EA Sports recently came out of their slump with 3 great hockey games. First came NHL 07, where they introduced the revolutionary skill stick that got people talking. Then NHL 08, winner of numerous sports of the year awards, and yet another great addition to the EA's NHL franchise. Finally, the floodgates were opened and NHL 09 was released to the world. After 2 years of solid hockey games, NHL 09 has managed to top them all and give it's fans the best hockey game of the decade.
The Good:
The good? Well, thats an understatement. NHL 09 completely revolutionized hockey games with the addition of new game modes, and new online features. We'll start things off with the offline game modes. The new addition this year is the all new "Be a pro mode". I'm sure many of you know what this is already, so I won't explain it for the next 8 paragrahs. Instead, I'll tell you why this is a great feature in NHL 09. First, you start out by making your player. This is the first thing that happens when you put the NHL 09 CD in your 360. Then, you go to be a pro mode and pick your team. Once you're done with that, you go to the Be a pro mode main menu where the Coach and the GM tell you what the expect of you. Remember, you can be any position, whether its Goalie (I chose that), Center, Right Wing, or a Defenceman. After a few games, you will gain experience points which you can use to help upgrade your characters stats. After a few weeks (or years) you will finally get called up to the NHL. You gain hockey cards along the way as you climb up the ladder to legendary status.
Also, NHL 09 provides a Dynasty mode, you guys obviously know what this is. This year the mode is pretty much exactly the same as previous years, but its still fun. You can play up to 25 seasons, but the question is...will you win the Stanley Cup? Ok, lame promo...whatever. The tournament mode is also available if you want to play some classic world cup hockey. Its a solid mode that will keep you busy for some time
The all new custom tracks option is icing on an already very tasty cake, its a useful feature that you can utilize if you get sick of the same old songs over and over again. Also, the player models are superb in this game. Martin Brodeur looks like Marty, and pretty much all the players look like their real life counter parts.
As far as online is concerned, well, only one word can describe it....AMAZING. From the OTP games, to ranked matches, to shootouts, and the grandaddy of them all, the EASHL. NHL 09 online gives you many online features for you to enjoy, it truely is a hockey fan's dream. I am on an EASHL team right now we're called the "Victorious Secrets", and we are division 1 ranked 35th in the world. I play in net, and well...I pretty much stop everything
On a serious note, the EASHL is awesome, I love seeing my player skate out on the ice and I get a good feeling like that really is me out there. Unfortunately, I will never be able to play hockey in real life, but at least with the EASHL I can get a taste of how it feels to play my favorite sport in the world.
Goalie Mode is improved this year, I enjoy it even more than last year's offering and it is even more fun than NHL 08.
The Bad:
While the player models in NHL 09 are superb, the overall graphics are nothing to jump up and down about. When you sit on the bench in be a pro mode the graphics just look horrible. Everything looks very choppy, and the animations look weird. When you're actually playing it looks better obviously, but not by much. The ice looks very plain, and the crowd/lights/arena looks plain as well. I feel like they didn't put much effort in to try and make the game look better than last year. Sure, the player models are much better, but thats about it. Its 2008, the game is on the PS3 and the Xbox 360, we all know they can pull out better graphics than this.
The create a team and create a player leaves something to be desired. There aren't many options for both modes, and it just makes me feel like they could have added more.
The actual gameplay doesn't have many problems. There are a few glitches and bugs here and there, but thats it.
Overall: NHL 09 is the best hockey game of the decade. It offers an awesome online mode, an all new be a pro mode, and it will keep you busy for hours on end. It is addicting, and it is a game that every hockey fan should pick up.
Rating: 9.0
