E3 06: NHL 2K7 Hands-On

LOS ANGELES--Most hockey fans were hotly anticipating some next-generation action on the ice with last year's Xbox 360 port of the critically acclaimed Xbox and PlayStation 2 hockey game, NHL 2K6. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out. 2K6 on the 360 had only a couple of neat features that the previous console versions didn't, and the game itself looked like only a mild upgrade to the Xbox version, not to mention that it had a few bugs and other unpleasantries. For NHL 2K7, it looks like this won't be the case. At E3 2006, we had the chance to take a look at both the 360 and standard Xbox versions of the game side-by-side, and there is a considerable difference in quality between the two of them.

First, let's talk about some new features in this year's game. One of the biggest new components that sets the 360 version (and, eventually, the PlayStatio 3 version) of the game apart from the older versions is an all-new skating and animation engine. The developers have apparently ripped out the old skating engine entirely for the new-system versions, replacing it with significantly improved skating moves. Skating has much more momentum behind it in this version, and there are lots of little, subtle details that have improved, like gliding animations, acceleration, turns, and crossovers. It's not just skating, either. The developers are out to improve all the animations they can, by adding new passes, checks, and shots. They told us that the new consoles are giving them the opportunity to include more animations than ever before, which will hopefully translate into a much less predictable visual experience on the ice.

The game seems to have a totally different slant in the 360 version over the Xbox version. To be quite blunt, the Xbox version of the game kind of felt the same as the last few iterations of NHL 2K, and looked like them too. The momentum of the skating animations in the 360 version translates pretty well into the gameplay, and you'll definitely feel a more realistic sense of what it's like to skate down the rink at full speed, dekeing around opponents and lining up checks. It feels a lot more like the real pacing and flow of hockey, and even at this early stage of development, it looks a bunch better than last year's game.

Many of the previous gameplay features introduced last year, like crease control for goalies and the new enforcer system, will be back with general improvements to tighten up the experience. For instance, crease control will no longer require a picture-in-picture view while playing online. Of course, there are new gameplay features, too. One of the things the developers wanted to boost was defensive control on the ice, specifically against individual players. In the real NHL, big-time superstar players are often targeted by defensive units and tend to get shadowed harder. With 2K7's new pressure control system, you'll be able to call out individual opponents that are giving your team trouble and have them watched over extra carefully. You'll also be able to adjust the level of cover you want to give. Light cover will involve close attention and maybe a little pushing here and there. Steadily upping the level of coverage brings more and more physical contact into the fold. The risk with this, of course, is that you're more likely to draw a penalty the higher you set the coverage.

Franchise mode will see some improvements across the board, including a new rivalry system. Rivalries are a big part of the NHL game--divisional teams tend to play each other so often that it's hard not to take those games rather personally. In the franchise, you'll have one major rival team and two minor rivals. Over the course of a full franchise, your rivalries will update depending on the situation. Perhaps if a team knocks you out of the playoffs a couple of years in a row, it will find its way onto your rivalry radar. Besting rival teams gives your team some additional chemistry boosts, so rivals are certain to be a big part of your franchise strategy.

NHL 2K7 is shaping up to be a big improvement over last year's 360 effort and perhaps is finally bringing hockey into the new era of console gaming. We like the way it plays, we like the way it looks, and the new features all sound like sensible changes. Currently the game is set to ship this fall for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. We'll bring you more on the game soon.