Review – NHL 10 (PS3, X360)

Last year was a banner year for EA Sports’ NHL franchise, with NHL 09 becoming one of the most celebrated sports titles ever produced. The addition of revolutionary new modes of play, such as the Be a Pro mode, as well as the evolution of the franchise’s signature Skill Stick control scheme, made NHL 09 the ultimate hockey experience in the eyes of many hockey fans. Now, with over two-hundred gameplay refinements and enhancements, EA Sports is looking looking for repeat success with their release of NHL 10. Are the new additions and gameplay refinements enough to surpass their previous effort? They are.

NHL 10 features the much the same pick-up-and-play gameplay that many have come to associate with the series, with the addition of some new mechanics to increase the level of realism. One of the most notable additions is the Post-Whistle Action, which allows players to engage in scrums and extracurricular activity after a stoppage of play. Has a sniper on the opposing team made too much of an impression this period? Wash his face with your glove after the whistle to send him a message. Want to get a rise out of the opposing team? Take a shot on net after an Offsides call. The Post-Whistle Action rarely makes an impact on the game, but can sometimes result in a roughing penalty or a fight, which can give a team some unexpected momentum. And despite being a little unnecessary, it does add realism to the game, and most importantly, it’s pretty damn fun.

In another attempt to inject some realism into NHL 10’s gameplay, EA Sports implemented the all new Battle on the Boards mechanic. With the press of a button, players can now pin another player to the boards. Once a player is pinned, the two combatants will battle for control of the puck, while AI team mates will wait nearby for the puck to be kicked free. It’s a very simple addition to the game, but one that results in a significant impact on gameplay. When playing NHL 10 on the more demanding game difficulties, dump-and-chase and forechecking strategies become a necessity. Much like in the real life sport, pinning a defenseman in the corner after a dump-in and kicking the puck out to free team mate can lead to some exciting opportunities, and being able to execute such a strategy on a whim feels fantastic.

Do you know what else feels fantastic? Punching people in the face. And it has never been more engaging in a hockey game than it is in NHL 10. The new fighting mini-game puts you directly in the skates of your player, providing a first-person perspective on the skirmish. Punches are thrown by flicking the right analog stick in the direction of your opponent’s head. If your opponent is dodging to the left, flick the analog stick toward the ten o’clock position, and if he’s dodging to the right, flick to the two o’clock position. Furthermore, a power punch can be thrown by pulling back on the stick before flicking, similar to taking a slap shot when controlling the puck. Like the Post-Whistle Action, such attention to the in-game fighting is unnecessary but incredibly fun regardless. I just wish there was a way to jersey your opponent. Perhaps next year!

Other gameplay refinements include Precision Passing, which gives players complete control over the speed and direction of their passes, enabling players to create plays by banking passes off the boards or passing ahead of a team mate instead of passing tape to tape. Offensive-minded players can also take advantage of the ability to push the puck ahead while skating up the ice, or protecting the puck while leaning into an over-bearing defenseman. Impressively, with all of the aforementioned additions, the gameplay still remains as accessible and as approachable as ever. I engaged in a match with my brother-in-law over Thanksgiving weekend and despite not being an experienced gamer, he beat me with a score of 3-2 in the dying seconds of overtime. I mostly attribute this to my choice of teams (the Toronto Maple Leafs), but the efforts made by EA Sports to make the game intuitive and simple to play certainly played a part in my heart-breaking loss.

EA Sports also added some exciting new gameplay modes, most notable of which is the Be a GM mode. As the title of the mode implies, players assume the role of a General Manager of a hockey team of their choice in Be a GM mode. As an acting General Manager, players must oversee all aspects of their team, including roster management, trading, contract negotiations, scouting, drafting, staff management and more. Be a GM also provides goals for players to try to achieve, earning them experience points to spend on upgrading various aspects of their franchise. Trading and contract negotiations are handled in a balanced and satisfying manner, making it more difficult to cheat the system than it is in some other hockey games, and with a fully active and developing AHL farm team, top prospects will actually grow to earn NHL ice time. Like Be a Pro mode before it, Be a GM mode adds a significant role-playing game element to EA Sports’ NHL franchise, and which results in a very engrossing experience overall.

Battle for the Cup, the other new gameplay mode found in NHL 10, isn’t nearly as deep, but offers an exciting experience in its own right. Battle for the Cup lets players select two teams to go head-to-head in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals series. The mode can be played against an AI opponent or with another local player, co-operatively or competitively. What makes Battle for the Cup so fun is the additional information used to bring each series to life, like the developing stories about the performance of specific players, line match-ups, and injuries that are shown before each game, and the running commentary about the series from the real-time commentators, Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. A Battle for the Cup series may not carry the weight of a full season or franchise behind it, but it still does a great job of conveying all the drama and emotion associated with the post-season.

Unfortunately, with all the attention given to the new modes and gameplay refinements in NHL 10, it seems that the graphics and visual presentation were overlooked. The interface and menus are sleek and well-designed, but the in-game graphics are lacklustre and uninspired. The player models are blocky and somewhat generic looking, and while some players do resemble their real-life counterparts, the resemblance could hardly be called realistic. The player animations could also use a little work, as players rarely transition as smoothly as they could between actions. Furthermore, the framerate drops occasionally during goal celebrations and other cutscenes, and during the odd on-ice play when the action gets too hectic. Overall, NHL 10 is a good looking game, as good as NHL 09 before it, but is certainly over-shadowed by other recent sports titles.

With the exception of the soundtrack, the audio in NHL 10 seems similarly ignored. As mentioned above, the commentators featured in NHL 10 are none other than Gary Thorne and Bill Clement, the same pairing used since NHL 08. For those that have been faithful to the franchise since then, you’ll be hearing a lot of familiar lines, but for those that haven’t, you’re in for a treat. The play-by-play and colour commentary in the game sounds more natural than most, and benefits from an expansive database of dialogue. Colour commentary will provide insight on everything from star player, team, and arena histories to information about season, series, and game statistics, and the play-by-play is often accurate and rarely repeats. Additionally, the audience can be quite lively, with player and team-specific chants that are heard loud and clear, and benefit from small touches, such as getting louder during the playoffs or for the last minute of a sure win. However, none of it is really new. While the audio design is solid throughout the entire experience, it will likely seem just as stale and familiar as the visuals to those that spent a significant amount of time with NHL 09.

So is NHL 10 a worthy successor? Most definitely. While the recycled audio and visual offerings are a little disappointing, the enhancements made to the gameplay and the new game modes more than make up for it. NHL 10 features enough gameplay to keep hardcore enthusiasts involved for years to come, and with the intuitive controls, make even the most casual and sporadic players feel like masters of the sport. Now if only EA Sports could find a way to make the Toronto Maple Leafs reflect their performance in my Be a GM franchise. NHL 11 perhaps?