NHL 10. NHL 09 was hands down the best hockey game of all time, and NHL 10 builds on that. So it's not as much of a leap from NHL 09 as Madden 10 was to Madden 09, but it is a big step in the right direction. And perhaps not taking a leap from NHL 09, which won a slew of sports game of the year awards, is a good thing. NHL 10 keeps the tradition that NHL 09 had, mix in a fairly realistic mode (an ultra realistic mode can be played in the game, with 20 minute periods and everything) with enough arcadiness to not turn off casual players, and have yourself some fun. The graphics are the same as is the audio, another job well done by Gary Thorne and Bill Clement (although they probably only spent about 5 hours recording the new audio), and the new crowd sounds make it feel that much more real. Read More...

Last week when I was discussing the changes I would make for the upcoming Smackdown vs. Raw 2010, I got to thinking about another annual franchise that’s due to hit store shelves soon. NHL 10 is perhaps the sports game I am most excited for this year and with a North American release date of September 15th the wait has just about two months left. Of course with so little time left until release, it means that all the little things I hope and wish for probably won’t make into the final game. But this is a wishlist and as such I can still dream about what won’t be but might be in the future. Read More...

Honestly the way the 2008-09 NHL season went, there were probably a dozen different players who could have been a safe bet to be on the cover of the upcoming NHL 10. There’s often very little reason not to include Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin, and Sidney Crosby who finished 1, 2, 3 respectively in scoring this year. Players like Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, and Marc Savard cemented there positions among the elite in the NHL by having stellar years also. On the goaltending front Tim Thomas was probably the story of the year having struggled for so long to make it into the NHL, he led the Boston Bruins to 1st place in the Eastern Conference with 36 wins helping him win the Vezina Trophy as best goaltender in the process. Read More...