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.
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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.
