After getting some playing time with 2K7, you will likely find the need to tweak the difficulty settings. You’ll find that one-timers are too easy and too frequent (a curse of most hockey games). You can adjust the one-timers and many other features to your liking by utilizing the easy to use sliders. This allows the gamer a customized experience that keeps 2K7 from getting too easy or difficult. By default the shot aim is automatic, but gamers beyond the novice level might want to change this to manual to allow for precise targeting on goal. If you prefer a more arcade like game, you can turn off the icing and offsides rules, which will result in fewer stoppages in play and require less thought and planning during game play.
The AI is fairly solid. You will have little difficulty scoring against the computer on the easiest settings. As you might expect, once you raise the difficulty level, you will find yourself having to work much harder. You’ll have to be more patient and be able to react to the opportunities that present themselves faster. When you find the difficulty level you like, you can fine tune it using various difficulty sliders, as previously mentioned.
Final WordAll in all, NHL 2K7 scores a hat trick. Great gameplay, impressive graphics and fantastic innovations have raised the standard for all sports games. The controls are fantastic with both novice and expert configurations. The graphics are top-notch, and flow smoothly. 2K7 Cinemotion adds a great gameplay camera and a movie inspired musical score. There are dozens of options you can adjust to your preferences, making the game highly customizable. With a multitude of play modes, including the best Xbox Live options available, you’ll play this game again and again. The bottom line though, NHL 2K7 is one of the best sports games currently available on the Xbox 360, and raises the bar on all hockey games (EA should take note).
