Gaming Nexus: NHL 2K9 Review

Gaming Nexus writes: "Anyone who follows sports is by now familiar with the idea of a top round draft pick who is the scion of a professional sports family (Manning, Hull, etc.) that prior to proving himself is just a prospect with a high talent ceiling and a famous last name. Some of these young men go on to prove themselves as a superstars in their own right (Peyton, Eli, Brett) while others make epic fail look like a inadequate descriptor (Todd Marinovich, Pete Rose, Jr). Following a complete rewrite by Take-Two subsidiary Visual Concepts for the 2009 season, I'll break down how this edition of the NHL 2K series fared in its rookie season.

Sports games sometimes seem to suffer from an identity crisis. The developers appear to have trouble deciding if the game should follow the traditional arcade route, or head down the path towards a simulation. Games designed with the right amount of forethought are capable of bridging the gap between the two. This is one area where NHL 2K9 shows a lot of potential. The game offers a default control system that is designed for those gamers who want to 'pick up and play' in the arcade style without a lot of effort to get started. While this control set works for a quick learning curve, it doesn't offer the full range of player control options the other control sets do."