After Santa brought me NHL 2K10 for the Playstation 3, I was a little weary the first time I loaded it up and wasn’t sure what to expect. After playing NHL 10 since its release the transition between the two was a bit odd. The controls are completely different and there is really no good way to configure them to be alike. The players feel a little stiff when moving around on the ice, turning once you gain the puck can be more challenging sometimes than scoring. The graphics are a little depressing compared to other sport games, except for the stadiums which are very similar to their real life counterparts. If you can find a way to get past all of these bumps, NHL 2K10 is a pretty fun game and 2K Sports added some very unique and innovated ways to help their game stand out against the monster EA.
For starters, the way the players act and interact on the ice really grabbed me, they felt more alive compared to NHL10. When setting up for a face-off you might see two wings nudging each other a little trying to get down into a better position while the center skates in a circle coming in to setup in place. The interaction between two players when a fight breaks out as they dump their sticks and fling off the gloves is something. The two fighters may go straight into it or they might skate around one another a few laps, sizing each other up before going in and grabbing the other jersey, putting one guy into a hold or just start wailing one another. The referees feel a little more alive as you get to watch them skate around, retrieve pucks and bring them to a face-off and announcing what the latest penalty was.
The sound track is decent, featuring artist such as Lupe Fiasco, 2nd Day Crush and Phoenix. The commentary provided by Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda was a treat. The information they give during a period, using some of the players nicknames at times and their banter back and forth helps to provide that “watching a game” feel that sport video games commentary try to do. In addition there is an intermission review that goes over the last period and stats of the players.
Speaking of intermissions, during one you have the option of playing the Zamboni Challenge mini-game between periods. The goal of the mini-game is to drive your Zamboni around the rink cleaning the ice. While this may sound easy, it’s not, or as a friend said once “It handles like a bathtub on wheels.” Turning can be a challenge if you’re not paying attention and don’t reduce your speed. It may feel like you’re not going that fast, but start turning and that big machine just slides on the ice.
Much like any sport game you have some of the standard game modes. Quick play, Season, Franchise, Shoot-Out, Playoff mode and online play. NHL 2K10 also has a few extras like pond hockey and mini-rink. Online mode offers a quick match-up, the 2K Sports league where players create a team and compete with others, against others. Players can also start their own season or tournament modes for people to join. Unfortunately the player I’m paired up against in a tournament I joined has not been online yet so I can’t say for sure how well the online play is.
Another way NHL 2K10 attempts to stand out is with the addition of the two Winter Classic stadiums from the previous two years. I’ve checked their forums and didn’t see any sign of Fenway Park coming to us in a patch, so that is a tad depressing. The game was only last week so there could still be the chance they will but I wouldn’t get hopes up until next year. Speaking of the rinks, they feel a bit smaller compared to NHL 10. This is probably because where NHL 10 reaches for authenticity and realism, NHL 2K10 is geared more toward fast paced hockey and goal scoring. My one biggest complaint about NHL 2K10 is the shoot button. I have not for the life of me found a way to distinguish between a slap shot and a wrist shot, which has been the cause of plenty missed goals and frustration toward the game.
I really liked the camera and the view points used at different moments. For the face-offs the camera sits off to the side at an angle allowing a good view of the referee as he prepares to drop the puck. For fights the camera is zoomed in and at level with the players giving you a great view as each player exchanges hits back and forth. The after game reviews and highlights really impressed me with the amount of data the game keeps track of during a match. When announcing the games 3 Stars for the night it does a good job of showing what made each one a star. From what I can tell, the Pressbook has no major use other than showing some really nice still pictures of the players during the match so even though it has no real use, just one of those “Well that’s neat” features. Then you can select and see signature highlights for any player that played during the match, this could be just from a good check or goal a player made to a good number of saves the Goalie had over the game.
Hockey may not be for everyone, for those of you that do enjoy it, if you have the chance play or rent NHL 2K10 do so. If you’re looking for some fast paced hockey where scoring goals and screen shaking checks are what you want, this could be the game for you. I liked this game and enjoyed it, but the stiff control of the players when moving around on the ice and not being able to control a slap shot vs wrist shot really hold me back from replacing NHL 10 by EA. But that doesn’t stop me from tossing it in when a buddy comes over to show the bone shattering checks I did as I knocked a player over the wall and into the benches or enjoy playing an outside game at Wrigley Field.
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Hmm… it seems that a problem with shooting should be a much bigger issue. I’d be pretty upset if my baseball game had difficulty swinging, or my football game with passing, all pretty major parts of the sport. I really think that’s the main reason why NHL10 continued it’s dominance this year.