NHL series

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NHL 07
Alexander Ovechkin---NHL 07 cover man
Developer(s)	EA Canada
Publisher(s)	EA Sports
Release date(s)	September 12, 2006
Genre(s)	Sports - Ice Hockey Sim
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer, multiplayer online
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E) 10+
Platform(s)	PC, Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable.
Media	DVD, UMD
Input	game controller

The NHL series is a video game series based on the National Hockey League by EA Sports. The first version was released for the Sega Mega Drive in 1992, and since then it has been available on most major gaming platforms. Currently, it is available for the PC, Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable.

[edit] Features

The NHL series has introduced brand-new features for years. The most recent being the Free-4-All mini-game introduced in NHL 2005, letting gamers compete with each other by scoring goals on one-goaltender either in a certain time limit or until someone scores a certain amount of goals. With appropriate settings, defensemen can be incorporated into the game, making it more challenging. Also recent is the inclusion of some European leagues. Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Sweden's Elitserien and Finland's SM-liiga have been introduced in NHL 2004 and has expanded to include Czech Republic's Tipsport Extraliga in NHL 07. Before NHL 07, users could only have a season and play an exhibition with each Elite League's team. Now, users can bring an elite team into the Dynasty mode.

A revamped Create-A-Player feature is available after being taken out of NHL 2005. Gone are the pre-modeled faces to choose from and in comes facial sculpting, inspired from the Tiger Woods' video games. Create-A-Team has remained the same. Players have the ability to recreate defunct or vintage teams, or start new ones with plenty of logos and jersey designs to choose from. The Hartford Whalers logo is not included due to the fact that the city of Hartford owns the team's rights and has prohibited the team's inclusion in the game. Create-A-Team is not available for the Xbox 360game. A Shootout mode is introduced in NHL 07, simulating a real shootout. It is used to get players familiarized with the new controls for the Xbox 360 version of the game, as well as a means to practice shooting in general. Users have the ability to turn shootout rules on or off. Shootout options in actual games will always be on.

The World Cup of Hockey was a feature in NHL 2005, coinciding with said event featuring authentic rosters and uniforms. Infamously, it has been relabeled as EA Sports' World Tournament in NHL 06 and NHL 07 with fantasy jerseys who feature flags rather than team logos and rosters based on the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy (with EA Sports' roster update) because of the lack of the IIHF license. Exclusive to the Xbox 360 NHL 07 title is a new control scheme. Users will now primarily use the left and right analog sticks. The left stick is used to move a selected player and the right stick is used to pass and shoot, giving players total control of their shots and passes. A Shootout mode will instantly run when the Xbox 360 game is loaded for the first time to give users a feel for the controls.

[edit] The series

[edit] NHL Hockey (1991)

NHL Hockey.

The first version of the game, titled NHL Hockey, was released in August of 1991 for the Sega Genesis. It was considered the most realistic hockey game of its time. The game uses a vertical view, which was unique at the time since most previous hockey games use horizontal or top-down views. It also features an NHL license but not a license from the NHLPA (National Hockey League Players' Association). Therefore, the team names and logos are all present, but no players' names are mentioned. Instead, all players are referred to by their numbers. The Mega Drive version was released soon after, called EA Hockey and features international teams. However, this change is merely cosmetic, as most team colors can be tracked to NHL teams. Although the game has all NHL teams that existed at the time, the only competition present are the Playoffs, either decided in one or seven matches.

[edit] NHLPA Hockey 93

NHLPA Hockey 93

The next release is titled NHLPA Hockey '93 and while having an NHLPA license, it does not have an NHL license. Due to the lack of an NHL license, the game includes all player names and numbers but not real team names or logos. Instead, teams are identified by their city and colors. This means that the New York Islanders are referred to as "Long Island", even though the official name does designate the team as such. Also introduced are Tampa Bay and Ottawa to the 22 teams of NHL Hockey. The Genesis version also includes EEPROM battery saving, which allows one to save lines and the ongoing Playoff, rather than use passwords.

