NHL 2K6 on the Xbox 360 does not bear quite the same resemblance to its NBA counterpart, which was also recently released just prior to the system's launch. Whereas 2K Sports went to a great deal of trouble to overhaul that game's graphics and animations, that level of effort isn't nearly as apparent in this port. The requisite smoother-looking, somewhat more detailed player models, ice, and whatnot are all on hand, but even with this game running in HD, it's tough to say that this is the next generation of hockey gaming. In fact, the only thing that separates this version of the game from the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions is a solid new iteration of the goalie control feature implemented this year--well, that and its $60 price tag, three times what you'd pay on the other two platforms. Still, there aren't any other hockey games available for the Xbox 360 this year, and the gameplay is still as fantastic as it's ever been. But out of the three versions currently available, this isn't necessarily the ideal version to get.

Hockey gaming makes its debut on the Xbox 360 in NHL 2K6

In case you haven't already played 2K6 on another platform, here's what you need to know. For this year's game, the developers have actually thrown together quite a number of new gameplay features compared to last year's version. We say thrown together, because in some ways the gameplay feels more chaotic due to all these new components, some of which are excellent, and some of which are not. Starting with the positives, the best new aspect of the game is the new pro control passing system. One of the problems with setting up good plays in hockey games has been trying to accurately pass to all the right players in a proper succession. This has been nearly impossible with the standard passing mechanics. Here, you can simply click the right analog stick, and button icons will appear above each of the other four players on the ice. You need only press the corresponding button, and the pass will be sent to the right player. This gives you the ability to create lengthy strings of passes that can be especially effective on power plays. The defensive artificial intelligence won't let you pull these plays off easily, of course, but if you can get past them, you can pull off some extremely satisfying goals. The one annoying thing about this feature is that you have to re-click the button to bring up the icons after every shot attempt. Maybe an option to just leave them on indefinitely would have been a good idea. But, even with this one minor gaffe, the feature is great.

Another great idea added into this year's game is on-the-fly play calling. The D pad is utilized here to let you tell your team exactly what you want it to do. This works on both offense and defense, and by pressing specific directions you can have your team do everything from crash the net and screen the goalie to clearing the front of the net and collapsing. When these plays work, they're immensely effective, as the AI does pretty much exactly what you tell it to do. We did run into some instances, though, where it seemed like defensemen in particular weren't quite doing their part on offensive plays, like crashing the net. They definitely come in closer when you ask them to, but they still hover very close to the blue line inside the offensive zone, and trying to utilize them without controlling them directly can be a hassle. But apart from these hiccups, the new play-calling system is a welcome addition.

Yet another good idea that isn't perhaps as well-put-together as it could have been in this year's game is the new enforcer system. Every NHL team has at least one serious tough guy who loves to intimidate the other team's players through rough play and occasional brawls. NHL 2K6 calls these players out by slapping a fat E icon on them that's impossible to miss while you play. If your enforcer does his job especially well while he's on the ice, then opposing players may become intimidated, which is denoted by a big I icon for said player. Intimidated players will also take hits to their stats, most noticeably speed, for some reason. It's kind of odd that a player frightened by the presence of an enforcer would suddenly slow down--if anything, you'd think he'd want to speed up to stay out of the enforcer's way. Apart from that weird bit, the mechanic makes sense and works. The unfortunate thing, however, is that there's never any recourse. The enforcer from the team with the intimidated player never comes out and tries to start a fight--at least, not on the default settings. Fights are incredibly rare in the game, and when they do happen, they aren't much fun. Then again, 2K's fighting model has never been very good, although fights should still happen with far more frequency than they do in 2K6.

The new goalie control system is quite different from the PS2 and Xbox versions, in that it's actually kind of fun.

The last big change happened to be the most incidental on the previous two platforms: goalie control. It was a fairly basic system in the previous two versions, letting you use the right control stick to push your goalie into different stances and save types, and hold down a trigger button to automatically position yourself. Neat idea, but not one that was fully fleshed out, it seems, and it wasn't much fun. This system still exists in the aforementioned fashion on the 360, but there's also a whole new version of it that's far more involved and enjoyable. By clicking the right control stick button when in control of the goalie, you'll go into a third-person view behind the net. The goalie becomes somewhat transparent at this point, but you'll still be able to see him and where he's positioned. In front of you is a V-shaped vision cone of sorts that represents your goalie's position to the puck. When the cone is red, that means you're out of position to the puck. When the light's green, the trap is clean, so to speak.

When someone actually takes a shot at you, provided you're in position to deal with said shot, time slows down, and you'll see a little target icon in the back of the net that shows where the puck is headed. You have your own save icon you then move to as close as you can to the target icon. Hit it, and you'll make the save. If you're seriously out of position, you can tap the right control stick to make a diving save. It's less precise, but it can help you in a tight squeeze. The whole system isn't exactly geared towards realism. When in the third-person goalie perspective, the puck has this red glow around it that gives you a better view of where it's moving, and the whole slow motion thing...well, that isn't realistic. But it's also a lot more fun than it would be if 2K had just gone for straight realism, since, you know, you can actually make saves this way.