Last year's award winning sports game just got better!

I'm not a huge fan of sports, but when it comes to hockey, then I'm a hardcore fan. It was even the NHL games that got me into hockey. So yeah, last years award winning sports game just got better!

So, what can I talk about in a sports game? Well, about everything I talk about in a regular game. Let's start off with the menus, they are indeed slick, and better than in the previous installments, there are tons of modes in this game and the menus are not so confusing anymore *looks at NHL 11 menus*. The nice thing about navigating menus is the fact that there is always awesome music in the background, there are times I turn on the game just to listen to some high quality music and chill out with the shootout mode.

The graphics are about the same as last years game, however, the animations are better. The bodychecks seem more bonecrushing than ever, and also, the animation to bodychecked players have improved. The puck no longer magically sticks near your character when your about to take a slapshot. I had a few of those incidents when playing against my brother, I charge way too long with a slapshot and then the puck drifts away. But it's great that puck is live this year. What also is live this year is the goalie, that's right, you can even bodycheck the goalie, but that'll result you going to the sinbin.

Pavel Datsyuk in position, as always.

The first thing you'll probably notice is the NHL Winter Classic mode, this is an annual event held by the National Hockey League (NHL) on New Year's Day where regular-season games are played outdoors, in areas hosted by the NHL teams. So that means outdoor hockey! Which manages to be interesting for awhile, but if I want to play against another player/computer, I'd simply just go to Play Now menu. But the outdoor areas look and feel fantastic. So, it is nice with outdoor hockey once in awhile. 

Another thing new to the series is the Be a legend mode, this lets you be a legend, in other words, it's a lot like Be a pro mode, but in this, you can be a legend like Wayne Gretzky. Now this mode made me kind of excited at first. The only thing different in this mode compared to be a pro, is that you play as a maxed out player and you have to perform tasks such as "score 25 goals this season" or stuff like that. So, it is a decent mode, but you'll have to unlock the other legends. Anyways, I thought I'd mention the legends that are in this game, so here goes: Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, Steve Yzerman, Patrick Roy, Jeremy Roenick, Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, Börje Salming and Wayne Gretzky. What also is cool that there is a "Legends" team included in the game as part of the legends feature.

Ovechkin ready for some outdoor hockey.

Phew, almost done- wait, no I'm not.. This game has modes that'll keep you occupied for a very long time, what also returns this year is the Hockey Ultimate Team. This mode lets you create a fantasy team, with players from NHL, AHL, Elitserien and SM Liga being the major ones. This mode is awesome, this is what had me hooked last year, it's fun. It really is! What's so great about this mode is that, you start out with random players, yes, completely random! You can manage positions however you want, who should play etc. Another cool thing is that you can manage stats to the players, you can even buy new players! But to do this, you have to earn EA pucks, they are the "currency" in this mode, and to earn them, you simply have to win matches or win tournaments. And this grants you EA pucks, especially the tournaments, they grant you a hefty amount. With the EA pucks, you can buy booster cards, or other types of cards, which can contain players, new home/away jerseys, stat cards, contracts and even managers.

Be a pro mode lets you create your character, what is new to this mode is the fact that you can finally make a female character, more about that in a bit. This mode is interesting, since it manages to do it so well, you have goals/tasks to achieve, a lot like as I stated in "be a legend" mode. But you have to make your own character and you can put stats however you want to. In this mode, instead of EA pucks, you earn experience, which you then can invest in one of the many stats. This is what makes it a tad better than be a legend mode. You pick an NHL team, start off with the AHL(American Hockey League), and if you do it well, you get drafted to the NHL! Anyways, you can also create a female character now, thanks to 14-year-old hockey fan named Lexi Peters. It was even her idea to add this feature! She was discouraged by her inability to create a female player that didn't look like a man in a wig in the past NHL versions, Peters wrote a letter to EA, saying to add a gender option to its next NHL iteration, and believe it or not, she was rewarded for her efforts with a starring role as the game's female default model.

Patrice Bergeron laz0r shot during shootout.

I like the fact that you don't have to be a hockey fan to like this game, that's how I started. I even have a friend that is a hardcore hockey fan/"veteran player", as he likes to call it. He is the one who introduced me to hockey, and I sure am glad he did. Hockey is fast paced and brutal, if someone bodychecks you, you can't act like you've been hurt *looks at football*. This game has gotten better, with tons of modes, awesome music and good -yet simple- gameplay. It feels more live than ever! So yeah, I could go on and on about this game, but I thought I'd cover up the modes I think that'll keep you hooked, like it did to me.