New Generation, Old Baggage
Regardless of how well you know me, I'd like to again point out that I'm one of few American staffers here at COE that also happens to adore the world of hockey. While I don't necessarily live and breathe it like I do gaming, it's been a significant part of my life since the Penguins' '91-'92 Cup years. I even played on the street for casual fun when I was in fifth grade, but that was short-lived for reasons I don't feel the need to delve into. To replace that, I've been a staunch fan of playing hockey in videogames, and it started with NHL '94, which most fellow hardcore NHL supporters associate with quite well. After being used to the hit everything in sight arcade style for so long, I wondered for a long time if a simulation would ever come about. Well, times have changed, and EA's NHL 08 managed to finally draw me in after three years of avoidance and left me mostly satisfied. Can 2K do the same with their often superior product?
Well, NHL 2K8 is simply a mixed bag for me. The game executes a handful of concepts very well, but doesn't in certain key areas. Let's start with the core presentation. The menus are laid out in a way that mostly makes sense, utilizing a hierarchical structure to group necessary items together. Even the team you select as your favorite has a nifty highlight filmstrip that scuttles along at an angle towards the right-hand side. When it comes to the actual hockey games, the pre-opening faceoff that serves as a hype booster is suitable, with the home team's logo lit up on the ice, animating in different ways while the away team is booed, and the home players are announced to the frozen sheet and cheered for. The models in their own right look good, as a surprising amount do nicely to reflect their real-life counterparts; I just couldn't shake the feeling that they come off as little plastic-like, especially in the facial department. The equipment looks awesome though, as it's all official stuff, and can vary from player-to-player. The overall arena environment has its ups and downs too. The ice looks great, with all the standard painting underneath and ads littering the sideboards (and degradation that happens over time from the skating), but what's up with the crowd? Neither EA nor 2K could pull off a proper bunch of fans, as the ones in 2K8 just look silly when they animate, and some apparently managed to forget their tickets, because there are one-too-many empty seats. At least this is made up somewhat in part with the player animations and movements. While not perfect, it's so much better than last year, and the goalies operate in extremely realistic fashion. My biggest gripe about the whole package is the Cinemotion, that was so heavily promoted last year, seems to have been tossed to the wayside. Where are the locker room cutscenes, where's the feeling like you're really witnessing the drive and determination of your players as they band together and support each other on the ice? I didn't see any of that, and simply wondered n disappointment.
That brings us to what usually supplements the topics just covered when it comes to delivering an exciting hockey game, the sound department. I'll just come right out and say it, I'm appalled with how bad the commentary in 2K8 is. Harry Neale and Bob Cole either need better writers or just a whole new recipe for motivation, because I've never heard a more monotonous and robotic broadcast in my hockey gaming life. It's already bad enough that the two's exchanges sound so unnatural, but the fact that they repeat every single line I can remember from 2K6 and 2K7 is both pitiful and unacceptable. I realize that the duo is infamous in Canada, where everyone believes hockey matters most, so that could just mean my American nature makes me biased against them, who knows. But seriously, I couldn't stand them after three games, so off they went in the game's sound options. Now to an extent, the handful of licensed songs (regardless of the bands' reputations) and in-game sounds do the game some justice, but it's not enough to save what should be an emotional athletic videogame from inane announcing and an almost total lack of on-ice player interaction. Although 2K Sports was on to something when they implemented the option for players to dedicate custom playlists to specific aspects of the game. The concept isn't entirely original given that you can listen to your transferred music whenever you wish on X360/PS3, but it's neat that you can allocate specific songs for specific things in 2K8.
For all intents and purposes, just as it is for any sports game that exists, the real meat of the game cooks underneath the whole mess of menu selections. NHL 2K8 does a few things that I was mostly impressed by gameplay-wise, but when it comes to core controls, they really need to go back to the drawing board. One thing that stands out in this hockey title is the Face-Off system. No longer are you simply pressing a button or pulling back on a stick to gain possession of the puck after the drop. With this concept, you hold the right analog stick in the direction that your player would in the actual game to place his stick properly, and then you wait for the guy in black and white to drop the rubber disc, and hope you come away with it. It's not that simple though. If you go for the swipe too early, the referee warns you for being preemptive, and then after a momentary skate around, your center goes back to the face-off circle. Be guilty again, and you're waved out completely, and one of your wingers comes in to take the job. Even more intriguing is how Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks helped the developers in implementing the tie-up, meaning if both centers engage the puck at the appropriate time but neither is quicker, they end up in a physical scuffle in which you can then use your skates, stick or other teammates to win possession of the burnt biscuit. That's not all. As your current line's center, you can even command one of your wingers to cause a ruckus to annoy the referee, which can generate buzz from the fans. The only thing that bothers me about the end result is that early swipe warning and tie-ups happen more often than you would see in real-life, which somewhat hurts the authenticity. But still, a great idea, and I look forward to seeing perfected execution of it.
