Xbox Living

The demo for NHL 08 from EA Sports has been released on Xbox Live. The game itself will debut on September 11, just before the 2007-08 hockey season gets underway. I took the demo for a spin — here’s the scoop:

It’s just like NHL 07.

I’m going to win awards for that stellar review, I know it. But from what can be seen in this demo, there’s not much that’s changed. Aside from updated lines and some new music and commentary, it looks and plays like it’s the same game.

But, the demo only lets you play a single period of Ducks vs. Senators. NHL 07’s claim to fame — the new ’skill stick’ controls — returns in NHL 08, so there are no surprises here. Supposedly the controls were updated to give you a little more control than in NHL 07, but I didn’t notice. Perhaps some more play time will open my eyes to this one.

A few graphical tweaks can be seen, but again, it’s pretty much on-par with last year. EA Sports has made some additional promises, though. Here’s what the full game should have in store:

• Addition of the AHL: All 29 American Hockey League teams have been added, and are playable in Dynasty Mode.
• Improved likeness of players and gear: Supposedly the players faces have been carefully customized and equipment now looks more authentic. Again, hard to really notice in the demo.
• Updated Dynasty Mode: A collection of fairly minor usability features have been added, which nevertheless make team management easier.
• Advanced Player Customization: The player creation mode has been expanded giving you more control over your custom player’s looks, stats and gear.
• Expanded Commentary: You don’t get much of a taste of it in the demo, but NHL 08 supposedly contains a larger library of play-by-play commentary to add more diversity to the game.
• Custom Plays: You can now create your own plays and train your team to follow them — a pretty cool feature if done right.
• Online Leagues: Reportedly, the Xbox Live component features online leagues and full player stat tracking. We’ll have to wait and see this one.

It looks like EA’s NHL 08 could be a worthwhile upgrade, but unfortunately the demo just doesn’t live up to the hype. If you’re a big fan of hockey and spent a lot of time with NHL 07, you’re probably picking this up (or even pre-ordering online or in-store). NHL 07 was an excellent hockey sim, so at the very least it carries that with it — and the new commentary and lineups are enough for the hardcore fans. I’m sure I’ll grab a copy.

Otherwise, give this one a rent and see if you like the new features. They sound promising, but you might want to see if it lives up to the hype.