NHL 08 Xbox 360 Preview

EA's NHL 07 shocked and awed when it debuted its skill stick last season (considered the first true next-gen sports innovation), but the game shot wide with its 30 frames per second visuals that made the whole thing feel a bit choppy. The 60 frames per second early version of NHL 08 we saw recently is missing most of the chop and jerk that held 07 back from being a sports game of the year contender. Canadians and the 1,857 U.S. hockey fans can now rejoice!

Beyond the framerate doubling, the NHL developers have three goals for 08 going forward: advance the skill stick, add depth, and improve the core mechanics (skating, AI, checking).

For starters, the skill stick requires more nuance when it comes to shooting. The shot's power and accuracy isn't based solely on the player you're controlling, but on the user's skill. If you're off, your shot will be too. But if you fire a level shot, it's going to be as accurate and blazing as a Joe Sakic wrister. To show this off, the game opens with target shooting (just like in the NHL All-Star Competition).

As for depth, there are "real" minigames that will teach you hockey and help you play the game. Instead of skating around obstacle courses, expect to work on 2-on-1 breakouts and how to use your point men on the power play. There will be over 30 drills in all. There's no official word yet as far as online play goes, but at a recent press event, the game's producer said EA has put more energy than ever before into 08's online experience.

The most noticeable boost we've seen over last year's iteration has been in the skating. There are wide carve turns (slow and tight) and crossover turns (for speed), plus the analog stick now lets you skate at different speeds. Push it forward all the way to go full blast, or barely push it to slow down and search for a passing lane. As for checking, last year's system was pretty lame, but now there's context sensitive hitting, and non-hitters (like Daniel Briere) will get knocked back if they go shoulder to shoulder with brutes like Donald Brashear.

While these changes deepen the hockey basics, the wow moments look to come from the new modifier button, which frees the puck from your stick. If you're in a 1-on-1 situation with a defender, you can push the puck through his legs, and retrieve it on the other side of the player. And it's not a canned animation -- we saw the puck glance off the defender's skates and get kicked away altogether in separate instances. When successful, though, it gives players a way to sidestep slow-footed big hitters without getting laid on their keisters, which is very cool.