So with all of that against it – how in the world is this still the best hockey game on the market? The fact is, when this game clicks, both offline and online, it’s is a joy to play – an exhilarating experience due to the controls, variation in goals, the puck physics, and highly topical play by play, and the level of tension that it provides—when NHL 09 is good – it is really, really, good.

The worst thing a sports game can be is predictable and the game is anything but that; every game feels like its own little mini drama playing out in real time. Even with its faults, which are hard to simply gloss over, it’s too much fun not to recommend.

Playing the “Be a Pro” mode, another case of putting you in the shoes of player similar to Madden and the NCAA series, or via the franchise mode is a lot of fun. Be a Pro Mode for me is more of a diversion, but it is well designed if you’re into that style of play. You start out in the AHL (and the real teams are there; I started off in Syracuse) and work your way up to the big club. What I like best about this mode is that it demands that you play positional hockey and even tells you where you should be on the ice via easy to see indicators and doesn’t like it when you just free skate around the rink during a game. You need to be in position or your evaluation drops.

Franchise mode is basically the same, complete with somewhat sketchy trade AI and the ability to only use one team – for all of you college dorm kids wanting to run a franchise league or roomies who want to play a multiplayer franchise – sorry, folks.

The real meat this year is online. League play is back, and while the lack of an online career mode (if NCAA 09 can do this why not every EA game?) is annoying, the EA Sports Hockey League makes up for it. You can play 6-on-6 hockey with friends; this has been compared to being a “sports based MMO” and that’s not a bad comparison. You earn skill points, the works. (In fact this is tied to your avatar from Be a Pro mode.) If you join a “club” your standings are tracked, points are earned, and it’s like a living, breathing entity. Playing a game with a lot of buddies, yapping at each other during the game – it’s simply an incredible sports gaming experience.

If you are not an online gamer, NHL 09 is a bit more difficult to blindly recommend. It’s a lot like last year’s game despite some of the new features – it has many of the same faults. It’s fun and addictive, but it’s also not close to authentic hockey so it depends on how much of a stickler for fundamental realism you are – will the ridiculously precise passes and lack of penalties bother you? Still, online gamers or those who want to take the plunge into the world of online sports gaming – this is about as good as it gets.

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