NHL 09 is not a simulation of professional hockey. It’s a game. A fun game, no doubt, but it’s more like an entertaining movie based on a good book which was based on actual events. The event is usually more interesting but the movie is good enough to get the job done. In fairness, the game does more than just get the job done – it’s addictive, but you need to know beforehand that it still has many of the same annoyances left over from NHL 08.

Let’s get some of the frustrations out of the way right up front. It is impossible to label a hockey game as “great” when it contains laughably accurate tape to tape passing, an annoying lack of penalties, and goalies and defenders that tend to fall asleep on the powerplay. Some of these maddening moments stem from the fact that the game is very weak when it comes to customization. There are sliders in the game but they are global – so if you boost ‘Shot Accuracy’ it goes for both you and the CPU. Why it’s done like this is anyone’s guess but it sure is annoying not to be able to tweak things exactly how you want them.

It would be nice to be able to lower passing accuracy, but it’s not an option; you can supposedly boost the amount of penalties but unless you play on a high level of difficulty (and the AI is brutally efficient on anything higher than Pro, to the point where you want to hurl your gamepad) there are just not very many calls made – unless it’s on you for overuse of the poke check button which usually results in a tripping call or using the new “raise stick” button when trying to break up a play.

Your AI teammates, particularly on defense, have a habit of parting like the Red Sea, giving the AI a clear shot at the net unless you manually control a defender and stop it. Asking your AI buddies for help – not the smartest tactic. This is especially true when you are killing a penalty. There is no question in my mind that the game lowers the goalie’s ability when on a PK. This is, I would assume, done on purpose because in most hockey games the powerplay/penalty kill mechanic is so out of whack that they are meaningless. In NHL 09 if you have to kill a penalty it’s tough not because of the better AI offense but because your goalie all of a sudden can’t stop anything. Perhaps that’s a fair trade off, though? What’s worse: a powerplay where you have no fear of allowing a goal (as with most games) or a goalie that is more vulnerable, even if it’s artificial?

That’s debatable but what isn’t is the fighting mechanic; it’s terribly lame. It’s a grab, dodge, punch mechanic that is triggered by pressing the Y button during play. It’s silly, dumb, and utterly pointless. Hockey games have struggled with this for years and NHL 09 is no exception.