NHL 2K9

Comment: The critics loved NHL 2009 and NHL 2010, but NHL 2K9 and 2K10 have received only modest reviews. However, with only a few changes, the 2K series would arguably be better. I have to admit, I've played a lot of NHL 2009 and NHL 2010. This game has some similarities, and in certain ways, compares favorably to the EA games. But there are also definite shortcomings.

First of all, the default settings of gameplay do feel very arcade-like. But this problem can be remedied through tuning and tweaking the settings to your liking. Once I made the necessary changes, the improvement was night and day. Let's start with the controls. Beyond the basic 4 button settings, you have the option of using a new method called "pro stick evolution" and it's very good. It's actually almost identical to NHL 2009 and NHL 2010. The right stick allows you to shoot, deke etc. R2 is the button for passing. The one main difference in this and the EA games is that R1 is used for checking instead of the right stick. The right stick is "total stick control" on defense, which is decent. There's also a "hybrid" mode, which meshes the classic controls with the new pro stock mode. It's acceptable enough as well.

Another way in which this game really shines is the puck physics. The EA series of games has some unusual issues with pucks, they simply don't behave as they would in a real game. That problem doesn't exist in this game. Another common problem this game does NOT suffer from is the puck being across the goal line, but not counting as a goal. This is a major problem in NHL 2009 and 2010. Another way this game shines is that star players are clearly better than third or fourth liners. In certain games, cough cough, EA, pretty much all of your players can pull off superstar moves and make ridiculous shots or passes, but not here. Players physics are also great too. Having Martin St. Louis body check Zdeno Chara is not going to result in Chara losing his balance much of the time. Larger players will deliver stronger checks but also feel slower. The presentation of the game is also very good. The pre-game intros are very sharp and eye-catching. You can really feel the atmosphere and it's certainly a big plus. The menu system is also very good. It takes some time to get used to but really allows for quick navigation once you adjust.

And now onto the negative gameplay aspects. The puck control and passing is too good. Players rarely lose control of the puck or make inaccurate passes. It can be tweaked but still remains a problem, to an extent. The goalies are also too weak unless you turn the settings all the way up. They constantly crouch and fall backwards like catchers in baseball. It's often very easy to score by shooting low and across. Another problem is that slapshots almost never go in, maybe 1 of 100. There are occasionally goals by deflections though. The offensive strategy is very simple, go to the slot. The cpu and your teammates will do this to no end. This gets frustrating after a while. There are also too many rushes up and down the ice. Additionally, the commentary is quite poor. Names are mispronounced endlessly, the goalies of each team will often be mistaken, etc.

Now onto the various modes of play. The franchise mode is simply far too thin. It's stripped of all the features that made the earlier PS2 versions so good. You can't scout potential draft picks, there are no offer sheets or buy-outs, there's no staff communication, you can't earn any upgrades etc. The season mode is self-explanatory and nothing new. A big problem is that there is NO mode similar to be-a-pro and it really hurts the game. All the top level games, by various companies and in various sports, have such a feature. It really kills the replay value of the game.

Last but not least, the graphics are inferior to the EA NHL games. While not awful overall, there are clear weaknesses. The faces of the players look absolutely nothing like the real players, except in one or two cases, which might've occurred purely by accident. You can't tell when the ice is cut up, the fine details are simply indecipherable. Despite this, the overall graphics of the game aren't not what hold it back.

Since you can probably find this game for around eight to ten dollars, it's a very good value. However, NHL 2009 and NHL 2010 do offer a more realistic, simulation based experience.

Comment: When you score a goal which is ten time a game you can barely hear the PA guy telling you who it is. You have no idea who got the assist. Why the switched from Kush games is beyond me. What a waste of (...) this was. The 2008 version was so much better. Dont waste your money on this crap

Comment: My 10-year old son has this game and this is his review:

"This game is very fun in 'Quick Game' mode, especially with a friend. The bad part is that you can only play about 5 to 7 games in 'Season' mode after buying the game, and then the game starts to crash every time you select 'Start Game' in Season mode. I recommend buying NHL 2k10. I'd rate this game 3 1/2 stars.

