PowerPlayGoal.com – Hockey From A Different Angle

NHL 10 (PS3/Xbox 360)

The 18th incarnation of the popular NHL series sees such additions as a new fight engine, improved graphics and a more realistic crowd.

Admittedly, I have now had this game for almost a month, buying it on the PS3 pretty much on its launch day – I am yet to play the Xbox360 version, but minus a few features (will cover them later) it is essentially the same version.

With the previous version (NHL 09) winning countless awards, EA had a pretty steep hill to climb to enable them to trump last year’s release. Could they do it?

Presentation

After the bog standard nine hours of updates to download from Sony, my copy of the game was loaded and after selecting my language, I was treated to a rather nice video, which seemed to put an emphasis on you winning the Cup. Isn’t that cute.

Immediately after loading, I am prompted to create my persona. This is a vital function to allow the “Be a Pro” mode to work (added last year) and while some may find it rather intrusive to have this on startup, it gets it done, so that you can really get your teeth into the game later on.

Once this is done, you’re welcomed to the menu system, which unsurprisingly is the same as last year, with a few different options, and different wallpaper graphics. Besides this, you’re essentially seeing the same menu system used for the last three incarnations of this game (Perhaps four even?). Still, there’s no point in re-inventing the wheel, so I guess the same applies here.

Gameplay

NHL 10 consists of what you would expect any self respecting hockey game to have – A Quick Play mode, a Season mode, a Shootout mini game, an area to polish up on your training, and team management options (Rosters, etc). Also included is last year’s Be A Pro mode, a Montreal Cup Mode and, new for this year, a Playoff mode.

The Playoff mode is interesting, as it allows you to recreate last years playoffs. Of course, for a Stars fan like myself, this mode serves no more purpose than mocking us for not being in it, but its a nice touch, and the fact that you can play this against a friend is a great idea.

EA also added a GM mode. This function allows you to take in-depth control of your team, deciding everything that goes on with your chosen franchise – so perhaps someone can sort out the mess that is Toronto.

Online, is the same affair as last year: I found loading to be better, but this could be because I migrated to a PS3 from an Xbox this year, so it’s a moot point.

Controls are the same as NHL09, with the addition of Boarding: it is now possible to hold your opponent against the side, and attempt to steal the puck from them. Another nice touch, which helps make the game feel that much closer to the real thing. The passing system has been made a lot more slicker, and the puck takes in speed and angle when it hits the side now.

Goalkeeping has been tweaked, and alongside new animations the goalie has a new level of A.I., with them making more save attempts than ever. However, I did find a small flaw with the goalie, that they won’t go for a puck that’s directly next to a goalpost. It’s not helpful at all to have the goalie staring at the puck and then just letting the other team grab it and score.

However, the most raved function of NHL10 is the new fight system, and post whistle action. It is now possible to start fights or to just intimidate other players once the whistle has been blown. The fights are now in first person too, and you no longer button mash to hit or avoid your opponent, instead you use the left and right analogue sticks. Your rules and game style choice will determine how often these features happen, if at all, and of course, how many penalties you will get.

Additionally, PS3 owners now get the chance to bin the game music and install their own. This also allows you to choose individual music for your teams, on functions such as Penalties, Goal Scoring, Winning, Losing and so on.

Graphics

Similar to last year, and definately the smallest improvement – The new intro videos for starting the ice, and the improvements of the Be A Pro look slick, and the framerate never drops. Whilst I’m adamant that better can be achieved, you’ll know for certain that you’re not playing 2K10 for Wii: The crowd has been given a personality, and now for the first time ever, they won’t all get up and cheer if you score. Every person is animated, and there’s no fake cardboard fans.

Lasting Appeal

With all the new modes, and the endless amounts of people around 24/7 on online play, you’re pretty much set until NHL 11 comes out.

Overall

I love this game. Ive had every version of the NHL series since 06, and in the 4 years of owning this series, I have seen evolution in every series, and whilst this version offers nothing overly ground breaking, it rounds off some rough edges and adds some nice little touches to make you feel like your playing hockey – minus the cold, the physical feeling of being hit and the sweat.
Where EA go next year is beyond me. I’ll defiantly be pre-ordering my next copy.

Rating: 9.5/10 – “Superb”

NHL 2K10 (Wii version)

Last year, the Wii got its first ever real Hockey game thanks to the efforts of 2KSports, bringing the NHL to a Nintendo console for the first time since EA’s NHL 06 came out for the GameCube in 2005. NHL 2K9 was a decent effort, however it was filled with all kinds of odd bugs and glitches, the graphics were murky, it lacked any form of online play, and in all honesty it was disappointing and really needed more polish.

Rather than throw out the exact same game again (unlike a certain other company that treated its PC user base like crap, I’m looking at you EA), 2KSports did some spring cleaning for this year’s edition: the graphics are brighter, the frame rate is nice and smooth, and overall it’s a much better game – what’s that, you included online play too? You really are too kind, 2K.

