NHL 09

Reviewed by:
Gerasimos Manolatos

Price: $59.99

The Skinny: Lace up your virtual skates and take to the ice in EA Sports' latest, and we'll say it, greatest, hockey bonanza.

The Good: If your deity of choice shat out a hockey game, this would be it. Every mode from past versions have been ratcheted up, and newer modes—like the new, super-deep Be a Pro mode and the Centennial Tournament Mode—will give you more hours to fritter away on your console. Even better, take your Be a Pro–created player online and play with or against your friends or strangers, all the while adding on to your players' stats and abilities. EA has added one-handed dekes, flip dumps, lift stick, and protect the puck to your repertoire, rectifying many of the control issues some criticized the series for last year.

The Bad: Other than frame-rate slowdowns at a few intense scenes, you won't find many holes in the best hockey game this year.

Are You Tough Phaneuf? When cover athlete Dion Phaneuf isn't scoring on the ice, he's scoring with Elisha Cuthbert. Lucky sonovabitch.

Buy, Rent, or Disembowel? Buy. Even if you don't think you like hockey, you'll have fun.

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