EA Sports recently shipped us NHL 2010 to check out. When I received the game, I was wondering how they were going to top last years NHL 2009. Last year’s game was widely heralded as the most definitive NHL game ever made. I’m happy to report that EA has done it again, not just tweaking 2009’s mechanics but adding dozens of new gameplay elements that will make those familiar with last years game say things like, “Holy crap! This new feature is awesome!,” and, “Wow, I really like how they changed and improved... new fighting mode, puck control, checking control, player control, dozens of new features and modes, better online content, etc.”

Gameplay:

My experience with NHL 09 was mostly from a youth drop-in center that I help out at. The teens there are nuts about NHL 09. They kick my butt every week so despite getting owned all the time, I’ve played the old game enough to get a good feel for it.

When I popped in NHL 10, I opted for the “play now” one-off game mode and the first thing that stood out to me was the brief training session that will help the player to grasp the controls. These three minutes of training are useful for those new to the series who have never played an EA NHL title but also for the hardcore player who needs to learn a couple of the new control mechanics. What I liked best is that the tutorial was super brief but still extremely helpful.

What really stood out to me even before the training session was the myriad of game modes to choose from. Some of the modes include: a quick one off game, a completely new mode “Battle for the Cup” seven game Stanley Cup finale series, a playoff season mode, a full season of games mode, a “Be a Pro Mode” (you create a player or become an existing player and progress or digress by playing games from that point forward), a “Be a GM mode” (new feature where you take on the role of GM and manage your team for up to 25 seasons), and a full featured tournament mode (for example, world cup style games with setups like Team USA vs. Team Canada, etc).

Aside from the game modes, players are also able to use teams and players from a few different minor leagues that feed the NHL. The game also allows one to play with “classic teams” featuring superstar legends from the past. Various game modes feature trade and drafts allowing one to build a better team. There are realistic salary caps and trade deadlines involved too.

In NHL 10 you can customize pretty much everything about the game. Personally, I enjoy the game defaults, but for those of you who like to buck the system, you can basically make the game whatever you want it to be. You want more fighting, you can up the fighting meter. You want more goals, decrease the goalie skills. Want longer periods, up the minutes. Want to disable the rules (offsides, icing, etc), disable ‘em! There is an endless amount of ways you can customize your gaming experience.

To simplify the customizable experience, EA has created a new feature called “Game Styles”. Game Styles are slider presets that take the guess work out of customizing the game play. There are four Game Styles to choose from: casual, default, normal, and hardcore. I should mention that separate from the “Game Styles” is the ability to choose different levels of difficulty for the computer’s AI.

From my experimenting, the basic game play is fun regardless of how you customize it, but how you customize it will either give you a fun arcade experience or a more realistic hardcore experience.

One of the most highly anticipated new features of the game is the new “First Person Fighting” system. At first I was sceptical of the idea, but it is actually VERY fun! After the ref’s whistle blows you can skate around and start checking and pushing your opponents around. The game engine will wait for you to do this and won’t force the next faceoff/play. When you press “Y” in front of an opponent you will instigate a fight. I couldn’t figure out exactly what factors trigger a fight but I found that about 1 out of 3 times I could start a fight by doing this (I think the computer’s AI or your human opponent have some sway on whether or not the fight is a-go!). Once a fight starts you get a first person perspective of your opponent. Thrashing the RS stick forward will deal out punches on your opponent and you can pack some punch by bringing the stick back and then forward. Tapping LS allows you to block and toggling LS let’s you deak punches. There’s a “mortal combat” style energy meter for each player and once the meter hits zero, the loser goes down and the fight ends. The fights go pretty quick, about 10 seconds, which is realistic to an actual hockey fight. Beware because the enforcers pack a lot of punch. Who you fight with MATTERS.

Graphics:

It’s in the details. I immediately noticed the impressive graphics in NHL 10. I played with a few people who were very familiar with the 09 game and they kept saying, “Wow, the graphics are so much better in this version.” The team introductions before you play are very well done, and details such as re-creating each teams stadium is in the game too. So when you play as the Toronto Maple Leafs, you are playing in the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and it looks like that stadium. One other cool new feature is the “fan intensity”. Depending on how your team is playing, the fans will get more intense. When you play play-off games, the fans are automatically crazy intense! They even have those wavy sticks for hype-up and distraction. Of course, the stuff you’d expect to be in the game such as announcers calling the plays (they are creepily realistic), instant replays, three stars of the game, game stats, etc., are all in this game as well.

Longevity:

Although I didn’t get a ton of time playing the game online, there appears to be very solid online content for this game. There are a variety of online game modes. In some of these modes, you will play against a single opponent as you would if you were playing against a bud in your living room. In other modes, you can play 6 vs. 6 games. In unranked games you can play 6 on 6 as existing NHL players. In ranked games you play 6 on 6 with your “create a pro” character. The coolest online feature is that you can create a team with your friends and join leagues of up to thirty-two teams! The online system will allow you to see leader boards with your standing and your team’s standing literally allowing bragging rights over those not as good as you are. Again, this is just a couple of the online modes and features.

There's no doubt that there is enough online content here that should players even manage to get tired of single player mode (questionable), online play will keep EA fanatics coming back for months to come.

Overall:

I had reservations and fears about NHL 10. With NHL 09 being such a great game, I wondered how EA could possibly up the ante this year. Would NHL 10 be good enough and different enough to recommend to someone who already owned 09? Fortunately I can say that EA 10 is worth scrounging around for every last lucky penny in your dirty sock drawer (if you have to!). It’s good. It’s really good. Fans of the NHL games will not be disappointed and newcomers to the series will find one of the deepest, enjoyable, and most engaging hockey game EA has ever put out to date.