NHL Slapshots Preview: It Comes With A Stick

Posted in Gaming, Previews by Aaron, September 1, 2010 at 1:04 pm | 583 views, 0 comments

Oh no, not another cheap, plastic peripheral is the thought to cross the minds of most gamers upon seeing NHL Slapshot for the first time. Every copy of the game will be packaged with a small hockey stick that houses the Wiimote near its base and the nunchuck up top.

But having spent some time with the stick, I have to say, it just feels like NHL on the Wii done right.

It’s compact size makes it easy to hold, but no so large that it becomes grossly obtrusive. You can make a wrist shot, pull back to make a slap shot, hold the B button and move the stick back and forth to deke out your opponent or pushing the stick forward and knock them on their asses.

And despite not using the Wii Motion Plus, which lead producer Joe Nichols told us the team tried, but it didn’t make a huge impact with the control scheme and would have made the controller bigger, the game is still very responsive without it.

If you want to, you could even play without the stick, swinging the Wiimote to shoot and adding the nunchuck to body check. Which is nice if you don’t want to shell out for additional sticks, which will be available launch day.

There’s even a “mom” mode, where the game auto controls itself, and all you are responsible for is passing and shooting.

The AI is taken directly from the NHL 10 and Slapshot definitely pushes the graphical capabilities of the Wii hardware. The players look decent and there’s not a whole lot of jagged edges. Even the child versions of the NHL players in peewee mode look good.

Peewee mode itself is a blast to play. 3 on 3 hockey, but you’re playing as kids without a referee, so anything goes.

Peewee To Pros mode plays a lot like Be A Pro from the 360 and PS3 games. You get graded, are given match goals and watch your player work his way up the ladder. Or in this case, you see them grow up. Pick a player, or create your own, and watch him work his way through Peewee (with Wayne Gretzky as your coach) and take him through all the minor leagues, like Bantom and Junior, until you finally hit the NHL. Or choose the legend himself and take Gretzky through his career.

You can level up your players attributes and unlock boosts that make a bigger impact on your skills. Boosts are unlocked through regular play – be aggressive a make a lot of hits, for example, and perhaps you’ll unlock a boost that helps you hit harder.

You still have all the regular modes, up to four players can play in a game or in the minigames. There will be online roster updates throughout the year, which is a surprising treat considering the Wii isn’t the most conductive system to online updates.

I asked Joe Nichols why there hasn’t been an NHL game on the Wii before, and he told me EA held off until they could do it right. There’s no point in creating half-assed or ‘for kids’ type game with basic waggle control. Having tried out the controller, I have to admit, it’s something I would pick up.

The controls are fun and easy to get into – within a period I was a natural with the controls, making one-timers and rarely feeling like I wasn’t in control of the action.

The game only spent nine months in development, but because it took some resources from NHL 10 it feels like a very complete hockey experience.

The game hits shelves on Tuesday, same day as NHL 11. Look out for our full review after it comes out.

To contact the author of this post: aaron.chatha@wildgunmen.com