A screenshot from Electronic Arts' NHL 08.

The National Hockey League kicks off its regular season this week, and off the ice the action is also getting interesting. For the first time in years, it appears a new champion could be crowned in the cutthroat head-to-head battle among hockey video games.

First, a little history.

California-based developer and publisher Electronic Arts turned the video game hockey genre on its head in the early 1990s when it produced successive titles for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis game consoles that took the market by storm. EA managed to get a licensing deal with the NHL and seemed unstoppable as the market leader for the better part of a decade.

All this changed in the fall of 2002, when upstart title NHL 2K3, then published by Sega, released a game that resonated so much with fans that it toppled EA's franchise from top spot.

The reasons given by hockey video-game fans for the shift usually involve EA's move toward an over-the-top arcade style, while the 2K series focused more on a realistic simulation. Hockey fans gravitated towards that realism.

EA tried to close the gap last year, experimenting with the "skill stick," a console-controller scheme that placed players' shooting capacity in the thumbstick on the right side of the controller. Flicking the analogue stick forward quickly could release a snap shot, holding it a little longer could unload a wrister, and holding it back and then pushing it forward launched a slap shot.

The feature caused a stir among gaming enthusiasts, but it still needed a certain level of refinement. In the latest version of the game, NHL 08, EA has delivered some of the needed improvements and has all but abandoned the arcade style of game it was producing just two years ago.

Stick handling

For its part, gaming publisher 2K Sports added a "Pro Stick" feature in this season's NHL 2K8, though it's not as practical as the system EA came up with. While the Pro Stick uses the right analogue stick to control stick-handling, deking and other patented "hockey superstar" moves, shooting is done with other buttons. In fact, you need to press two buttons to take a slap shot under this configuration. Thankfully, the old button configurations from years past are still available to use here, so you don't have to play with the Pro Stick if you don't want to. But even still, there's something that doesn't sit right with this game.

The fundamental element — realistic gameplay — is still there in 2K8, but it's also starting to exhibit some issues. The amount of hitting in the game borders on the ridiculous. Not only is it difficult to hold on to the puck for more than two seconds at a time, but it's also too easy to land a crushing hit at any part of the ice.

The general look and feel of 2K8 is also a little different. It was never the best-looking hockey video game, and this year is no different. Sure, there are improvements in the way players move, but there's something unusually dark and dull about the way the game looks. It's missing the flair of NHL 08 and the character of past 2K iterations.

It's a shame, because the 2K8 gameplay, as erratic as it may be under the default settings, has actually improved in some key areas. Streaking down the wing and centring a pass for an easy one-timer is now a lot more difficult. Goaltender animations have also seen a complete overhaul. You'll see a variety of saves, some of which emulate real-life goalies and their respective styles.

Tweaking the level of realism

A saving grace with 2K8 is that you can change parameters in the game by using sliders, just like in past iterations. Knocking down the default speed and hitting sliders is a good start when trying to infuse more realism into the game.

This is what makes EA's NHL 08 title all the more surprising. For a series that did little to endear itself to realistic gameplay, the end result speaks volumes. There's a "create-a-play" feature in the game that gives you the tools to put together plays you can use in the offensive zone.

This feature actually comes in handy when it works in tandem with the artificial intelligence (AI) of the opposing team. It's best not to take the computer's players for granted, because they show a formidable level of savvy — repetitive strategies won't work here. Keep trying to centre those passes to the slot and the AI will catch on and move to block every pass. Step over the blue line and fire a slap shot, and defenders will eventually take the shooting lane away from you.

A screenshot from 2K Sports' NHL 2K8.

This kind of smart defence can be seen in NHL 2K8 as well, but it's not as technical. One-timers are a lot tougher, as mentioned before, but the frantic pace of gameplay (at least in default settings) means that the defence is too busy hitting everything in sight rather than methodically taking away scoring chances.

All of this is good news for gamers who love their hockey. The level of competition is quite possibly greater now than it's ever been with these two rival games. EA has reinvented its hockey franchise, and 2K Sports, despite having a good title on its hands, will have to be cognizant that it is being beaten at its own game.

At least that's the story this season. It's a close battle on the virtual ice right now.

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