NHL 2008 review (Xbox 360)

Review by: Will Kirschner

Title: NHL 2008
Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation 2, PC
Price: $59.99 (Xbox 360 and Playstation 3) $29.99 (Playstation 2) $19.99 (PC)
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: Electronic Arts

Age Range: This game is appropriate for any age and can be played by anyone.

Buy?: I love everything hockey so it pains me to say this but it is definitely not worth the better part of a hundred bucks to get this on a next generation console. Your much better off getting the cheaper NHL 2K8 to fulfill your hockey hearts desire.

Summary: Lead your team to hoisting the Stanley Cup and complete victory. You take control of all aspects of a franchise and try and make your team the next great hockey dynasty.

Difficulty: Way too easy, way too lame. The shooting system, though much more realistic, is overly difficult for a simulation hockey game. There shouldn't be a way for me too drop six goals on one of the best goalies in the game as soon as I pick up my controller. I ended up simulating a good deal of the season and skipping over many games due to the boredom the game caused me.

Learning Curve: However long it takes you to learn the buttons of the game is how long it will take to master it.

Total Hours of Play: To beat a franchise it will take you 30+ plus hours of your life. To play a singular game it takes 30 minutes.

Family Factor: This game is hockey dumbed down for the kids. Checking systems is flawed because landing a good check is pretty much impossible. Fights happen, but they happen so rarely it isn't even worth learning the buttons.

Review:
I enjoyed this game at the beginning for all the wrong reasons: it let me beat the Devils up and down the rink. Otherwise, this isn't worth the disks it was written on.

Let me start with the passing system. The puck moves slowly, so strong fluid passes don't exist, leading to tons of interceptions. This can make a team attempt on goal nearly impossible. Luckily, skating is a breeze. Any average Joe could skate past the leagues best defenders and drop one in on the goalie. The new skating system is pretty, but skating for skating's sake would make this a figure skating game.

And, they ruined checking... they ruined checking! One of the most sacred tenants of hockey, defense at any cost, has been wrecked by this game. All too often I just glided in front of the net and dropped the puck in without any succesful checks from the computer’s team. This happened to me too, where I would just slide past an opponent, or even into him, and he wouldn't fall. There is nothing more annoying then being scored on because your check fails.

This brings me to the final point. Don’t buy this game! Fortunately for me this was my brother's purchase, and I played a whole season, simulating most of it to skip games and save my sanity. Online is barely redeemable because very few people play on it. The Owner’s Mode is the only redeeming point because there are a surprising number of things you can do with your players, like train them and build up your minor leaguers to superstar status.

This isn't a good reason to buy it though. Learn from my mistake and save your sixty bucks for something more worthwhile.

Related Games: NHL 2K7