NHL 2K6 – 360 – Review

Last year was a really
crappy time for hockey fans, seeing as there was no season that year. People
wondered how one of the best sports around could not have a season. Thankfully
this year hockey is back in full force which is good for fans of the sport as
well as gamers. Since the Xbox 360 just launched it is only appropriate that
sports fans get their NHL fix, so 2K Sports has just released their hockey game
unto the gaming world.

There are several game
modes that will keep you entertained for hours on end. The game modes are the
same as in the previous version of the game: exhibition, season, playoffs,
franchise, tournament, and party mode. Since all of the game modes from previous
games are in here I will not do into depth on all of them but just mention the
highlights of franchise and party mode.

The franchise mode is as
deep as ever. Players will be able to do the normal things such as set rosters,
coaching, and various other details that you have all become accustomed to while
playing a game of this nature. One thing that is new in this game is the
chemistry for a line. This mimics real life players, as the more you get your in
game characters to play together in practice and in the game, they will get more
comfortable with each others style and they will work better as a unit. This
really makes the game feel more realistic since you will have to deal with what
some of the coaches have to worry about every day.

The other mode that I
really enjoyed playing and want to talk about a little more is the party mode.
In this mode there are less then twenty mini games that are fun to goof around
with. Many of these mini games are a great way to hone your skills on the ice
for when you are playing a real game. These mini games are a nice treat to play
with because it also helps break up any monotonous tone that you might be having
during regular play.

One thing that I really
enjoy about all of the 2K Sports games is that they try to personalize the game
to make players feel that they are really in control of everything. With that
being said the Skybox mode is back and is better then ever. Players will be able
to unlock so many various things that it is unbelievable. All of the mini games
that players can play with up there are great. My favorite game is air hockey.
It is this kind of attention to detail that shows that the developers truly care
about their fan base and want to make their games above and beyond for their
fans.

As with any new sports
game, people want to know what the newest features are. Well this game has two
very important features that I feel need to be discussed because they change how
the game is played. First off there is something called Cease Control, which
allows players to take direct control of the goalie and help him to the proper
spot to help spot the puck. When a puck is shot the game will slow down slightly
to allow you to try to make a save. This addition really helps players to stop
more goals and to make sure that you try to stay in the lead.

The other big addition to
the game is that you can have more control of your team with On-The-Fly
Coaching. This allows you to change your team’s strategy in real time to adjust
for special situations. Having this control of your team will make players feel
that much closer to that of a real game. I also liked it because if you see a
weak spot in the opposing team you can adjust the way you are playing to exploit
it more and hopefully gain some extra goals because of this.

I know that many of you
want to know what the differences between the Xbox and the Xbox 360 version are;
sadly I have not gotten to play the Xbox version of the game, other then demo’s
and in-store game kiosk’s, so I can not make a full comparison for you. At the
time of this review the only thing that I know for sure that has been changed is
the graphics for the game. The graphics for this game are really good, better
then what the Xbox version offers, but isn’t really up to snuff to a next
generation game. Before I go into what needs to be changed, let me give praise
to what the game does right.

Once players load up a
game, they will notice a real improvement on everything on the ice. The surface
is a lot shiner and reflects the light from the various angles in each stadium.
The players have a lot more detail in them; on each player you will be able to
see the mesh of their jerseys, designs of their equipment, and better facial
details. The sad thing is that this is more apparent in all of the cut-screens
but not as much during the actual gameplay.

See the problem with the
visuals of this game is that it feels like the developers took the current
graphics engine and just spruced it up a little to take advantage of the higher
resolutions and more horsepower that the Xbox 360 offers. The graphics for this
game look really good, but if you compare it to some of the other games
available you will see that there is a big leap. I think this problem will be
solved with a full year of game development instead of shortened development
cycle to get the game ready for the Xbox 360 launch.

Commentary for this game
is decent but at the same time feels a little on the mundane side. The reason
for this is that the developers went for the commentating team of Bob Cole and
Harry Neale who are really big commentators in the Canadian hockey world. The on
ice sounds are pretty strong, and hearing the crowd cheer you on is really nice.
The soundtrack to the game is filled with a lot of “lesser known” bands, but you
can really get over that by plugging in your own mp3 player and jamming out to
your own tunes while you try to make that extra goal.

NHL 2K6 is rated Everyone
10+, and it contains violence. It will take up to 2.10MB on your hard disk or
memory card for game saves.

Gameplay:
7.9
If you have ever played an NHL 2K game then you will know exactly what to expect
from this game. The new game features such as Cease Control and On-The-Fly
Coaching really adds new options to the game. While the game is a blast to play
I expected more from a next generation game.

Graphics: 7.9
The graphics are good, especially if you compare the Xbox 360 game and
the Xbox game in motion. Sadly this game really doesn’t take full advantage of
the hardware, especially if you compare it graphically with other games already
released. Hopefully this will change next year since the developers will have
more of a handle on this new console.

Sound: 8.0
The sounds from this game are really nice. The commentary is well done
but at times it sounds a little mundane and repetitive. Being on the ice really
sounds nice as you hear the crowd cheering you on. Best of all, if you don’t
like the in-game music, playing hockey with your own tunes going on in the
background makes this game all the better!

Difficulty: Medium
The AI in this game can be a bit challenging, but it is not impossible
to play against. All in all this game is really fun to play.

Concept: 8.4
I really liked the new additions because they give the players more
control of the game to create more strategies on how to beat various teams that
are challenging them.

Multiplayer: 8.7
Playing this game on Xbox Live is really fantastic. The amount of
options available to the players is astonishing such as getting to play in
online leagues and even dabbling in the really fun party games.

Overall: 8.0
It is really hard to give NHL 2K6 this grade because I want to
score it higher, and I would if this game was on the Xbox or PlayStation 2, but
with this being a next generation game, it really drops the ball in certain
areas. Everything about this game is really nice, yet it feels like a current
generation game with a higher resolution. I do look forward to next year to see
how the developers improve on the game especially since they will come to grips
with the hardware more in that time period.