Get your Skates on and hit the ice with EA’s latest version of its NHL franchise.

Now a lot of people don’t like EA for the simple fact that they churn out the same games year after year with very little difference, apart from the title and a few line-up changes.
But this year NHL 08 has some big changes. This is the second version of the NHL series to hit the PS3.

The new style of game play means that you can control your speed better using just the left stick. Whether you’re bursting towards goal or trying to hold up the puck it makes it easier to have total control over your players, this is better than it sounds. If you want a sudden boost in speed you can just push the analog stick fully up and if you want to almost glide to a stop just ease off and watch your player slow down. 

This system also helps when charging towards goal, you can make sudden and sharp turns to try and cut through you opponents defence and you can also perform quick and easy cross over manoeuvres, a thing that many people had complained about from previous versions of the game 

Your right thumb stick now controls your skills / actions. You can use it to move into space making passing of defenders easier. This also makes scoring slightly easier in my opinion, another thing that people tend to complain about from previous versions of the game. You can also hold down a button and enter “ Skill Stick Movement “ where you can independently control where your skates and stick are going using the analog sticks. This isn’t as easy as it sounds and if you mess it up you end up loosing the puck.  If you do it right you can almost guarantee getting pasted a defender.

Now playing the game is a joy in itself. EA have made a game where you are almost in a real hockey game. The computer controlled AI teams are now much better at adapting to your style of play and much harder to beat. If you are breaking on the offence they will try to stop people coming up the wing by cutting off your passing options. If you make a mistake at the opposition’s goal they will punish you with a quick break and if you leave little in the way of defence, more than likely a goal.

The way the AI play is like nothing seen in an NHL game before, in NHL 07 after a few games you pretty much knew what the AI were going to do. They almost followed a set few moves dependent on the situation. But in this version they seem to know what your doing and have 1000’s of ways of beating you down and crushing your attack. If you stick to one strategy and one style of play the AI will adapt and take you down easily, and if the don’t have the best players on the ice they will either sub or play the best with the me they have and try to at least stop you scoring and put up a better offence. 

This can sometime be annoying if you have picked out one of the best teams and your opposition is well… rubbish they still seem to adjust to your standard which can sometimes seem slightly unrealistic.

If you’re having trouble beating the AI or getting on top of them during a game, each period will end giving you a list of ways to improve your game and hints on how to step it up. Also listen to the commentary, sometime they almost let you know what the AI is going to do next.  You can also create your own plays in an impressive new feature which lets you create a play that can be implemented simply when the players are in there correct positions on the ice.

Although the computer AI has improved beyond belief it doesn’t always carry over to your AI controlled team mates.  Sometimes if the puck in loose near by they will just wait until you take control to move towards it, they don’t always push forward when your on the attack, same with pushing back when your going for offence. They can sometimes just stand in front of your goal blocking the goalies view or they will stand in front of the opposition’s goal whilst you’re trying to score.  These are only minor issues and don’t happen all the time. It just seems annoying when they have improved the computer AI so well, you would have thought it could have carried over to your team.

EA has included just about every Hockey team from the amateur leagues as well so for people who are big into Ice Hockey they can  look through thousands of potential stars of the future and sign them for there team. Think champ manager but with ice hockey for those people who have no idea what I am talking about.

They have also added some new modes including the ability to play a game using only the goalie which I must add is almost impossible to control, you can also have 3 vs 3 matches and they have also added more to the create a player mode making more options and realism available.

Graphics  9 /10

The game itself looks impressive, smooth running and the crowd animation has some impressive detail. The only thing that lets it down is the frame rate. Now I read about this before I played the game and didn’t think it would make much difference but you can tell. I think it was Playstation Magazine Editor Greg Miller who said “ It looks like playing Hockey under a strobe light “and this really sets the game apart from the 30 version. 

Presentation  8 / 10

The game now almost feels like your in the midst of a live TV hockey experience, the new feature are certainly and improvement and lots of die hard hockey fans will love the thousands of armature players included in this years roster.

Sound  8 / 10

The sounds of the play on the ice are impressive and the crowd now actually reacts to what is happening on the ice. Also the commentary seems to almost relate to the play as well making a big improvement on last year.

Gameplay  9 /10

The gameplay is some of the best in an NHL game, the improved AI and overall control system makes for a great game which people will keep coming back to for a long time. Or at least until NHL 09.

Overall = 34 / 40 = 85 %