NHL 09 Xbox 360
NHL 09 Image
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Metascore
88 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 41 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 54 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: NHL 09 builds on the momentum of last year, with innovative controls, added depth and new features designed to help newcomers jump into the series. The Skill Stick System evolves to bring an unparalleled level of control to the defensive side of the puck. The all new Defensive Skill Stick gives you the ability to sweep your stick to block passing lanes and lift an opponent's stick to prevent one-timers. Take your game online with 6 vs.6 team play, where 12 people can play together on 12 different consoles around the world. With new teams from the Russian, Czech Republic and German Elite leagues, NHL 09 connects hockey fans around the globe like never before. Players new to the series can now shoot, pass and check with ease. NHL 09 features Be A Pro, a game mode that puts you on the ice with a dynamic new 3rd person camera that allows you to play the role of one player. With a performance tracker grading your progress in more than 50 categories, you know exactly where you need to improve to become the next NHL superstar. [Electronic Arts]… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 41
  3. Negative: 0 out of 41
  1. Gaming Age
    100
    EA didn't just make their game look, sound, and play superbly, but they even brought their "A" game when it comes to features as well.
  2. Gamervision
    100
    With barely a visual hitch, exceptional presentation, engaging online, improved controls and an unmatched level of realism, there’s almost nothing to prevent a full recommendation to any fan of hockey or sports games in general. Even if you aren’t a fan of sports games, the game is so good it could turn you into one.
  3. GamePro
    100
    EA Sports has been doing fine work on this series for the last few years, but everything until now only seems like groundwork for this years version. Small problems aside this is the best game of hockey ever made.
  4. Games Master UK
    86
    Better controls, improved animations and full of cool new features. [Nov 2008, p.83]
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See all 41 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. JasonBourne272
    10
    This is the best NHL game ever since they brought out the new shooting configuration with the right stick has made this game the bomb. Also love the way to be the goalie and customize his pads and how so many goalie companies sponsored this game like vaughn and rbk, so sick… Expand
  2. TheChaser1985
    8
    I haven't really played a hockey game since ESPN National hockey night in like 94. I have played arcade style games though. This game really plays well. The mechanics and controls are near perfect. The graphics are pretty good. The game does have some glitches and it lacks the features that a lot of other Ea Sports games have.… Expand
  3. Dan
    7
    This is an AWESOME game!!! Why did I give it a 7? Because it has absolutely unforgivable flaws. The first and most annoying is if you pass for a one-timer and the puck gets deflected or your guy misses it, the man that was supposed to receive the puck is stuck for about 2 seconds. There are a lot of other mini-flaws that could easily be patched. The other one that I didn't notice until recently is in multiplayer online games (with more than 1 on your xbox/ps3) the color indicators for the players are not a standard 4 color set, they are random which means you might get a team with a red and an orange, or possibly blue and purple- which makes it incredibly hard to distinguish who is who.… Expand
  4. JamieC
    3
    Best sports game of all time? Do people play these games before they review them? This game is plagued by the same horrible AI and one sided reffing that every single hockey game ever created has had. 3/4 through a franchise season with penaltys on the max setting and my team has had ONE powerplay, in 64 games .... yet every time i touch the poke check button, a cpu player goes down, to the tune of 102 powerplays against...... how does that work? i guess when you program your entire defense scheme around interfering with the intended passing target rather then design an actual defensive scheme, it may be too much to ask for a game that has some close resemblance to balance. is it so hard to hire beta testers? EA has put a nice LOOKING game, but again, the gameplay is overcomplicated, "realistic", garbage. beta testers -what?… Expand

See all 18 User Reviews

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