ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html><head><title>NHL 10 - Playstation 3 (PS3) Reviews - The Armchair Empire</title> <meta content="en-ca" http-equiv="Content-Language"> <meta content="text/html; charset=unicode" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- A:link {color:#0000ff} A:visited {color:#0000ff} A:active {color:#00FF00} A {text-decoration:none} body {scrollbar-base-color:#0000CC;} --> </style> <meta name="keywords" content="nhl 10, hockey games, ea canada electronic arts, ps3 reviews, playstation 3, nhl 10 reviews, video games"> <meta name="description" content="A Playstation 3 review of NHL 10 from Electronic Arts and EA Canada"> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18852"></head> <body bgcolor="#3c6bc4"> <script language="php"> include ("../../header.htm"); </script> <div align="center"> <center> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="970" height="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td bgcolor="#efefef" height="1" valign="top" rowspan="3" width="300"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="300" height="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td height="1" width="298" colspan="2"><img border="0" src="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/site-essentials-2k5/game-vitals-300.jpg" width=300 height=30> <tr> <td height="1" width="152"> <p align="center"><iframe style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&amp;bc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;bg1=99CCFF&amp;fc1=000000&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;t=thearmchairem-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=as1&amp;m=amazon&amp;f=ifr&amp;asins=B0025KZV7U" frameBorder=0 marginWidth=0 scrolling=no></iframe></p> <td height="1" background=http://www.armchairempire.com/images/site-essentials-2k5/blue-vitals-backing-small-d.jpg width=152> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana><b>Platform</b></font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>Xbox 360</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><b><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>Genre</font></b></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>Sports</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><b><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>Publisher</font></b></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>Electronic Arts</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><b><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>Developer</font></b></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>EA Canada</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><b><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>ESRB</font></b></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face="Verdana">E (Everyone)</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><b><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>Released</font></b></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana>September 15, 2009</font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px"><font color="#ffffff">&nbsp; </font></p></td> <tr> <td height="14" width="298" colspan="2"><img border="0" src="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/site-essentials-2k5/the-good-tag.jpg" width=300 height=30> </td> <tr> <td height="9" width="298" colspan="2"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">- Much prefer the dual control stick control method</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">- Numerous game modes to pique your interest</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">- Specialized gear and upgrades</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px">&nbsp;</p></td> <tr> <td width="298" colspan="2"><img border="0" src="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/site-essentials-2k5/the-bad.jpg" width=300 height=30> </td> <tr> <td height="7" width="298" colspan="2"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">- Downright dumb AI at times</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">- Recording/reporting issues online</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px">&nbsp;</p></td> <tr> <td height="13" width="298" colspan="2"><img border="0" src="http://armchairempire.com/images/site-essentials-2k5/similar-games.jpg" width=300 height=30> </td> <tr> <td height="10" width="298" colspan="2"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/xbox-360/nhl-09.htm"><b>Review:</b> NHL 09 (360)</a></font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/GameCube/nhl-hitz-2003.htm"><b> Review:</b> NHL Hitz 2003 (GC)</a></font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Reviews/xbox-360/fight-night-round-4.htm"><b> Review:</b> Fight Night Round 4 (360)</a></font></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px 0px 10px">&nbsp;</p></td> <tr> <td bgcolor="#808080" height="7" width="298" colspan="2"> <p align="center"><font color="#ffffff" size="1" face=Verdana><b>Newsletter</b></font> </p></td> <tr> <td height="14" width="298" colspan="2"> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px" align="center"><b><font size="1" face=Tahoma>Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly.</font></b></p> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align="center"><b><font size=1 face=Tahoma>Enter E-Mail Address Below:</font></b></p> <form method="post" action="/cgi-bin/mailinglist/mailmachine.cgi"> <p align="center"><input name="address"><br><input value="Subscribe" CHECKED type=radio name=action> Subscribe | Unsubscribe <input value=Unsubscribe type=radio name=action><br><input value="Update" type="submit"></p></form></td></tr></tbody></table></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" height="1" valign="top" width="500" colspan="2"> <h1 style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px"><font face="Tahoma">NHL 10</font></h1> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px"><b><font size="5" face=Tahoma>Score: 9.0 / 10</font></b></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">With the beginning of a new hockey season comes the usual moanings and groanings amongst the faithful fans, and those amongst us with teams destined for the links as opposed to Lord Stanley&#39;s cup we get heavily into the gaming scene. NHL 10 returns to us once again, and she is glorious. Chock full of different modes of gameplay, there&#39;s a game-type that will draw your attention&nbsp;- be it simple team play, simulation of a single player&#39;s career, working up through the minor leagues as a up and coming draft pick, playing as a GM and making the trades that you wish were made, or some variation of the above. The Be a GM mode is the one major change over last year&#39;s version of the game, with the usual collection of tweaks and twists that we see annually.