Well, the good old hockey game is STILL the best game you can name. And as far as sports video games go, hockey games are no exception. I've been waiting a long time for EA Sports to create a hockey game for the Wii. I've actually been playing NHL '06 for the Gamecube on my Wii for a couple years because I simply didn't care for the NHL2K series.
So finally, EA Sports puts out a hockey game for the Wii. Packaged with Wayne Gretzky on the box, it also comes with a stick to put your Wii-mote into.
The Good: EA doesn't make bad hockey games. They've been doing this sorta thing since the early 90s, but I didn't just buy NHL Slapshot with blind faith. I had been burned by NHL2K9, so I did a lot of research on this new game before buying it. After liking what I saw, I gave it a test run. Your standards are there: play as any NHL team, do the Stanley Cup run, season mode, create a player, etc, etc. And it looks like an EA Sports hockey game. What's really nice, is that this game isn't NHL '11, but it still looks like it belongs with the other EA hockey games. Kudos to sticking to the formula that works.
Playing with the Wii stick is really fun, especially if you have some friends over to play too. That's the nice thing about the Wii in general - the fun value. I had Scott over to play with Dana and I, and we had a few beer and played some old time hockey. The Wii is the best system on the market
My video review
for inter-person gameplay, which is why the Slapshot Stick is such a nice touch to this game.
I think it's also really cool that you can play as teams from the OHL, WHL, AHL, and even do pee-wee hockey outdoors with cars honking at you for goals. It's a great way to make this game for everyone. I had lots of fun playing as the Kingston Frontenacs and hearing the announcer say, "We're live at the K-Rock Center in Kingston Ontario. I can only imagine how great it must be for some of those junior hockey players to see their name in a video game, knowing that they may never make it to the NHL.
Friggidy Ding-Dong is only $10 (Plus shipping and handling)
The Bad: EA decided to omit fighting from this game. My best guess is because you're holding a potential weapon in your hand. Safety first, kids. Still, nothing's gonna stop me from slashing Scott with the stick. And if that doesn't hurt, I'll go get a real hockey stick.
The motion of the Wii-mote can cause you to ice the puck when you don't want to. So be cautious about dancing around the room after making a bone-crushing hit, 'cause you might just flip the puck up and over the glass. I've heard that people aren't too keen about the graphics when compared to the NHL '11 counterpart, but you need to remember that the Wii isn't an HD system, so the graphics can only be so good. And my last gripe would be the soundtrack; the announcers make comments about how the San Jose Sharks will never trade Nabokov, and thus the game is already dated.
The Verdict: You don't need to be a fan of hockey, or a fan of hockey video games to enjoy NHL Slapshot. And that right there is the best compliment you can give a game like this. It's just classic fun, quality time with friends or family. Go play it and thump the Habs for me.
(By the way, if you're wondering how my game in the video above turned out, I beat the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 7-3)