Comment: I was very excited to buy this game after NHL2K8 got me back into the game of hockey. I used to be a big fan. I must say NHL2K9 made me hate hockey again. When they were with Kush games they made a great product. The game play is ok but the extras is what ticked me off. In the 08 version they would tell you who scored the damn goal. Not in the 09 version. In the 08 version they would tell you who got an assist, not in the 09 version. They do if an away team scores but not if a home team scores. In the 08 version they would tell you how many goals he is up to. Also, how many points. Not in the ........you get the point. In my opinion the gameplay is a TAD smoother but everything else is horrendous. Dont waste your money. Buy the 08 version.

Comment: If you've played NHL 2K7, or 2K8, it's the same game with a slight polish to the graphics, roster updates, and "new" commentary. This review will attempt to list every error, glitch, and logical oversight that I can remember.

First, much has been said about the sliders allowing you to fully customize the game experience. I have found that even while playing on the default highest difficulty, that you win the Presidents Trophy and sweep most of the playoffs just about every time. Now this isn't to say that the game controls well, and is "easy" in the traditional sense, because there's a lot of headaches and logical gaps that will have you wanting to turn violent.

Playing on the default slider settings means that the game experience will quickly become stale. On the highest difficulty I would often out shoot my opponents 60 to 10, or about that. Did you know that you can still lose when you out shoot the other team by fifty shots? The makers of NHL2K9 seem to think so. I have seen B-level goalies make over fifty saves in this game. I have also seen all-star goalies on MY team post a .500 save percentage in one game. Explain that one to me. The attributes for each goalie doesn't seem to matter much as to how they actually perform.

I like to fix the sliders so that the shots end up being more even, and this leads to a much funner challenge. But when I'm playing these tight games and GOALS ARE SCORED (against me) THROUGH THE BACK OF THE NET FROM BEHIND, I throw my PS2 controller against whatever is near by. There is also the issue of your defenders going into full body spasms when you switch to them while protecting their zone. This allows break-away chances, and you have to hope the goalie stops it. I have also seen, but this is more rare, the defender on the blueline being invisibly hooked all the way to the bench in a gliding motion. Also, most players on your side rarely skate after loose pucks, and often when you pass to them they put their stick up to receive it and then barely miss. They also allow the puck to get stuck under their sticks and allow themselves to be checked into oblivion. And forget about making more than a few passes in the offensive zone before losing the puck.

Players constantly fail to pick up centering passes to set up one-times. They just skate right on just ahead of it, as if they have no anticipation for the puck. It's easy to just slap or wrist the puck to the net on every play, but that sure does get boring fast. On the other hand, when the CPU team is in your zone, their passes are AMAZING. Their only fault is that they don't shoot enough, and often pass until you can finally steal the puck. But mostly it's this: CPU makes a pass, pass connects, I check him, the pucks floats almost magically to another CPU player and he makes a perfect pass, I check the player, and the puck ONCE AGAIN ends with with the CPU immediately. Do you know why? You have to basically be controlling the player yourself to pick up loose pucks, because the rest of your team just stands around. The CPU is so aggressive to get the puck back and all five skaters work together well. That's what real hockey is all about - team playing. But why can't the team I'm controlling work together? That's why a star forward on your team usually finishes the season with 40+ goals, but maybe 10 assists.

The announcers are terrible. They often say that a shot was tipped when it was really just a breakaway - one skater in alone coming in with a wrist shot. He says "top left taken away by Nabokov", even when that particular goalie is NOT IN GOAL!" Even funnier, they call various players -insert name here, Cheecho. Example: Nylander Cheecho up to shoot next. Speaking of the shoot out, it's absolutely ridiculous. Whether you score or not is mostly random luck, since even when you notice the moves you made when you scored, you mostly won't be able to repeat those moves and score again. What's even more retarded is when the CPU shoots, they often just skate side to side and sometimes don't even take the shot! Needless to say, shoot outs can go MANY, MANY rounds scoreless. But by far the worst thing about the shoot out is that sometimes THE SHOOT BUTTON STOPS WORKING altogether.

Before this turns into a freakin' novel, I'll just close and say that if you have any kind of temper problems or high blood pressure, stay the hell away from this game.