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Gretzky NHL 2005 Review
Written by Modojo Staff on Monday, March 28, 2005
Solid modes and gameplay make a decent hockey experience.
On the lower end of the visual scale.
Well, it's been official for some weeks now. The NHL has officially bagged up their whole season for the simple reason that they can't find an agreement with the Players' Union. Fortunately, that hasn't stopped a flow of steady hockey games from hitting the market, from Sega's superior ESPN NHL 2K5 to EA's decent second place NHL 2005.
Somewhere in the mix, Sony revamped their hockey line-up with the release of Gretzky NHL 2005, a game that delivered in some areas while falling behind in others to make it a strictly average affair. Now Sony continues their slapshotness with a version of Gretzky for the PSP, and, despite its attempts to fit in on the handheld market, it still comes up short of greatness- the same greatness as its cover star.
Probably what affects the game the worst would be the graphics. Sony and Page 44 Studios were obviously in some sort of quick effort to put the game on the PSP, as the graphics appear to be mostly blocky and underdone. Some of the animations are pretty stellar, and there are some neat tricks with the presentation during the replays that emulate the look of a hockey game, but I can't help that things should have been smoothed over to give the game a next-gen appearance. And to think- it looks below-average and yet still takes forever to load, even with the most basic of menus.
Fortunately, the game is backed up by some pretty good gameplay, a little bit tweaked from the PS2 edition so that passing, defensive plays, and one-timers come across. There's still some quirks with the control from time to time, and I couldn't help but think that the AI could use a little tightening up (some teams are just a bit too easy to score on), but it still plays just like hockey should, right down to some devastating hits that jar the puck loose - along with some digital teeth, I'm sure.
Aurally, the game has seen improvements. The annoying, by-the-numbers commentary has been removed, and in its place we just have the sounds of hockey, right down to the slapping of the puck and the cheering crowds. Of course, that makes things a little too basic and may bore those seeking some lively gamespeak, but it beats the alternative - someone droning on when they clearly sound like they want to be somewhere else.
Then we come to the game's extra modes. Here, it's good to see some depth, as a Season Mode has been thrown in to help you out to building your dream team. It's not the deepest one around, but it will keep hockey fans enthralled enough to get through a few runs at the Stanley Cup. The ability to challenge a friend in Wi-Fi wireless play is a nice touch, but that requires you to find a player who's in the mood to play this.
Gretzky NHL isn't entirely a bad game. The fact that the NHL season has been shut down clearly works against it, especially considering how hard Gretzky himself worked to try and revive it. But it runs the basics in too many areas, not really reinventing the gameplay like ESPN NHL 2K5 did or consisting of any sharp looks or sounds to back up the action. Fans of hockey may want to give it a look and play around with Gretzky NHL for awhile, but chances are you'll find yourself holding off till the next season...that is, if there IS a next season.
