PlayStation 2

NHL 2005

Hard to believe that at this moment there may not be a hockey season this year. How can one of the best sports around not have a season? Since this is the case, you can still get your hockey fix by playing the latest hockey game released by EA Sports entitled NHL 2005. Will this game will keep you occupied until this standoff is resolved? Or is all hope lost? Read on to find out!

This is a solid game with plenty of modes to keep you busy and it adds some nice possibilities to last year’s gameplay which was definitely necessary to keep up with the competition. However, did it improve enough? If you are looking forward to a new game yes, but if you just want to start with playing hockey on a PS2, I don't see enough reasons to pay sixty euros in stead of thirty for last year game.

With the real-life NHL in turmoil this pre-season, and the World Cup concluded, more than ever hockey fans have to look to video games to get their icy fix. For years, gamers had turned to EA's storied NHL franchise to live out their hockey dreams-- but in recent times, EA's wunderkind has fallen off a bit, or at least changed its focus. Starting with 2003, more emphasis has been placed on razzle-dazzle, big goals and especially big hits, to the delight of arcade aficionados, and the relative dismay of purists.

Fortunately for puck fans, "It's in the game" doesn't whole-heartedly apply to EA Sports' latest hockey offering--otherwise, the box would be empty thanks to the lockout. Unfortunately, NHL 2005 still falls short of being the complete game we've been waiting for because it relishes more in vicious hits and arcade-style action than being a true simulation of the sport.

Well, by now you've probably heard the bad news: there isn't going to be any NHL hockey in the foreseeable future. Thanks to the inability of the team owners and the players association to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement, the NHL has locked out their players for the upcoming season, and possibly even longer. So what's a hockey junkie to do, short of strapping on the skates and shoveling off their local pond? Well, they can either watch and rewatch their tapes of the World Cup games from the last few weeks, or they can pop in a copy of Electronic Arts' NHL 2005, the thirteenth game in EA's venerable franchise.

Make no mistake. NHL 2005 is still a solid game of hockey--but it shouldn't be your first choice for one. With the NHL player lockout having now moved beyond the realm of mere probability into cold, hard fact, hockey fans are likely to be on the hunt for any kind of hockey they can find between now and next year. On the video game front, both Visual Concepts and EA are once again adding new installments to their yearly NHL franchises. ESPN NHL 2K5, Visual Concepts' title, came out on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox earlier this month and proved to be a phenomenal game of hockey. NHL 2005, EA's newest hockey title, looks fantastic, but it doesn't quite compare in terms of its actual hockey gameplay.

I’ll dispense with the pretense and come right and say it: there is no NHL season this year, and that sucks. The pain, sadness and frustration of a whole year off ice is evident in the eyes of every cold-blooded hockey fan.

Hey, hockey fans, guess what? There's no NHL this year. For all intents and purposes, the NHL has been canceled. The ice has melted, the players are standing firm, the owners are against the wall, and the fans... well, who cares about the fans? EA does! Yep, the company's ever-popular NHL series is back with a 2005 edition. Who needs high ticket prices and sporadic TV coverage? Make your own league, lead your own team to glory, write your own record book, and go online and play against other rabid, abandoned hockey fans.

In contrast, Sega's ESPN NHL 2K5 maintains a silky smooth frame-rate at all times, and it makes all the difference. In terms of sound, I recommend turning down NHL 2005's lousy music and mediocre two-man commentating, but crank up the "on ice" sound effects. The crisp sound of scraping ice, players being slammed on the boards, and the "clicking" sound of the puck are very appealing. NHL 2005 plays respectably and looks great, but if they want to compete with Sega, it's time for EA to get off their lazy asses and create a new engine for this thing.