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NHL 09

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NHL 09
File:NHL 09 Coverart.png
Cover of NHL 09, featuring Dion Phaneuf
Developer(s)EA Canada (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
HB Studios (Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2)
Publisher(s)EA Sports[5]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
ReleasePlayStation 3, Xbox 360[1][2]
Microsoft Windows[3]
PlayStation 2[4]
Genre(s)Sports (Ice hockey)
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

NHL 09 is the 18th video game in the NHL series released by EA Sports.

New features

NHL 09 introduced several new features from the previous year's edition of the game. Features such as the defensive skill stick, dump-and-chase, and the lift stick option played into the advanced user's demographic. The option to play using NHL '94 controls, however, made the game easy for even a beginner to play.

This year's edition of the game has also seen the return of the alternate jersey with a verification code as well expanded rosters such as the O2 Extraliga and the Russian Superleague. (Russian Superleague is currently defunct, replaced by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL); the game was developed before the KHL was formed)

In order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens, NHL 09 has a feature where the greatest Canadiens play as an All-Star team known as the "Centennial Canadiens" which is included on all platforms.

The North American edition of the game features Calgary Flames' defenseman Dion Phaneuf on the cover. The Swiss version of the game shows New York Islanders' defenseman Mark Streit on the cover. There is also a Swedish cover version showing Ottawa Senators' captain Daniel Alfredsson. The cover on the Russian version features Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin.

Online play

Players have the ability to create a player to use in online play. Users can join online teams with friends or find players to create on. There is now a 6-on-6 online team play. Users have the ability to level up players, participate in tournaments (with brackets), and receive awards at the end of the season. Rosters have been updated, as well as slap shot power and accuracy to compliment NHL updates. As of April 15, 2009, many rosters have automatically been changed for those with online capabilities. The PC version of NHL 09 does not come with an online lobby; users must find an opponent manually and enter in their IP address.

NHL 94 controls

EA Sports has added an option to use an old, nostalgic style of controls to help players get used to the game. These controls will use the face buttons to do most of the work, such as 'A' being pass and 'B' being shoot instead of using the right-analog stick.

Alternate jerseys

For the 2008–09 NHL season, certain NHL hockey teams unveiled third jerseys for the first time after the 2007-08 switch to the Rbk Edge jersey system. The new alternate jerseys for certain teams can be unlocked with a code, the same way the Rbk Edge jerseys were unlocked in NHL 08. The Boston Bruins were the last team to unveil their alternate jersey on November 24, 2008. Upon a new roster update that carries the alternate jerseys and many new players, there is no longer a need to enter the code. Unfortunately, many errors were committed when designing the jerseys; the New York Islanders' jersey was done incorrectly in that the name and numbering on the back of the jersey in NHL 09 is orange, while in real life it is white. Also, the logo on the front of the jersey is missing the fourth orange stripe on the hockey stick which was meant to symbolize their four Stanley Cup victories. The Buffalo Sabres' third jersey was also portrayed incorrectly, lacking silver striping on the torso. This was also the case on the Tampa Bay Lightning jersey as it lacks the silver striping on the torso. The St. Louis Blues' third jersey is also incorrect, as the lettering is white instead of yellow in reality. The Ottawa Senators' uniform has the stripes on the pants running down the front of the thigh, instead of its proper and traditional place on the side. The Philadelphia Flyers' uniform has numbering and lettering too large and dark on the back of the jerseys as well as some alternate previous jerseys (such as the ones from 1975) have numbers and names not properly centered on the jerseys.

New European elite leagues

NHL 09 now includes the German DEL, the Czech Extraliga, the Swedish Elitserien, the Finnish SM-liiga, and the Russian Superleague, with the latter now defunct, replaced by the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), though not featured in the game.

PlayStation 2 features

On the PS2 version of NHL 09 there's an all new Be a Pro Mode where you create a player or use a rookie NHL player and take him in the NHL (also included in EA Sports NBA Live and FIFA Soccer/Football series and is similar to Madden's Superstar Mode), new rookie controls, european dynasty leagues, all-new tutorial videos, and authenic NHL gameplay.

