Customer Reviews

NHL 2K8

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

 

 

So I went to the store yesterday to pick up my reserved copy of EA's NHL 2008 title and left with this one because that game wasn't delivered yet by the time I was there. Considering that the game has a slew of new features and the price tag is STILL $20 for the PS2 version, I figured I'd get both.

Well, for the past two years, I've said that the gameplay alone is worth picking it up. With the exception of the new Superstar moves (special combo moves that talented players can pull off while skating towards to goalie) the gameplay remains the same, with the pro controls, goalie controls, and enforcer features still around. So in addition to new Superstar moves, you still have all the features that made playing the game last year rated A for awesome. A glitch I noticed was that the controls are hesitant to actuate in the offensive zone, whether or not this is due to me using a memory card as opposed to the PS2 hard drive is something that can be debated. If you turn the Fighting up to 100, expect the fisticuffs to fly!

As for the Franchise mode, WOW! I was heavily critical of EA's NHL 2007 because they were making claims of having a Franchise mode that featured 2 way contracts and waivers, but only included these features for their next-gen gaming systems, rendering them absent on the PS2 version. 2K Sports DID incorporate this into the Franchise mode and made certain to include it into their PS2 game. You can now sign players to two-way deals, buy out contracts, negotiate contracts with a free agent's agent (and raise your owner's blood pressure by doing so), and place players on waivers in order to be assigned to the minors or be picked up by another team and vice versa. They've even established a system that determines who's eligible to clear waivers and who must be assigned to waivers (pretty darn sweet if you ask me.) Not every player is spot on in regards to who has waiver eligibility and who doesn't, but man alive, it's close enough! (I haven't gotten as far as the draft system yet, so again, I'll edit the review in the future and let you all know how that works.)

The soundtrack is actually pretty good for a videogame, and has featured more mainstream bands than in the past such as Bloc Party, Korn, and Quiet Riot. A lot of the bands are in the vein of the indie punk/hardcore movement such as Comeback Kid and Kane Hodder. In terms of overall soundtrack, this is the best one featured for a 2K Sports game, though Dozer is still my favorite band they've ever had on a game (NHL 2K7).

So lets recap my review: The gameplay everyone's come to love is still here and slightly revamped, the franchise mode is the deepest I've ever seen in a PS2 game, and the soundtrack will rock your socks off. The game isn't perfect, but considering how many different facets of the game it covers, it's probably going to be the closest thing anyone can get to next to actually being in the NHL.

If you're still reading this and have $20 to spend, do yourself a favor and click that button on the top right of your screen that says "Add to cart." You'll be pleased with the results.

I purchased this game a month ago, around the time I got my PS2. I had always been an EA Sports NHL loyalist, from '94 to about 2004. I had previously played those editions on numerous platforms, from Genesis (yay!) to PS1, then PC.

After suffering through numerous crashes with the PC version of EA's NHL 2004, I figured the time was right to change. I avoided the 2005/06/07 editions of EA because 1) I didn't have a dedicated, STABLE platform like a PS2 at the time, 2) the software glitches of EA's 2004 turned me off from them big time, and 3) many reviewers and buyers complained that the quality of EA Sports, and in particular, the NHL franchise, had gone downhill...or so I had thought, but more on that later.

I read the Gamespot reviews and studied the features of the 2K line and was "wowed" by all the bells and whistles: the super deep franchise mode, supposedly realistic gameplay, yada yada yada. Being a hockey geek, I decided to take the plunge and pay my $20.

During my first few times playing the game, I couldn't get over the rather steep learning curve. Ironically, the gameplay features were in fact TOO deep - I takes two finger motions, not one, to take a slap shot, for instance. Having to change defensive pairs whilst simultaneously changing lines was a chore (and with the line change option set to semi-automatic, my 3rd and 4th lines hardly saw action. Grrrrr!). The dynasty mode had some curious quirks, with numerous players of mine getting claimed off some invisible waiver list (I later learned that due to a design flaw, said list was available on the PC and PS3 versions of the game, but not PS2. Yet, the CPU would still steal your players at whim. WHAAAAT?!?!?!).

