So, NHL 2K6 then. The NHL returned to active competition late last year, after missing the entire 2004/2005 season thanks to a labour dispute between players and owners. Because of this, ESPN are no longer covering the league, so the ESPN presentation and title is out the window. The game doesn’t have a whole lot of new modes over last year’s game, either. So, besides the title, what exactly has changed?
Surprisingly, quite a lot. There have been a lot of in-game features added to the game, most of which are extremely useful. The most notable inclusion (and exclusive to the 360 version) is the crease control mode. Click the right analog stick at anytime, and you will gain complete control of the goalie from a third person perspective. A big green/red cone will indicate whether or not you are in good position. When an opposing player takes a shot, the game will slow down and target where the shot is going. You can then move the save circle over the target to make a save. Or, if you’re desperate, flick the right stick either way for a diving effort. It’s not really fleshed out a whole lot, and is quite basic – but it still works well, despite being in need of refinement. It’s a good thing it’s there too, because the goalies couldn’t stop a beach ball in this year’s game – for both player and computer teams.
Crease control - good, but could be better.
Also new to the game is the pro control system, which tries to encourage setting up plays properly in the offensive zone. Previously, you had to rely on using the analog stick to aim your passes – and sometimes, you just can’t find that elusive player on the ice. With pro control, just click the right stick when you’re on the rush, and all members of your team will be assigned to a button the controller, allowing you to make a pinpoint pass to any teammate. It takes a while to get used to, but when used effectively, can be used to dissect any defensive structure with creative plays – and look amazing in the process. It adds a lot of offensive depth to the game, and helps make it feel like the real thing.
An enforcer system has also been included in a game – although it feels somewhat out of place, given the clamp down on these players in the real NHL this season. Basically, most teams have at least one enforcer – a player who is out there to rough up the opposition, get under their skin, and sometimes get into fights in order to get their team motivated (how that works is still under investigation). In-game, these players are recognizable by the big red ‘E’. They can get away with dirty play more so than regular players, and, if they hassle a particular opposition player, they will ‘intimidate’ them. Again, this can be spotted by the big blue ‘I’. Intimidated players suffer a loss in speed, so if you use this system well, you can stop the opposition’s flashy forwards with a few strong checks. Fights don’t break out too often in the game though, even with enforcers – which is probably a good thing, as the 2K series has never had a decent fighting system, and this one is no exception.
The final gameplay addition is the on the fly coaching system, assigned to the d-pad. Whether you’re on offense or defense, you can press a direction on the d-pad to initiate a play – for example, if you’re circling the net ready to launch the puck, pressing down will send a couple of players into the goalie’s vicinity to make sure he can’t get a clear line of sight of the puck. Generally this system does actually work, too – but some players can be a bit too reluctant to join the rush though, which can be irritating.
Puck this.
Alongside those major editions, plenty of other smaller bits and pieces have been tweaked. Franchise mode in particular has seen a lot of attention to detail, with a much more efficient menu system, training options, more realistic trading, chemistry and fatigue systems, and so on. Anyone who has spent any time in this mode during the past will love what’s been done here. Outside of that, there are also team-specific strategies, a momentum feature, new party games, and more. Oh – online is back too, after a PAL layoff last year. Games online are a bit buggy, though, with various odd occurrences happening from time to time. Still, it’s better to have a few bugs than to have no online at all, eh?
That’s all well and good – but what about the general gameplay? To be honest, the series doesn’t need a whole lot of big changes – it’s pretty damn good as it is. But, in terms of refinements, skaters handle better now, with a much smoother, more realistic, feel. On top of that, players tend to actually pick up the puck a lot more, rather than skate by it. Wrap-arounds are easier to perform. Checking is much more vicious, too. On the negative side, there are still a lot of instances where your player is reluctant to go to the puck for fear of moving out of position – despite the fact he is the closest by a long way. Goalies are also completely soft, as mentioned earlier, letting in some absolutely weak goals. But, on the whole, it’s a decent improvement on last year’s game.
On the audio front, it’s mixed news. Rink sounds have improved dramatically, with a much more realistic echo that follows the piece of rubber around. Player checks also sound a lot more effective. On the downside, due to the loss of the ESPN license, we have new commentators Harry Neale and Bob Cole taking over. Problem is, their performance in-game is pretty terrible. Everything they say feels forced – especially when trying to sound excited. On top of that, a lot of the commentary is identical to last year’s version – why not have a new script? It puts a dampener on what is otherwise a surprisingly excellent effort in the audio department.
Notice the odd white glow.
Being on the Xbox 360, you’d expect a decent graphical improvement on the older versions. If you’re running in HD, you’ll get it, too – players look much, MUCH better, with excellent animation and surprising facial and equipment detail. Not to mention the white glow – although that’s just weird, to be honest. Without HD though, you’d be hard pressed to notice much of a difference between the 360 and the Xbox versions.
As is to be expected from the 2K hockey series, there are a few bugs around the place. Most noticeable is the huge loss in frame rate during face offs (still not eradicated), and a half-second pause that happens almost every time a goal is scored. There are also sound drop outs, and the occasional save bug, too – best keep two alternating saves going for your franchises, then. Get some more testers, already.
Despite the ridiculous delays this game has suffered in PAL countries, NHL 2K6 on the 360 is a very, very good game. It adds more new features than you’d expect from an annual sports game update, and tweaks the gameplay to make it just that little bit better. Best of all, PAL regions haven’t been slugged with the usual Xbox 360 premium price either – it comes at the price of a normal game. Still a fraction more expensive then the other versions – but worth it for the extra polish the game has received. If you’re a fan of hockey or sports games who happens to own an Xbox 360, this is well worth checking out. NHL 2K7 might be due out in North America within a few months, but you never know how long we might end up waiting for it.
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