NHL 08

He shoots, he scores!

Ah, the memories. Growing up in Canada, when hockey season hit (at least back then) it was more than merely a television option, it was an event that was at the fiber of being a kid growing up in the great white north. When not watching Hockey Night in Canada, it was out in the driveways, on roller skates in the summer, on ice skates (in rinks, sometimes outdoor rinks) in the winter, playing as favored players from the illustrious sport.

Hockey is about speed – flying down the ice, putting on dekes and feints, and moving in on the goal, snapping off a wristshot, or powering up a slap shot and trying to elude the cat-like reflexes of the goalie.

NHL ’08 for the PlayStation 3 is EA Sports next-gen entry in a long and valued franchise, and the game captures that feeling in a visually impressive manner. The skill stick gives the game a personal touch and an adaptive AI creates games that are not runaways, but always challenges you to evolve your game and not get caught in a rut doing the same thing over and over.

(It should be noted that the same disk used to preview the game was also for review purposes, so there are not programming differences in the version played.)

When it comes to the overall look of the game, well, it is amazing. And the game is rife with features as well. Of course, there is a bit of a learning curve but that quite all right. Once you understand the game, and learn the control scheme, you will find this to be a solid, challenging and entertaining experience.

The adaptive AI is very impressive. This aspect acts as a coach, seeming to analyze your tendencies and then move to either stop or exploit them. Early on in the dynasty career, the opposing team found that – usually – setting up a forward on the back post, and then firing the puck wide and then across to him resulted in a goal. When the player-controlled team was susceptible to this several times in a row, it became part of the opposing teams’ game plan. Every opponent was doing it. That meant adjusting the defense (easy to do with the control scheme) to defend that. Once that play was defending, the AI went probing for other weaknesses. The same holds true on offense. If you are always going to one player for a quick shot, you may find that player adequately boxed and the goalie looking for the shot tendency (high corner, for example.

Skating also got a makeover. The animations are controlled by the thumbsticks, and the responsiveness is first rate. Use this in concert with the skill stick and you have a movement system that is quite realistic. For those that may not know, the skill stick employs both the left and right thumbsticks, using the left to move the player and the right to control the hockey stick. The combination is a sweet element that gives the player the ability to pull off some nice handling moves. But adding to that is the new deke system, which allows players to push the puck in one direction and go in another. For example, if you wanted to go around a would-be defender, you might slide the puck through on the defender’s right, but physically go around the outside left of the defender to pick up the puck on the other side. You can’t do that on every play, but pull it off in the right circumstance and you may find yourself eluding the defense and breaking through on the keeper.

Another new feature is the create-a-team function. You can create a skater or goalie (and use the high-def palette of options to customize the look of the player, as well as selecting equipment that will help with your playing style) but now you can create a team, replace an existing NHL team with your created squad and even pull in players from other rosters to skate for you. Yes, there is a salary cap, but you can turn that off in the options and end up with a high-powered team right out of the gates. The mascot names, logos and city names can be a little restricted, but you can take your created team into the dynasty mode and move through an NHL season toward the playoffs and Stanley Cup.

As for gameplay options, you won’t find that you can tweak the other team into being a total pushover, but you can do a fair amount of damage in the options menu. You will get messages throughout the course of the season – e-mails from your owners (you take on the role of general manager) or league trade announcements – that will give your dynasty ambitions some structure.

And if the pacing of the game is too much for you, you can turn on Goalie Mode, which has you controlling only the goalkeeper. Much of the latter is done with the thumbsticks, while L1 and R1 will have you diving (flat-out) on the ice. It is truly a remarkable sensation when you see the opposition working the puck in the corner, the defense playing off (you can call plays on the fly and if fast enough, counter what the opposition is doing) and then see a skater setting up on the back post. Should you play the front half of the net to stop an angled shot, or drop back a step or two, anticipating the pass for the shot into the back third of the net? Or the first time that an opposing player cranks up a slapshot from point-lank range and you anticipate the location correctly and block it (while play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne jubilantly trumpets the save), you will feel a complete rush of adrenalin. That is a great sensation induced by a game that does a terrific job or translating the experience.

The game is rather deep in that not only do you get the NHL teams, but you get the full complement of AHL teams (and you can move players around from the AHL to the NHL, using the former as the minor leagues to season potential all-stars. And don’t just think you can throw a bunch of money at a free agent and get them to sign that contract. You have to prove that you have the franchise they want to play for. There are national teams as well, and while the multiplayer was not available for testing with this build, there will be online custom leagues and 3-versus-3 play, as well.

As far as the game’s sound is concerned, NHL ’08 does a terrific job, from the crowd sounds to the stellar commentary. EA Trax is around, pumping out tunes that are average, but that’s not the focus. The game puts the audio focus squarely on the game itself and that is a very good thing.

Graphically, this is a game that is very good but once again the PS3 gets the short shrift when it comes to frame rates. For some odd reason, EA Sports is not putting out sports titles on the console that run at the same rate as the 360. For the PS3, it seems the game runs at 30 frames per second, which is not in the same league as the 360. This is an area that EA needs to address and soon.

While there are a few slips, NHL ’08 is hockey done right. EA Sports has captured the tempo, the strategy and the flavor of the sport with a winning franchise release that should please hockey and video-game sports fans.

Gameplay: 8.9
The game plays well and gamers have a nice range of options to customize the experience.  

Graphics: 8.7
Come on … 30 frames per second. The PS3 is capable of much better than that. Occasional clipping problems also surface, but generally, this is a game that looks realistic with top-drawer animations.

Sound: 9.0
Throw EA Trax out the window and just revel in the play-by-play commentary. Gary Thorne even will chime in with advice about what the AI is doing and what you may need to do to stop it – not advice in a blatant manner, but rather he drops nice little hints.

Difficulty: Medium
This is not a game that you can play on auto-pilot. You will need to pay attention and adapt throughout the course of a game and season.

Concept: 9.0
EA Sports haS finally rid itself of NHL arcade and rendered out a game that is more of a true (and entertaining) simulation of the sport. While there are still elements that need to be addressed, this is – far and away – one of the better, if not the best, console experience in the franchise history.

Overall: 8.9
Still room to improve, but with NHL ’08 EA Sports is heralding a new step forward for the franchise. This is not so much about competing with other NHL titles, but rather finding the right groove and delivering an experience in line with the sport itself. NHL ’08 does just that. This is not only a challenging game, but a whole lot of fun to play.