NHL 07 - PC, Playstation 2 (PS2), Playstation Portable (PSP), Xbox (XB), Xbox 360 (360) Previews


	Platform PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox, 360 (console versions previewed) Genre Sports Publisher Electronic Arts Developer EA Canada ETA September 2006
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NHL 07

It seems like the season just ended, but hockey is on the verge of returning to the ice and so are the video games. With a yearly sports franchise it’s not always easy to differentiate new editions with past iterations, but EA seems bent on giving hockey fans something new.

The most dramatic change is the Skill Stick system, which puts most of the control in the thumbsticks. To move your player around the left thumbstick is used, but players will also have control over their hockey stick with the right thumbstick. EA provides these examples, “Snap the right stick forward for a quick wrister, pull it back to wind up for a slapper, move it left and right to deke defenders and goalies.” My initial response to this new control scheme is generally negative. A few games in the past that have used such a scheme have usually fallen flat – Blade II, Grabbed by the Ghoulies – because it’s too damn finicky. (But then I

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haven’t actually played it.) It’ll have to be intuitive to use otherwise it’ll alienate old-school button pressers like myself. As long as EA provides the traditional buttons as an option, they’ll receive less criticism if the Skill Stick system proves to be unpalatable.

Last year there was no hockey from EA on the Xbox 360; 2K Games

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pushed their NHL 2K6 out to generally good reviews on Xbox, PS2, and Xbox 360. This means EA has an even steeper climb against the competition to get gamers back to their hockey game. To help with this EA is reportedly fine-tuning overall aspects of the game.

The graphics look great, with more detail than ever before. The faces in particular look a lot less like they’ve pasted onto balloons. While this certainly won’t carry over to the PSP version (and likely the Xbox and PS2 versions), it’s still looking good.

Play-by-play and commentary is being supplied by Gary Thorne and Bill Clement, which promises to focus “on star player and team rivalries.” This seems to be in conjunction with “Player Leveling” which it would logical to assume behaves like a role-playing game – practicing skills boosts performance – but whether this extends to the real-life players rather than just gamer-created players remains to be seen, but because there’s no mention of player creation feature it might be safe to assume it will apply to real-life players. Either way, there will be seven different player types that note their general behavior: Danglers, Grinders, Playmakers, Snipers, Power Forwards, Offensive Defensemen, and Defensive Defensemen.

Dynasty Mode will also be included, which lets you sit in the General Manager’s chair, doing trades, keeping salaries under the cap, etc. It’s the feature that I regularly give very little attention to but aficionados and fans of stats and those with control issues lap this stuff up.

I find it strange that online play isn’t mentioned on the official fact sheet. A standard for sports games should be online play, but as far as I know, it’s not included this year.

The game’s release is imminent and I for one am anxious to get my hands on it. Though the Skill Stick system gives me an uneasy feeling in the pit of my gaming stomach, the other refinements may help bring NHL 07 back to its glory days. At least, that’s what I’m hoping.

- Omni

(August 18, 2006)


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