With the battle raged and won, you’d think there wouldn’t be much talk about hockey around UGTV now for at least another year. However, I am Canadian, and therefore have an excuse to spend four days talking about the NHL series. After the review of the two, and both sets of impressions delivered, what more could possibly be said? With the unique controls available to Nintendo’s Wii console, we didn’t spend nearly enough time comparing the 09 and 2K9 series on this system. There is a good reason, of course, and that reason is that there is no possible comparison. NHL 2K9 is the only game in town for the Wii, and nearing the two year mark it is both surprising and disappointing that EA has yet to make an attempt, considering the success they’ve had with the Madden and FIFA series on the system. Even their first foray into the tennis games will be utilizing the Wii MotionPlus, and yet it seems as if hockey doesn’t fit right with their EA Sports line-up.

Bonus Round: Fight!

And maybe for good reason. NHL 2K9 is nothing else if it isn’t a brave attempt at a genre that is yet unexplored on the Wii. Although Laser Hockey on WiiPlay is certainly fun for five and a half seconds, and Kidz Sports: Ice Hockey almost doesn’t make you gag, the NHL series has been notably absent on the system and hockey fans have suffered as a result. The 2K9 series does the system alright, for a start. The game isn’t a graphic powerhouse, even by the Wii standards, running and very notably dated graphics. It does run almost faster than the 360 version played for review, however a lot less smoothly. The controls that were translated to the Wii remote actually do set a really good precedent for the series, as well. The IR passing system works pretty well, and the shooting feels pretty natural, if not a bit tacked on with the wrist-flicking that is common with a lot of Wii games.

While there is a season and dynasty mode built-in to the game, there is a lack of online mode which really hurts when held up to the other consoles. Online has become such a vital part of sports franchises now that it feels like a big hole without it. While the offline multiplayer and single player modes still feel well put together, the interface that ties it all in doesn’t. As the graphics throughout the game do, the menus feel like a throw back to PS2 shovelware and do not help the presentation whatsoever. The game is fun, but still doesn’t have quite the same flow and feel as the 360/PS3 versions.

Still, this is a big step for 2K and it’s something Wii owners should very much appreciate. For players looking for a little hockey on the Wii, they could do worse (see: Kidz Sports) than this, but they could do a lot better. While the controls do actually map well to the Wii, at least somewhat, it still doesn’t feel smooth or as creative as the work done with other sports series on the console. The graphics are dated and do not help bring you into the experience. The mechanics seem to be in place, at least somewhat, but the overall package doesn’t quite feel like it had the same amount of effort put into it. However, it’s still a fun game, and played with a few friends it is still at least worth a play through for those without the other consoles. Given the choice, grab the 360 or PS3 version, but 2K deserves a lot of kudos for being the first to jump in with NHL 2K9 and we are definitely looking forward to what they offer next year.

Full season and franchise played through. 20 hours total time.