NHL 07

"People complain that EA always rehashes their sports games..."

I never did, until...

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Overview
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EA's latest release of their version of NHL offers pretty much the same as before.

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Gameplay
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For those who don't know how ice hockey is played, do yourself a favor and watch a game or play it for yourself. Easily one of the most exciting sports out there and translates pretty well into videogames. EA's version of ice hockey is just as fast paced and high action, the only problem is that it's basically the same as what was offered last year. The biggest advertised change is the use of both analog sticks to control the player, the only change is the fact the right analog stick is used to pass the puck for a more seemingly "precise and accurate" feel to passing, but most of the time I've used it, it never really works well. Sometimes when the goalie is playing the puck, I push the right analog stick forward to pass to the player coming in to support, instead of the puck going to that player, the goalie banks it off the boards toward the blueline and usually someone from the other team will pick it up. Or commonly, you want to pass to a specific player when there's more than one to choose from, odds are, that player will not get the puck. The new control scheme is pretty much my biggest gripes about this game, but there is an option to use the classic control scheme.

One of the better changes to the game is the player-specific models which is every player is seperated into 6 different player types: Danglers, Playmakers, Snipers, Power Forwards, Offensive Defensemen, and Defensive Defensemen. This isn't for show either, the AI will control the player-specific models realistically such as a power forwards finishing all of his checks when fore-checking and danglers and snipers not even fore-checking, offensive defensemen coming into offensive play when there is an opening to. The only minor gripe about the player-specific model system is that it doesn't always fit some of the real players in the NHL, such as a player being a power forward rather than the sniper that he is labelled as.

EA's strong Dynasty mode makes a returns with a couple of improvements such as salary cap and owner trust level. It is pretty much plays out the same as last year; Build team chemistry, sign and trade players, negotiate contracts except under new salary cap system, play games during the season and intervene whenever you like and upgrade your franchise to become the best team in the NHL. My only complaint about the Dynasty mode is some of the players that EA has injected into the roster for whatever reason, there's a 80 overall 16 year-old with 99 potential in the free agency who annoys the crap out of me because I want real rosters not some game producers kid or game producers themselves in the game, there's probably a way to get rid of them, I just haven't found it yet.

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Graphics
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No changes from last years which offered the best looking hockey games on PS2. Player models look like their real life counterpart most of the time which I find impressive. But when making your own player, they pretty much look no different from any other player you make as well, one thing that EA has to work on next time.

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Sound
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NHL 07 offers very similar commentary and crowd sounds as last year, which are pretty good in my books. Although, NHL 06 provided one of the worse music soundtracks in EA's NHL games ever. I know you can't please everyone, but at least this one is way better than last years.

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Replay Value
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NHL 07 lasts as long as you want it to just like every other sports game, the dynasty mode offers something different and the online mode gives you other people to play with, but seeing EA's lack of effort on making this game stand out from previous efforts shows that maybe NHL 07 or 08 for next-gen consoles will be more of change than what I was looking for in this game.

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Conclusion
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EA's latest NHL 07 game for the PS2 is truly a rehash of previous NHL games with minor changes and upgrades. Granted, EA may be concentrating on next-gen consoles, but for current-gen owners, this game is a rental only unless you don't have any previous NHL games.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/18/06