Also, dynasty mode was a drag, full of file corrupting glitches and a tough-to-follow interface. The fact that you had to MANUALLY practice your team everyday was time consuming, and the various menu options were unwieldy. The all-important "fun factor" dissipated quickly.

While walking through my old neighborhood, I found a pawnshop selling used PS2 games for about $5 a pop. One of them happened to a copy of EA's NHL '06. After purchasing it ("what the hell," I thought), I took it home to give it a test spin.

Low and behold, it was a much more ENJOYABLE game. An easy to follow interface, INTUITIVE controls (one button shots! Yay!), and, surprisingly, a much better presentation. AND IT'S STABLE, with NO APPARENT GLITCHES!!! Folks, this is important; you can have all the features in the world, but it don't mean jack unless it WORKS. Also included is a fully playable version of the old Genesis era NHL '94!!!!

So folks, the moral of the story is to not get wowed by all sorts of esoteric "wow" features designed to distract you from what really matters in a hockey game. Of course, your mileage may vary, and yes, the newer games have updated rosters. But as far as enjoyment, 2k8 fell waaaaaay short.

Caveat emptor.

Well I bought the game because I'm a huge NHL fan, and the price was right. Maybe I'm too picky, but I notice tons of things wrong that are just stupid silly errors.

First off, the last hockey title I bought was 2k5. I loved the gameplay of that (which is similar to 2k8) and the commentary of Gary and Bill. Bob and Harry know the game and they are a familiar sound to any who know Hockey Night in Canada. But after ESPN lost the NHL, the presentation has fallen way off. The text on many screens is too small and sometimes I can't even read it when I get up right next to the TV.

We all know that makers tend to carry over lots of aspects of a game from year to year. That being said, there are things in this game that they decided to change--for the WORSE!!! Like the helmets--very authentic looking in 2k5-terrible in 2k8. And the players' hair coming out the back--if it's long, it looks like a flared piece of cardboard, just tacky! And in the generic cut scenes--whether or not the goalie catches left or right, they always are shown skating as a left-catching goalie--terrible!! Also, it is now impossible to dump the puck out or in using the glass--the highest it will get is mid-way up the boards. So, 2k, why can't you carry over the stuff that works and change the stuff that doesn't!!

It's an ok game for gameplay, but I just expect more for an NHL game.

The 2K series has always topped EA's NHL series in terms of overall gameplay, and NHL 2K8 is no different, even though it's basically the same game we saw last year on the PS2. NHL 2K8 doesn't make many improvements or additions to what we saw last year, but what is new here is more than worth noting. Franchise Mode is deeper and better than ever here, and Superstar Moves have been implemented as well. That's it for new features, as the rest of the solid gameplay remains untouched. The goalies are still tough as nails to put the puck by, and online play is still laggy and somewhat buggy. That aside though, the good does outweigh the bad with NHL 2K8, and the budget price tag doesn't hurt either. That being said, if you're craving some NHL action, and you only own a PS2, NHL 2K8 is a worthy purchase. Then again, it's not like you really have a lot of options.

NHL 2k8 has always been a tad better then EA sports, as others have said its pretty much the same game, while still fun, and defiantly playable, the game has some issues that can make the game play rather frustrating, and instead of feeling like your playing a game of hockey makes the game seem more like...well a game.
The puck pickup detection and motions is rather lacking, it seems to take a century for your player to pick up a loose puck, from passes, to loose pucks, to rebounds, the reaction time is very slow. This goes for all players AI, and human. It becomes frustrating when your player has a rebound opportunity with ample time, and just because the game didn't react fast enough and pick up the puck which is right in front of him your player misses the chance, and either skates out of position/past the puck, or an opponents teammate comes and picks it up.Another issue is the lack of smart teammate AI, if you check a player with the puck and it becomes loose your teammates usually fail to skate up get the puck even if they seem to be looking right at you or if there right next to you. Also when the puck is underneath a player, they will either skate away and come back, instead of just kicking the puck in front of you like in real hockey. One graphical gripe i have is the crowd....the crowd is not only completely inproportional to the players, but to the whole stadium, it gives the look of a stadium full of 2 year old children. Also the crowd continues to be nothing but a flat 1-d figure, who's color shirt designates there what motion they do (ie: drinking a beverage) so you see 5 people wearing green shirts next to each other all drinking out of a cup at the same time every 2 seconds, this is 2007 not 1996 ps1, they couldve stepped that up a bit beyond one dimensional figures.
Another problem is the lack of goal alignment with the goal crease, occasionally the goal, will be half way up the blue area around the goalie past the crease. Finally, teammates almost always fail to come into formation, during power plays they dont not fall into the normal formation that real teams do, so very few passing goals occur, and even when your not during power plays your team mates fail to come into offensive positions.
The gameplay remains fun, but lack of attention to detail and clumsy AI and puck detection takes away from it, as well as poor graphics for the surrounding stadium and crowd, while this doesnt effect game play it constantly ebbs at the feeling of realism. Its obvious that both ea sports and 2k studios have put far more effort into their 3rd generation gaming systems and it shows tremendously, it feels like im playing the 2005 game with lousier puck detection and lousier AI

