‘NHL 2K’ Review: Solid, But Lacking Effort and Grit

February 6, 2015 Patrick Hickey Jr. Video Game Reviews, Video Games 0

It may be a step in the right direction, but “NHL 2K” is still a line charge or two away from being the mobile hockey game long-time fans want it to be.

It’s been entirely too long since there’s been a decent hockey game on a handheld or mobile device and although 2K’s “NHL 2K” is, at the very least, playable and credible, it’s got a few holes in its defense that rear its head after a few plays and nearly destroy the fun.

With all the real players, PlayStation Portable visuals and a surprisingly cool MyCareer mode, “NHL 2K” will definitely keep you busy while you’re on the bus and the train or even during commercials or in between periods while watching your favorite NHL team play, but it’s far from a sexy experience.

Regardless, during those 10-minute gaming exoduses you crave during the day, that is where “NHL 2K” shines the most. Unlike “NBA 2K15” on the iOS, which by itself is a great game that can be played for hours on end, “NHL 2K” is best in short bursts, ones where you don’t get a chance to see many of the visual eyesores or have too many chances to deal with the flimsy controls on the iPhone that’ll annoy you.

The control is terrible however and at times, can be pretty simple and straight forward. With only a few buttons (pass, shoot and turbo on offense and turbo check and switch character on defense) to press during gameplay, the on-screen controller works well for the most part. It doesn’t cloud up too much of the screen and you’ll always know what’s going on. On the iPhone though, gamers with large hands will miss button presses or press the wrong button at the worst times, resulting in missed shots and checks, sometimes to the point of frustration. The same thing goes for passing, as the smaller on-screen analog makes it way too difficult to send passes in the direction that you desire. Even in the mini-rink mode, with only two skaters to a side and a goalie, you’ll find it annoying to send passes where you want.

Continue Reading This Article From Review Fix Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr. at Examiner.com

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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