NHL 09

"The most amazing hockey game created yet."

As much as people like to bash EA for their laziness when it comes to their sports games, the NHL series has yet to suffer from this on next gen consoles. In NHL 07, they completely rebuilt the game while introducing the "skill stick" which allowed you to use the right analog stick as the hockey stick, making pressing face buttons in hockey games just seem wrong. And while this opened up a whole new level of innovation with hockey video games, the game had quite a few flaws, especially with the lackluster AI and lack of game modes. So along came NHL 08, which fixed a lot of the AI flaws and introduced a revolutionary new game mode called "Online Team Play" which allowed you to play with up to eight different games across the world and split yourself up among two teams, each playing an assigned position(s). New game modes were also introduced, and hockey fans were happy. But as the year went on, faults were found, and gamers demanded more. EA would respond with NHL 09....

Let me start off by saying that I haven't missed an NHL game since NHL 2004, and even tried the 2K series a few times when the old EA formula grew, well.... old. Every year it was the same story, until the revolutionary NHL 07 came along. PC users got shafted, as current gen console owners were able to enjoy hockey games the way they were MEANT TO BE PLAYED. And lucky for me, I happen to own a current gen console or two. And when all the NHL 09 info was leaked with two huge new game modes announced, I felt that the game would be absolute bliss! Bliss and Heaven! Be a Pro Mode where I could actually create myself and have him ascent through the AHL all the way into a Stanley Cup winning NHL team! What could be better? Then the Online Team Play mode I grew to love was going to be expanded, and would allow twelve players rather than eight (every player on the ice including goalies could be controlled by one different person, if you don't know your hockey) and EA was also to create a league. Yes, I could now be a part of my very own team of up to 50 players (six per game played) and compete with other teams across the world. It was going to be awesome!

So naturally, I was devastated when my local Gamestop received the game a day later than they were supposed to. But nonetheless, I arrived the next day to grab my copy and rushed home to play my new NHL game! I quickly got to my Xbox 360, ejected my copy of NHL 08 before throwing it into oblivion and inserted a shiny new NHL 09 into my console. I took a deep breath, and pressed that big circular button that turned the system on.


GAMEPLAY

Upon starting the game up for the first time, you are forced to quickly create a skater (preferably yourself) and then run him through a few different practice drills. This is mainly to get the newcomers situated, as it teaches you how to perform different types of shots, how to aim your shots, how to deke, and how to play defense. Once you've finished this quick two minute activity, you are free to enjoy the rest of the game. And trust me when I say that the rest of the game is a WHOLE LOT OF GAME.

One of EA's biggest focuses this year was on the defensive side of things. The biggest addition is the stick lift, which allows you to try and lift an opponent's stick into the air using your own. Tread carefully, however, as missing can result in a high sticking penalty. Also, the pokecheck has been drastically improved with the ability to use the right stick to direct your stick in any direction, which is useful for cutting off passing lanes and making it that much harder for a player on the other team to get past you. Hitting this time around is also more realistic, with far less hipchecks and more bodychecks being thrown. They are also not quite as magnetic as they used to be, but they really shouldn't be at all. Why not just make it so that simply pressing the stick in a certain direction will have you hit that way? And while this IS the case, holding the stick towards your opponent will still sometimes have you home in on them to deliver the check. Still, the hitting is much better than it was last year.

The fighting this time around is ALMOST as bad as it was in NHL 08. At least this time around, though, it is mercifully quick and very simple. Despite the ability to move right and left, three buttons are used. One will grab onto an opponent, one dodges, and one punches. Most of the time, landing two punches will do the trick. Other times, it's awesome to get that one punch KO. Still, it's not fun and is again a joke.

As was the case the previous two years, there is a Dynasty Mode but no season mode, which hasn't seen all that many changes. There is still that problem where after finishing the accurate schedule of the first season, the seasons after will be INCREDIBLY screwed up. I'm talking about three games in a three day span, which can have you go from one side of the country to the other and back. It's unrealistic, and a problem that EA really should have fixed by now. Some new animations would have been a nice addition as well. Instead, we're watching the same exact Stanley Cup celebration as we did since 2007. How difficult would it have been to include the ability to decide who passes the puck to whom. As it is, winning the Stanley Cup after spending hundreds of combined hours playing through 82 regular season games plus the playoffs just seems anti-climatic.