The game also started a dispute between EA and the ice hockey ruling bodies over what could be included in the licensed game. In the game injured players often bleed, mis-aimed shots can break the glass behind the net, and the instruction manual makes references to injuring opposing key players, stating "Player injuries — it's a part of the game. Knock key opposing players out of the game with an extra hard body check." Neither the NHL nor the NHLPA approved these additions to the game, and thus fighting and blood were removed in the next version, NHL Hockey 94. Since they are considered harmful to the sport's image ^{[citation needed]}. Single period and entire game player injuries remained. This could be seen as the motivator for EA's creation of Mutant League Hockey, with its emphasis on fighting, blood, and miscellaneous bad sportsmanship. NHLPA Hockey 93 for the Sega Genesis received an entire scene in the movie Swingers with Vince Vaughn using the Chicago Blackhawks' Jeremy Roenick to injure the LA Kings' Wayne Gretzky. From the dialogue, it's clear that the actors and/or writers are experienced with the game.

[edit] NHL Hockey 94

NHL Hockey 94 for Sega CD added over 100 low-quality video clips of previous season highlights and a full-screen video intro. NHL Hockey 94 was also released for the PC with similar, but not exactly the same gameplay versus the console versions. It also added full season and transactions, as well as the full set of NHL awards. Despite these additions, the PC versions never reached the popularity of the 16-bit cartridges. NHL Hockey 94 is included as #47 on IGN's Top 100 Games of All-Time [1] and is named All-Time Greatest Sports Video Game by Boston.com and various gaming forums.

[edit] NHL 95

NHL 95.

With the next game in the series, NHL 95; many changes are introduced. For the first time, a complete season can be played, players can be created and traded, and gameplay also has improvements with the inclusion of fake shots, drop passes and laying on the ice to block shots. Despite all the additions, it features several software bugs, particularly in the SNES version; which result in unrealistic bloated games (20-goal shootouts are not uncommon). The PC version of NHL 95 retains the gameplay similar to NHL 94 on the console, while allowing for complete seasons and created players. This year's cover features the New York Rangers' Alexei Kovalev scoring on Vancouver Canucks' Kirk McLean during the '94 Finals.

[edit] NHL 96

NHL 96 for the PC is the first game in the series to have multiple cameras, using EA's Virtual Stadium technology, which uses 2D sprites on a 3D environment. Fighting, and major and double minor penalties are reintroduced. The cover of the game features Steve Yzerman and Scott Stevens, and the NHL's theme song, (Get Ready For This by 2 Unlimited) is used as the game's main theme. The game includes the Quebec Nordiques, but not the Colorado Avalanche; even though the team had moved before the start of the 1995-96 season.

NHL 96.

[edit] NHL 97

NHL 97 took the graphics even farther ahead, using a full 3D engine, with motion captured polygonal players. Each goaltender has his own custom-painted mask and the original artwork can be seen inside the game with a special "Goalie Mask Viewer". NHL 97 also introduces play-by-play commentary, provided by well-known announcer Jim Hughson. For the first time since EA Hockey, national teams were added. Although only Canada, the United States and Russia have their own teams while the other two are selections of the best European players. Along with the PC, Mega Drive/Genesis and SNES versions, both the Sega Saturn and PlayStation version made their debut. The cover of the game features Florida Panthers' goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck.

[edit] NHL 98

NHL 98 took the series ahead by introducing full national teams (EA was not able to capture the Nagano Olympic Tournament license due to lack of IIHF license, acquired by Gremlin Interactive). Jim Hughson returns for play-by-play, this time joined by Daryl Reaugh who provided color commentary. EA Sports also introduces 3Dfx Glide support for the first time in the NHL series. The cover of the game features Colorado Avalanche's forward Peter Forsberg.

