NHL 2K8

"Best hockey game in a long time"

Hockey is one of the few sports that I actually watch. Besides Hitz 20-02 I haven't found a half way decent hockey game. This is the "other" hockey game. It's up against EA's effort but is it better than it?

Graphically I think sports games are losing their looks. This game has weird facial tears and things look a bit blocky at times. I really wasn't impressed with the graphics in this game. The rink and it's reflections do look rather good though but that doesn't make up for the lackluster character models.

The sound in the game is pretty weak. The song list is made up of about 15 songs, most of which are rock based and none of which I found worth listening to. The commentary is alright but it felt like it kept repeating itself over and over.

Control in the game still irks me since it uses the right analog stick for power shots but as I messed with it all made some sort of odd sense but not enough for me to destroy my opponent completely. On the other hand the button placement is very odd and that took me a little while to get the hang of.

Just like every hockey game to come out recently we have the same ole modes. Not that it's a bad thing but there's nothing here to really push the game out there to stand out.

With that being said I must admit it's still fun to play and it plays smoothly. More so than the past few hockey games I've played. The AI seems fair and the refs aren't cheap so it works well all around. It just doesn't do anything special.

The game does offer a lot of modes plus on-line play. It's easy to find someone on-line as of this review and it runs smoothly. The achievements are rather thought out and can't all be gotten in a single game or mode.

NHL 2K8 might not be the best hockey game ever but it's a step in the right direction. It doesn't do anything new or exciting but it's smoothing itself out and fixing the minor things that have dragged this sport down in the past few years. Give it a rental first though because I can't see this game being worth the $60 asking price right now.

Story - N/A
Graphics - 7/10
Sound - 6/10
Control - 7/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 9/10

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/07

Game Release: NHL 2K8 (US, 09/10/07)