NHL 07

I have to admit before I start to talk about NHL 07 that I know nothing about ice hockey and therefore my approach was to treat it like a football game on ice with sticks and a puck instead of a ball.

This game like most begins in the menu systems, where you have the choice of games, the first of which is Dynasty Mode. This game basically gives you the roles of the general manager, coach and players and lets you run your favourite team, I chose the New York Rangers (guess what football team I support), the mode itself lets you manage the team, acquire new players and best of all play ice hockey against all the other licensed teams. Dynasty Mode includes a calendar which informs you of your next games and from here you can access the other options like tactics, changing player shirt numbers and the all important season stats, this certainly offers a lot of options and will keep you busy for a long time, however it can be very confusing to work your way around it at first.

Another game mode is World Tournament where you can create a custom cup using the national teams from around the world, this is simple and explain itself really, you pick the teams, set the rules and play the games so what could be easier than that? well winning isn't so easy.

The final mode is of course Xbox Live and this is where the game comes into it's own, there have been issues in the past with EA's servers, with complaints of them lagging and of people getting cut off, however from all the games I have played on Xbox Live this was not an issue whatsoever, in fact I found this to be the most fun part of the game, after all there is nothing like a bit of human competition, the only problem I found with this mode was that some people drop out before the game starts which can be annoying, however there isn't a lot that EA can do about that and I am sure you will soon find yourself rising up those rankings.

Now lets talk about the most important aspect of NHL 07, the on ice action. The big improvement on NHL 07 this year is the controls, you use the left analogue stick to move your player and the right one to control the hockey stick, this really is genius and really makes you feel like you are in control of the player, basically to pass the puck all you need to do is use the shoulder button and if you want to shoot then it is just a case of pulling the analogue stick down then up again, resulting in you ripping the back of the net (or in my case making a member of the first row unconscious). To defend the controls are practically the same except this time you just use the right stick to barge your opponent off the puck and into the boarding, but be warned this can also result in a fight which is great fun and all you have to do is use your analogue stick to send your opponents to the floor before the referee breaks it up.

One thing that I noticed when playing the game was that the coach was shouting instructions from the sidelines, this really adds to the already great atmosphere of NHL 07, with it's realistic hockey and crowd sounds and I feel that it is the little touches that really make the difference in games like these. 

Graphically the game is stunning, from the ice that is as reflective and realistic as you will see in a game and players themselves who are extremely detailed to the very impressive replays, which are visually stunning, there really is very little to criticise in this respect.

Overall NHL 07 is a very good game, it is tactical as you cannot just dart up to your opponents goal and score, you need to think about it, that's not to say it isn't fast though because it is and this is why I believe that anyone who likes sports games will like this, and as usual with EA games it has been presented very well, in fact it really is a game to show off your console, therefore like me if you are waiting on a football game to hit the 360 you couldn't go far wrong by using this game as a worthy substitute.