[edit] Versions between NHL 99 and NHL 2001

Between NHL 99 and NHL 2002 there were very few large improvements to the game. A career mode (later developed into a Franchise mode) with a retirement feature, drafting and player trades were added to the game. Furthermore, created players can use any photo for their face which is textured onto the head. Online leagues of the game also became more organized. Daryl Reaugh left the series as color commentator following NHL 99. Jim Hughson remained as play-by-play announcer throughout the series, with Bill Clement joining as an analyst for NHL 2000.

The cover men of these games are:

NHL 99 - Ex-Philadelphia Flyers' forward, Eric Lindros. NHL 2000 - Ex-St. Louis Blues' defenseman, Chris Pronger. NHL 2000 (Europe) - Vancouver Canucks' wing, Markus Naslund. NHL 2001 - Ex-San Jose Sharks' forward, Owen Nolan. NHL 2001 (Europe) - Dallas Stars' wing, Jere Lehtinen.

[edit] NHL 2002

Bill Clement is replaced by Don Taylor for NHL 2002. Taylor's quirky and often slapstick commentary style drew mixed reception from fans of the game. The game's cover man is Pittsburgh Penguins' superstar Mario Lemieux.

[edit] NHL 2003

NHL 2003 is a revolutionary version of the game. It's very detailed and clean-cut, with an improved graphics model; but has some flaws. It features out-of-control scoring and unrealistic gameplay, with regards to hitting and shooting. Jim Hughson and Don Taylor return as commentators. EA Trax are also introduced along with EA Sports' titles at the time. Don Taylor makes very funny comments after saves, goals, hits, and more. Calgary Flames' forward Jarome Iginla is the game's cover man.

[edit] NHL 2004

"NHL 2004", developed by the EA Black Box studios, add 3 European Elite Leagues - Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Sweden's Elitserien and Finland's SM-liiga. (This is not the first time that European teams are included in an EA game; EA released both Elitserien 95 and Elitserien 96 for the Mega Drive in Sweden only and Elitserien and SM-liiga 2001 as an expansion pack for PC in Sweden and Finland which included those teams). The game included many improvements to its gameplay (more realistic puck and rebound control and better checking) and game modes (a completely reworked franchise mode renamed "Dynasty"). In addition to the gameplay improvements, one particular non-gameplay improvement was added. When a team wins the Stanley Cup Finals, a large-scale celebration ensues. It included players skating around the ice holding the Cup over their heads. This then led to the common snapshot of the team and the coaches that holds true in the NHL. A "secret" song (Shatterday by Vendetta Red) plays while the animation shows the stats of the players in the picture, ending with the captain. Because of these additions, it was praised as one of the best games in the series to date. However, Dynasty mode got boring, as trades were very difficult to accept, and was 20 years. Commentary was also repetitive and the gameplay always felt slow.

Another new feature of NHL 2004 was allowing the player to select when to fight, where previously it had been a somewhat random occurrence. When two players' names flashed onto the bottom of the screen, accompanied by the word "Fight!" and a bell sounding, the person playing the game could push a button to begin a fight, or hold off until a later time. Furthermore, goaltenders were able to fight (however, goalie fights are completely random, as the names of other players are shown at the bottom of the screen; also, goalies are not thrown out of a game for fighting; in real life, goaltenders who fight are given both a major for fighting and a minor for leaving the crease, resulting in game misconducts for both combatants). Picking a cover athlete for NHL 2004 proved to be problematic. Joe Thornton was the original choice but after he was brought up on assault charges, he was removed and replaced by Dany Heatley for the game's first shipments. After Heatley's car crash that killed his Atlanta Thrashers team-mate, Dan Snyder, EA removed him and replaced the cover with Joe Sakic but not before a large number of units had already been shipped. As a result, both covers (Heatley and Sakic) made it into circulation.

