EA's NHL series has been on a role lately, and in a year in which many sports sims are finally showing us what these current-gen systems are capable of, EA Canada still has managed to make NHL stand a head above the crowd.

Work hard! Work hard!

If you've played EA Sports' NHL series over the last couple of years, then you're familiar with the simple and beautifully effective control scheme. Last year the developers introduced some new dedicated controls such as stick lifts and getting down to disrupt shooting and passing lanes. This year is more focused on the thankless dirty work that occurs in the corners. While down in the corner, a defenseman can come up and pin you along the boards, stifling any puck movement and triggering a battle for leverage where the offensive player protects the puck from poke checks and searches for an open teammate to kick the puck to. While these little mash-ups are extremely satisfying and bring an even higher level of authenticity to the game, the mechanic isn't without some slight problems. I found that sometimes your AI teammates hesitate to come close enough to be of any real help, but for the most part, the new boardplay mechanic works great.

Another fun wrinkle added to this year's game is the new Post-whistle play. In last year's game you were free to check away at the opposition free of consequence. This year, after the whistle action plays directly into the mantra of intimidation as you can start fights, instigate the other team into a dumb penalty through cheap shots and face washes, or really lay some lumber to send the crowd into a frenzy.

All of that said, the real fun begins when you pick a fight. The fighting engine has been completely retooled from the ground up and plays almost like a "Diet Fight Night," with a fantastic first person view and stick oriented controls for all but blocking and turtling -- and if you're turtling, you absolutely should not be fighting in the NHL unless you aspire to be a gliding punching bag.

CUP CRAZY!

There are two very significant new game modes in NHL 10, the first being The Battle for the Cup mode. Battle for the Cup plays a lot like a standard playoff series, but to simply dismiss it as a showdown series would be a huge mistake. You'll also have the option of playing for the Calder Cup, EA Cup or the almighty Lord Stanley's Cup.

Storylines develop throughout your series that include player injuries and goals. Those storylines, articulated by the best announcers in video game sports, Gary Thorne and Bill Clement, realistically increase the tension that grows before each game.

While EA has improved the presentation by making the crowd more boisterous, waving towels and wearing popular player's jerseys, it would have been nice to see some team specific playoff gimmicks like the Flyers' "Orange Crush," the Lightning's "White Out," or the Sharks' patented choke job.

The other significant game mode is the "Be a GM" mode. In this mode you'll be in charge of finding young talent through the prospect game, balancing your team's checkbook and assessing team needs through trades and free agency as you try to build a Stanley Cup champion. Your owner will give you tasks to complete as you build your reputation among the other teams in the league as a shrewd negotiator, or as a bit of a jerk. Whether you become a legendary GM or just another front office nobody is up to you.

Taking it one game at a time

EASHL is back and wants to improve upon it's hyper competitive run last year with new month by month seasons. Teams will compete to finish among the tops of their respective conference (or system of choice here) to earn unique player bonuses and equipment from the Be A Pro Shop. Get your club together, create your uniforms and hit the ice with improved control over your individual skaters, allowing greater freedom to fake shots on a breakaway and make unbelievable saves.

All in all, I feel it's a safe bet to declare NHL 10 the best sports sim of the year narrowly beating out Sony's MLB '09: The Show and Madden NFL 10. If you in any way, shape or form enjoy the sport of hockey, you absolutely have to give this game a shot. The quality of the new features and the fine tuning of previous in-game elements has produced the strongest rinkrat since NHL '94.

Pros: Strong hockey simulation, EASHL gives more reasons to stick with it after a bad month, new “Be a GM” and “Battle for the Cup” modes offer a ton of re-playability to the title, up to 30 player controlled teams in a league.

Cons: Teammate AI is slow to help develop plays on some odd man rushes, GM mode may be too intense for some.

NHL 10 screens (22 images)

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