This has nothing to do with Dotnet, but games are geekdom at its finest. My favorite game to play on the XBox is the EA Sports NHL series. I have been playing NHL 2005 almost every night for some time now.
The other day I noticed that EA had come out with NHL 06. So how do you release a new version of a software package that is dependent on statistics, when there hasn't been a season with statistics since the last version (NHL 2005) due to the strike? And with possible NHL Lockout fan backlash, will anyone buy it?
Nothing seems all that different in the features on the back of the package. EA's NHL series has serious feature bloat anyway - you can do quick games, seasons, create rosters, and even do dynasty mode with front office decisions and multiple seasons. But this has been available in NHL 2005. Should I take the chance and buy it?
Well, it was priced right at $29, so I took the jump.
NHL 06 fixes everything that I hate about NHL 2005. No longer do you have to skate in and autodeke and use the right thumbstick to hope to get a crazy shot past the goalie. NHL 06 brings back real skating with the classic deking with the left thumbstick that I love from mid-90's versions!! So much more realistic, easier, and better gameplay!
The interface is completely overhauled. The initial speed settings were noticeably slower than NHL 2005 so I had to turn them up. Now the star players get special moves that you can do with the right thumbstick.
The whole game experience is better. More commentary by the announcers, and its not too repetitive (unlike the VERY irritating NHL 2005). They even give background on the coaches and little player bonus nods. They also give a running commentary of updates of shots on goal, etc. Seems much more alive, with a more TV-like graphic experience. One wierd thing though is the instant replay sometimes down't seem to be quite accurate for player placement at times.
The team rosters show the current NHL rosters. Must have been difficult to turn the game around that quickly after the end of the strike. Many of the teams are very different because of trades and the salary cap. The Tampa Bay Lightning retained Lecalvier and St. Louis, but lost goalie Khabibulin.
I usually play as the Carolina Hurricanes. Goalie Kevin Weekes is now a NY Ranger. Jeff ONeill is now with Toronto. Carolina is otherwise somewhat useless, especially Martin Gerber, so I had to do some significant trades. So I traded for Curtis Joseph and Chris Osgood in goal, and acquired Eric Lindros for my main line (apparently I don't have to worry about the salary cap).
So what don't I like? The goalie flops down too easily and stays down too long, especially Martin Gerber. They changed the checking model to have sensitivity with the Y-button. Now it seems like they don't hit very hard at all (well everyone hist hard except me), even when I turn up the checking and agression. There is also alot of play in the puck handling, even at high sensitivity. I also don't like the music as much as NHL 2005. They also added a player design feature where you can add a character, similar to MMORPG games. I'm not very impressed with it and don't use it.
Overall, I like this game very much. Not perfect, but much better than NHL 2005.