Xbox 360 Review: NHL 2007

I have played every hockey game since NHL 96' for the Super Nintendo. I'm an avid hockey fan, and simply love the game. I played hockey throughout high school, so I know the game and how it should be portrayed in a video game. So let's get to the review.

First off, most hockey games in the past follow a simple formula. You pass the puck around, you shoot the puck, and you score. If you were on a breakaway, you simply did the same move every time and some tiny glitch in the system would allow you to score. Every hockey game has had this buggy goal thing...until now.

In NHL 07 you feel like you have really been given full control. EA, the games maker, has done a great job with their new skill stick controls and it makes the game much more enjoyable to play. The right analog stick controls your stick and upper body and the left stick controls where your skating too. Press up on the right thumb stick, and your player will take a wrist shot. If you pull back on the right stick and then quickly flick the stick foward you will take a slap shot. No longer will your one fake move on the goalie work. The goalie AI has been remastered so when you actually score a goal, you have beaten the goalie, it's not a mistake made by the games maker.

It will take about ten games to get used to the new skill stick, but it's well worth it. Once you light the lamp for the first time you will feel the satisfaction that you actual faked out the goalie and put the puck in the net, like a true superstar. Another great feature in NHL 07 is the fact that the puck is no longer stuck to the player or goalies stick. Instead, the puck is completely independent from it, so expect weird deflections and odd bounces to get you a goal here and there. Playing defense is much like it was in the past. The skill stick is still used for things like hitting and such, but the defensive moves have largely remained the same.

Visually the game looks fantastic. The cut scenes before and after each game look great, and almost every major player in the game looks like himself, no generic players anymore. The commentary no longer feels as canned and repeated as it used to, and this is a major improvement. In previous hockey games, you would play Dynasty mode for about a month and you could hear repeats of things that they would say all the time. With NHL 07 they have made it less painful and more exciting.

Major modes still exist like Dynasty mode, World Tournament mode, and Shootout mode. When I first started playing the game, I spent a lot of time playing shootout mode. In my opinion it is the best way to learn how to use the new skill stick efficiently. The only thing that is missing are a few online features, but they're little and don't take much away from the game. Overall, I would give NHL 07 a 9 out of 10.