[edit] NHL 2005

NHL 2005 features Open Ice Control, which according to EA allows better control, including moving players without the puck and also a complete World Cup mode where each team can be created from scratch. The IIHF license which granted the World Cup mode also allowed EA to use real-life international jerseys for the first time (previously released games used unique jerseys designed by the game's staff which only bore a passing similarity to their real life counterparts, so the jersey shows their flag.) The PC version of the game was stripped down to the bare essentials, including the omitting of the create-a-player feature. These omissions were possibly due to the labour dispute that season, but EA explained that they hadn't perfected the new create-a-player interface, which would have allowed for far greater customizability that what was previously available. The game also suffered from overly-aggressive AI and was generally seen negatively. ^{[citation needed]} Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Näslund was featured on the cover.

[edit] NHL 06

NHL 06 was released in September 2005 with a North America-wide TV campaign proclaiming, "Hockey's Back!" The game features a slight graphics improvement and the return of the Create-A-Player feature, which was notably absent from NHL 2005. The complete redesign of this feature was based on EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005, allowing for much more complex changes in a player's appearance than simply eye or hair color. The game also includes HC Davos from Switzerland to go along with the European elite leagues. This game does not have an IIHF license. Due to the lack of the IIHF license, the game does not include real team jerseys nor the World Cup of Hockey. Instead, the World Cup of Hockey is now known as "EA Sports' World Tournament". This also means that the teams have flags on their jerseys.

The developers of the game placed a surprise in the PlayStation 2 version; playing NHL 94 is an option, and it appears the same as it did when it was originally released, including several since-relocated franchises such as the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques.[2]. The Hartford Whalers, however, were not included, instead replaced by a team called the "Hartford Canes". The city of Hartford owns the rights to the Whalers' name, logo and jersey, and did not allow their use in the game. NHL 06 came under heavy criticism for once again featuring too many "scoring fests". This time as a result of the defensive AI in the game being very passive and the goalie AI poor. Tampa Bay Lightnings' forward Vincent Lecavalier is featured on the cover in North America, and in Nordic countries Chicago Blackhawks' Finnish forward Tuomo Ruutu.

[edit] NHL 07

NHL 07 was released on September 12, 2006 [3]. The game features a newly designed control setup in some versions, eliminating the need to use the face buttons to pass the puck. The new Skill Stick Revolution feature produces different types of shots; backhand, snap shot, wrist shot, and slap shot. A backhand shot is achieved by holding the right analog stick in the opposite direction of the shooter's forehand shot, then pushing the analog stick forward (to the up position). A snap shot is achieved by pushing the analog stick forward with no other actions. The wrist shot is achieved by pushing the analog stick in the direction of the shooter's forehand then pushing the analog stick forward. Finally, the slapshot is achieved by pulling the analog stick back (down position) then pushing it forward. A player can increase the power of a backhand or wrist shot by rolling the analog stick back from the side (push the analog stick to one side, then follow the circle to the bottom.)

Commentary is provided by Gary Thorne and Bill Clement for the Xbox 360 version of the game, however, Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson return for the current generation versions. NHL 07 for the Xbox 360 features analog stick control and a brand new physics system which eliminates the magnetic type possession of the puck which have been used in past NHL games. The Xbox 360 Demo was released through the Xbox Live Marketplace on September 7, 2006. The demo features a shootout between the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes. The settings allow the NHL shootout rules to be turned off, to allow the player the ability to easily learn the new control scheme.Washington Capitals' forward and 2006 Calder Trophy winner Alexander Ovechkin is featured on the cover.

[edit] Game covers

NHL 95 cover for the Sega Mega Drive (aka Sega Genesis).

As traditional with EA Sports, their boxes feature live action photos instead of drawings. As it lacks the NHLPA license, the early titles staged photos without real players. NHLPA Hockey 93, on the other hand, has the rights to use player images, but not of the teams. In this cover, the staged photo (in this photo there is the logo of the New York Rangers located on the bottom right of the goaltender's pants.) is surrounded by eight small portraits of players (Steve Yzerman, Andy Moog, Pat LaFontaine, Brian Leetch, Ray Bourque, Patrick Roy, Jeremy Roenick, and Rick Tocchet). This changed with NHL 94, which featured a goal situation for Tomas Sandström (LA Kings) against Andy Moog (Boston). NHL 95 featured an in-goal camera during a goal scored by Alexei Kovalev of the New York Rangers during the '94 Stanley Cup Finals.NHL 96 featured New Jersey's Scott Stevens and Detroit's Steve Yzerman.

