Allow me to do a little unpaid marketing shilling for EA Sports' new NHL 2009 game that will cause thousands of new addictions this fall.
This new video highlights the new features that will be in the newest sequel: Defensive Skill Stick, Flip Dumps, One-Handed Dekes, Protect the Puck, and Be a Pro Mode.
I, for one, will welcome the new attention to defense. I grew rather frustrated in past games when I had limited defensive options while opposing forwards just skating circles around me with their dekes and shimmies. The NHL franchise has had a (bad) habit of focusing exclusively on offense, unless you count big huge hits as defensive play.
Is the increased realism good or bad for the game? Do we really want to play a dump-and-chase style that involves endless cycling and ends up in 1-0 defensive battles? I like some increased defensive ability, but I'm not pining to play the role of Jacques Lemaire, here.