Still, the AI learning is improved since it was introduced last year, so it's nice not playing the exact same style of game every time. Some games will be hard to get anything going, while others you may demolish the opposition. The improvement I would have liked there is teams that play like themselves. I want to see the Red Wings play like a team that is almost impossible to take the puck from. I'd like to see the Ducks play a hitting game when I play against them, trying to wear me down physically. The Washington Capitals should always try to get the puck to Ovechkin when he's on the ice so that he can try to snipe it from ten feet away using my defensemen as a screen, rather than looking for that goal right in front of the crease that the AI always tries to go for. Some more variety would be nice when it comes to the AI offense, but their defense is what really shines. They know how to adjust to what you're trying to do, and they will. This forces you to switch up how you try to score goals.

Also, I should note that the AHL (farm) teams that were introduced in NHL 08 have made a return, and you can switch between playing as your NHL and AHL team throughout the course of the season and in the playoffs.

Perhaps the most talked about new feature is the Be a Pro Mode. This allows you to turn yourself into the virtual hockey player you've always wanted to be. You can do almost anything, such as pick your birthplace, position, which hand you shoot with, your height and weight, which type of stick and skates you want to use (can pick the curve and width, respectively) and more. Most importantly, you pick a player type. You can be a sniper and be expected to score a lot of goals. You can be a playmaker with the focus on setting up the goals by making good passes. You can be a grinder and just go out there and try to rattle the other team up by checking them a lot. Or be a dangler, and be able to use your speed and stick handling abilities to get past defenders with ease. On the defensive side, you can be defensive or offensive. Defensive and you're meant to stay back at all times, making life tough on anyone trying to get scoring chances on your goalie. Offensive, and you can jump up into offensive plays to keep some heavy pressure on the other team (like Scott Niedermayer and Dan Boyle) as you have the speed to get back quickly if the puck is turned over.

Then, you pick which NHL team you want to be drafted by, and will then be sent to their AHL team. It's all very involving, but the real sense of accomplishment comes when you first see yourself step out of that locker room and skate out onto the ice when you start the game. The first time you see that, I'd imagine you'd have to have no soul to at least not smile a little.

You will always start off on your team's third line, work your way up to the first line, and then to the third line of the NHL team in a speed that depends on how well you perform. Once started, it's just you in your assigned position and your AI teammates who you never have to control. After each shift, your coach gives you letter grades on Position, Team Play, and Stats. Position means that you're always where you need to be, Team Play is focused on a variety of things such as not turning the puck over and not hogging the puck, and Stats are generally the amount of goals and assists you get. You are given a choice of camera angles, though the two that people really should use in Be a Pro are "High" and "Low" which follow your skater from behind the back, which really gives you a sense of being in the game. So after the game is all said and done, you're given your final grades. The better the grades the more attribute points you get to add to your character. Think of it like leveling up in an RPG. You can put these points in a number of different categories, from speed to shooting to checking. That way you can really mold yourself into what you prefer.

Of course, you can always pick goalie, with the difference in player types being Butterfly, Standup, and Hybrid. And trust me, goalie can be incredibly fun if you go online with a competent team, but in Be a Pro Mode you are almost always required to be PERFECT. Even as a skater, you will really be the one getting most of the points for your team. When other lines are out, you'll rarely see them get a goal. So that means as goalie, your team is normally only going to get you one goal to work with. Still, 1-0 losses aren't uncommon either. Think of this mode more as practice, as I don't know anyone who has really played through Be a Pro as a goaltender for more than a handful of games. You just aren't given much help, and if you ever allow the other team to score more two against you then your chances of victory are very, very slim. Sure, if you play defense the same problem exists, but at least on defense you can set the offense to crash the net and screen the goalie and you can take slap shots hoping for a screened goal or a deflection. As a goaltender, there is a luxury you do not have.

