Remember when hockey games where fun?
There's no doubt that EA's current crop of NHL games are about as polished as you can get (although I think they've been putting out the same game with different roosters for years now) but, for me at least, they lack the raw fun you found in old games like Hat Trick or Blades of Steel and this game gives you that.
EA's current games have more buttons than I know what to do with and it's nice to play a hockey game that has simple controls.
It's a fast paced game that is perfect for playing against your friends. Best way to describe it is NBA Jam but with hockey. It's got that one more go feel to it - no matter how bad you lose, you'll want to try again and again and again, whether its against a friend or the computer, which I found to be challenging.
You can play with the crazy power ups or you can turn them off, personally I like the game without the power ups.
I paid $5.00 for the game when it was on sale and had I paid the full price of $10.00 I wouldn't have felt ripped off as I think it's one of the better PSN games that I've bought over the years.
It's a shame this game doesn't come with EA's current NHL games but with their online passes and paid extra content, I don't expect EA to be giving anything away.