Product Description

Welcome to the future of sports gaming with NHL 09. Building on the title that won seven Sports Game of the Year awards, NHL 09 continues to evolve the NHL franchise with added depth, improved accessibility and a whole new way to play the game. The game brings Be A Pro to the ice, which allows you to step on the ice as yourself through a dynamic camera angle as you play your way through a career in the NHL. Expanding on an already impressive lineup of teams and leagues, NHL 09 also has full dynasty modes for several European countries reflecting the global appeal of the sport of hockey.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3635 in Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Model: 15374
• Released on: 2008-10-20
• ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP
• Format: DVD-ROM
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .50 pounds

Features

• Be A Pro - A dynamic camera puts you in the role of one player on a team. With pop-up feedback given on your performance as you play, you will know exactly where you're excelling and what parts of your game need improvement. Start your career off in the ranks of the NHL and become one of the best in the league
• Rookie Controls - Hit, pass, shoot, and score using the simplified two-button control system. So even if you're new to the game, you can challenge the best of the best
• European Leagues - Reflecting the global appeal of the sport, NHL 09 has full dynasty modes for the official Swedish, Finnish, Czech and German Leagues as well introducing, for the first time ever, a season mode for the Russian Super League
• Tutorial Videos Ideal for newcomers to the game, or the sport in general, this system will teach you how to shoot, skate and deke before you hit the ice for the first time

Customer Reviews

Same game, new cover
It's got a new cover, but it's pretty much the same game as last year (which was pretty much the same game as the year before that!)

Exact same game announcers as last year, with the exact same dialogue. Exact same graphics as last year. Exact same gameplay (it hasn't been very good on the PC since NHL 2002!). Exact same quirks (some of the players look nothing like they should; the announcers pronounce the same name differently depending on what stock phrase they use; "big hit" replays just show players brushing against each other - no one ever falls to the ice!). It's gotten to the point where it's not even exciting to play anymore.

What's new? Well, the rosters have been updated slightly.

If I were EA Sports, I'd be embarrassed to release a game like this. The console versions are incredibly different, and light years ahead of this.

Game play is the same as older Versions
Don't get be wrong, I love the EA NHL Series and if you have never purchased any of the EA NHL versions, BUY THIS!!! The gameplay is smooth, the graphics are awesome, the checking and goalie moves are fun to watch. I gave it a 2 because I buy the latest version every 2 years hoping for more exciting features and this year, I felt I was let down. For me to spend full retail for this for just a couple new features, was tough to do in this economy.

The good: Be A Pro is really fun trying to stay in the NHL without getting pushed down to the minors, but other camera angles would help a lot! The Higher Resolution is a big plus! The players faces look a lot better! A couple new checks and goalie moves and fight sequences, but the game doesn't feel any different. Cycling is fun when you get the timing down, and players do support you more.

The Bad: The arena's all look the same as other versions, they didn't change anything there. The anouncers are the same, and it feels like the didn't give them too many new phrases to say. All my old moves since 1997 still work, I scored 16 goals in my first game with a standard textbook play (take the puck down the side to the corner, center it when a supporting player is in center just behind the goalie). In this day of the internet, you should be able to update the rooster from EA on the fly from within the game with a push of a button. I haven't been able to join a server, it keeps asking for the IP address and I can't find a server to connect to. This interface needs improving.

Typical EA improvements.
If you purchased any NHL game for the PC in the last few years you'll know EA is up to no good when it comes to improving anything.

This year they added Be a Pro and even more simple controls. Now the offensive layout can consist of just three things: Pass, Shoot and Speed Burst. Be a Pro basically you just play as one person through a season and build upon them as you progress.

Everything else seems to be minor improvements. I noticed little to no graphics changes from last years version, just a slightly higher resolution.

To top it off it looks like they got rid of the EA servers for online play. What the !? Not like there were many people online last year, but this is a major blow to the online community. Luckily you can still join other people online by getting their IP address and joining their game. However, this is a major blow from EA considering almost every online game these days has some sort of online server for everyone to play on.

Also, the graphics are STILL not even close to console level which is pathetic. EA needs to get with the program and let those that have great graphics cards to take advantage of a higher graphics engine. If you ever seen the demo of the PS3/360 versions you'll know what I mean.

EA needs to get on the ball with the PC NHL game. The NHL games for the consoles are much more deeper and also look a lot better. At anything above $20 It's hard to recommend buying NHL for the PC year after year. This will be the last year I buy a NHL product by EA for the PC till they decide to make either major improvements or reduce their starter price to $19.99 or less, and even that my friends is a very hard pill to swallow.

Oh well, better luck next year?