really cool and so was the Finances system in place.

I forgot to add before that in 98, on top of the gameplay, the really cool part in that game were the pre-game intro fly-bys of the arena. Really neat at the time.

# 18 GaryT531 @ 09/22/09 04:50 PM

Not really a a big hockey fan, but I did play the heck out of the inaugural NHL Hockey game on Sega Genesis when I was a kid. I was blown away by it because it was like nothing I have ever seen before at the time.

This guy's articles "top games", and "top teams" posts are always a good read. Looking forward to your next basketball write up man.

# 19 swil @ 09/22/09 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StormJH1


	NHLPA 93 NHL 94 NHL 08 NHL 2002 (PC) NHL 97 (PC) In my opinion, not only is it too soon to evaluate NHL 10, but I really don't think that history is going to differentiate much between NHL 07-10. My favorite from that series, and the one that one me back from 2k ever since was NHL 08. I know that the shot stick mechanic was already in NHL 07, but from what I understand, the A.I. and goalies weren't very good, and I just feel like GoTY awards and other widespread appeal didn't come until NHL 08. You could argue NHL 09 actually had the most significant innovations, with stick lift, Be A Pro, EASHL, and loose puck dekes, but I'll stick with '08. I don't think anything ever supplants 93 and 94 at the top though. Most people have NHL 94 at the top, and obviously, that's a better product with an NHL license. But I think NHLPA 93 (which was the first to have NHL PLAYERS), was actually the seminal video hockey game. Other than slapping a logo on the ice, I don't see why NHL licenses were significant back then when all you saw was the color of the jersies in 16-bit graphics. Plus, as the dude from Swingers said, '93 had blood on the ice!

He made little Wayne's head bleed!

93 had the best fighting of all time. I was SO PISSED when mom's started whining and they took fighting out of 94.

# 20 Eddie1967 @ 09/22/09 11:24 PM

Sorry I only have one and it's NHL 2004:

1. Dynamic Crowd attendance
2. Awesome GM mode
3. Great AI
4. Outstanding Stanley Cup Celebration
5. Different AI in regular season and playoffs (playoff games were much tighter).
6. Fighting engine was the best of it's time.

And last but not least the best soundtrack of any sports game I have ever played.

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