To be frank, the vast majority of the improvements between NHL 2K6 and NHL 2K7 are in the area of presentation. The new Cinemotion presentation style allows players to choose between two distinct styles of presentation; the typical TV broadcast style, or a more dramatic theatrical style presentation, with orchestral music and louder team/coach banter. It makes for an interesting change of pace from the typical sports broadcast style presentation, almost like a Mighty Ducks video game interpretation, but isn’t really the sort of thing to make one leap out of their seat to buy the game.
Drunk cameraman?
In terms of actual gameplay enhancements, the new drop pass button and defensive pressure are pretty much it – not so useful to a casual player, but hockey enthusiasts will appreciate the additions, considering that the series’ depth of play has always been its main draw. The PlayStation 3 version does feature some SIXAXIS motion control options, mainly in the form of goal tending and checking. With the checking system the force of one’s forward motion on the pad will decide the strength of the hit; it can be tricky to co-ordinate and isn’t really that useful. On the other hand, the goal tending controls are actually quite useful if you wish to manually block the net – the movement and techniques of the goalie are all controlled via fairly natural motions.
There hasn’t been a lot of changes in the way NHL 2K has played over the last few years, which is a little bit of a concerning given some of the things that still could be improved – for example, the fighting system is still very bad, there’s a distinct lack of impact in player collisions, and the AI eventually grows to be ridiculously easy to defeat, even on the highest difficulty. Despite the lack of forward progress, NHL 2K7 still packs the best offensive and defensive play in a hockey video game, and provides a much more faithful digital recreation of the sport, especially compared to EA’s “pinball on ice”.
NHL 2K7 still packs a number of different play modes, ranging from the quick exhibition and party games to the full featured franchise mode. The franchise mode does have a few new features, mainly in relation to salary capping, but plays very much like it did in the previous year’s game – there’s a very good team scouting system in there, and the season length is variable to allow for one to play much shorter seasons than the gruelling 82 game standard schedule. Of course, for those that like the challenge of a human opponent, there are extensive online and offline multiplayer options. Online matches support between two and eight players, and allow for a variety of play modes, from the simple party games through to intensive 30 team leagues.
Laying down on the job? For shame!
On ice action in NHL 2K7 has a certain sleekness to it, but arguably still does not seem like a great jump over the previous generation, despite being an improvement over NHL 2K6. The player models do look good, and the majority of the name players have well modelled likenesses, but you just get the feeling that the system that the game is running on is capable of doing a better job. There is a bit of blurring and pixilation on some of the logos on the ice and on the jerseys. Animation appears to be all over the shop; some brilliant new animations are in there, but there are a few issues with animation transitions and relic animations from the previous generation of NHL 2K games – hopefully this will be addressed next year. Bob Neale and Harry Cole return to provide commentary for another year, but one could swear that they have not recorded any new dialogue; players who played last year’s game may struggle to find anything new, and with the advent of the Cinemotion mode, it’s easy to see why commentary would be de-emphasised. The soundtrack for menus and breaks in play tends to consist of indie rock from the Sub Pop record label – not familiar with it personally, but the tunes are largely inoffensive to the ears.
NHL 2K7 provides a few aesthetic changes to what is already a decent game of hockey, but we expect that Kush Games will try to push forward with some new gameplay features in the coming years. The PlayStation 3 version of the game is entirely functional, suffering no distinct loss in quality in the translation over from the Xbox 360. So if you’re a solo PlayStation 3 owner and need a hockey fix, then NHL 2K7 is the way to go – despite the fact that there is no currently other hockey option for the format.
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