NIDZUMI+

Earlier in the month I made the supposedly all-important upgrade for my beloved Macbook, from Leopard to Snow Leopard. Apple is promoting their next incremental upgrade for the Macintosh OS, Snow Leopard, with the tagline of ‘the world’s most advanced operating system, finely tuned’. While booting it up for the first time, I was at a loss of what to try first. I still can’t put my figure on one major or worthwhile feature, I can however still justify it because I know a lot of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ stuff is running a lot smoother, it’s been ‘finely tuned’ or at least I’ve been told so.

What does all this have to do with a Hockey game? Well, I’ve had a case of Déjà vu with another incremental upgrade, only this time for EA’s sublime NHL series. It’s a tad cliché to criticise a game for having no discernibly new features when compared to the most recent release but that’s the problem I was faced with here, NHL 10 is EA’s Snow Leopard.

Being put into the NHL draft is a smart idea, if a short lived one

The parallel continued as I was stuck with what mode to try first. Hidden beneath the overwhelming menus are a bunch of re-hashed and tweaked modes but the one that sticks out is Battle For The Cup, which, to my disappointment, is a glorified Exhibition Mode being played out over a series rather than a one off match.

Elsewhere the Be A Pro mode is essentially untouched, except you’ll be offered the choice of either picking a team from a list or playing a trial game and then being put into the draft. It’s a smart idea, if a short lived one. It’s obvious that NHL 10 isn’t really about the new modes.

Instead this year’s release has opted for tiny tweaks such as the vital board play, where you can force the puck carrier up against the boards in an attempt to slow down the game or to force a turnover. Board play is quite an important thing in Hockey and it’s about time that it’s introduced here. Any scrums against the advertising are more likely to be initiated by the AI at first but on higher difficulties, learning how board play works and when to use it, is vital.

The second is the highly hyped first person fighting, which follows that cliché Marmite argument. The problem with fighting in Hockey is that you have two camps, one that just wants to see people get punched in the face and the other that wants Hockey to be more a purist sport that’s all about wits rather than brawn. So, while the first person fighting is an improvement, I’m in the latter camp meaning it’s too hard to love it. Nevertheless for those that essentially want MMA on ice, you’ll find the appeal and appreciate important alterations made to the fighting system.

The third, and the only other notable in-game improvement, is post-play interaction. In NHL 09 you could beat up, stick and check your opponents as much as you would like after the whistle is blown, and you could have great fun doing it. EA Canada’s fix was to make these moments count, if you check a player after the play he will, along with a few of his opponents, hunt you down.

After almost every play you are faced with a fifteen second break, waiting for any action

The only problem with this is that the game waits a lot longer to see if you are going to do anything. Almost after every play you are faced with a good ten to fifteen seconds of players just standing around, which feels like forever in the fast-paced simulation NHL 10 presents.

That simulation is backed up by the exact same commentary and visuals as last year although the soundtrack is naturally new, thanks to the EA Trax program. Smart touches like ‘The Honda Highlight Reel’ makes the presentation more realistic even if it is the result of a money grabbing deal. I could also bemoan the lack of British teams but although a lot of British gamers now pick up NHL 10, the Elite Ice Hockey League is hardly at the forefront of national Hockey organisations.

At the beginning of the month I upgraded to Snow Leopard and at the end I played NHL 10, never in a million years did I expect those experiences to mirror each other but they were almost parallel. You’ll be at a loss of what mode to jump into, instantly wonder why you made the upgrade and eventually pick up on the smart things the update has given you.

It’s definitely not a must for anyone who owned last year’s version but despite the indifferent tone of this review, NHL is still a brilliant game that should be tried by almost anyone who didn’t, that goes for Hockey and non-Hockey fans alike. Simply put, if Snow Leopard is ‘the world’s greatest operating system, finely tuned’ then NHL 10 is ‘the world’s greatest hockey game, finely tuned’.