</font></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal" align=center><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/ps3/nhl-10/nhl-10-1.jpg"><img border=2 alt="nhl 10" src="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/ps3/nhl-10/nhl-10-1_small.jpg" width=180 height=101></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/ps3/nhl-10/nhl-10-2.jpg"><img border=2 alt="nhl 10" src="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/ps3/nhl-10/nhl-10-2_small.jpg" width=180 height=101></a></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma"></font></span>&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">The game itself hasn&#39;t particularly changed too much; there are all the usual window-dressings that we&#39;ve seen improved over previous incarnations of the franchise. The game itself flows quite well, especially once you get a handle on the</font></span></p></td> <td bgcolor="#808080" height="1" valign="top" rowspan="3" width="170"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align="center"><font size="1"> <script language="php"> include ("../../ads-rightside.htm"); </script> </font> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align="center">&nbsp; <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="160"> <tbody> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="160"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align="center"><img border=0 src="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/site-essentials-2k5/related-topics.jpg" width=160 height=35></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px" class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face=Tahoma><b><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Review-Subcategories/playstation-3-game-reviews.htm"> - Playstation 3 Game Reviews</a></b></font> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px" class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" face=Tahoma><b><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Review-Subcategories/sports-game-reviews.htm"> - Sport Game Reviews</a></b></font> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 5px" class="MsoNormal"><b><font size="2" face=Tahoma><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/Review-Subcategories/Developers-Publishers/electronic-arts-game-reviews.htm"> - Games Published by Electronic Arts</a></font></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></p></td></tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top" width="160"> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">dual-stick control method over the &quot;older&quot; button control method. The dual stick is a little wonky at first, but is much more intuitive for the new-comer&nbsp;- left stick controls the skater and the right stick controls the stick. Push forward on the right stick to shoot, left and right to deke, and back for wind-up prior to the shot. During shooting, the left stick controls the shot direction&nbsp;- so pushing upper left will</font></span></p></td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="center" width="340"> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align="center"><font size="1" face=Tahoma><b>Advertisement</b></font> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align="center"><font size="1" face=Tahoma> <script language="php"> include ("../../emb-ad.htm"); </script> </font></p></td></tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top" width="500" colspan="2"> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">try and roof that shot on the goalie&#39;s blocker side. The current incarnations of the game are much more rewarding to the gamer playing as a simulator as opposed to a free-for-all in that you tend to get penalized in trying to make the big play by forsaking your position on the ice. I&#39;ve lost count of how many times I&#39;ve given up an odd-man rush after pressing in the offensive zone. One of the better offensive improvements over last year is the deflection system -&nbsp;when facing the puck while in a screen, your player will now intentionally try to put his stick on the shot. The effect is most dramatic when the shot is along the ice surface, but I&#39;ve seen some nice drop deflections at this point.</font></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma"></font></span>&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">Like some of the other EA Sports franchises, we can now customize our players&#39; gear. The bulk of the gear choices are just stylistic changes, but the ones that provide skill bonuses all tend to be gaudy or ostentatious. I may have some of the better gear available now, but I look like an 8-year old&#39;s design of a pimped out Escalade. All bonus wielding gear that&#39;s around is unlocked by playing through different modes of the game or can be unlocked by paying for it (not the most rewarding experience but certainly better than grinding through 4 seasons of play with a specific player just to get a slightly better skate than the one you had).</font></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal" align=center><a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/ps3/nhl-10/nhl-10-3.jpg"><img border=2 alt="nhl 10" src="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/ps3/nhl-10/nhl-10-3_small.jpg" width=180 height=101></a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/ps3/nhl-10/nhl-10-4.jpg"><img border=2 alt="nhl 10" src="http://www.armchairempire.com/images/Reviews/ps3/nhl-10/nhl-10-4_small.jpg" width=180 height=101></a></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma"></font></span>&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">Myself, I&#39;ve played through the franchise modes so often in my youth; I don&#39;t think that I have the staying power to re-experience those modes. In the vein of trying something new, I was drawn to the &quot;Be A Player&quot; mode where you start off in the Prospects Game, then get drafted by an NHL franchise and try to work yourself onto the roster then play through a career. In the three times that I&#39;ve played it so far, I inevitably get drafted high then get sent down to the minor leagues to work my way back up to the show. I found myself having more fun playing a single position on the ice than having to jump around from one poorly AI-controlled player to another who just happens to be the closest to the puck. That being said, the not-actively controlled player AI is much better than I&#39;ve seen in the past. Most players will hold true to their &quot;intended&quot; positions and play any scheme that you tell them to. Not that they are perfect mind you... I&#39;ve managed to burn the opposition 7 times in the same game with a set play (cut into the high slot area, make a direct pass to the winger crashing the net on the opposite side will result in an easy weak goal). In addition, for some inexplicable reason your own franchise won&#39;t make a single trade, signing, or release for quite an extended period of time but every other franchise is busy flipping their roster every two weeks. It&#39;s maddening!</font></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma"></font></span>&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">Currently NHL 10 is on my short list of active games, I&#39;ve been playing it online with my friends about once a night. The online games tend to be much more satisfying to win, especially when you do it with a full team. After 20-ish games with my team, I finally have figured out how much late hitting I can get away with and how to actually score when the garbage goals don&#39;t work. My only complaint about the online game is the fact that one of my friends&#39; profile causes us problems. Any time that he&#39;s in the party, we don&#39;t get our stats recorded... not amusing. He&#39;s one of our better players and we&#39;re 4-1 when he&#39;s in the lineup... none of which is actually recorded (Insert annoyed facial expression here).</font></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma"></font></span>&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-US><font size="2" face="Tahoma">All in all, NHL 10 is a lot of fun, as I can attest to the 50+ and rising hours that I&#39;ve put into the game so far. People who purchased the previous year&#39;s version may want to hold off for another season for more additions to propagate in the franchise before re-upping.</font></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=en-us><font size="2" face="Tahoma">- Tazman</font></span></p> <p style="LINE-HEIGHT: 120%; MARGIN: 0px 10px" class="MsoNormal"><span lang=en-us><font size="1" face="Tahoma">(November 23, 2009)</font></span></p> <p style="MARGIN: 0px 10px">&nbsp;</p></td></tr></tbody></table></center></div> <script language="php"> include ("../../footer.htm"); </script> </body></html>