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By Keith B (23rd Mar 2007)

Whenever I play Ice hockey games I am reminded of Happy Gilmore and his record of being the only person to be sent off for threatening an opponent with his own skate. I must admit, I have never played Ice-Hockey. Given that I live in the capital City of the Driest State of the Driest Country in the World, opportunities to get together with some mates and go at it on the ice don't exactly grow on trees. Also given that my skating skills don't resemble Nadia Comeniche, not to mention my field hockey abilities, I really don't think I was meant to don the helmet! Goalie however, now there is a position I could get into. But I digress. I am sure I had a point to all of this......oh, that's right, although I haven't experienced the game too much I always love playing Ice Hockey console games. There is just something about bashing the snot out of an opponent legally that really does it for me!

NHL 07 is the most recent in the line of Hockey games from the good people at EA Sports, and given that I had previously played NBA Live 07, I did not have high hopes for this one either! However I was pleasantly surprised. Now, don't get your hopes up too much. I wasn't ‘jump up and down because I just hooked up with Kirsten Dunst' surprised, more ‘well bugger me, this game doesn't suck'! I think the major difference between this game and its NBA counterpart (other that the obvious sport difference) is that the controls are soooooo much simpler! NHL 07 has introduced a more responsive stick system, so instead of crunching random buttons you simply pull back on the right stick and push forward to shoot. Of course there are a number of variations, but they are far easier to master. Also there is only one button for pass, OH KALOO KALAY!!!! That's right, for any programmers reading this article (which is no doubt all of you if you have any brains), simplicity is the way to go! The added ‘cherry on top' part about the stick is that as you become better at the game you can turn off the aides and perfect finesse shots etc.

As with the rest of the EA Sports current batch the major aspect of the game is the Career or legacy mode. Meaning that you manage a team for a 5 year period, with the ultimate goal of winning 5 straight Stanley Cups. You have to recruit and train your players, while also managing the finances and contracts etc. Of course you also get to play the games themselves, but if the actual ‘game' bores you, just press the ‘simulate match' button, and your fate is in the hands of the 360! Other than that, Ice Hockey is Ice Hockey! There are two goals, three periods, a whole heap of ice and lots of opponents to start fights with! Oh, make sure you turn up the ‘fighting' option in the setup menu, as it is pretty hard to start a barney otherwise!

Visually, the graphics are pretty solid. I mean the character definition and movement isn't 100 percent, but you really don't notice during the game. The ice itself is relatively realistic, with it becoming scuffed and less ‘shiny' as the game progresses. The crowd is a little average, again they have banked on the gamer being enthralled with the action and not noticing the crappy background. I must say, I didn't notice it too much, but I wanted to make a point of it just to spite the creators! Take that EA Sports!

The sound aspect is very good, one aspect that the EA franchise get right almost every time. The ambient noise is spot on, not to mention the commentary. I actually found that I did not want to track down the commentators and smack their heads into steel girder, which is saying a lot for me! The music in the menu and management screens is also quite decent.

I did find it a little difficult to begin with, which means that the majority of you will find it about as easy as curing Cancer. After the first game you get used to the over-skating, the opposition gaining the puck whenever they are close to you and the goalies stopping every good shot you fire at them with their head. The best conversion rate you can expect for your first 10 or so games is around 20%. For those who have the IQ of a watermelon, this mean that you will miss 4 out of every 5 shots you take on goal.

One thing that I just couldn't work out was how to get a new ‘rookie' recruit on the team. I bought a young player (who looked a bit like Jack Black) who had an impressive skill level and large improvement potential, and every time I tried to get him on the team a message came up saying "you must dress this player before he can play". Is he naked? Aside from this I could not find any way of dressing this guy. I am assuming this means giving him a uniform. There is nothing in the manual (which has stuff all information), and absolutely no way in the coaching, GM or any other menu to fix this issue! I say let the lad play nude. They are letting birds run topless in the Olympics now (which is awesome), why not Ice Hockey?!

The Scott's Last Word:
Whether you are in to Ice Hockey or not, NHL 07 is a pretty good game that you will enjoy. Unless you are one of those freaks who don't like sport......losers! I did say don't get your hopes up, and there was good reason for that comment. Once again there are NO CHEERLEADERS!!!! I was looking forward to some snow bunnies on skates in little short skirts and fluffy.......sorry, off topic again, but it was important to say!