The journey to the apex of hockey video games has been the most fascinating voyage in which I've ever taken part. Starting with Sega Genesis 2 and moving onto Playstation and then Playstation 2, I saw the peaks and valleys of NHL video games. But the final destination of NHL 2008 for Xbox 360 has made that trip well worth it.
NHL '95 was a great game for its time. Each arena played a specific song at the start of the game or when the home team scored a goal. What was better than scoring with Pat Verbeek to hear the Hartford Whalers' Brass Bonanza"" play in the background? Let's not forget Anaheim and Chicago, who also had great songs while ""Mexican Hat Dance"" played for Detroit.
The key to winning all the time was the wraparound goal. Skating around the net with Jeremy Roenick and sticking the puck past Felix Potvin was about as automatic as the fact that the game would soon freeze and the entire season and past month of my 7-year-old life would be deleted. Still, the shear simplicity and ease of NHL '95 made it as fun of a game as ever existed.
Fast forward to 1999 and the existence of Sony Playstation and NHL '99. This version of the NHL series featured cool arena fly-ins before the game. EA Sports realistically recreated each arena and its surroundings so before a game at Reunion Arena in Dallas, you could get a nice feel of the area around the square-top rink.
Announcers had been introduced to the NHL games by then, so I had the pleasure of listening to Jim Hughson and Darryl Reaugh as the commentators for my Boston Bruins season. I will forever miss the choppy announcing which consisted of repetitive comments like ""Boston ... wins the draw!"" and ""What a goal by ... Samsonov!""
This game also gave you control of the goal horn, so when you scored you could draw the horn out as long as possible (goal horns are one of the best and most underrated aspects of hockey in general).
It appeared as if NHL games hit a plateau after 1999 as EA Sports struggled in the realism department. NHL 2003 for Playstation 2 was the lowpoint of the EA Sports NHL series. Not only had the graphics regressed to being worse than the NHL games for Playstation or even Genesis, but the gameplay was vastly unrealistic. The only good thing about the game was that it had ""Sweetness"" by Jimmy Eat World, a great hockey song.
But then emerged NHL 2008. My friend Adam Augustine agreed to let me play him last weekend in one game, which was negotiated to five games once the first puck dropped.
A few things make this year's Xbox 360 variety the best video game I have ever played. The game is ridiculously easy to figure out, even for someone who grew up a Playstation guy. Only the two joysticks and the right trigger are necessary. Defense is actually hard for once, and checks come at a premium, unlike the old days when every play ended in the biggest hit in the history of the world and a turnover. Shots are no longer always accurate, and half the time they are realistically blocked in front of the net.
Also, the game features all 29 AHL teams, so if you are wondering what happened to former Badger Robbie Earl when he departed prematurely for the professional ranks, a quick game with the Toronto Marlies shows he is indeed a winger on the Maple Leafs' minor league squad.
EA Sports took its time improving its NHL video game series, but after a long yet enjoyable struggle, they've nailed it. The trek from Alexander Mogilny to Alexander Ovechkin took us through Quebec and Colorado and in the end was well worth it.
E-mail Eric at elevine@wisc.edu if you are interested in losing to him at NHL 2008.
