Shootout gives you the chance to practice up for the three-round post-overtime tie-breaker. It is just skater versus goalie, with a higher degree of difficulty when standing between the pipes. The offensive side of things is your basic breakaway attempt. The game does not allow you to skip out on the challenge of playing goalie. The goalie controls as twitchy as you would expect, as you attempt to keep the puck centered on your body. It is easier said than done, because until the skater commits to one side of the net it is easy to overreach and get out of position. When the skater releases the shot, the game slows down and gives you a save cursor to highlight the target with to block the shot. It is not always necessary to get the target, since many shots will simply hit off your body if you manage to stay in front of it. There is also a Career mode, but there is no reason for you to play just one season when you can play dozens.
The franchise mode contains all the usual bits you expect, with one major exception. Signing, trading, and drafting new players to your squad are all here, but the fantasy draft to start your team from scratch is missing. Those whose favorite team is stuck in the gutter of the NHL will have to restore their team to glory the hard way. You get the typical chance to move players from the minors to the big league, as well as checking the waiver wire for additional talent. Thanks to some solid A.I., you will not feel as though you are playing a solo franchise alone. The computer teams are just as active as you are, if not more. The well-designed news panel on the main franchise page keeps you up to date on all league moves, and computer-offered trades pop up frequently. Rebuffing a team's trade requests can be beneficial, as some teams will get desperate at the trade deadline to acquire talent and make offers more in your favor. They also seem to understand the value of expiring contracts versus players with years remaining on their deals. These little touches make you feel as though you are dealing with real general managers, rather than a computer just looking at a couple of numerical rankings. The off-season free agent signing can use some work, as the game never prevents you from overextending your salary cap with an offer you cannot really make. As a result, you are left scratching your head as to why someone will not sign a contract they seem so interested in, until you attempt to sign them in the regular season and receive the salary cap warning. Still, there is plenty here to keep you tinkering with your team for several seasons.
The Live side of things is typically where 2K sports games shine, and 2K9 is no exception. The online main menu reveals a ten week contest for 2K related prizes, with the grand prize being included in NHL 2K10 as part of their 2K roster and all the 2K10 titles. The competition is based on ranked matches, with a top 5 leader board to keep track of the competition. The always fantastic online leagues and tournaments return, allowing for four to thirty players to play ten to eighty-two games, all while tracking stats and allowing teams to trade players amongst each other. Gamers also have the chance to create and upload user-created highlight films with the Reel Maker, showing off their best plays for other users to vote on. The best online addition this year is the Team-Up feature, something all sports games should have going forward.
Team-Up allows up to twelve gamers to hook up for a game of hockey online, where each controls a position rather than the entire team. In ranked matches, teams and positions are randomly chosen; with someone in a full game getting the unenviable task of playing goalie. Players change with the lines, but your position on the ice remains the same. The game ranks your performance based on what you do well, including successful passes, shots on goal, big hits, and poke checks. Your performance is then rated with a grade, tracking how good of a teammate you are on the ice. The reward system works decently, but would be slightly more effective if it visibly docked your rating for poor play. Playing without the puck on offense takes some getting used to, leading to far too many offside penalties from overanxious human players. After a few in the first period, gamers seem to get the hang of the rules again. Even with the offside penalties and inevitable puck-hogging, it is a blast to play even when it is just two humans on either team.
Though the game only takes advantage of thirty-eight of the fifty achievements it could, what is here is great. With achievements for different goal, win, assist, and penalty minute marks and some player-specific tasks to accomplish, they keep their achievements varied and challenging enough to hold your interest. They also include a viral achievement for beating a 2K employee online, and even one called ‘Lumberjack’ for scoring a hat-trick with a bearded player in the playoffs.
NHL 2K9 is a solid entry to the franchise that more than makes up for what last year’s lacked. There are a few minor blemishes, but nothing that will prevent you from fully enjoying the deep franchise and must-play Team-Up.
