Almost identical features to last year's installment, but they lack the polish that made last year's title so special.
Overall, nothing stands out. To the credit of EA Canada, it doesn't feel like NHL 09 with updated rosters, in fact, the gameplay just isn't as refined. It's still a game worth buying, but only because it includes the modes that made '09 so great.
I'm not quite sure what to say about how disappointed I was after playing my first 5 games of EA Sports Hockey League, my favorite feature of '09. As an NHL 09 veteran, I just think the gameplay here feels wrong. The first things I noticed about the gameplay were passing and puck deflection. As they are very much dependent on one another, the ability to find good passing lanes and set up effective puck cycling has all but diminished. Players are much more likely to deflect pucks away on defense, and offensive players' (yes, even the CPU controlled ones) get no help when it comes to passing the puck. Passing accuracy has decreased to an extent I never thought possible. Strong passes don't happen, everything is slow-moving and just plain weak. It's a thing of the past to even dream about getting breakaways. Passing from your own zone to the red line is a daunting task because there are generally two possible results: The pass was slow enough that the opposing defense could easily get between the targeted player and the puck, or the pass was so off-target that it went straight to the defense. It's just plain frustrating, and makes moving the puck up ice a chore.
The board play - one of the few true gameplay additions - is hardly worth the advertisement it receives on NHL 10's back cover. It occurs far too often. There's no way to quickly escape this animation once the evil Y button has been pressed. You either pass it up the boards, hope a teammate comes to help you, or try your best to escape (good luck doing that without taking up too much time). It really has yet to impact any games I've played, and is yet another frustrating gameplay addition to the series.
I know this review can't be complete if I don't give my personal opinion on the new "Be a GM" mode. I haven't had enough time with the title to properly evaluate it, but it does seem like an interesting new twist to the franchise mode that was becoming very stale in this series. The goals it sets for the player will definitely add depth, so the focus won't ALWAYS be solely to win a championship. The ability to raise your overall GM rank is neat, and gives the player an actual idea of how skilled they are at managing an NHL franchise.
First person fighting is a joke. It's the same slugfest that it previously was, and just isn't very fun at all. In fact, it's far too easy to instigate fights, and there seems to be almost no penalties called on the player instigating it if the fight doesn't actually occur. As a side note, there is an extreme delay sometimes after a blown whistle. I'm honestly not sure why this was included, as it only results in a rumble of pushing and shoving between every player on the ice. My only guess was that they hoped this would result in their new fighting engine to be used more often... and from what I've seen this isn't happening.
In the end, this game has a few things that will attract hardcore hockey fans, but shouldn't drag in the casual crowd like it did last year. Online Team Play simply isn't as interesting as it previously was, even with the new stat-tracking and ranking systems. Pick this up if you loved 09, but don't expect the same experience, or even an improved one.