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 enlarge | From: 2K Games
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $3.99
You Save: $16.00 (80%)
New (31) Used (13) from $3.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 8401
Platform: Playstation2
ESRB: Everyone 10+
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Playstation 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 37220
Model: 37220
UPC: 710425372209
EAN: 0710425372209
ASIN: B000REZ84C
Release Date: September 11, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Full of features, yet ultimately disappointing February 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I purchased this game a month ago, around the time I got my PS2. I had always been an EA Sports NHL loyalist, from '94 to about 2004. I had previously played those editions on numerous platforms, from Genesis (yay!) to PS1, then PC.
After suffering through numerous crashes with the PC version of EA's NHL 2004, I figured the time was right to change. I avoided the 2005/06/07 editions of EA because 1) I didn't have a dedicated, STABLE platform like a PS2 at the time, 2) the software glitches of EA's 2004 turned me off from them big time, and 3) many reviewers and buyers complained that the quality of EA Sports, and in particular, the NHL franchise, had gone downhill...or so I had thought, but more on that later.
I read the Gamespot reviews and studied the features of the 2K line and was "wowed" by all the bells and whistles: the super deep franchise mode, supposedly realistic gameplay, yada yada yada. Being a hockey geek, I decided to take the plunge and pay my $20.
During my first few times playing the game, I couldn't get over the rather steep learning curve. Ironically, the gameplay features were in fact TOO deep - I takes two finger motions, not one, to take a slap shot, for instance. Having to change defensive pairs whilst simultaneously changing lines was a chore (and with the line change option set to semi-automatic, my 3rd and 4th lines hardly saw action. Grrrrr!). The dynasty mode had some curious quirks, with numerous players of mine getting claimed off some invisible waiver list (I later learned that due to a design flaw, said list was available on the PC and PS3 versions of the game, but not PS2. Yet, the CPU would still steal your players at whim. WHAAAAT?!?!?!).
Also, dynasty mode was a drag, full of file corrupting glitches and a tough-to-follow interface. The fact that you had to MANUALLY practice your team everyday was time consuming, and the various menu options were unwieldy. The all-important "fun factor" dissipated quickly.
While walking through my old neighborhood, I found a pawnshop selling used PS2 games for about $5 a pop. One of them happened to a copy of EA's NHL '06. After purchasing it ("what the hell," I thought), I took it home to give it a test spin.
Low and behold, it was a much more ENJOYABLE game. An easy to follow interface, INTUITIVE controls (one button shots! Yay!), and, surprisingly, a much better presentation. AND IT'S STABLE, with NO APPARENT GLITCHES!!! Folks, this is important; you can have all the features in the world, but it don't mean jack unless it WORKS. Also included is a fully playable version of the old Genesis era NHL '94!!!!
So folks, the moral of the story is to not get wowed by all sorts of esoteric "wow" features designed to distract you from what really matters in a hockey game. Of course, your mileage may vary, and yes, the newer games have updated rosters. But as far as enjoyment, 2k8 fell waaaaaay short.
Caveat emptor.
Usual but improved slightly December 10, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
NHL 2k8 has always been a tad better then EA sports, as others have said its pretty much the same game, while still fun, and defiantly playable, the game has some issues that can make the game play rather frustrating, and instead of feeling like your playing a game of hockey makes the game seem more like...well a game.
The puck pickup detection and motions is rather lacking, it seems to take a century for your player to pick up a loose puck, from passes, to loose pucks, to rebounds, the reaction time is very slow. This goes for all players AI, and human. It becomes frustrating when your player has a rebound opportunity with ample time, and just because the game didn't react fast enough and pick up the puck which is right in front of him your player misses the chance, and either skates out of position/past the puck, or an opponents teammate comes and picks it up.Another issue is the lack of smart teammate AI, if you check a player with the puck and it becomes loose your teammates usually fail to skate up get the puck even if they seem to be looking right at you or if there right next to you. Also when the puck is underneath a player, they will either skate away and come back, instead of just kicking the puck in front of you like in real hockey. One graphical gripe i have is the crowd....the crowd is not only completely inproportional to the players, but to the whole stadium, it gives the look of a stadium full of 2 year old children. Also the crowd continues to be nothing but a flat 1-d figure, who's color shirt designates there what motion they do (ie: drinking a beverage) so you see 5 people wearing green shirts next to each other all drinking out of a cup at the same time every 2 seconds, this is 2007 not 1996 ps1, they couldve stepped that up a bit beyond one dimensional figures.
Another problem is the lack of goal alignment with the goal crease, occasionally the goal, will be half way up the blue area around the goalie past the crease. Finally, teammates almost always fail to come into formation, during power plays they dont not fall into the normal formation that real teams do, so very few passing goals occur, and even when your not during power plays your team mates fail to come into offensive positions.
The gameplay remains fun, but lack of attention to detail and clumsy AI and puck detection takes away from it, as well as poor graphics for the surrounding stadium and crowd, while this doesnt effect game play it constantly ebbs at the feeling of realism. Its obvious that both ea sports and 2k studios have put far more effort into their 3rd generation gaming systems and it shows tremendously, it feels like im playing the 2005 game with lousier puck detection and lousier AI
 horrible November 16, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have bought NHL games from EA sports over the last years.
I like those games a lot, but after years with EAsports, I wanted to see if other suppliers have better games.
Therefore I bought Nhl 2k8.
The menus are horrible and everything is just bad and hard to understand.
Even if EA Sports games are more expensive, they are worth it.
Don't do the same mistake as me, so my advice is to stay away and eventually buy nhl games from EA sports instead.
Some good, some terrible November 5, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Well I bought the game because I'm a huge NHL fan, and the price was right. Maybe I'm too picky, but I notice tons of things wrong that are just stupid silly errors.
First off, the last hockey title I bought was 2k5. I loved the gameplay of that (which is similar to 2k8) and the commentary of Gary and Bill. Bob and Harry know the game and they are a familiar sound to any who know Hockey Night in Canada. But after ESPN lost the NHL, the presentation has fallen way off. The text on many screens is too small and sometimes I can't even read it when I get up right next to the TV.
We all know that makers tend to carry over lots of aspects of a game from year to year. That being said, there are things in this game that they decided to change--for the WORSE!!! Like the helmets--very authentic looking in 2k5-terrible in 2k8. And the players' hair coming out the back--if it's long, it looks like a flared piece of cardboard, just tacky! And in the generic cut scenes--whether or not the goalie catches left or right, they always are shown skating as a left-catching goalie--terrible!! Also, it is now impossible to dump the puck out or in using the glass--the highest it will get is mid-way up the boards. So, 2k, why can't you carry over the stuff that works and change the stuff that doesn't!!
It's an ok game for gameplay, but I just expect more for an NHL game.
New year, same game September 26, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
The 2K series has always topped EA's NHL series in terms of overall gameplay, and NHL 2K8 is no different, even though it's basically the same game we saw last year on the PS2. NHL 2K8 doesn't make many improvements or additions to what we saw last year, but what is new here is more than worth noting. Franchise Mode is deeper and better than ever here, and Superstar Moves have been implemented as well. That's it for new features, as the rest of the solid gameplay remains untouched. The goalies are still tough as nails to put the puck by, and online play is still laggy and somewhat buggy. That aside though, the good does outweigh the bad with NHL 2K8, and the budget price tag doesn't hurt either. That being said, if you're craving some NHL action, and you only own a PS2, NHL 2K8 is a worthy purchase. Then again, it's not like you really have a lot of options.
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