PlayStation 3
Released in 2007 by EA Sports
Grade: B
The first EA hockey game on PS3 comes with snappy action and smooth control. The graphics don’t hold up and there are minor gameplay issues, but it’s a great start.
Where it falls in the series
It’s the first of nine editions on PS3. Xbox 360 started off the generation a year ahead with NHL 07. To see the greatness that eventually came from the series, check out NHL Legacy Edition.
Praises and gripes
The first thing I noticed is that the framerate doesn’t keep up. Players have a ghost-like quality and the puck can be hard to track. My eyes adjusted, but it’s an annoyance.
The control feels natural, using the analog stick for shooting, deking, and body checks. Passes are done with R2 and they move quickly. I like how the game is smart enough to bank the puck off the boards when the situation calls for it.
The game is fast, and skaters have superhuman ability when stopping and starting. It’s almost too easy, lacking the amount of sliding in real hockey.
Teams set up in the offensive zone easily, which gets repetitive. You often move through the neutral zone with no problem. It has a basketball-like flow, with teams trading barrages of half-court offense. This seems like an intentional decision, but you miss out on the struggle to move up ice.
The rest of the action is high-intensity. It’s easy to string together passes and fire shots at the net. Shots bang off the posts with absurd frequency. The CPU opponent is tenacious. Even on the default “pro” setting, they deke and score with a lot of skill.
There’s room for improvement to get the series closer to a polished, well-rounded sim, but this is fun in a vacuum and easily tops 2K’s effort from the same year, NHL 2K8.