Presentation

Much like last year’s game, the first thing you’ll get when you turn on NHL 2K10 for the first time is an onscreen keyboard to enter your name, and this time it allows you to point at the screen with the Wii remote to type characters in if you insist on doing so. Afterwards, the game will go straight into Quick Play mode, rather than take you to the menu, again, much like last year’s game. I’m going to safely assume that this was done in mind for gamers who just want to jump straight in for a quick game of puck, and for those who aren’t interested in the game’s many other features.

You can access the menu by pressing B, and this time they’ve quite nicely rearranged the menu, giving you a set of between 4 and 8 ‘screens’ (for lack of better description) for each of the game’s options, nicely positioned around the screen, with an option to go back to what you were just doing right in the middle. It’ll take a minute to get used to the layout, but it makes choosing your options much easier than in 2K9.

Last year, I praised the game’s sound effects, and those have been carried over. Listening to them again, the on-ice sounds like a slapshot, or the puck hitting a goal post aren’t of very good quality, but generally they work well. Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda of the San Jose Sharks make a welcome return from last year as this game’s commentary team, and plenty of new lines have been recorded. Also for the Wii exclusive Mii Superskills, Randy Hahn provides some… let’s just say, ever-so-slightly-cheesy commentary.

The soundtrack, much like last year, isn’t too bad, with some exceptions (Lupe Fiasco’s Superstar is the worst song in the game, but that mainly depends on personal opinion). Joe Satriani’s Crowd Chant has been carried over from last year’s soundtrack, and I for one am pleased for its return.

Gameplay

NHL 2K10 expands on its predecessor’s gameplay options: adding to Quick Play, Franchise, Season, Practice, and the fairly pointless Pond Hockey and Mini Rink game modes, you can now take part in a fairly good range of online multiplayer modes, and for the casual gamers that love minigame collections with Miis in them, there is the Mii Superskills competition, which consists of five different events that clearly take their inspiration from the NHL All-Star game events. You can choose to ignore that if you’re not interested, but I’ll go into a little bit of detail later.

The number of control options has also been increased from one to four, so if you were content with NHL 2K9’s controls, the standard Wii remote and Nunchuck combination is there for you, but bear in mind that by default, the cursor passing introduced in last year’s game is switched off, so you will have to make that adjustment in the controller setup menu. Traditional gamers will prefer to use the Classic Controller, which works very well, although sadly the more comfortable Nintendo GameCube controller is not compatible with this game (despite other third party games like Sonic Unleashed including it as an option). For players without a Wii Nunchuck or Classic Controller, you can also simply turn the Wii Remote on its side in the NES controller position… it’s a bit awkward and doesn’t work too well for this game, but it’s a nice thought on 2K’s behalf. Generally, controls have been improved over 2K9, but when it comes to fights, the Classic Controller makes them too easy.

(Note that at this time, I currently do not have a Wii MotionPlus device, so I cannot comment on how well this control scheme works. If you live in Canada, you can apparently get it as part of a bundle with this game. For Wii MotionPlus users, there is a patronising 3 minute video provided by Nintendo themselves on how to plug in and remove the device from the Wii remote. You cannot stop watching the video to return to the game in the middle, and if you try resetting the console, it’ll take you back to the beginning of the video, so your only option is to turn the console off and back on again.)

The bugs and glitches from last year’s game seem to have been ironed out, and in the time I’ve been able to spend playing the game, I haven’t come across any, although at one point, for some reason my rosters had been reset to default and my custom player was completely missing, other than from my franchise mode save file. The second time this happened, it was because I had just gone online, and after the game my rosters were reset to default for whatever reason. Luckily afterwards I was able to load my saved rosters and restore my created player in the process.

Speaking of custom players, the player creation feature has much more to it than 2K9 did. For example, while you still can’t completely customise all of your player’s facial features, you can choose from over 50 different heads, and add a playoff beard if you desire. You can also create a team, using both a selection of official NHL team logos, and some generic custom team logos, as well as several different options including customising the logo and uniform colours to match those that you have selected for your team (although if you pick an NHL team’s logo and its colours, you will not necessarily get the correct colour combination for that team’s logo or uniform, although adjustments can be made, there’s no way to completely fix it).

Teams that you have created can be taken online to play, or you can create one while online to take part in online leagues. For those who want to quickly try online play out of curiosity, there is the option to play a Pick-Up Game, in which up to ten players are assigned to two randomly selected teams. Alternatively, there is the option to play someone online straight from Quick Play mode, which for some of us is the better option, thanks to the game’s Seamless Online Integration (in the instruction manual’s words). As far as online play goes, there is very little to no lag, even for someone like myself with a crappy internet connection, however the game will sometimes end for no reason due to apparent connection problems, which has happened to me twice (the second time happened just after I scored a goal… coincidence? I can’t help but think not).

Finally, as I mentioned earlier, there are the Wii exclusive Mii Superskills minigames. I wouldn’t say they’re a complete waste of time, because they are quite fun to play, and maybe even more so with friends. However, the Goalie Supersave minigame sucks unless you’re using the Classic Controller: you basically have to memorise a sequence, and then position the Mii goalie to block incoming shots according to the sequence. If you’re using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, the goalie will be unresponsive, making this minigame frustratingly difficult to play. On the other hand, using the Classic Controller, much like fighting as mentioned earlier, instead makes it very easy.

