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Community Day NHL 08

The Gameplay: The gameplay is second to none. I have been playing video game Hockey Since 1990 back then on the Sega System & this by far is the best game so far I have seen. When skating up the ice the Defencemen back off if you stop they forcheck. if you get to the neutral zone the will try to trap you or play the correct style for each team. When your in the zone you can cycle the puck all day long. The defencemen will block shoots or cut off passing lanes to get the puck in their position. Only downsides I could find is on face offs the CPU never misses it's chance so if the ref fakes the drop & you snap the stick back too bad the CPU wins. You get one chance & that's it. If playing against a human then if they do the same thing & not guess the timing of the drop then you will get a second chance.

The Puck motion: When the puck is not on your players stick, it is live and anyone can grab it. Especially during dekes! If the puck connects with the defenders skate or stick it will bounce off. The boards make for some real cool fun this year as chipping it off the boards to get it pass a defender is key at times. On hard shots in watch as the defencemen turn to find the puck if it takes a funny bounce they could over skate it.

Creation zone: This is one of the main NEW area's the EA team has made major improvements. Make Your player put him on the AHL team call him up when you want or send him down. When making your superstar you can pick his skate type & select if his blades are straight or slanted when sharpened either Way like so / \ or | . You can color them anyway you like so making your own gear for the xbox360 is a blast. What else you say pick your players stick curve maybe you like the take the goalies head off & want a stick with major curve & flex. This can all happen in NHL 08. If you like the old school hockey make a straight stick & blades with NO whip or bend to the stick. What is even better is that you can then take your dude out on the ice & test his gear & keep tweaking it until you have made him to your playing style.

Dynasty mode: New Dynasty Mode! Well I would not say NEW all the features of last years game is there Plus all the AHL teams. You can create a team & take them into Dynasty Mode. Downside here is it's a one player game & EA promises to get us the 2 player dynasty for NHL 09.

Online Features: The online Feature this year will include 3 on 3 4 on 4 & 5 on 5 players can login & player together. I was told that the game will have online leagues as well. weather this feature will be good we will have to wait & see. We did not play online during community Day.

Deking System: Deak did I say Deak You can do some pretty cool moves with NHL 08 by holding the left flipper and using the right skill stick but because the puck can be knocked off skates sticks legs & ice the deaks are hard to pull off on a denfence man or defensive player. I only did one on Joe while playing & it felt really good cause it was like I tried it 30 times in that game. Using this to beat the goalie forget it! They are not stupid if you pull off a fancy move better make sure the goalie to screened for a second while you burry it.

Improved AI: You want to feel like your really at the rink NHL 08 delivers! the goalies in replay mode or practice mode move like a real goalie should. as you move in he jumps out he backs up as you get closer he moves with the same quickness as your player does so if you want a blow out put it on easy to make HIM stupid cause that's the way to score. On the higher difficult levels he plays smart & I mean smart screen shot or deflections are Key just like the real game. VERY VERY rare are the big blasters from the Point that go clean in. Well there is the rating factor as well if he was a bad goalie you might get away with this more. This year the game adapts it's like playing the BORG you teach it how to play as you go along. If your doing the same crap over & over expect to loose lots of games I know I did. You have to change your style of play all the time or the game you catch on to you & burn you.

New controls for Goalie: You can now play as the goalie from just above his head. i never tried it but from what others told me the controls move well for you but it's very hard to figure where the shot is going to go & what save to make. I will have to try this more when I get a copy of the game.

NHL Jerseys: This year the NHL is having a huge marketing hit by introducing new Jerseys for all 30 teams. Now all the Jerseys will be available in NHL 08 although the ones not yet released will be available to unlock from the EA Sports and web site Just enter a code & the New jerseys will be there.

AHL Teams: All AHL teams are included in this game

The communication: The communication in multi player mode is directly from real hockey - ask for an assist by tapping the ice with the stick. We will have to wait for the game to test this feature because we did not play xbox live.

Season Mode: There is no season mode! BOO EA this has to go in next year. I was promised it would be. I was hoping for a 2 player game this year but the only way you can play a friend is online or head to head. Ii like the season modes cause you & a friend can create a player then each player is put on your favorite team. Then play for bragging rights to who has the better player.

We will have a Live chat on Friday Night it will be posted on the Forums so watch it so it!