Ah yes, Canada’s favourite pastime, and what better virtual presentation of this than EA Sports’ NHL 08? As a Canadian, a fan of hockey and a gamer, I can’t help but wonder why I’ve avoided hockey video games as much as I could since playing EA’s NHL 2000 and having a little taste of ‘06. Now after playing this game to its fullest, I remember the reason for my boycott. Before I go any further into this review, I should first say that NHL 08 is an amazing game and has everything most fans of the EA series have come to love – realism, team management, intricate controls – but this is not what I enjoy in a hockey game. I enjoy ease of play, fast paced action, arcade style gameplay and big hits. In past EA games, all that I loved was present and I had the option to go the arcade or simulation way. In more recent games, they cut out the surrealism for more features the majority of their fans would enjoy. For the masses it makes sense and I would expect as much from any gaming company, it just disappoints me a little as a fan of old school hockey games.

As with all EA Sport titles, there are an excess of new features to enjoy. The following is a short and quick summary of the new aspects NHL 08 brings to the PS3. The biggest change to past titles is the new stick system; you basically control your feet with the left analog stick and your hockey stick with the right. This set up can lead to very cool dekes and maneuvers to get around opposing players. A new revamped goalie control system using a new perspective also gives players the ability to control their favourite goaltenders in ways they never could in the past. Using the new AI system you can even ‘train’ your other players to create custom plays. You can then practice these plays with your team and execute them near-flawlessly during games.

The graphics in NHL 08 are the best I’ve seen to date, absolutely stunning for a hockey game. From the realism and detail in players’ equipment and faces (you can even see the pimples on some AHL players) to the features in each available arena, this game brings realistic look to a whole new level. Blurring effects, reflections and all other camera tricks are present in this title, and it truly does make the whole realistic feel that much tighter. When looking at replays from certain angles, at times it actually feels like you’re watching an NHL game on TV! Since the NHL is switching their jerseys to RBK brand, they created a little interesting cross promotional idea in this game. When NHL 08 was released, all new team jerseys had yet to be inputted into the game so EA and RBK joined forces to inform players that by going to RBK’s web site, getting a code and entering that code into NHL 08, gamers could download the new jerseys off the net and play with them in game. I find this idea very interesting and it’s much better than blatant product placement, but at the same time, something feels eerie about enjoying a game by participating in advertisement schemes.

Speaking of promotion tools, EA again boasts a great soundtrack from mainstream artists endorsing their tunes, however the songs don’t feel like they would get players’ blood pumping – they’re just what are popular at the time. The audio commentary is as great as past year’s titles with realistic comments and a lot for them to say, not a lot of rehashing going on here. The fans and sounds from the ice itself are what do it for me though. Fans will react to home or away events and feel as though certain sections of the crowd might act differently depending on where the action is taking place. The grunts and skate sounds from the players themselves also sound truly fantastic and EA seems to do as much with what’s available as they physically can.

The gameplay is realistic to say the least, from player movements to fatigue and fan interaction this game feels like the real deal. To sweeten the pot however, EA has improved upon one of the biggest drawbacks to most games to date, the AI (Artificial Intelligence). In past EA NHL games, the AI has been acceptable at best, from simple maneuvers that trick the computers every time to teammates skating the wrong way, the brain of a computer controlled player has always been a little off. Not only has EA made their AI players as realistic as possible using real life plays and strategy but with this installment, the AI actually responds and adapts to your playing style and techniques. That’s one step closer to the Terminator future people! In the end, the AI will acclimatize to your favourite moves and if you think you can do the same maneuver over and over again to win each game, you’ll be sadly mistaken. One thing I was a little disappointed with was the fighting in this game. One of the best parts of any hockey game is the sheer testosterone of man fighting man, fist to fist, and along side that, fighting in game should be as entertaining as on ice. Unfortunately with only a couple of maneuvers in battle and robotic like movement, this was one of the worst fighting setups I have ever experienced in a hockey video game. Aside from the computer control and the lame fights, NHL 08 boasts a massive number of ways to play. You can go straight into a game with the quickplay mode, enter practice mode, shootout mode, Dynasty mode (including for the first time ever, AHL teams like the Manitoba Moose), world tournament mode, and my personal favourite, online mode. When playing online you can play a random player in a number of ways as well, quick ranked games, quick ranked shootouts, league mode, and team play where up to 6 online players compete 3 vs. 3. As well, there’s the My NHL 08 in which you have the option to create players with the fully customizable creation mode, everything from giving your player a unibrow to having them come from Mississauga. Going a little further into the customization process, you can even select your preferred brand of equipment with whatever type of curve for your stick or type of skate blade to make this virtual player as close (or as far) to your realistic self as you like. You can also create your own custom team with your favourite and custom players and compete in the leagues.

As with most other sports games, the replay value is endless, adding in all the extra features, creating your own experiences, dynasty mode and especially online play mode, this EA title can last for ages or until NHL 09 comes out. That being said, this game is quite impressive, and the most realistic hockey game I have ever experience, but being the arcade lover that I am, would rather play NHL 06 any day over this one. One thing I couldn’t help but notice was that there didn’t really seem to be a pump up intro video at the beginning of this NHL title, in fact, it seems there wasn’t an intro video at all, not that this type of thing would make or break a game, just saddened me a little to be pushed right into the menu screen with little emotion.

Graphics: 4.0 / 5.0
Gameplay 4.0 / 5.0
Sound 3.5 / 5.0
Replay value 5.0 / 5.0






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