- Publisher: 2K Sports
- Developer: Visual Concepts
- ESRB Rating: “E” for Everyone
- Genre: Hockey
- Pros: Great for casual fans; high scoring; good Achievements; coverboy Ovechkin
- Cons: So-so graphics & sound; feature set hasn’t changed much
NHL 2K10 has all the features and modes we’ve come to expect from the series. Quick play, season, dynasty, playoffs, International teams – it is all here. Likewise, the pond hockey and mini rink modes are back and, like I said last year, as boring and unnecessary as ever. One nifty feature I quite like is that you can play the Winter Classic New Years Day game outdoors at Wrigley Field, which is pretty cool. Overall, though, the feature set hasn’t changed much from last year. Not a complaint, just something to think about.
Multiplayer has been given some much-need love. Local play is always great, but online has been beefed up. Essentially, when you start the game you’re already in “online mode”. With the press of a button at the matchup screen you can send out friend invites or jump right into a ranked online match. Or, of course, you can do nothing and just play the A.I. The way it is hard baked into every aspect of the game makes multiplayer quick and easy to get into whether you want a quick game or a full league.
Another aspect of the game that has definitely changed for the better is the menu system. We weren’t fans of 2K’s menu system the last few years. The overlapping menus and unintuitive menu navigation controls were awful. This year, the menu is a lot more straightforward and easy to use.
Gameplay
In spite of these things, the game always manages to be fun, which is really the most important part. Is it as satisfying as a more sim-based game can be? No. But if you have a group of friends around and want a fun, easy game to play, NHL 2K10 is going to be a party favorite.
Graphics & Sound
Graphically, NHL 2K10 is an improvement over previous games in the series, but still lags behind other hockey titles. Everything definitely looks better – player models and faces in particular are a vast improvement – but the animation, ice, and arenas could use a little more work.The sound’s only real claim to fame is that it doesn’t feature a punk/metal/rock soundtrack like so many other sports games do. The on-ice sound effects are fine, but the commentary is repetitive and kind of obnoxious.
Bottom Line
