Puck drops on sleeker NHL video game
Pause in ice action used for upgrades New rules also put into virtual play
Ben Bishop probably heaved one of the mightiest sighs of relief when the NHL lockout ended.
Bishop, 26, is project manager at 2K Sports and producer of the NHL 2K6
video game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
“ You’re right that it was probably the most challenging year we’ve had on the development side,” he said in an interview from his California office.
His production team concentrated on improving game play while the labour dispute dragged on. In the interim, the NHL kept game designers up to date on rule changes for the coming season.
Bishop believes his team used the time wisely. New features this season include Pro Control, which enables the gamer to trigger exact passing moves.
“ It’s really great for working the puck around in the offensive zone,” Bishop said. “ And now that the offensive zones are a little bit bigger, it gives you that much more ability to set up your offence, look for an opening and try and get the goalie off guard.”
There’s also a new enforcer system, which Bishop says helps get a team’s entire roster involved in the game rather than just a top line or fastest player.
Players designated as enforcers have more leeway to play physically. “ If you go after certain players on the other team, you can actually end up intimidating them. That gives them a slight drop in their attributes,” Bishop said. Do it right and the star on the other team may end up being a little slower or having his shot a little off.
“ It’s fun. You can essentially throw a player off his game,” Bishop said. Of course, it could backfire if the speedy star runs circles around the tough guy. NHL 2K6
also features “ on the fly coaching” which, via the directional pad, offers different plays on offence and defence. So on offence, you can call for your forwards to crash the net, screen the goal or have your defencemen pinch in. On defence, the plays include calling for a player to clear out an attacker in front of the net or releasing a forward to set up a breakaway.
“ So it’s really a quick way to get your team to do something,” Bishop said. “ In the past you were mostly focused on the player who had the puck.” NHL 2K6
offers a roster update online. Plus you can edit the rosters within the game. The game’s cover athletes are Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mats Sundin (in Canada and Europe) and Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco in the U. S. Turco was right into it. He helped the development team on such things as player ratings and goalies’ artificial intelligence. “ He’s definitely a gamer,” said Bishop. Turco even contributed a blog on the game’s website ( www. 2ksports. com).
“ I’m looking forward to not only hitting the ice, but bringing along an Xbox and the new NHL 2K6 to my teammates,” he wrote. “ Fair warning to all of them that I’m not only cover guy, I’m pretty good at the game.”
Yes, but he’ll have to take them on with smaller goalie equipment this season, one of the changes in NHL rules reflected in the game. Anew feature allows the gamer to use the right analog stick to take control of the goalie in the event of a breakaway or shootout. A flick of the stick and you can have your goalie go for a poke check and go down in the butterfly position.
Calling the play are Hockey Night in Canada
announcers Bob Cole and Harry Neale. Asked about Cole’s trademark “ Ooh, baby” line, Bishop said: “ I do think we have a couple of those in there.”
Turco, Darren McCarty, now with Calgary, and Anaheim’s Jason Marshall were among players used for motion capture to make the game players look real. NHL 2K6
and Electronic Arts’ NHL 06, which is made in Vancouver, are the two heavyweights in hockey gaming although Sony also has Gretzky NHL 06
for the PlayStation 2 and PSP.
Bishop’s game, however, has a big advantage in price. It retails for a budget $ 29.99 in Canada.
“ We felt like we made a great hockey game the past few games. We just wanted more people to give it a try,” Bishop said.