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NHL 08 was, without a doubt, the best sports game to come out on consoles in years.  It presented a manifold of innovation and tweaking that took the idea from NHL 07 and pushed it out on all sides.  What was offered was an experience that I will always remember as one of my favorites and a title that will go down in history as one of the greatest sporting games ever made.  Well, NHL 09 is poised to repeat greatness like few before it and, quite simply, it exceeds expectations.

Fans of the series will welcome a quick rundown of return features so here they come.  The title is just as robust as ever sporting Play Now, a Franchise Mode, Tournament Mode, Practice Mode, Play Making, Shootouts, International games and all the tutorials you can handle.  If you played NHL 08, expect everything you’re familiar with to return.  This game doesn’t cut corners on its delivery so longtime fans will even get the chance to toy with old school controls.  While it doesn’t equate too much in the longtime, hardcore match-ups, players can now revert back the NHL 94 controls.  These were the days when most hockey action on a console could be summed up with two or three buttons.  So enjoy the simplicity, it’s a return feature from way back when.

But here’s where NHL 09 exceeds all preconceptions: its latest, and greatest, newest features.  There are two that I think are worthy of significant explanation; The Be a Pro Mode and the EA Sports Hockey League.  We’ll start with Be a Pro.  Here players have a choice… they can either make a new character and launch a career or pick an established NHL pro and go from there.  Either way, the playing scheme is the same.  As a new player you’ll start out on the AHL club of your choice, you’ll battle for puck possession and points as you level up your stats.  The great thing about Be a Pro is that it’s built for novice hockey players.  When you take the ice you’ll be presented with a nearly third-person perspective.  You’ll be given an arrow that indicates where you should be on the ice at all times.  It’s an incredible feature that will give new players a sense of footing on the ice, some will even learn half-way decent hockey positioning from the experience.

As you progress, in typical fashion, you’ll earn experience and unlock player cards.  You’ll pile experience into your desired stats making your player an overall stronger force on the ice.  You’ll be graded after each performance on the ice so you’ll be notified when it’s time to get back in line.  And yes, commit a penalty and you’ll cool out in the box.  You’ll sit out for line changes and you’ll even get fatigued.  The experience is unlike anything in any hockey game I’ve ever touched.  Oh, and it’s addictive as all hell.

The EA Sports Hockey League is, without a doubt, my personal favorite part of NHL 09.  You’ll take your player with your name into the world of online hockey.  The perspective is the same as the Be a Pro mode, you’ll even get your helpful, little arrow.  You’ll be graded as a player and if you’re good enough you’ll be added to the leader boards.  You can make a club team of your own choosing from over three international leagues worth of logos and uniforms, or you will be invited by a club GM to join his or her ranks.  Each club can have over 50 players and you’ll all be able to play games of either six on six or any other number you can think of.  Players will get a position at the beginning of the game and play it through three periods of hockey, no line changes or substitutions.

Now, a quick note on connectivity; my team has found itself in a patch of difficult connections.  We’ll sit in the team dressing room waiting for a matchup for close to twenty minutes at a time without any luck.  Good thing my group happens to be a friendly bunch or I’d see this as one of the longest waiting breaks ever.  It has happened more and more with time and I’m hoping that EA takes note and develops a solution.  It’s a little frustrating but when you finally hit the ice it turns straight to incredible.

Even with that, however, this is the greatest video hockey experience you’ll ever find.  EASHL is like nothing else, and its sheer addictive force will keep you thinking about it when you’re at work, in school or on the john.  This is the way hockey was meant to be played, and hopefully NHL 09 will lead other sports titles into the newest world of MMO sporting.

There’s a bottom line that I’ll leave you with: NHL 09 is the best, and I mean best, sporting video game ever…period.  EA will have its hands full if it ever wants to top its own product.  2K Sports has a lot of catching up to do.  You’ll get your money’s worth with the purchase and the title will see you through the long and brutal hockey season, even if you’re a Leafs fan (sorry, Toronto).
 

CraveOnline Rating: 9.5 out of 10