All in all, the mode definitely has its faults, but it's a great start to a gameplay mode that people have been demanding for years. With the pace EA has been on with their NHL teams, I'd expect some more offensive help from other lines in NHL 10, which would make playing defense and goalie a little more enjoyable. As it is, you'll likely want to stick to offense. And really as it is, it's an incredibly rewarding game mode all the way though. Some tweaks here and there, and it will be an absolute blast.

The normal game modes such as tournaments are all still there. Create a Play has expanded, so now you can create rushes coming out of the defensive zone rather than just offensive zone plays. In case you missed it last year, you pick a spot to start the play off in (to activate in-game simply skate over this spot and hit a certain button). Then, you separately draw out a path for every player on your team. It's all very confusing at first, and your plays will look terrible. But after dedicating some time to this mode, you'll realize that it's the ultimate underrated mode in the modern NHL games. Especially since you can now use your plays online, it's absolutely incredible to burn an opponent using a play you created yourself.

Then you still have practice mode, which allows you to participate in shooting drills. You can perform rushes, so it's just you and up to four other skaters and a goalie alone. You can practice these situations as a goalie or on defense also if you choose. There are also speed skating drills, and agility drills which has you weaving in through cones. The ability to have online practices would be great, though, but with all the demand this type of mode has gotten, I'd be shocked if EA didn't include it in NHL 10. This also brings me to...

Online. Before I even get started, let me make this perfectly clear. I'm aware of lag issues that can affect the game. I'm aware of the faceoff repeat glitch that will still rarely happen. I'm aware of the pause glitching which allows players to force the other team to quit if you're losing, which gets you the undeserved win. From here on out, those issues will no longer be mentioned, nor will it affect the game score whatsoever. So now that we have that out of the way, let me continue.

As in NHL 08, you have your Versus, Shootout and Online Team Play modes. Not really any changes to talk about there, except that Online Team Play now allows for up to twelve players to play in a game. This means that every single player on the ice (including goalies) can be controlled by a different person. Most of the time, your teammates will be running around everywhere chasing the puck, but when you're on a team that knows how to play realistic hockey, this mode really shines. And of course, that leads me to the Main Event of all sports games online.

The EASHL, introduced this year, has sure had its share of faults. And being what it is, there is no reason to be surprised. Anybody can start up their own team and add up to 49 other players across the globe to it. It all works very much like a guild that you'll see in other online games. From there, you can divide that team up into groups of up to six and play against other teams. Your EASHL team is ranked based on how well they perform. The ranking system works in "Divisions" of 100 teams each. So naturally, division 1 has the best teams and division 100 would be teams with 0-500 records. Sadly, this system doesn't work all that well, as you get matched up with teams based on your team's overall Versus ranking rather than how good (or bad) your EASHL team is. This means that you can start off a club full of people who are great one on one, and immediately get matched up with the greatest EASHL teams. Sure, playing the top teams is the best way to improve, but it will do your record absolutely no favors.

Another problem with the league is what has become known as "cheesers". Cheesers are players who basically exploit the game mechanics and know of easy ways to score. A certain shot that can be taken all the way from your zone's blue line has about an 85% chance of going in if executed right despite there being no traffic in front of your goalie. You'll meet a lot of players like this, but if your team plays solid defensively it won't be a huge issue. By final gripe with the EASHL teams are that teams of two are allowed to play, and when you're searching for matches with your six player team, there is nothing more annoying than constantly being paired up with a team that only has two players. In that case, they will usually do what's become known as "cherry-picking" which means hanging out far up the ice waiting for the AI defense to retreive the puck before calling for a pass up (hitting the right trigger will have the AI pass right to you) and trying to get odd man rushes. Again, good defense and this won't be a problem, but it's irritating nonetheless.