PC version

Just like the previous two entries in the series, the PC version is no longer developed to be equivalent to the Xbox 360 and versions and is a port of the PlayStation 2 version. This resulted in graphics below NHL 08's fidelity and a notable lack of support for controllers and widescreen resolutions. NHL 09 was the last EA Sports-based hockey game released for the PC as well as the Playstation 2

Teams who are not in the leagues

Leagues

Soundtrack

NHL 09 features 17 different songs, according to the EA Trax screen.[7]

In-game only

The game also features songs that are played only during whistles during games, and cannot be seen in the EA Trax screen.[8].

  • August Frost - "Krickets"
  • August Frost - "Mask"
  • August Frost - "Necessary Dissection"
  • August Frost - "Strange Grace"
  • TV Heart Attack - "Don't Walk Away"
  • TV Heart Attack - "Hypnotic Eyes"
  • TV Heart Attack - "Jane Doe"
  • Young Dre The Truth - "I Love L.A."

Custom soundtracks can be imported to the game, but only on the version.[9]

Commentary

Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson provide commentary on the PC and PlayStation 2 versions.
Gary Thorne and Bill Clement are on the console versions.

Demo

A demo was released on the PlayStation Network on August 28, 2008[10], followed by the release of the same demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace on September 3, 2008 at 5:00am ET.[citation needed] The demo includes tutorials for shooting, deking, and defensive moves while playing as 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Henrik Zetterberg. Once the player finishes the tutorial (or the user can exit the tutorial via the pause menu), the user then has access to a single 3rd period game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, symbolizing the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, where the player may choose which team to play as. If the game remains a tie once the period is over, the game will immediately go to a shootout. The "Be a Pro" mode is also available in the demo for a single 3rd period game also between Pittsburgh and Detroit. Henrik Zetterberg and Sidney Crosby are the only players available for the "Be a Pro" mode.

Easter eggs

  • Sabrina Ladha, a female goalie, is listed as a free agent in the game with overall stats of 98 (70, with the latest roster update, 90 for Playstation 2 version as the highest-rated combined-style (hybrid-style) goaltender). She was entered into the game because her father won a charity auction with a winning bid of $7,000. The opportunity to be placed in NHL 09 was sold to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Game problems

During the period of December 2008 to March 2009, there was a "stat boosting glitch" in the Xbox 360 and PS3 version in the online features of the game that led to players raising their playing stats in Online Team Play (OTP) based games. This was solved during a patch released at the end of March.

An alternative "stat boosting glitch" has been confirmed since this patch for the Xbox 360. It is unknown if a similar problem continues to exist for the PS3.

The game also suffers from exploitation in (OTP) in which a team could attain a default win by "timing out" the opponent.

In the PC version of the game, the keyboard settings are automatically set to default whenever the game is launched.

Reception

Awards

References

  1. ^ http://ps3.ign.com/objects/142/14230951.html
  2. ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/142/14230950.html
  3. ^ http://pc.ign.com/objects/142/14256825.html
  4. ^ http://ps2.ign.com/objects/142/14259082.html
  5. ^ a b Gord Goble (2008). "Bigger, better, and still quirky". Electronic Gaming Monthly (233): 81. ISSN 1058-918X. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "NHL 09 Page". GamePro. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  7. ^ "NHL 09 Soundtrack Revealed". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  8. ^ "MORE NHL 09 Soundtrack Songs!". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  9. ^ "Official announcement on custom soundtracks". www.forums.ea.com. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  10. ^ "Playstation Store Update". blog.us.playstation.com. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  11. ^ IGN: NHL 09 Review
  12. ^ GameZone: NHL 09 Review
  13. ^ Gamespot review
  14. ^ 1UP: NHL 09 Review
  15. ^ TeamXbox: NHL 09 Review
  16. ^ OXM Review
  17. ^ X-Play review
  18. ^ a b Playstation Official Magazine (UK): NHL 09 Review
  19. ^ [http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/946760.asp?q=nhl%2009 Pelit (Finland): NHL 09 Review]
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