What isn't so great is the seemingly evolved Pro Stick, which is a noticeably blatant attempt on 2K's part to rip-off EA's Skill Stick. On the defensive end, it's fairly useful because you can shift the position of your wooden puck handler in each of the cardinal directions, which allows you to intuitively poke check the rubber disc off an opposing player's blade. On offense though, it's as good as pointless because deking is mapped to a button, and trying to use it properly at that rate just doesn't feel natural. Sure you use it to precisely pinpoint your shot's location, but it's not even remotely as rewarding as EA's engine. That brings us to my biggest gripe about NHL 2K8, and that's the control complexity. Let me establish something first. I don't necessarily have a problem using button combos to do a hockey game's actions, because I've done that since 1994 and it's very familiar to me. However, with what EA managed to accomplish in requiring only the triggers, bumpers and two sticks on the controller to deliver a simulation-driven experience, going back to a 30+ combo system now feels archaic and cumbersome. I'm sorry, but when a mere slapshot requires directing both sticks at the same time, whilst holding a trigger and then pressing another top button, all I can think of is meh at that point. That isn't to say that playing 2K8 feels broken, because that's certainly not the case, it just seems like a gargantuan step backward for not 2K hockey, but the genre as a whole. The game is still pretty fun if you put your mind to it, but that's a tough thing to ask for when there's competition that offers a more seamless experience. Although, it simply can't go without being mentioned that if you love arcade-style hockey, you know, being able to deck anyone on the opposing team to the ice regardless of your player's physical stature, then 2K8 would definitely tickle your fancy. Even on the Simulation play style preset, I noticed way too much illegal contact, but hey, if that's your favored way of playing hockey, by all means check this out. Finally, the Superstar Moves is also an interesting idea, and its implementation isn't too shabby. Whenever you feel it's appropriate, holding the left trigger and inputting a two face button combo causes your skater (if they're skilled enough) to pull off an slick looking trick that basically tries to score and embarrass the opposing goalie at the same time. It's useful when you know what action you input (there are over ten of them, good grief...), but when you don't, you're bound to look like a complete idiot when you initiate a sick maneuver, only to either miss the next by a longshot, or hit the side of it.
The last major feature I'd like to point out manages to be a strong point for NHL 2K8, its Franchise mode. Not only are all the minor league (AHL) affiliates present, but the system that the new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) employs is very much in effect here. You can manage player contracts, trades, training and skill evolution as you see fit. When negotiating with free agents, the game encourages you to control the deal for your prospective employee when it comes to financial and yearly terms. If you don't have a backbone, your wallet suffers. If you know how to handle a superstar's ego and stand your ground with his agent, you could score an all-star winger for half his original bargaining price. You can also run a trade search, which basically allows you to enter information regarding what you're looking for in a transaction, and the game notifies you if something that closely suits your needs manages to pop up. The same goes for the waiver system. While it's weird that the game doesn't tell you how to acquire minor league-bound NHLers, knowing that you have access to other teams' trash so to speak is pretty cool. Then of course you can allocate practices and training at your discretion and literally handle your team as you see fit. Just be prepared to witness the good and bad, because management in any job market has its ups and downs.
Ultimately NHL 2K8 is a victim of trying to bring a franchise into a new era, while failing to leave old baggage behind. The Face-Off system is great, the Pro Stick certainly has potential and the Franchise mode is better than ever. But when everything else either feels ill-contrived or poorly executed, it rears a nagging feeling in the back of your mind. Even the online component is fairly barebones, with only Quick Match and Ranked Match play offered, and leaderboards that show just how unpopular the service is. No one's played more than 80 games on there yet, which tells you something. Still, not all has been lost in what for many years had been the preferred hockey game, but for the 2007-2008 season, competition finally showed up, and ended up taking home the prize of overall quality. There's always next year, and here's to believing in a developer that we know is capable of re-emphasizing what fans have come to love, while doing some new things that would bring the package together just a little better.