2K has had the bragging rights for the last few years when it comes to their hockey franchise. Each year it has outshined and outdone the competition giving gamers the most for their money. The 2K brand of hockey was always the one to watch for. Being a Hockey fan and someone who has a love for the sport, I try to be fair in the reviews, but I also know what seems realistic and what seems not to fit. NHL 2K was always known for its great control, deep defensive plays and outstanding graphics. Can they keep the streak going this year? Read the Full NHL 2K8 Review and you maybe a bit surprised at what I have to say.

Gameplay

There is good news and bad news for fans of NHL 2K brand of hockey this year. Let’s start with the good news. The game has a deep franchise mode. It has some great as well as realistic features and shows that extra effort was added to this mode for this year’s release. While the last few years have seen a few new features, the basic game engine has remained the same. I have never had an issue with that. I guess I went with the rule if it’s not broke why try fixing it. While the franchise is deep and adds more of a realistic approach, they changed the control scheme and made it way too complicated. I know I try and wait to talk about this in the right section but this year this is the right section.

I am not going to say 2K tried and copied what EA has been working on the last two years but it is very similar. The problem is they went about the changes in a way that causes the game to be too complicated and just seems to not fit the series at all. So the bad news is while they have added some great new features to the franchise mode, the controls make it hard to enjoy. I will go into details about the controls in depth later but this really frustrated me. I know other gamers want a game that is deep but also one you can enjoy playing. NHL 2K8 takes a very long time to find a control scheme that feels right and it ruins the new features they added.

Once you find a way to get used to the new controls, it’s a solid game but has some other issues new to the series. I really think 2K has the look and presentation down pat. They know how to make use of the defensive plays. I guess the changes made this year affected the overall balance and that is a huge problem when you’re talking about the sport of hockey. They even added new superstar moves that look fantastic and very realistic. I just think most fans of the series are going to be disappointed with the overall gameplay. Die-hard or long time players will learn or find a way to adjust to the changes, but for other gamers they will probably just go get NHL 08.

I don’t want to rant and I won’t (at least not too much). The game of hockey, as a said before, is all about balance. I am sure 2K will get the series back on track, but this year the best game around won’t belong to 2K. I really wanted to enjoy all the modes and they are loaded but the issues just kept popping up and online and offline. Overall, I will give credit to the developers for trying to improve an already great franchise. The bottom line on the single-player mode is simple. It looks great and after getting use to the changes, it’s playable but not what fans are used to!

Control

It is no secret that EA has been tweaking their brand of hockey for the last few years. Their skill stick is simply great. If you read the review, I already said it was the best game out there for hockey fans and I meant it. When you have to match or try and out do someone else, it doesn’t always mean a better game. A new feature in the controls area is speed bursts. One is the old way and the second is to blow by a defender and get a breakaway goal. It seems they want to make the game more realistic, yet they add in something that feels arcade-like? The right stick control is important, but it needs to be fine-tuned and 2K just is not at that point. The real problem is they created all the control schemes to use this setting and the old default or classic controls now seem out of place.

Pro-Stick is what 2K is calling their new right stick control and it sounds cool at first. You can deke, poke, check and other moves faster. The bad news is the checking and a few of the deke moves look like they were pulled from the movie Slap-Shot. The moves look unnatural and out of place. It also ruins the pace of the game at times. I think it’s apparent that 2K was trying to revamp and out do the other guy and play a little catch up. The end result is a game that offers some great things but has some major balancing issues. I am all for new features and changes but they need to be tested and introduced slowly. When playing NHL 2K8 this year, everything is thrown at you at once. The new controls take a while to learn and require too many moves and this is the frustration of the whole game. Die-Hard fans of the series may or may not pick it up faster than someone new to the series. I know some friends who seem to pick up the new controls a lot faster than others. This was their first time with the series. They need to simplify the control schemes and get back the balance the game had in past years. It has a steep learning curve and still feels and plays in a way that feels unfinished. I will give them some credit for the on screen explanations, but it’s just not enough for the overall changes. With all the changes to the controls, it really didn’t seem to improve the gameplay in the way EA was able to pull off. I really think if they would have held off the release a few weeks they could have fixed some of these issues.

Xbox Live

In past years I preferred 2K for online play, but this year the game seems sluggish. This is a real surprise since 2K has always provided a solid online mode. I hate to talk about frame-rate in reviews. Usually my thought is if you can’t really see the frame-rate by the use of a meter and a system to read it accurately, it really can’t be a fair call. I will break my own rule here and say online there is an issue with the frame-rate. It looks and feels like you’re playing the game at half the speed. I don’t know why, but it is very slow and hockey is meant to be a fast-paced game.

The rest of the online mode is solid. I like the lobbies and basic set-up. Add in the time to adjust for the controls and the game just seems to have major issues. I won’t say it’s unplayable online, but I can and will say it’s not like last year’s solid gameplay. I also know early on there was an issue with disconnects and some strange glitch issues. The real shame of it all is as much as I am finding fault with the title, overall the game is very deep and has some great features. It just has some quirks that keep reminding me of the bad things and not the improvements they added. The online mode is alright but pretty disappointing. I noticed a lot less players and invites this year as well. It is something 2K really needs to fix and address in next year’s installment.

Graphics

NHL 2K8 Screenshot

2K has always managed to amaze me with their openings of each game and this year they did it again. They also really did a great job with the superstar moves and animations. It seems more details were added and overall the game looks better than last year’s version. I also saw big improvements with the goalies and the way they look and moved more realistically.

 NHL 2K8 Screenshot

The only flaw, if I can even call it that, is the faces of the players just don’t match the rest of the game’s graphic potential. They look good but have an odd look that always stands out. Other than that overall the game looks great with the needed animations many fans wanted.

NHL 2K8 Screenshot

Audio

Bob Cole and Harry Neale do a great job announcing and for the most part the games sounds are equal to last year’s attempt. I have to question some of the choices for the soundtrack though. Hard Rock is nothing new at any hockey game, but I never went to a game and heard speed metal. At times I had to change the soundtrack, but I understand they want to try and make it for everyone’s taste. There are a few cases when you hit a puck or a puck hits something. No effect is heard. Not a huge complaint but for a hockey game it should never happen that a puck sound is missing. Overall not bad but needs a little polishing.

Replay Value

To be fair I tried to cover the points most are looking for in the review. It would be 3-4 pages long to write everything good or bad about NHL 2K8. Those who own the game know it has all the modes from the past and the added features to the franchise mode. It has plenty of replay value. The real question will be can you manage to work around the issues to get the most out of it? Most gamers will play it for awhile and then move on. The online issues really hurt this year’s attempt, but they did add a lot to the game. I think most will find this year as a rebuilding season and try and enjoy it.

Bottom Line

Overall Score: 6.9/10.0

Additional Comments

NHL 2K8 has problems no doubt about it, but they also add enough things that stand out and will improve the series. It takes time to get to those great features and that’s going to be hard for some gamers. I think 2K was forced to try and keep on the same pace as EA or they would have fallen too far behind. I still question all the changes in one season and the issues with the online play are unacceptable. The best features got overshadowed by the changes and the way 2K attempted the new control schemes. I just hope they can work out the issues and return the series back to where it was or even better. We will find out next season but for now 2K is no longer the hockey game to beat!

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Filed under: Reviews • Xbox 360

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