The game is fugly, but like a potential lover, if you get beyond the exterior, you're bound to find something worthwhile
So what works and what doesn't with NHL 2K9? Well, once the game boots up, you're asked to enter your profile name, then pushed straight to the exhibition game screen to allow you quick access to some pick up and play hockey. This is something that some will find very handy, as it's probably part of the reason that they picked up this version as opposed to the other console versions available. The main problem here is that you don't really see any other options available, and aside from a tiny little bar at the bottom that tells you how to access the 2K Nav system, (by pressing the C button), you're not given any instruction on where to go and what to do. It's a minor gripe, but I think that most users will agree that the interface here is just confusing and wrong.
Another problem with the games menu system is that it doesn't support IR interface, at all. You have to use the D-pad on the Wii remote for some things, and the analog stick on the nunchuk for others, and it can often be confusing at first to figure out which one does which...especially in the Franchise or season modes. Lack of IR support for the menu system in a game that supports it for other facets of the game just seems inherently lazy and annoying.
Once you get sorted with the menus, things get better, as the actual gameplay is pretty intuitive, and the controls function well MOST of the time. You can jump into some tutorials if you need to practice any aspect of your game, and it's likely that you will. The game will teach you pretty much every essential you need for hockey: How to bodycheck, shoot, deke, and pass. The one thing that the game doesn't show you how to do, is take a faceoff. For this, you're on your own, because nothing seems to work well enough for you to win more faceoffs than the AI, although multiplayer is a bit less of a gamble.
After learning the basics, you can jump into Franchise, Season, Exhibition mode or try your hand at some mini-games. There's not a lot of variety to the mini-games, and none of them are really worth playing for any serious amount of time, but one playthrough is warranted just to check out the modes anyway. The meat and potatoes here is in the Franchise and Season modes. Both are full featured modes that have appeared in previous games in the 2K series, and 2K has done well to keep them as deep and engaging as ever. Stat tracking, news items and all the frills of running a hockey club are included and all function quite as you'd expect them to. However, the lack of IR menus, again, makes editting lines, sorting through stats and running strategies for your team a huge pain, and is often too confusing to bother with for most players. From what we've seen on other consoles, it shouldn't be this difficult to make changes to your roster, and a simple point and click (a la PES2008) would have suited this game much better.
So how does the game play once you've got everything set up just as you want it? Well, considering all the negatives I've had to say about this game, and yet I still gave it a 7, I'd have to say this is the part of the game that truly shines. The controls work very well, and IR passing is a dream. It's accurate enough that you won't miss too many one-timers, but also realistic enough that you won't hit passes every single time you try. Loading up passes between three players is a simple task of holding the C button, then pressing A, then B, and strategically letting go of the A then the B button to get it to the third player. It's easier than it sounds, and is one of the more satisfying plays you can make when it works...which it does, most of the time.
Shooting is simple and fun, though a bit more depth would be nice in future titles. A wrister is made by simply swinging the Wii remote, and a slap shot is made by holding down the B button, swinging the Wii remote and letting go during the forward swing. Both feel right, but I still can't help but feel there's something lacking in the controls when compared with the skill stick in EA's NHL series. Deking is relatively easy as all you need to do is tilt the nunchuck, however, you'll find that sometimes if you move your hand you'll find your skater deking without really prompting him to do so, which can result in you losing the puck if this happens at the wrong time.
Defense is a little more unruly than the offense, but is still functional and again, relatively easy and effective. Shaking the nunchuk to bodycheck an opponent feels good, if a bit underpowered at times. It's a little more realistic that you're not sprawling opponents out with a simple check but it can be hard to line up the checks with the analog stick while shaking the nunchuk, and this results in a lot of weaker hits than you're likely used to, or expecting. Poke-checking is done by using the B button, and hooking someone to slow up their offense from behind is used by shaking the Wii remote. Poke checking is the most effective method to get the puck and works better than trying to hook them, but both features function as they should.
So we've got the gameplay, the feature set and interface covered. What about the games looks? Erm. Well. They suck. The game looks absolutely terrible once you're on the ice, even in the cutscenes of replays, and celebration sequences after you score a goal. Players are all generic looking in nature, animations are absolutely stiff and appaulingly ugly, and the arena's don't have very much to them at all.
The AI is also questionable. Goaltenders are poor at performing even the most elementary saves, so you best brush up on those defensive skills early on, as you're going to need them. Defenders left to their own devices often spend time in the corners of the rink and very rarely do they flatten an opponent or attempt to stop them when on the breakaway. The knowledge that the goaltending AI is incredibly dumb kind of takes away from the satisfaction of scoring a goal, because it doesn't take much effort, at all. It's defending that will ultimately fulfill you, especially if you're in net and taking on a sniper the caliber of Daniel Alfredson, or Ovechkin.
All in all, the only reason I can recommend the game at all, is that the controls are fun, interesting and best of all, work. The experiences offered in franchise and season are good enough to warrant a playthrough, but only on the tougher difficulty settings, as you'll often walk over the competition in the easier settings. Being that this is the only NHL game on the Wii, it's really a no-brainer for hockey fans to pick this one up and give it a shot. The gameplay is fun enough and deep enough to keep fans happy, but the absolutely disgusting visuals, and poor AI mean that 2K still have some work to do if they want people to come back for another season.