Media: NHL 10 Trailer Showcases Fighting and Board Play

This NHL 10 trailer depicts two of the new, fresh features that are part of the promised 200 changes in the follow-up to Kombo’s own sport’s game of the year.

The first is the new first-person fighting system. The NHL dev team has promised to make fighting more of a dynamic experience that has real consequences on the game aside from five minute major penalties. Players will be able to face wash opponents (rub their gloves in the over player’s face), and they’ll go after the stars of the team and be interrupted by enforcers. All the while, folks that don’t like hockey are scratching their heads, “Enforcers?”… yeah, hockey’s awesome.

Then there’s a new look at the board play system. In every current NHL iteration, when a loose puck heads to the boards, it simply bounces off and glides down the ice. In real hockey, these moments lead into opponents having to scrum it up along the boards. Players are forced out of position, and a smart team will have an outlet pass awaiting their team’s puck possession. More than the fighting, I’m really looking forward to this change in gameplay. It’s something that’s a huge part in real hockey, but it’s never really made it to the video game experience. Let’s hope EA nails it.

The release date for NHL 10 has not been confirmed as of yet. But look forward to it once the hockey season starts back up again around September.

Until then, let’s go Pens! Ken Cauley, our EIC, is a Red Wings fan. Jerk.