NHL 09
Become the first great name in videogame hockey with NHL 09. Jump into the EA SPORTS Hockey League and become part of the first console sports MMO. Take your created player online and join a team with friends, or scout for players. Featuring 6 vs. 6 online team play, the ability to level up your player, tournament brackets, and awards at the end of every season.
Check Hard and Fight - A physics-based checking and fighting engine featuring more than 300 new animations brings a higher-level of intensity to the game
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars The NHL franchise gets better with time
To be quite honest, this game is the reason that I bought an xbox 360. It’s that good. And the fact that you can buy a ‘non-gamer nerd version with tons of crap I’ll never use’ for about $200.
NHL 09 is extremely addictive. The game play is more realistic than ever before, obviously the graphics are better, and the features are fantastic. The options that you have on this game are truly amazing. You can play current teams, various international (including KHL or superleague) teams, AHL teams, Olympic teams, and historic teams. You can select from vintage, current and alternate jerseys. Dynasty mode (my personal favorite as always) allows you to manage a team and build a champion. You can pick a team or make a custom team (roster, jerseys and all) to sub in for an existing team like Phoenix where people don’t even know that hockey exists, and move it to a city where people do! Managing your salary cap, on ice performance, minor league system, making trades and signing and re-signing players gives you a bit of the feel of being an NHL GM (though NHL 09 trades are much easier to make that those in real life, obviously). My only gripe with dynasty mode are the ‘draft picks’. They are all made up players, so drafting is worthless. I personally always trade my picks away and never trade for or sign a fake player that the game makes out of those drafts. Surely EA can do better in that aspect of dynasty mode. Why not offer a list of ECHL, college or minor hockey players every year to draft. At least the names and player would be real (unlike George Malkin or Bob Kovalev or whatever crap-tastic names the game generates for the fake players). Probably the coolest mode on the game is the ‘be a player’ mode where you play yourself up the ranks of an NHL team. Start in the AHL, work your way up the lines and into the NHL and the big money. This is probably the funnest mode on the game (other than multiplayer) to hockey fans as it’s pretty realistic to the real thing.
Well, i’m tired of talking about this game, I haven’t went over some other things like the ability to customize player equipment and the practice and skills modes, but they are minor, yet appreciated elements of the game as well. Bottom line, if you’re a hockey fan..buy this game.
It’s probably the only game selling for $50+ that actually gives you the bang for your buck and is worth what’s charged.
5 Stars Awesome game
This game is great, usually a fan of the 2k series, but 2009 wins this year.
5 Stars Great game
Bought this game for my son’s birthday and he loves it. The only thing is after awhile of playing it, the game keeps shutting off. Seems to be defective. Very disappointing.
4 Stars NHL 09
NHL 09 is a solid title in EA’s NHL series. An upgrade over last years title, but it still has little bothersome issues that keep the game from being one of the most amazing NHL titles in a long time. The be a pro mode, still has a ways to go, contract negotiation is fairly static and feels like you have little control over. The camera angle sometime in a be a pro mode can make things like teammates hard to see. But that doesn’t stop the game from being truly one of the best sports games to come out in a long time. It is definitely worth the purchase for NHL fans and fans who just enjoy sports in general.
5 Stars Best sports game ever
I am a longtime gamer on every system. In my opinion, this is the best, most realistic sports game ever made. The “Be A Pro” mode is great as is online play, with up to 12 players (10 skaters and 2 goalies). If you like hockey and don’t have this yet, you’re missing out!
Filed under: Xbox 360 Video Games