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Sadly NHL 07 is the only game in town for NHL hockey on any handheld system. Hmmmmm.But all problems aside, it is hockey and it plays well. I've gotten maybe 3 shutouts in 30 games, even when limiting opposing teams to 4 and 5 shots.
Pass, shoot, hit, poke check and speed burst are pretty much all you need to know for the entire game. 2-0 breakaway one timer is met by a diving save. There has never been a non-backyard hockey game for the DS and the only other options for the PSP are the even longer in the tooth Gretzky series.So while NHL 07 is getting pretty old, it is still the best way to play a game of hockey on a plane.The game is pretty simple if you've played older versions of the NHL series.
On the other side, goals seems to be easily scored, but almost random. The game moves briskly, if at a more arcade than simulation speed. The graphics are nice enough and feature nice touches such as "popping the water bottle" on some goals.Some of the complaints in other reviews are valid.
Seconds later a wrist shot from the blue line lights the lamp. It isn't the best game you will ever play, but it is the best portable hockey game out there, and for fanatics like me, that is good enough.
To shut out the opposing team, you need to limit them to no more than ~10 shots on goal for the game. This was the biggest irritation for me. The computer could do things like change goalies and lines during the game. It's not that hard to pitch a shut-out, so to speak, and, conversely, it's not impossible to score 10 goals. So, it's a real good game to play from game-play and graphics perspective.Where the game falls apart is with the goalie performance and in-game adjustments & stats.
They guy who gave it a one-star rating is on the right path, though he's overblown the situation. My forward led the league in +/-, hits, SH goals, and takeaways, but he did NOT get the award for the best defensive forward. Gives you lots of control over players without making the game so complex that it turns you off (baseball game designers: pay attention). To get 10 goals, you need to approach 50 shots.At the end of the day, regardless of comparative goalie rankings, expect your team to shoot an aggregate of 16-20% and the opposing team to about than double that.
I never figured out how to do this -- only between games. Can't do that here.A minor flaw was in the game's ability to choose awards. The problem is on how to do both. Having played an entire season, I could discern no difference among goalies. My goalie led the league with close to 20 shutouts, but not once earned a star for his effort.
This game is a very good simulator for hockey. No end-of-game stats. The only posted stats are for the 3 stars of the game. I love checking stats during games and after the game ended. So, yes, this aspect is frustrating. Several times, players from a team that was shut out would earn a star over my goalie who shut them out. I'll start with the goalies.
or a player on my team with 2 goals + 2 assists.Finally, everything in the game is from the 2006 season, which is getting pretty dated now.EA should have spent more time refining the goalie system and in-game features and less time populating all of the weird global hockey leagues that most people wouldn't miss. Ratings meant nothing. My average game was 7-2, and I would approach 40 shots on goal against around 6 for the computer.Still, the most frustrating part to me was in-game adjustments. It was not uncommon for an opposing player with 0 points, 1 shot on goal to get 2nd star in a game where I had multiple 3+ point players. Frankly, EA could dump 50% of the features in this game, add better in-game support, and add more variability in the goalies, and the game would be 100% better.
I bought NHL 07 as there was no NHL 08. I bought this for my grandson. He played it on the airplane all the way to Florida and says he likes it really well and is still playing it alot. He says it is his favorite game for his PSP.
My son was very excited to get this, we had been looking for it for too long-- prefect.
I bought this game for my grandson and he plays it all the time. He plays little league hockey so he "knows it all". Thank you for finding this game for him.
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