Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Worth the wait"

For a sport that is played mainly from big Canadian guys with broken noses hitting violently each other in an ice field NHL 09 is doing well. This attemt of EA seems to be surprisingly good and it is one of the BEST sport games in PS3.

NHL 09 puts the player into the action with a lot of details that make the difference. The players react almost in everything they move well they take glances and they seem dissapointed when the opposite team has scored a goal. On the contrary when they score one they get furious. They run and celebrate they yell and their face changes.

In addition the ice is well designed with a lot of cracks. The supporters are 3D and they seem real. They have details and are not all the same. For a sport game the graphics realy look fantastic!

The best in the game apart from the wonderful graphics is the gameplay which is almost perfect. It is very deep from tactics to controls. You can make your system as you want. The customazition is also very good. Another advantage is that the game is very realistic.

The movement is wonderful and opposite with other games it is very appealing. The players move their legs and when they want to choose the direction they are moving the don't simply stop but you can see the attempt to do this. On the whole the player feels he is in an ice rink.

The controls are not complicated but simple. It is also well balanced. The left stick moves the player whereas the right one controls the player's stick. Besides the ball's hit and the passes have been transfered to L1 and R1 buttons. As a result you won't hace to move your hands continously but it will take a liitle time to get used to it. Nevertheless you can adjust the controls as you want.

Another positive thing in NHL 09 is the Be A Pro mode(like in fifa 09). For those who aren't aware of this it is a mode in which you controll only one player in the matches and he is the one to develop. This mode is also available in the online mode (5 against 5 players).

To sum up NHL 09 is a complete success and it's sure you will get on well with it. If you are a fan of the sport this game is for you! It can addict you.

Graphics:9
Gameplay:9
Sound:8
Controls:8
Lasting appeal:8.5