Gretzky NHL '06

"Gretzky's stitched up and back on ice scoring!"

Well, it seems that SCEA and Page 44 have recovered from the hip checks endured by PSP's inital foray into the hockey world with a much more palatable submission. What did I just say? Same as the tagline, Gretzky NHL was a puck to the face, but it seems that after answering gamer's complaints, they managed to stitch him up and let him return somewhat gracefully. It's a shame the initial Gretzky wasn't more like this one.

Gameplay:
This is easily the biggest improvement. It's obvious that some of the gamer's complaints were addressed. The pesky constant and needless offsides seem to be taken care of, your teammates now seem much more away of the puck carrier, and where they should be positioned. Thankfully the goalies have been tightened up. They get caught out of position much less, the animations seem smoother, they play the puck a little smarter, AND heaven forbid, occasionally hold onto the puck! Welcome are the new games modes, Wayne vs Wayne is a nice attempt, but the 3-on-3 is great. This falls in line with my thinking that the NHL Hitz games would be perfect on the PSP, quick and portable, yet still not lacking in depth, we're one step closer! Season mode is somewhat unchanged, with the addition of this year's fad--the team chemistry. It's nice nice touch, though not exploitable(sorry, not going to divulge the spoilers!). A salary cap would have added to the strategy of the season mode, and I'm slightly disappointed to see that this year's unlockables are a carbon copy of last year's, but it's somewhat acceptable. Also nice is the fact that the puck no longer seems to outrun players as frequently, and the controls feel more natural. Checking, shooting and skating feel easier with the PSP's analog nipple, and the icon passing has been tweaked to make those tic-tac-toe passes much easier to set-up. Poke checking still feels awkward and often unsuccessful, as well as causing stick penalties(tripping I can swallow, but slashing and high sticking should not happen). The computer AI has seen some improvements too.

Graphics/Sound:
Not much in the graphics department has been done, they've been polished and cleaned up, but the overall look remains the same. This is definitely not a bad thing though, it's nice to see the puck actually making contact with the sticks more often, replays are more relevant, and I haven't seen the ref collect the puck from the other teams goalie when it was actually my own that made the save. The replays after goals look just as good, but that third camera angle that never showed the goal or the action is now more strategically placed to allow you to see the goal. The sound is fantastic, the addition of the commentary makes a HUGE difference in grabbing the gamer into the game. Don't get me wrong, it suffers from the same problems all game announcers do, like pauses before naming some teams and players(even naming the wrong ones on occasion, it's just unforgivable to call the NY Rangers the NY Islanders), but as I said it creates a much more believable hockey atmosphere.

Playtime/Replayability:
This depends on how much of a rabid hockey fan you are. As previously stated the new game modes are great, as well as the option for online competition. There are always the unlockables to compete for, as well as the ever elusive Lord Stanley's Cup. A franchise mode would add more depth, but the available modes are more than sufficient.

Final Recommendation:
I think we still have a rental here, but it is definitely many strides in the right direction. Gretzky may be the top record holder on ice, but in the digital world he still has some catching up to do with 2K sports and EA. As I said before, it's nice to see some of the big flaws scratched from this year's lineup, and it can only get better from here!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/05