Problems aside, once you get good enough that a decent team will invite you on (or you invite all good team players) then the fun can begin. Playing realistic hockey is going to win you games. All too often you'll meet teams who refuse to cycle the puck and just try to score on the rush. While this may work sometimes, the best strategy is to keep the puck in your opponent's zone as long as possible. Pass the puck around (us defensemen need love too) and wait for an opening. From there, its an easy goal. Besides, if you spend all the time in the other team's zone, then they won't be scoring. Simple as that. And that is why the EASHL rewards the teams that play hockey the way its meant to be played. At the end of the day, none of the problems with this mode change the fact that this is EA's first attempt at this, and that mistakes will be learned from. But again, if you get with a good team, you'll have a blast with this mode that hockey fans have been waiting for for years.


GRAPHICS

Really, not much has changed here from NHL 08. The ice surface does look better, and the player models are actually slightly improved/ The new animations look nice, and the on ice action is incredibly slick for the most part. Even the crowd looks realistic, even if they still do ridiculous things such as standing up cheering when the away team scores. Still, the entire game they go from sitting to standing up and clapping at a rapid pace, but honestly if you pay THAT much attention to what the audience is doing then you won't be winning many games due to how fast paced the actual game is.

Cutscenes are still unfortunately choppy, and are still really not changed at all since last year. The only new one is at the start of each game, where you see the players all walk out of the dressing room and onto the ice before skating circles around their team's respective zones while the goalies are introduced. It's actually rather cool looking. Everything else though, such as the Stanley Cup celebration, are sadly recycled from previous games.


SOUND

Just like the previous two years, Gary Thorne and Bill Clement make their return to commentary. And that is no complaint. I absolutely loved listening to Gary Thorne do play by play back when he did, and hearing him in-game is nice, especially when you score a late goal and he shouts "SCORE!!!!!" . Sure, you're going to hear a ton of repeated phrases from the pair, but what sports game DOESN'T that happen in? They can even be quite helpful, letting you know of your mistakes. If you keep trying to force passes in front of the other team's goal and the other team keeps interrupting them, you'll hear them say "This team has been attempting that same play all night and it hasn't worked yet. Why do they keep trying it?"

On the ice, the sound effects are almost spot on. You may even want to turn off the commentary just to hear the realistic sounds of skates sliding across the ice surface, and your teammates yelling at you to pass the puck. Also, that sound of the puck being dumped around the boards is just done to absolute perfection and sounds amazing. The crowd gets amped up when the home team applies pressure, and will absolutely let you know when you had a bad powerplay. And as the case in the real NHL, you're going to hate the DING that comes from blasting a puck right into the post.


REPLAY VALUE

Come on. Do I even need to get into this? It's a sports game. Dynasty mode spans through 25 seasons, which is 2750 potential hockey games to be played. Be a Pro lasts quite a few seasons as well. And then, when you're done with all that, don't forget all the various online modes at your disposal. Seriously, if you're a fan of hockey games, be prepared to put the rest of your video games aside until NHL 10 is released next September.


OVERALL

And there you have it. Does NHL 09 have its faults? Yes. But it also showed that despite the reputation EA gets, they are still including game modes and features that people have been demanding since NHL 08. And even as I type this, they have announced that many of the problems from this game (cheeser goals, fighting, crowds) and wanted features (battles along boards) are being addressed in NHL 10. But as much as I want to look forward to that game, and I do, NHL 09 is still a gem and by far the greatest hockey game that I have ever had the chance to play.

Really, there is just a ton to do. If I'm tired of dynasty and want to try to try something different, Be a Pro mode is there. If I want a real challenge, I'll go online and test out my skills against the best of the best. Of course then I can take it easy and run some practice mode drills to try and work on my game. And once I'm done with that, I can go to another mode which allows me to create my very own plays. If you enjoy the game of hockey, you will never be bored.

Whether you're a hardcore or casual hockey fan, if you've ever felt the urge to grab an NHL video game, there is no reason not to give this a shot.

EA shoots... They score:

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
GRAPHICS: 9/10
SOUND: 9/10
REPLAY VALUE: 10/10
OVERALL: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/09

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