I know what you’re thinking…. Is it any better than last year? I’ve read enough of these reviews over the years to know that it’s the first thing that runs through everyone’s head as soon as word gets out that, like life, death and taxes, EA Sports have decided to wheel out the yearly updates and hope that there’s enough difference within them to make upgrading worthwhile. FIFA has already shown us that there is still room to improve things and did so with the newest addition to the footy franchise, but what of the NHL series?
Everything you expect to be here is present. All the NHL teams and national squads, as well as the major European leagues are included, with Switzerland and it‘s teams available for the first time. You can access full season and playoff modes for all of them, which at least gives you more teams to command from outside the usual suspects. All of the action can be done through standard team based games or using Be-A-Pro, allowing for a more personalised crack at the Stanley Cup, providing of course you can help to get your team there in the first place. The beauty of this option is that you can either create a fresh player and come in through the entry draft system and learn your fate that way, or you can jump into the shoes of a seasoned pro and guide him to the pinnacle of the game. The choice is yours.
The main season mode is as extensive as ever, with the option to include the fantasy draft before the first puck drops. This puts all the teams in your set league into the hat and each player can become a target from other clubs as long as they’re grabbed within the time. Once this is done you go forth and win for your team. Definitely one for the hardcore fans out there, but if this still doesn’t cut it for you, then the GM (General Manager) mode is back again and allows you to take charge over 25 seasons with the club of your choice. Salaries, transfer deadlines and the nurturing of fresh talent are amongst all the things that you must balance to attain greatness here. Bearing in mind there are 82 games in the season, you’ll need to get set for a long haul if you go down this path.
So what of the rest of us who just want to get our skates on and score goals? Well, things couldn’t be simpler in that respect. Play now obviously takes care of the 5 minute crowd who just want a quick game, but there is a slightly longer variant in the form of the new Battle for the Cup mode. This gives anyone the chance to take a team through the playoffs without the need of the full season, so you can feel the intensity of each hit and score in the seven match series. Everything that happens in each game gets carried onto the next, so it keeps things realistic, rather than just having set games with fresh legs every time you start.
On the ice there have been some changes, but when you’ve already won 12 sports game of the year awards for your previous effort, you don’t want to alter too much if the formula is already winning, much like FIFA really. The developers have taken a leaf out of the Fight Night rulebook and introduced a first person fighting system which gets you deeper into the brawling action as 2 NHL sluggers battle for supremacy of the sin bin. It does add a bit of fun to proceedings, but it’s not really affecting gameplay that much. What is worth mentioning is the new board play option. This allows players to shield the puck from the opposing player for a spell until help arrives, which gives you the chance to kick it towards your team mates to help get you out of a tight pinch and start a fresh attack. It might not sound like much, but the slowing up of pace and the ability to bring in a new line of offence is not to be taken lightly.
Other than this it’s the same NHL engine you’ve grown to love over the past few years. The AI has been tweaked a little and makes for a more interesting game, but for the most part it still plays a great game of hockey. The visuals are as good as ever and allow for some fast, fluid matches while retaining a fair degree of realism, but you come to expect this from EA Sports nowadays. The sound is where this series impresses me constantly. The commentary is always top notch, but the NHL series has always had a fantastic atmosphere, with some of the best crowd chants around. If ever you needed an example of how to immerse a player in something using the power of sound, then this would be a very good case file to bring up.
Online is pretty much as you’d expect, with ranked and standard matches always to hand, as well as the league system set up for your favourite team and virtual pro. To be honest, NHL 10 is what we’ve come to expect as a whole. There are some updates there, but is it REALLY a huge leap up from last year? I can’t say, in my own opinion that it is. If you have the ’09 edition, I would have to think long and hard before ditching the old guard to keep up with the inductees of the current season because last year’s iteration still plays a mean and hard game. Just what they can add to further improve on the series is a mystery to me, but the next 12 months will be of great interest to see if there can be enough put in to make it stand out from it’s brethren or whether it will re-ignite the debate of giving the EA Sports collection a yearly cooling off period to allow more fresh material in.
If you treat the new addition as a game in its own right, it further builds on what is already a well respected franchise and brings everything together very well. The skill stick control system still works as well as ever and the experience as a whole is well worked. Be prepared to play this well into overtime.
VideogameUK verdict: 8/10 (7/10 if you already have NHL 09)
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