NHL 08

Earlier this year, Will Ferrell and Jon Heder showed us the magic that develops when two men join together on the ice rink. Every September the National Hockey League demonstrates the beauty and finesse that is formed when 12 men enter the rink together. NHL 08, the season update to EA's long-running hockey series, is vying for that magic and beauty, trying to capture the essence of the greatest sport on ice on a console – PlayStation 2 – that's no longer in its prime.

This version doesn't look all that different from the last, but those behind the controller won't be able to escape the adjustment: last year's Skill Stick is back. And this time you get the full control of the next-gen versions. Last year's analog passing mechanics are out and will not be missed. It was a good system, but passing cannot compare to the depth and drama of shooting with the right stick, a feature that doesn't turn NHL 08 into a new product but makes for a much more intense experience.

Four Score(s) and One Year Ago...

In the past, players fired off the puck by pressing a button. One-timers were as easy as taking a Dual-Shock 2 from a baby. Pass, shoot, score.

For an arcade hockey game like NHL Hitz, that worked well. It was deemed acceptable in the simulation world only because it was fun, and at the time gamers weren't demanding something better. EA's solution trims the one-timer simplicity but gives players the potential to perform more accurate shots. Passing has been delegated to the X button (as it was a couple years back), but shooting – whether it's a light hit or a slapshot – is tied to the right stick. Push forward at various speeds for light shots; pull back and push forward for a slapshot.

The changes don't end there. In recent years hockey games have adopted a locked-on style of shooting. You could hit the puck from any location and potentially score just by pressing a button. Once again, this had its place in the arcade world but never should have been a part of a "realistic" simulator.

NHL 08's adjustment means that you must now pay attention to where you're shooting. If the opposing goal is at the top of the screen and you're a few feet left of the net, you can't merely push the stick forward. Doing that will cause the puck to shoot straight up. But if you push the stick more toward the net (a little to the right in this case), the puck will be shot in a more precise direction. With practice and a couple hours of patience, you'll eventually be surrounded by multi-point games.

Mad Skills

NHL 08's player-guided shooting allows for excellent scores that are just inches past the goaltender. You have more room in locating that golden spot where the puck can find its way to the net unscathed. When a goalie is doing his job, there won’t be many opportunities for an easy shot. Weaving, faking, and fast maneuvers play an important role in the game, as does the placement of the puck in relation to your teammates. Something as little as the edge of a skate will prevent the puck from reaching its destination, eliminating the flood of one-timers that typically overflow hockey games.

The AI isn’t overly standout except for the times when players throw themselves on the ice to prevent a score. They’ll also end up on the ice from trips and other mishaps. The more players clustered together in a particular area, the less likely you are to make a successful pass. Shooting is slightly easier in this respect – I’ve scored a fair amount of goals when three or four men were crowding the net. But it’s rare that a pass could make it through a group of three men, and wasn’t that much easier to get past one or two.

That’s why puck placement is such a challenge. You can’t directly alter your teammates’ movements on-the-fly without switching player controls, and if you have the puck, that’s an automatic pass. There are many times when you’ll face the same problem real hockey players deal with: a great shot from across the ice and no one is in the right place to receive the pass.

Animation Exaggeration

Up close or far away, NHL 08's animations are an amicable conglomerate of quality artwork. Shots are fluid and puck movement is realistic (not too many strange occurrences*). Overall, however, the animations are more distracting than rewarding. There are only a handful of cheers that follow each score, and none of them are particularly characteristic of any single hockey star. One of the animations shows the player angrily gesture toward the screen, as if to say, "Come 'on, I rock! You suck!"

Not only is that the complete opposite of the way most respectable hockey players act on the ice, it is also an annoyance due to the frequency that the animation has to be viewed. On average, you'll see it once every multi-point game.

*I was behind my own net and passed the puck just as the whistle blew. Instead of moving toward my teammate, who wouldn’t have been able to grab the puck now that the period was over, the puck flew toward my goalie, ricocheted off his back and bounced into our net.

Dynasty Amnesty

The Skill Stick update is a great addition to the series. It’s not overwhelmingly deep but is pretty accurate. Now that EA has shown us a better way to play, the series can never go back to the less precise, button-based system of yore.

However, if you played NHL 06 and/or NHL 07, then you’ve already played most of what NHL 08 has to offer. The Dynasty Mode has only been revised to meet the needs of the new season – the gist remains unchanged. Pick a team, earn or lose manager trust by winning or losing, upgrade team stats, play or simulate games, and perform other season-based tasks. The inclusion of AHL teams might sound great on paper but is physically no different from any other aesthetic change. If you’re a casual hockey fan, or someone who only cares about the NHL, this won’t entice additional play time.

Considering how many more PS2 units have been sold than the number of hockey games, you can bet that there are gamers who have not touched the NHL series in a long time, if ever at all. If that person is you, then make NHL 08 your next purchase. For first-timers, there is no better PS2 hockey game to get. However, if you’ve been with the series for a while, it’s time to upgrade to the next-gen versions, whose updates go beyond an adjusted Skill Stick.

Gameplay: 7.1
By being able to shoot the puck almost anywhere they want, players will feel empowered – and enthralled – every time they score. It really does make the game more exhilarating, and as a result, more addictive than if this game had used NHL 07's control scheme. But it’s still (essentially) last year’s game, causing it to lose the recommended status that will likely be held by its next-gen counterparts.

Graphics: 6.8
Most of the animations look really good. But some are out of character, and others have players perform a move – the exact same move – in unison, taking us back to the days of Acclaim’s All-Star baseball series, where every player walked the exact same way at the exact same time.

Sound: 6.9
An almost-decent collection of rock tunes from bands you’ve likely never heard of or have only heard of in passing. Not surprisingly, the sound effects aren’t that different from NHL 07.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
The AI isn’t overly dynamic, but you’ll be challenged if you crank the difficulty setting. It also helps to put the game on auto-pilot (which occurs when you choose not to select a side to play on), because your AI teammates won’t usually be able to keep opposing forces from scoring. When you’re down by three and entering the last quarter, take control of the game and see if you can get ahead.

Concept: 6.8
Last year’s next-gen Skill Stick brought down to an older generation.

Multiplayer: 7.1
Nothing out of the ordinary – just another NHL game of enjoyable multiplayer.

Overall: 7.0
While the Skill Stick is the best addition to a PS2 hockey game in recent memory, it doesn't move mountains. NHL 08 is a slightly revamped version of NHL 07. At $30, a slight revamp is a low price for those who absolutely must own each and every sports update. But for most gamers, they’re better off with a rental – or the next generation.