Keys to Success for NHL 09
 

Patrick Williams has written an article looking at what NHL 09 has to do to keep the series on the right track. Check out his article, Keys to Success for NHL 09.

NHL 08(360) was the best GAME I played in 2007-08! It was so addictive....awesome game! Hope EA can make the PS3 playable this year....I don't really feel like selling my PS3 and picking up a 360 again....

I'll defer to everyone else. I guess I'm in the minority. I found NHL '08 frustrating as heck. I sat down one night and played about eight games and couldn't score more than two goals in any of them. I'm not a stick skillz guy and I got the feeling you had to be in order to play this game. What I really, really, really need - and others have asked for as well - is a separate set of sliders for human and CPU. The sliders as they are now are a total mystery. You don't know to what degree you're helping yourself and hurting the CPU when the sliders are universal for both.

Poor bdawg, yes this game was geared more towards button grinders than in the past. However, you are so correct that the sliders need to be tweaked and actually work properly. Having sets for human vs cpu would help out tremendously.

Still it can play a pretty simulation style if you try, the one thing that lacks is the garbage goals around the net. I think improving that aspect would help players like yourself because you can throw shots at the net and hope for rebounds etc.

man i had this game for months someone brought it as a gift and i never played it lol..guess im the fool i better get on with it!!

Re: Keys to Success for NHL 09
 

The game can be frustrating. if you just try to go up and down the wing, fire shots or set up one-timer after one-timer you will be in big trouble. Puck possession is key - you can force the CPU into mistakes if you play smart.
That said, the game can be really frustrating - I remember beating the Islanders (I was the Flyers) when I scored 4 first period goals (a few were junk) and I won like 8-1. Next game I completely dominate NJ, without Broduer and I lose 2-1. I think I had 65 shots. I probably was running and gunning more in that game since Marty didn't play - and it cost me.

'08 shined in the online department. But like BDawg, the single player experience frustrated me a bit. Sadly, I would have just needed a few options to make me happy....separate goalie sliders being the big one. Personally, I like 5 minute periods, but I also like realistic scores.....unfortunately, I wasn't able to get this in '08.

This just came out from gamestop.com for NHL 09, and sounds promising. Check out the article and there are a few screen grabs too. They speak in depth about first person mode too.

"Of equal, if not greater, use will be the ability to lift an opposing player's stick off of the ice with a press of a button. It's a simple defense against the prevalent one-timers that can become a cornerstone of the game, especially online; by lifting your opponent's stick off the ice, you take away his ability to smack that one-time pass toward the goalie. Nevertheless, you have to be careful because there's an associated risk with this defensive reward: If you miss the timing on the lift, then you might end up inadvertently smacking your opponent's player in the head, resulting in a penalty in the process. " -gamestop