Customer Reviews

NHL 2K10

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'll admit that I've always been a fan of 2K's sports games - NFL 2K got me hooked on the Dreamcast, and NBA 2K6 was one of the first 360 games that convinced me the system was worth the price. That being said, the NHL 2K series has had some bumps in the road lately. While 2K5 and 2K8 were stellar games, 2K9 and 2K10 have been lacking on the next-gen front. Oddly enough, though, the Playstation 2 versions of these hockey games have stayed consistent, and have maintained their quality over the years while the PS3 and 360 versions have been going through a bit of an identity crisis. The bottom line is, if all you have is a Playstation 2, NHL 2K10 should be a no-brainer. If you're like me, and you've played both the PS2 and PS3 versions, you may be surprised to learn that the Playstation 2 version of the game is surperior to its next-gen counterpart. How, exactly? Read on!

For starters, this year's game runs much, much more smoothly than the past few year's titles. 2K8 for the Playstation 2, in particular, ran at about 15 - 20 frams per second, making the game look choppy and rough. 2K10 runs at a solid 30, at least, and never slows down. The player models move very fluidly, and though they may not have all of the "stumble shot" animations of the PS3 version, the look like hockey players in motion. The players, themselves, look great for a PS2 game, with accurate player faces, glossy helmets, true-to-life jerseys, and full-body reflections in the ice. Overall, the game is similar to the past few year's PS2 2K hockey games, but it definitely moves a little smoother, and looks just a little more polished. The only complaints are the 2D crowd that looks like a cardboard cutout, and arenas that visually get the job done, but nothing else.

Online play is great, and works perfectly on a PS2 with a network adapter, or a backwards-compatable Playstation 3. Downloadable roster updates are already up, and there's more players online that I would have thought. This part of the game hasn't changed much of the years, but it still works very well.

Minigames like pond hockey and the mini-rink are back, as are the skybox and 2K beats. The soundtrack is pretty good this year (I like Phoenix's "1901") and never gets in the way. Speaking of sound, you'll probably have to tweak it a bit before you play a real game - the commentators are a little muted, while the arena sounds and stadium music are way, way too high. A little tweaking makes for a very realistic presentation, though, and the sharp audio and fitting commentary really make the game come to life. Fan Mail makes a return this year, too, so you'll have something to listen to during those pause menu breaks.

Lastly, franchise mode is back, but it's about the same as before. Schedules are inaccurate (doh!) but the season gameplay is great. You can still hire / fire coaches, sign free agents using the modern CBA rules, practice with your squad, assign training regiments, and roll the dice with "Opportunity Knocks" scenarios. If you've played a 2K hockey game since 2K8, you'll find this pretty familiar, but it's still a solid system.

The bottom line is that this year, 2K Sports has made more changes on-ice than in recent years, and it shows. The new aerial camera is great (though I still like Panametric the best) and the commentary is better than last year, as well. Turn the speed slider down a bit, and the game plays almost exactly like a real NHL contest, which is definitely what you want in a hockey video game! Adjustable controls mean that anyone can pick the game up and play it - if you want to use the buttons, or the right analog stick, or a combo of both, you can, and they all work perfectly.

Have no fear when shopping for this one, guys - for twenty bucks, you're getting a season's worth of hockey excitement. I only caution those who are looking for something drastically different than previous 2K hockey games. This game essentially has a new coat of paint, vs games from previous years, but it makes all the difference.

I'd take this one over the Playstation 3 arcade-heavy mess any day, and you should, too.

Since the 2K Franchise started doing NHL games back when the ESPN tag was on the box, the company found a way to make a game that ended up besting what EA Sports could put out for XBox or PlayStation 2. Though the quality of EA's games for the XBox 360/PlayStation 3 drove 2K Sports to focus solely on Wii for the next season, their PlayStation 2 games remain beyond compare. Since this is likely their final hockey title to be released for PlayStation 2, it should be fitting that this one sends it off the way they probably would have liked it to have been the entire time: complete, comprehensive, and not bug-ridden.

There's nothing new here in regards to what the franchise has done since the beginning and worked toward. The Pro Controls and Superstar moves remain, the franchise mode is still relatively deep for a PS2 game, and there's always the exceptional soundtrack (which is not to my liking as much as the previous years but I realize I'm probably not the target audience here either.) The only thing seemingly missing is the Winter Classic arena; did I overlook it or is it gone?

Be that as it may, this send-off is the 2K game as it was always meant to be played. If your older versions are annoying you and you want the updated rosters; go for it. If you still have a PS2 and want a decent hockey title, then go for it as well. The next-gen gaming systems look like they're taking over for good, but if this is their last game for PS2, it was the best one they could have put out.

This review is for; NHL 2K10

I owned the last three NHL2K series for the PS2, so noticed very little changes throughout the years and for the most part most NHL2K10 is mostly the same again except for a few, new features;

Wider aerial view when playing. Players may look a little smaller, but the bird's eye view of the rink makes it easier to see all of your players at any time for more strategic passing or positioning.

Create a player. You can create your own player from scratch and give him any name and tweak his attributes anyway you can. You can create players missing from any roster if you want your team to stay current or you can simply create yourself as a player like I did for fun!

