It is always interesting when the young up-and-comer manages to pass by the old standard, and that is exactly what happened with the NHL games this year. EA came out swinging with new controls and a focus on simulation in 07 that they greatly improved in 08, so 2K tried to make some big changes of their own. Unfortunately, the new controls in NHL 2K8 fall flat, and not much else has changed from last year. NHL 2K8 is still fun, but it isn’t the best hockey game out there anymore.
Quick Hits
- Title: NHL 2K8
- Platform:Xbox 360
- Publisher: 2K
- Developer: 2K
- ESRB Rating: “E” for Everyone
- Genre: NHL pro hockey
- Pros: Franchise mode; loads of stuff to do; fun gameplay
- Cons: New controls take some getting used to; most modes are untouched from last year; game feels like a step backwards overall
Features
One area where the 2K NHL games have always excelled is in the features and modes department and NHL 2K8 is no different. There is a ton of stuff to do here, and pretty much everything is worthwhile. Season, pond hockey, minirink, tournaments, and the minigames are all back mostly unchanged from last year. We would have liked more changes and improvements to these modes to, you know, justify the fresh $60 investment, but they are all still very fun and worth playing. Online play is solid and mostly lag free, but it seems to run a tad bit slower overall than offline play. The mode that has seen the most improvement is the Franchise mode. Pretty much any and every option you’d want as a player/manager/coach is here and there is enough here to keep hardcore hockey fans busy for months. A new player development system and enhanced and updated player contract negotiations are the highlights here, but they round out an already great mode.
Gameplay
2K
Where NHL 2K8 really stumbles, however, is in the gameplay. It is clear that 2K saw EA Canada catching up fast, so they tried to implement the same sort of new controls that NHL 07 and now NHL 08 use and, unfortunately, the result is a real step backwards rather than an improvement. The right analog stick now allows you side to side control of the puck on offense and the ability to poke check and swipe for the puck on defense. Shooting and passing have been mapped to the bumper buttons and you can modify your shot by holding the left trigger and then shooting. This setup works okay, but it is lightyears away from EA’s new controls in terms of intuitiveness overall satisfaction when everything goes right. It is also worth noting that while EA seems to have gone heavily to the simulation side of hockey, NHL 2K8 leans more towards the arcade-style than ever before. You have not one but two different speed bursts in this game, and the hitting has been turned way up along with the scoring. You can adjust pretty much every aspect of the game thanks to 2K’s great slider system, but at default settings this game only somewhat resembles the 2K hockey games that dominated the genre in years past. It is still a fun game of hockey, but it isn’t quite as good as it was last year and that is a big problem when the competition is taking such huge strides forward.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, NHL 2K8 is a nice looking game and easily the best graphical effort that the 2K series has seen yet. The players are very detailed and great looking and the animation has been enhanced to really make everything look very realistic.
The sound is also very good overall. Solid commentary and good sound out on the ice. What more could you want?
Bottom Line
2K
Overall, NHL 2K8 is a solid hockey game, but it falls short not only compared to this year’s competition but titles from its own series in years past. 2K tried to implement a new control scheme in order to keep up with EA and fell flat. Not only are the new controls not so hot, but most of the modes are unchanged from last year’s game, which makes NHL 2K8 a pretty poor value since you can get a better game in NHL 2K7 for a fraction of the cost of 2K8. NHL 2K8 is still a fun game of hockey, and offers one of the best franchise modes in any sports game, but it has to be considered a disappointment overall due to the lackluster new gameplay tweaks and lack of value. Give it a rental or play the demo to see if the changes are your cup of tea or not.
