NHL 2009 Review

While Madden treads water and NBA Live struggles to find its shot, NHL has quietly raised the benchmark for sports games. With its unparalleled controls, refined presentation, and unrivaled selection of game modes, NHL 09 is the best hockey game ever created.

Forget the patsy-cake checks of last year's game - NHL 09 dishes seismic hits that leave your opponents a huddled mass of pain and broken bones on the ice. Combine the big checks with the stick lift and improved poke check, and the gameplay finally finds a balance between offensive and defensive abilities. Many games will be won or lost in front of the goalmouth as you disrupt potential one-timers to protect your net or set up deflection scenarios on the attack.

While the action between the boards continues to improve, the franchise mode lags behind other sports games. Tools like a trade block, refined scouting, midseason contract negotiations, and improved draft tools would go a long way to bringing this experience up to par. The confusing free agency interface and inability to buy out poorly performing players' contracts also stand out as sore thumbs.

This year marks the debut of the Be A Pro mode, which invites gamers to create a skater and guide him from the minor leagues to the hall of fame. Your player must meet a set of goals each year contingent to your playing style and position. As you meet or exceed expectations, the coach rewards you by moving you to more potent lines or calling you up to the NHL. The camera fixates on your player throughout the game and smartly changes perspective to give you the best view of the action. The only times we experienced a poor angle was when the puck got hung up in the corners of our zone.

But it gets better. You can take your player online, join a club with friends, and participate in 6-on-6 games versus other teams in the hopes of being crowned the champion of the EA Sports Hockey League. Finally, the thrill of working as a cohesive team in a real sport translates effectively to the virtual space. This is the future of sports games. We experienced considerable lag while playtesting this mode, but EA believes this should be fixed before launch. Lag in a fast-paced game like hockey makes or breaks the experience, so we hope it's true.

With the best controls in sports, an addictive Be A Pro mode, and the amazing EA Sports Hockey League, NHL 09 is the pinnacle of contemporary sports games. I hope other sports franchises take note and try to achieve greatness as well.