NHL 09 - PS2

While we might all be tempted to look at American Football players, look across to our own, tough as nails rugby chaps and dismiss North American sportsmen as wusses, there's nothing wussy about the rough and tumble, lightening fast brutality of ice hockey. In the spirit of reminding us of this, with the close of another summer, another NHL game from EA appears in the shape of the cunningly-titled NHL 09. New features abound in this update of the much-admired series, including the funky fresh Be A Pro mode, wherein you create a player for an entire career. You can earn trophies and your very own hockey card as your coach rates you in 60 categories. Play well, or you might get traded.

There is also a new defensive Skill Stick. NHL 08 provided true offensive prowess with the Skill Stick - now you have the power to stop it. Block passing lanes with 360 degree control of your stick or disrupt an opponent's one-timer by lifting their stick just before they receive a pass.

NHL vets will also delight in the inclusion of a simplified version of the game that harks back to the two-button system of NHL 94, and with the addition of the Czech, Russian and German leagues, NHL 09 has truly gone global. more