NHL 09

"One of the best game I've ever played"

I got NHL 09 in December, and I was really quite excited. This is the first up to date sports game I've ever owned, so I had high expectations that were for the most part, met. My first hockey game was Ice Hockey for the NES, and from there I got Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey for the N64. When I got into hockey, I bought NHL 06 for the Gamecube, which at the time seemed unbelievable given the other hockey games I had been playing. When NHL 08 came out, I decided it was worth it to get, but I didn't have an Xbox 360, so I went and bought NHL 08 for the PC (aka NHL 05 Version 3) and was disappointed to find it was the same game as NHL 06. These were all good games, but they were all dated when I got them (even NHL 05.3) and I really was excited when I got an Xbox 360, because I would finally be able to play a great hockey game. I haven't played NHL 08 for the 360, so any comparisons I make in this review are to the inferior version for the PC.

Graphics: 10/10

The graphics in this game are great. Jerseys actually look like an article of clothing, you can see the textures on them and it makes them look very real. Just about everything in this game has great detail. The faces of the hockey players look good, and I can actually tell who some of the players are, just by looking at their faces. This game looks incredible, and I don't have HD TV, or even a good TV. That is really the only problem with the graphics in this game, if you're like me and you have a very small and dated TV, the text in this game is pretty much unreadable. This game has been designed for HD TVs, so I guess I'm the problem here, not the game.

Sound: 8/10

The sound in NHL 09 is pretty good. The music that plays on the menus and during the game is okay, depending on your taste. I am pretty sure there is a feature that lets you add your own music to this game, but I haven't explored it. The sound effects are all in great detail. Skating sounds like skating, passing sounds like passing, everything sounds the way it should. I don't like the default goal horns (again, I'm sure there is a way to customize them) as they sound nothing like the goal horns for real teams in the NHL.

The main problem with the sound is the commentary, which I won't be to critical of since most sport games have sub-par commentary. Most sport games suffer from the same problems, repetition, occasional mispronunciations, etc. Overall it isn't too bad, but it also isn't too great. At least I can't say I don't mute my TV during this game.

Controls: 10/10

The controls are solid and designed quite smoothly. The skill stick does what it is supposed to do, and makes the game feel like hockey. NHL 08 for the PC had a skill stick (if you had the right controller), but it wasn't even close to the skill stick for this game. If you don't know what the skill stick is, it is just the right stick, but by pressing it in different directions your player shoots or dekes. Other buttons combined with this will do special moves. The aiming system works really well, my only complaint is that if you're skating forward, and are trying to aim your shot it is really hard. There are a lot of controls to remember in this game, but luckily EA put in the controls from NHL '94. This is great when you're starting off, and gives you a real feel for the game.

General Gameplay: 10/10

I don't know how to describe the gameplay for NHL 09. I guess I could just say “wow”, or “nearly perfect”. While the gameplay isn't perfect, it is probably as close as you could get. I mean, this is as close as you can come to playing hockey, short of actually going to an arena or pond. The main new features are the improved poke check, and the stick lift. They work really well, sometimes too well, but they can result in tripping and high-sticking penalties which help to limit their use. Speaking of penalties, that is a problem with this game. The computer rarely takes penalties, I've went 7 games before I went on my first power play. Penalties will always be something like 30-2 in favor of the computer. Even manually changing the setting doesn't seem to help. This doesn't hurt the gameplay to much; it's more of an inconvenience than anything.

Scoring is a challenge, even if you've played this game a lot. Aside from a few “sure thing goals” which EA Sports fixes in their patches and upgrades; you have to work hard for each goal. The AI will also adjust to your strategies, so you will rarely score the same goal twice in a game.

The goalie mode works well, but it suffers from the fact that your teammates can't score, and you have almost no room for error. Your computer teammates will also take bad penalties, and get into a cycle of taking them really close together. You'll be on a 5 on 4, then a 5 on 3, and then more teammates take dumb penalties and you as the goalie end up playing 10 minutes shorthanded. Goalie mode works better online with human teammates, and gives you a bigger margin for error.

The creation mode is really fun. You can create your own players, teams, and plays. Creating players involves a lot of detail including choosing equipment right down to the stick flex. You can test out the player as you make him, to see if he plays the way you want. The only problem is that you get limited to a few faces and hairstyles, but it is still fairly customizable.

Creating a team is fun too, but really suffers from a lack of variety in logos, team names and cities. You have to select the city of the team, and the team's name. I don't know why you need both, I would think one would be enough. NHL 08 on the PC let you pick the team name, and the commentators would simply refer to it by the city. It would have also been nice to do it the other way around, picking the city you want and being called by the team name. I find there is a lot of choices for the jersey you where, and you get to design the color scheme yourself, but the logo is a different story. You can pick the logos from current NHL teams, or a few other poorly drawn ones. I would have preferred vintage logos be included instead of current ones, it seems pointless to have two Detroit Redwings or two Calgary Flames (no I'm not knocking those two teams). You get to color the logos, but it still would be nice to have variety.

Online Play: 8/10

Okay, so right now the world is probably freaking out for the two points I deducted from the online play sections. The reason is simple: “cheesers”. If you don't know what they are, you're lucky. People will exploit the “sure thing” goals that EA hasn't fixed. They will also perform the “99 overall” glitch that significantly upgrades their EASHL characters. This makes online play frustrating, as they will keep doing the same thing over and over again. However, playing online with people that play the game without glitch goals is very fun.

The new feature everyone is talking about this year is the EASHL. You make a player that you will control, and join other teams of all human players. You play games against other teams; so it is basically 6 human players versus 6 human players. If you don't play against “cheesers” this is probably the most enjoyable online feature in any game.

Offline Play: 9/10

There are really only two features that I have yet to go over, Dynasty mode and the much anticipated Be-a-Pro Mode. Dynasty mode lets you take the position of general manager, coach, and players of a team. You make trades, sign players, juggle lines and play or simulate games. Be-a-Pro Mode lets you create a player and work your way up from the minors to the NHL. Both game modes suffer from ridiculous trades. Teams can often trade one player for a player that is considerably better. This creates high powered teams, and teams that struggle to even show up to the arena.

Aside from the bad trading, Dynasty Mode is very good. The draft could be improved, but I'm not complaining. Signing free agents works well, as you often wait a few days before you find out if you've signed a player. It gives you a similar anticipation that you get in the NHL. You can play for 25 seasons, so this mode can entertain you for a long time. Be-a-Pro Mode has a few problems, mostly because it is a new mode to the NHL games. Sitting on the bench while your teammates refuse to get off the ice is boring. You can turn off line changes, or use position lock mode, but I prefer to play authentically, the way the game was meant to be played. Depending on the team you play for and your position, it can take a long time to move from the minors to the NHL. The biggest problem in this mode is that you need to be a hero each year. Most NHL rookies don't get asked to score 20 or 30 goals in their first year, but you will be expected to here. Being promoted up lines takes a while, but being demoted doesn't. Nine games scoring 3 goals will eventually move you up, one game without any can move you right back down. There are other things that would be nice, like getting drafted or better off ice play, but it is still a fun mode. Even with all of the stuff I've complained about, I still play it lots, so EA did something right.

Buy/Rent/Ignore

If you are a fan of the NHL, or just hockey in general, you should buy this game for sure. I would recommend that everyone rent this game and try it, it is one of the best sports games you will ever find. The replay value is very high (I might still be playing it when NHL 29 comes out) and the challenge is there as well.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/03/09

Game Release: NHL 09 (US, 09/09/08)