NHL 08 (Xbox 360) Review
Posted by Rod Oracheski on 09.17.2007
Prime time or penalty box - what's the verdict for EA's new offering?
After last year's revamp of EA's NHL series was both a critical and financial success, the pressure should have been off this year's iteration, right?
Dead wrong. If anything, there was more pressure on Burnaby's EA Canada development house to fix the problems, improve the depth and generally just smooth out the rough edges from the series reboot. To their credit, the development team didn't take this year's iteration lightly, and NHL 08 sees a slew of improvements ranging from minor tweaks to great new additions.
Gameplay
Last year's biggest change was the addition of the right-stick controls for deking and shooting. For those unaware of the new control scheme, it focuses heavily on the two analog sticks on the 360 controller. The left stick controls the body, the right controls the hockey stick. Sound confusing? It is, for a while, but then it gets oh so sweet...
The biggest new tweak to the control scheme, the 1-on-1 deke, seems a bit too much to handle at first as well, but the payoff is really worth braving that learning curve.
The new deke mechanic is what's referred to as a "loose puck deke" by EA, as apt a description as you'll find. Using the Left Bumper and both control sticks, you can pull off some of the most imaginative deke maneuvers this side of Sidney Crosby's dreams. Tapping the bumper releases the puck from your stick, freeing you up to move around the defenseman while the puck carries on whatever path you left it on. The puck is 'live' at that point in that if it hits a stick or skate, it'll deflect off its path.
So is the 1-on-1 deke just a way to cough up the puck? Actually that's exactly what it is, at least at first. Until you get some practice in, using the bumper is just a great way to let the other team play with the puck for a while. Once you get past that curve though, past the point where the concept 'clicks' and you start to master the controls, it becomes a highlight reel waiting to happen, as the video to the right shows.
In addition to the dekes shown in the videos, it's possible to pull off a recreation of Forsberg's infamous backhand tap-in. The first time you get a breakaway and fake forehand, then move the puck backhand and tap the bumper to release it for the goal, the feeling is undescribable. It's one of those "OH MY GOD, DID YOU SEE THAT!" moments in games that stick with you, and you'll save that replay to show your friends - guaranteed.
While the new mechanic is pretty amazing, once you get past that initially awkward stage, it's not the only changes EA Canada made in the gameplay, and possibly not the most influential either.
Though you shoot and deke repeatedly through a game, the most important part of the game itself is the skating - and that's been completely redone from the ground up. No longer can players stop and start on a dime, or cut effortless 360's all day long at full speed - there's this 'physics' thing to contend with. They'll sidestep to coast along slowly, do some initial crossovers to move the puck along the blue line, and you'll notice that they lean realistically when cutting a 360, or forcing their way past a defender.
All the gushing aside, there are also a slew of oddities to be found in the new systems, ranging from the funny to the frustrating.
On the lighter side of the spectrum, there are some strange animation transitions that crop up from time to time, including one where the player's arms and legs will go into the classic "Poser pose" while his stick suspends itself parallel to the ice, between his legs. The effect only lasts for a few frames of animation, but it's definitely something you'll notice and watch again in replay.
There are also some odd visual bugs, like having the net targets, the ones you normally only see in the training mode, hanging in the nets for an actual game. I've also had an overlay glitch that left a black bar about 1/5 of the way up the screen, right in the middle, for an entire game.
More serious are the problems with puck physics. I had one play that hit the Twilight Zone when the puck ricocheted downwards off a stick and hit the ice. It 'stuck' to the ice plane, sliding along instead of bouncing back up, until it was contacted again. At that point the puck flew off into the crowd to bring the play to a halt.
The goaltenders get some love this year as well, with the 'behind-the-netminder' control view. You can snag pucks with the glove, deflect with the blocker and stack the pads, but there's no indicator of where the incoming shot's heading and the viewpoint makes it occasionally very hard to judge, so success as a goaltender won't be easily achieved.
Even the much-hyped AI has some real issues. Though the developers made the AI a priority, there are still frequent breakdowns that impact the gameplay. On a faceoff, for example, players on both side of the puck will often remain locked into position at the faceoff dot instead of moving to where they should - or moving at all. They still have some trouble with going offsides as well, though to a far lesser degree than in past years.
Disappointingly, though the 'learning AI' was a much-hyped feature, it doesn't seem to really make much difference. If you spend the first period doing nothing but hammering cross-ice onetimers from the point, the intermission screen will say they're adjusting by moving to cut off those passes. Only you can continue to hammer those cross-ice onetimers all game long, if you like, and they never actually move to cut off the passing lanes.
The worst AI feature of all is catch-up AI, which NHL 08 seems to have in full effect. Entering the third period with a lead is the kiss of death for your goaltender's GAA, as he'll suddenly develop a puck allergy. Numerous times I've taken a one- or two-goal lead into the final 10 minutes of play, only to have the game devolve into a frantic "must score the last goal to win" frenzy as the computer scores weak goal after weak goal. The absolute worst instance of this saw Miikka Kiprusoff let in two from beyond the blue line - just a terrible way to make the game "competitive" at the end.
[I actually came back to the computer to add in just how much I absolutely despise catch-up AI, but, to be clear, this isn't just about NHL 08.