Oh yeah, and if you insist, during game intermissions you can drive the Zamboni again! It doesn’t really add much to the game and you don’t achieve much from it, but… yay!

Graphics

While still nowhere near the best on Wii, NHL 2K10’s graphics are an improvement over 2K9’s. The player models and jerseys look quite good, and unlike last year’s version there are no giant shadow patches underneath the white jerseys’ armpit areas. For the most part, the players in this game do have much more of a resemblance to their real life counterparts, and animations are more realistic as well: in this year’s version of the game, players will actually jump around and happily celebrate goals together, instead of simply raising their arms and then aimlessly skating around with a “guuuuh” facial expression like they did in 2K9. The game’s framerate is also nice and smooth compared to 2K9.

On the downside however, the crowd sucks, because once again everybody’s flat, and are very pixelated 2D sprites that make the arena feel empty. The decals on the Zamboni still suck and are still pixelated.

As far as team jerseys go, where 2K9 gave each NHL team a huge wardrobe of past and present uniforms, you now only have a very limited selection of jerseys for each team: at the most, you’ll have just the team’s current set, and at least one set that the team has used in the past. This may be a disappointment for those of you who like having a big selection of uniforms for each team, or prefer one of their other past uniforms to what’s available, but this shouldn’t really distract you from the game at all.

Lasting Appeal

Unlike its predecessor, 2K10 will keep you coming back again and again, because it is that much more fun to play: where franchise mode gives plenty of single player depth, quick play and Mii Superskills are great for multiplayer (not so much the latter, unless you and your friends want to play hockey themed minigames). Online modes will also keep you hooked until next year’s game.

Overall

While NHL 2K10 is a huge improvement over the previous game, there is still a fair bit of polish required in order for next year’s version to be even better. If you only own a Wii and desperately need your hockey fix, this game is for you. If you own your Wii alongside one of the other consoles and already own EA’s NHL10, you’ve probably got the superior game, but this version of 2K10 is a must try anyway. Highly recommended.

Rating: 8/10 – “Brilliant”

Hi and welcome to this years what not to buy guide. Last year I focused mainly on eBay (I would show you some stuff but its all on the “old” site, so I don’t have it to hand) And apologies for the long time since my last article, I am a university student after all, and sadly I have work to do.
So, on with the article we go.

Ok, your best mate is a hockey fan, or perhaps you’re the parent of an eager hockey enthusiast, and you’ve got absolutely no clue what to buy for Christmas. Well, this guide will suggest some things not to buy, and if you have them, well perhaps you should check to see if you have the receipt and head back to where you got it from, and don’t say we didn’t warn you.

1. Backyard Hockey DS

What is it: The first and (only) NHL game produced for the Nintendo DS.

Why should you not buy it: Its possibly the worst game for the DS. Well that’s unfair, because this is the console with a recipe book that somehow got classed as a game. But it is shockingly bad, with poor graphics, gameplay and worse still, stupid controls – It’s a classic case of a company trying to be smart with controls, and failing miserably.

Our Suck-o-Meter says: Epic Fail

2. Bobble head Sean Avery

What is it: A miniature figurine of the player Sean Avery, complete with a wobbling head

Why should you not buy it: It would most likely start insulting you, failing that, it could start a fight with any other bobble heads that you’ve collected through the past, knocking their blocks off in the process. If you think that’s a little unrealistic, what if the person twanged the head so much from frustration with hi lack luster performance on ice, the head broke off, and got swallowed by a small child? Still a good idea? No. Defiantly not. Case Closed.

Our Suck-o-Meter says: Wang-Tastic

3. Fake Ebay Hockey jersey

What is it: A shoddily sewn together “jersey” made in some guy from Alabama’s garage.

Why should you not buy it: Stop whining about the fact that the real things are so dammed expensive. Unless the person your buying the jersey for has no clue about hockey at all I am sure they will notice the odd colours, the hole forming in the back, from the stitching, the beer stain from the guy who made it in Alabama, and of course the over obvious fact its fake. Oh and if this doesn’t deter you, it could be flammable, or contain toxic materials…

Our Suck-o-Meter says: Like buying a Rick Astley CD

4. D3 Mighty Ducks

What is it: The final installment of sugar coated hockey pain from Disney

Why should you not buy it: Because it singe handedly destroys the meaning of hockey. Its not about having a good time, winning and perseverance. Its about blood, sweat and men with sticks hitting each other. Am I misguided or what?

Our Suck-o-Meter says: Disneyoriffic

5. Romford Raiders Season Ticket

What is it: A ticket that lets you see every Romford Raiders hockey game this season

Why should you not buy it: Because no person deserves to pay a lot of money to watch low quality hockey, especially if its in a rink that’s falling apart, filled with rather unpleasant fans and subjected a shitload advertising.

Our Suck-o-Meter says: Like being forced to watch a televised chess tournament

So there we go. Five presents not to buy a hockey fan. If you buy them anything from this list, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Until next time readers, please do enjoy hockey from a different angle.