As a longtime player of hockey video games, I've become used to a few things. One is how to make trades so that I control most of the league's 1st round draft picks. Another is that a perfect executed forehand-to-backhand-to-forehand deke is all you need to beat a goalie. The last is that there is no such thing as a perfect game since NHL '96 set the gold standard. It didn't matter how many times you played that game, you were never going to score 10 goals a game and have an undefeated season.

I digress. Each NHL game every subsequent year represents a step forward, and this one is firm. Player creation has never been easier, and the customization level on each player is such that you can predict them based on what you see in games. The levels of difficulty vary greatly enough to create a challenge as you climb them, and the game makes it easy to mold your team as a GM would and also to adjust each player's talent to suit his growth.

It's easy for the negatives to seem like they outweigh the positives, but don't let my complaints, which are far easier to mount, dissuade you from buying this game. For one thing, any player on waivers can only be picked up by CPU controlled teams. After the first year's schedule, the CPU will often schedule four or five games on subsequent nights, leaving your players so fatigued they can barely play in the last game. Every once in awhile, the CPU will just make a decision to beat you, no matter how well you play against them; this is easily recognizable when they score on subsequent shots and every time they respond to a goal immediately. Sometimes, you can catch the CPU cheating, which is endlessly frustrating; like most games, the red light is programmed to go off the instant the puck crosses the line, but on some occasions, you can watch a replay of the other team's goalie covering up the puck when it's a full foot over the goal line with no goal called on the ice. Every other game or so, the other team is programmed like a bunch of Wayne Gretzkys; they always know where the puck is going to be and frequently back each other up so that if one player is knocked off the puck, another will pick it up before either player is able to recover from the hit. Also, remember to adjust the hit settings so your players are better at it than the CPU; you'll watch in horror as the game unfolds and your players make devastating hits that merely wiggle the other player enough to entice him to pass, and if you try the same maneuver while being hit, you'll just lose the puck and the other team will get a breakaway, because when you switch players to your defenseman, the game makes them stop in their tracks before you can do anything else, and no matter what your player's speed, the CPU players are always faster.

It's good enough that I've purchased two once the other malfunctioned, and as long as you stay on board with the rosters, it'll last you a few years.

I'm a little late getting this game , but i really enjoy the gameplay for Playstation 2 . It's a challenge to score goals this year , seem like they made the goalies really stingy this time around . I also love the move the you can use with certain superstars . I also like listen to the Hall Of Fame announcing crew of Bob Cole and Harry Neale , makes you feel like you're watching Hockey NIght In Canada . This game rocks . Thumbs up all the way !

2k8 always topps ea sports edition
the graphics are way better than ea sports
smoother gameplay
if u own a ps2, u need this game

even though its not the best hockey game out there, it is worth it because of the cheap price. i owned 2k5 and that game was fun but the only problem with the 2k hockey games is that they would freeze alot during season mode and that became annoying. when i played 2k8 it didnt freeze when i played a season. the only problem with the game to me is the goalies poke check way to much and in real hockey they dont do that too much. but its worth buying if you like hockey games. this one is the best buy for the money

I previously owned NHL 2k5 and except for the change in roosters, this game is pretty much the same. The graphics are equally as good as can be expected since 2K5 with little changes here and there.