Perfect to end the hockey lock-out.
Well this year Sega's ESPN was much better.
The first time i played this game, I thought that the controlls were terrible. But after playing a bit more, I got used to them, so the game was much more playable.
The available game modes are Quick Game, Party Mode (which has lots of mini games), Playoffs, and Season and Franchise mode. The most logical thing that you would use to replace the lost hockey season, would be season mode.
Like I said before, once you get used to the controlls, the game is very controllable.
If you make an account, you can earn credits to buy things like classic jerseys and logos. All of this makes the game incredibly replayable.
The graphics are pretty good. Not as good as in NHL 2005, but not too bad. The player models aren't as acurate as they could have been, but there's nothing really wrong with them.
The biggest problem woth the graphics is that the crowd sucks. They look like blurry cardboard cut outs
This year everyone (including me) is complaining about the comentary in 2005. But after listening to the commentary in 2K5, I'd go back to 2005 in a minuet. The announcers are less repetative than in 2005, but they just keep saying the same thing over and over in different words. After hearing that the goalie stopped the puck so that the goal didn't go through, I don't need to hear the same guy say it again.
After playing both of the 2 major hockey games this year, the choice is clear for me. It's easily got to be ESPN. The controlls are solid, and it's very playable. With the only problem being the annoying commentary, this game is easy to recomend.