I can't stand it in any of the sports games I play, whether it's NASCAR, golf, basketball, baseball, rugby or whatever the hell other games they're pumping out. It has absolutely no place in games these days if it's just going to be this ridiculous "I WIN" button for the computer where you can't knock them down or take the puck away, and everything shot in the general vicinity of the net is going in.
If you want to make a comeback compelling - make the computer play harder to earn it. Make them play with some desperation in the last minutes, rolling their best lines and trying plays that they normally would never run - anything, anything but making a fourth-line sled better than my best player. It's ridiculous, it's insulting, and it's just not fun.
And that's the point of the catch-up AI, isn't it? Keeping the game close and making it fun? Newsflash - when you know that the computer is going to start scoring goals and there's not a damn thing you can do about it, that's not fun, that's frustrating.
If you're going to put catch-up AI in a game, at the very least give us the option to turn it the hell off. If you can't make the game exciting any other way, then there probably wasn't much to the game to begin with.]
On the feature side of things, the game has Dynasty mode, EA Sports World Tournament, Shootout and Practice - a new mode that will allow you to hone your gameplay before hitting the online circuit. The other three modes are fairly typical, though I'm still a bit disappointed that there's no 'Season' mode at all, or options for multiple players in Dynasty. Take a look at the competition's offering, NHL 2K8, which has four-user franchise mode and 30-player season mode.
The Dynasty mode is also pretty light in terms of what you can actually do away from the rink, although the new negotiation mechanic, where you go through a back-and-forth with the player's agent, is a nice touch. The ability to play through the season as your AHL affiliate is also interesting, if not as fun in practice as in theory. Hopefully next year will bring a fuller experience on that front.
In addition to Create a Player and Create a Team, there's also the all-new, all-awesome Create a Play feature that allows you to create whatever wild setup you want. Want four guys to crash the front of the net when the defenseman skates the puck to the middle of the blue line? You can do that. Want to park good shooters on either side of the crease and make goaltenders 'onetimer crazy' all game long? You can do that. The mode takes some time to get used to, but it will entertain the hardcore for hours as they try to create that ONE PLAY that's the most money of them all.
The game features online play, and even online leagues, though the experience is a bit underwhelming at the moment. EA typically takes a few weeks to ramp up their online support, so hopefully the dropped connections and lag spikes will abate with time.
Graphics
Though last year's game looked exceptional, NHL 08 raises the bar just that little bit more. The depth of field effect is better utilized this time around, which helps with the overall look of the game considerably. There are more players who look just like their real-life counterparts than in last year's version, though they still don't have everyone quite right.
The animations are a bit better than last year's version, and there are a multitude of small details you'll notice in passing - players removing their helmets during the break, pushing off with a single leg to glide slowly, doing crossovers out of the corners, or losing their balance near the net and reaching out to grab the crossbar. While small things, these add quite a bit to the overall atmosphere of the game.
Frameratewise, if that's even a word, the game runs at a pretty solid 60 frames per second on the 360, though it dips occasionally. The PS3 version, though it looks more or less identical to the 360 version, runs at 30 frames per second, with the occasional dip as well.
Sound
Gary Thorne and Bill Clement provide the commentary once more, but their work - while excellent once again - takes a back seat to the great work done on the rest of the audio package. There's great on-ice chatter and equally nice ambient noise from the arena itself. From the sound of a 95 mph slapshot to the crash of bodies into boards, it's a game that benefits quite a bit more from surround sound than I expected.
Lasting Appeal
With a 15-year Dynasty mode, the ability to create your own player, team and plays, and a promising - if not yet delivered upon online mode, NHL 08 will keep you going at least until next year's version hits the ice. If you're a real hardcore hockey fan, the create a play mode will be your new 'must have' mode for future games and will eat away a good portion of your holidays.
Fun Factor
Though I find the catch-up AI extremely frustrating, the game itself is so compelling that I keep coming back. The thrill of perfectly executing a 1-on-1 deke or pulling off a crazy new move in the shootout is one that will keep you at this particular rink for months. The online play just doesn't measure up quite yet, but it's a start for a franchise that's largely overlooked the concept in the past.
The 411
In the ongoing multi-sport war between EA and the 2K guys, EA wins this one. Don't get me wrong, I really like the way the 2K game plays this year and it looks quite a bit better than in the past, but EA's product is just far more polished. They took a big risk with their series revamp, and it continues to pay off. If you're only going to go with one of the two, I'd recommend you make it NHL 08.
Graphics
9.0
There isn't a better looking NHL game out there. The animations are improved, and Mike Ricci retiring means it's safe to sit close to the screen again.
Gameplay
8.5
While they've got the controls just about tweaked to perfection, there are a few small issues there. They revamped the controls, but it's time to do the same for the Dynasty system and do something new there.
Sound
8.5
Wonderful commentary, but it doesn't stop there. Great work on the rest of the atmosphere of being at the rink and actually on the ice.
Lasting Appeal
9.0
The Dynasty mode helps, but it's the promise of online play working well is what gives NHL 08 its legs. Online leagues at long last? I'm on board for that.
Fun Factor
9.0
With the ability to create a player and team for him to play on, then craft custom plays to use on my quest for the Cup, NHL 08 is just such a great way to kill those days between Hockey Night in Canada.