Create a team. Create any team you want and design the team logos & uniforms.

Fighting. Missing from the last few NHL2K series. I haven't exactly encountered it yet as I just started a new franchise season, but it's advertised in the game's instruction manual. Maybe if I rough up my opponent with my enforcer I can instigate a fight?

Some of the same game bugs exist from previous editions including some goal scoring behind the net by the AI opponent in which some goals go conspicuously under the net from the backside. Also, I noticed that during manual line changes, I can still sneak in one line change when I ice the puck even though standard hockey rules apply that you really can't.

Drew Remenda & Randy Hann are the game's announcers again who are the current television announcers for the San Jose Sharks. I'm biased to listening to them because I hear them all the time where I live in San Jose while watching Sharks games on TV. So far my only complaint is the current 3rd jersey uniforms are not included, but a code exists for the PS3, Xbox 360 & Wii versions of the game. Guess I have to upgrade to PS3 if I want to see the 3rd jerseys!

The main ups:
1. This is the only NHL 2K game I've played that has good music.
2. Even though the options are listed the same way as the other NHL 2K games, the menus look cooler.
3. It's good to play with current players.

The main downs:
1. The commentary is almost the same as other NHL 2K games.
2. The commentators sound bored.
3. The display screen doesn't come up when a goal is scored. There isn't a picture of the person who scored the goal, along with who assisted.

How do you unlock the arenas in NHL2k10 for ps2, does anyone know, or is there a cheat to unlock those other arenas?

Thanks,

Matt

nhl 09 is better more fun except for a obvious glitch in the program... that you know that company put it on the market instead of fixing the glitch....

Great game if your stuck inside and looking for something fun to do. If your looking for amazing graphics, get a PS3, but if your looking to satisfy your hockey sweet tooth, this game does the trick.

My husband loves it! Gave him a new challenge! Was a great purchase for me to him!

I have stuck with the NHL 2K series over the last few years because the $19.99 price tag is tough to beat. That being said, I was more than a little disappointed with the transition from 2K9 to 2K10. It is quite literally the exact same game. I know they rush these games out early, and updates are available on-line, but the rosters did a poor job of reflecting off-season signings & acquisitions. AI feels the same, controls are identical, announcers repeat most of the same repetitive one-liners from last season, visual appearance is the same, and I think the music took a step back. When I purchase any sports game, I do so with the hope that it will build upon the previous year, move forward, and add a few new features. I don't think that was really the case here. I was disappointed to see that EA abandoned the PS2 this season, so it looks like I'm stuck with a near carbon copy of last year's 2K until I upgrade to PS3 at some point.

So I wanted to play hockey on my Playstation but Gamestop didn't have 2k10 so I settled for dollar copy of NHL 2005 until I could order it from Amazon. To my surprise the 2005 game turns out to be a better overall game than the overly clunky and shoddily made NHL 2K10.
Certainly the game play looks great and you actually feel a part of the team but there are so many buttons to remember and at the oddest places. I still don't know how to make the slap shot happen. The 2005 model had very simple shot controls. Then there's the trouble with the pro level because once the AI decides that the team it's playing is going to score, your players suddenly become quite worthless unable to coral the puck (no matter how sure handed) and your goalie starts feeding rebounds to the other team even with 3 attackers in front of him and no matter what you do, your defense can't move them or get the puck back in any way until the other team scores. It's stupid and frustrating because no matter how well you play, the computer is always going to score and, depending how often the computer team surges, probably win the game in pro mode. Maybe if I were a kid I could adapt to the dumb controls like moving my active player with the left analog stick and controlling shots with the right analog yet being expected to some how use the directional pad for "on the fly coaching". Uh, my thumb is occupied. Should I stop moving my player and lose the puck in the time it takes to stop and push left for my team to do this or that? Of course not.
The pass controls don't always work and if you play it on the easy setting, you're crushing your opponents so it's not very fun either.
The voice over "talent" is just awful and at times make no damn sense whatsoever. Like between the action, for no reason, the game announces a players name and then there's nothing and finally later the announcers say the same players name again. Example: "Gionta..." and you wait and you wait and wait and then "Gionta... and they are ready to drop the puck."
A particularly annoying voice over bit refers to a pillow. Now folks, I have watched a lot of hockey in my day and I just don't know what the hell the game means. "Mason...save! I think he blocked it with his pillow!"
???? Or, "Let's take a look at the replay and you can see just how close to the pillow he was."
????
The crowds were supposed to be more realistic; the 2005 version was better. The sounds are all off. You can ring the puck off the bar but you won't hear the ding for 10 seconds, the effect of which is you have the and are passing and >ding!< your shot off the post finally is heard. There are off whistles too. For example, I pass the puck up ice to my winger and a whistle blows. Why? Because the other team apparently came in offside 20 seconds ago so all that effort you just wasted getting the puck from them to pass up ice in the 1st place was for naught. Also the 2005 version was closer to how the players looked. This is hodgepodge.
If this is the crap EA sports is putting out today, it's no wonder their NHL line may get the axe. Maybe if you jerks made a proper game the people would want to play it. I'm disappointed the NHL allowed their brand to be used here, but in the Gary Bettman era NHL integrity is a joke.


The 2005 model had much better voice overs.