NHL 2K9 for the Nintendo Wii

I have just purchased this game and my first reaction is wha??? This game has so much going for it, yet there is so much holding it back. Everyone (me) has been waiting for an NHL game to come out on the Wii as soon as it came out. Whats wrong?

The frame rate. period. That’s the major gripe “I” have with this game. People complain that there is no on-line mode. True, but not my cup of tea. The frame rate is horrible. It looks like 30fps (max) when nothing is going on and it drops when you check someone. When you score a goal, and the replay starts, it looks like they replay it at full speed. When you manually replay the goal, you cannot go frame by frame to see every glorious move (Like NHL 2K8 for the PS2). It really makes a difference.

It does not make the game horrible though. The moves that the players make on the ice are so much more smooth than 2K8 (PS2) and feels real. The motion controls work GREAT! swinging to shoot is fun, and the nunchuck to do special moves works great. I have tried the shoot out, but not controlling the goalie. The replays are my most hated/loved feature of this game. It records and saves a lot of plays throughout the game. You can choose a player, and see all their highlights after the game. AWESOME.

If you can’t wait to get a Wii hockey game, get this game. If you can hold off or want on-line, stick it out.

7 out of 10