Since NHL 97, each cover features only one player, with John Vanbiesbrouck (Panthers) being the first. He was followed by Peter Forsberg (Colorado, NHL'98), Eric Lindros, (Flyers, NHL'99), Chris Pronger, (St. Louis Blues, NHL 2000) in the nordic countries Markus Näslund Vancouver Canucks was on the cover of NHL 2000., Owen Nolan, (Sharks, NHL 2001) in the nordic countries Jere Lehtinen Dallas Stars was on the cover of NHL 2001., Mario Lemieux, (Penguins, NHL 2002), Jarome Iginla, (Calgary, NHL 2003), Dany Heatley and Joe Sakic, (Atlanta Thrashers and Colorado, respectively, in NHL 2004), Markus Näslund, (Vancouver) in NHL 2005, Tuomo Ruutu (Chicago Blackhawks) and Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay) in NHL 06 and Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) in NHL 07. The European versions might sometimes have different cover players, for example Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers) on the cover of NHL 07 sold in Sweden, or Teemu Selänne (Anaheim Ducks) sold in Finland.

[edit] Commentary

Live play-by-play commentary is introduced in NHL 97. Jim Hughson, one of Canada's best-known hockey announcers, provided the play-by-play for much of the series, excluding the Xbox 360 version of NHL 07; which is provided by Gary Thorne. Color commentary is provided by Daryl Reaugh (98-99), Bill Clement (2000-01, 2007 (Xbox 360)), Don Taylor (2002-03), and Craig Simpson (2004-06).

[edit] Soundtracks

Main article: NHL series soundtracks

NHL 2000 is the first game in the series to feature fully-licenced music from known rock bands, such as Garbage, Uberzone and Gearwhore. Later versions feature names like The Tea Party, Franz Ferdinand, Billy Talent, Collective Soul, Barenaked Ladies, Gob, Jimmy Eat World and Avenged Sevenfold. The in-game soundtrack is titled EA Sports Trax since 2002.

[edit] NHL series in popular culture

[edit] Swingers

The removal of fights in NHL Hockey 94 was addressed in the 1996 movie Swingers:

Trent: I wish they still had fights in this game so I could bitch-slap Wayne.

Mike: What? They don't have fighting anymore?

Trent: Doesn't that suck?

Mike: Why'd they get rid of the fighting? It was the best part of the old version.

Sue: I think kids were hittin' each other or somethin', man.

Trent: Yeah but you know what, Mike? You can make their heads bleed in this one.

Mike: Make somebody's head bleed.

Sue: No man, we're in the playoffs.

Trent: I'm gonna make Wayne Gretzky's head bleed for super-fan #99 over here.

However, this is not completely accurate, as bleeding players were also removed. They also were playing NHLPA Hockey '93 which had blood and fighting but the fighting was strategic and players like Gretzky would not have fought. In the original NHL Hockey, Gretzky was able to fight.

[edit] Chasing Amy

Kevin Smith's 1997 movie Chasing Amy featured Banky and Holden playing one version of NHL Hockey, but it was not the first time Smith used a hockey game: Sega's All Star Hockey featured on Mallrats with a main character, Brodie Bruce, playing as the Hartford Whalers.

[edit] See also

List of NHL video games

[edit] External links

Free playable NHL 97
EA Sports NHL '06 Official Website
MobyGames page on the series
NHL94.com (frequently updated NHL 94 resource)
EA Sports NHL '07 Official Website (Latest version of the NHL series)
NHL custom covers
Old School Hockey League (NHL94 League)

EA Sports NHL Cover Athletes

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