is a drastic enhancement on its already excellent predecessors, introducing new game modes like: Be A Pro, EA SPORTS Hockey League, and six-on-six team multiplayer. There are also improvements made on gameplay, which gives you an even better experience, and keeps you interested.

When you start up NHL 09 for the first time, you are immediately put into the character creator for Be A Pro Mode. There are plenty of personalizations that can be made to your character in order for you to make it just the way you want it. The possibilities are relatively endless, with options like, height, weight, hairstyle, and even black eyes. In terms of hockey this is also where you pick your position, handedness, and player type. However, once you pick these options, there is no going back and changing them.

Once you get on the ice, the game's controls may be manipulated to your personal preferences. The controls that the game starts you off with may be difficult to grasp at first, but you are provided with tutorials on how to use them from the main menu, and at every loading screen, so you can become an expert in little time. After you learn and master the basic controls, you can focus on mastering the harder things like dekeing and hitting people really hard. Basically, this game has a medium-to-steep learning curve, but the more you play, the more fun you will have with the controls. Nevertheless, if you don’t want to take all that time and get good with the hard controls, you can change them to easier settings. For example, NHL 09 brings back the old time NHL 94 controls which have an extremely simplistic two button layout. The only difference is the harder the controls, the more freedom and originality you have.

One of the most noticeable improvements from NHL 08 to NHL 09 is the lack of repetition during gameplay. The chances of seeing the same hit or save twice in a game are very slim. This is because NHL 09 introduced a new physics engine specifically for hitting and fighting that brings more than 300 new animations. This keeps you interested, and ultimately makes it more fun to check opposing players.

The newest game mode, Be A Pro, is a fantastic addition to the game. Be A Pro mode, originally introduced in FIFA 08 , is like a campaign mode for a sports game, that works quite differently from Dynasty mode. You begin Be A Pro mode as a rookie playing on the minor league team of your choice, as the character you made when you first started the game. Immediately, you're introduced to your General Manager (GM) and told what he and the team wants from you. The GM’s expectations include how many shots, and points he wants you to accumulate during the season. When you meet your Coach, he says that you’re starting on the worst line, but there is room for improvement. To improve your rank you must maintain a good feedback level from your coach, which means you have to play well disciplined hockey, otherwise your feedback can be negative and stunt your progress.

Your feedback can be viewed after every shift, while you are sitting on the bench. Sitting on the bench is a fairly poor part of Be A Pro mode, the only thing you can do is watch the game and wait for your energy levels to go back up, which can be very boring. After games, you have the option of spending experience points towards different types of skills to make your character better in the ways you feel necessary. Eventually, you will gain enough skill, positive feedback to overcome the minor leagues and make your NHL debut. The whole journey to get to the NHL and play there in Be A Pro mode is an exciting experience. Hardly ever, will you find yourself uninterested and bored, this is because of the twists along the way and the lack of repetition in games.

EA SPORTS Hockey League is another new mode, which enhances online multiplayer. Any time you like, you can take your player from Be A Pro mode and put them into action against your friends in the EA SPORTS. In fact, NHL 09 allows you to play on an online multiplayer team of six. This allows for every person to have a specific position to play, including goalie.

Other game modes, like Dynasty mode, were kept the relatively same from NHL 08 to NHL 09. The one thing I feel has been missing from the game for a while is the old fashion Fantasy Draft, where you draft against computers to make your team and then play a dynasty with them. This feature was a fun part of some of the older games and has not been incorporated in NHL 09 .

NHL 09 adds a revolutionary feature that has never been seen in any hockey video game before: The Media Hub. At any time during a game you may pause the game and look at the replay, just like in NHL 08 , only now you can record a replay or take a picture. This makes it even more exciting when you score a really nice goal, or make a nice save, because you know you can save it and add your own audio to it and show it to a friend.

The music and sound effects are still average in terms of making you feel like you are in the arena and the commentators are still just as annoying. The metaphors and humor they have can be funny for awhile, but after the sixth time you hear “bone crushing hit” you wish they would just be quiet. However, you have the option to make them be quiet. From the pause menu, you can adjust the volume of the commentators, sound effects, music and goal horn.

The graphics in NHL 09 are quite impressive. The entire arena environment looks very nice and almost real, with the exception of the fans. The fans have always had a tendency to look choppy and poorly developed. They rarely show the fans in NHL 09 , besides scenes after goals and sometimes at the end of the game, but when they do, they look terrible. However, the players look very natural when they skate and look very real in general. The details when looking at players are breathtaking. Their faces look well developed and have the same features as they do in real life. The tiny details are also well done, such as the ice and shadows of players.

Overall, EA’s NHL 09 lived up to what was expected of it. The great graphics, fun gameplay, variety of controls, and classic EA style all come together to form the best hockey video game so far.

Overall: 8.5/10