NHL 2K6

"While there are some gameplay flaws here and there, NHL 2K6 is a very satisfying hockey experience..."

For the past few years, the NHL has been about the only sports league that hasn't actually been attempted to be bought out by Electronic Arts. Because of this, 2K sports jumped on the chance to release a yearly hockey game that would appeal to most fans of the sport. While casual hockey gamers are split between EA's offering and 2K's game, it becomes obvious that the NHL 2K series is easily the better choice. While it may not be the new NHL '94 we've been looking for, NHL 2K6 is a solid game of hockey, and if you are any kind of a hockey fan, you shouldn't hesitate to pick up this game.

Gameplay: 8/10 - NHL 2K6 is the newest hockey game from 2K sports. The game includes all 30 current NHL teams, along with several international teams, all-star teams, and historic teams. All of the rules from the 2005-2006 NHL season are implemented into this game, such as more penalty shots, and other minor rules. The game includes all basic hockey maneuvers, such as turbo boost, a deke button, and others. NHL 2K6 offers full 5 on 5 hockey, as well as a full franchise mode.

NHL 2K6 has a boat-load of new features, and most of these additions make the game better than it was. The first new feature, is the "Enforcer" feature. Most of the defensemen have the power to intimidate other players. Intimidating other players means to body check players until they become fatigued. Both the Enforcer and the Intimidated players have icons underneath them, and this tells you when to either sub-off a tired player, or, who should be doing most of your hitting. In the long run, this feature works pretty good. Another new feature is the "Skill Stick" The right analog stick lets you chose how you control the ice. On offense, using the right stick will let your player do different kinds of dekes. Clicking down the stick brings up passing icons for each player, which lets you set up more advanced plays. On defense, using the stick will dish out some dirty actions, such as tripping or hooking. For the most part, the skill stick works well, unless you use it a bit too much on defense. Fighting this year kind of reminds me of the fighting system used in NHL '99. As for returning features, the Sky Box is back. The sky box is the answer to ESPN's NFL 2K5 "Crib Mode". In the Sky Box, you can play arcade games such as darts, shuffle board, and air hockey. You can also scroll through your records, and check which trophies you've won in franchise mode. Also, you can unlock items via milestones for use in other game modes. These items include such things as hidden stadiums, jerseys, teams, and cheats. The mini-games are back, and better than ever. In the mini-games, you play free-for-all style games with any player you want. These games include things such as races, shooting contests, body checking contests, and capture the flag games. Mini-game mode is a very neat diversion from the main action of the game. Also included, is the NHL skills competition, which allows you to compete in 4 events with any current NHL player. Most of these events are hard and annoying, but they are a quick diversion from the regular game. Franchise is back this year and better than ever. Aside from the normal season, you can scout rookies, make key roster moves, and a lot of other neat stuff such as playing scout games for the minor leagues. If you want to spend some serious time with your XBOX, franchise is the way to go. Dream Team mode also returns this year with 15 new teams. However, you don't actually unlock the team when you beat them. You only unlock their logo, which is a big letdown, because some of the teams are really cool. The rest of the modes in NHL 2K6 are worth a look or two. These modes include Mini-Rink, Pond Hockey, Tournament, the Heritage Classic, and a few other modes. You will almost never run out of matchups in NHL 2K6 because of the sheer volume of teams. You have all 30 current NHL teams (complete with multiple classic jerseys), many international teams, All-Star teams, historic teams, and historic international teams. In fact, there are almost 100 teams in NHL 2K6, which makes for unlimited tournament and exhibition match-ups. Create a team and player are back, and both are pretty good. CAP is the normal offering, yet CAT is horrible. You can never chose the exact colors for your jersey. NHL 2K6 is a feature-heavy game.

As in terms of the actual gameplay, there are a few flaws. The first, is the goalies are no smarter than a pre-schooler. Goalies will dive at almost anything, skate out to poke-check the puck away, and make some extremely stupid moves. Although, when the goalies do manage to save the puck, they do make some awesome moves. Another flaw, is that the skill stick on defense will cause a lot of problems. Mainly, because all of the moves are illegal in the NHL. Expect to go to the penalty box a lot if you use the skill stick regularly. Other than that, there aren't any real problems with the game. Multiplayer is flawless (keep in mind I don't have XBOX Live), and there are no flaws in the mode. In all, NHL 2K6 plays great, aside from some minor flaws...

Graphics: 9/10 - NHL 2K6 is a great looking game. It actually looks like a low-caliber X360 game. Every skate blade makes trails on the ice, every fan in the arena is made in full 3D animation, and the jerseys.... Oh My the jerseys are wonderful! Everything on the jerseys looks great. All the numbers and logos look sewed on, and everything looks real! Also, the facial animation is awesome. All of the faces react to exactly what is going on around them. NHL 2K6 is a game that is worth a close look. Thankfully, there's a photo mode for the Sky Box that does just that...

Sound: 8/10 - NHL 2K6 has average sound. The arena sounds are average, and there's no variety in them. There is almost no "ice-chatter" in the game, unlike other sports games. Also, the soundtrack in NHL 2K6 is very bad, and you'll instantly want to pop in your own custom soundtrack...which you can. This game has average sound, nothing outstanding, but nothing bad either...

Final: 8.5/10.0 - NHL 2K6 is the next step in making the game of hockey the number one video game genre out there. It's excellent mix of game modes will satisfy one with even a passing interest in hockey, while the more hardcore hockey fan will find happiness in the deeper game modes such as franchise. It is a game anyone can enjoy, and it is truly a blast to play!

Rent Or Buy: BUY - This game is only $20.00, and it is one of the best hockey games on the shelves. There is a lot of replay value to be had, and it will appeal to any hockey fan. There is happiness to be had when playing NHL 2K6. Get it while you can!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/09

Game Release: NHL 2K6 (US, 09/06/05)