NHL 09 – Be a Pro
NHL 09 – Be a Pro
Every year EA Sports launches their annual sports titles and this year’s version of NHL 09 is very addictive.
From the moment you create your “Be a Pro” character you have a vast amount of choice in how you mold him. You can create a winger, center, defenseman and a goalie. You decide how you want your character to look and even get to decide what kind of equipment he uses in game. Here’s one of the best parts of creating your “Be a Pro” character: you get to decide what team you want to play for. Being Canadian and growing up in Toronto you’d think I would want to play for the Maple Leafs but I am a big Ottawa Senators fan so I was placed on the Senator’s farm club.
One of the first things you notice when you suit up for your new AHL team is that you’re following your character via 3rd person perspective and, when your shift is over, you watch the game from the bench. If you take a penalty you watch the game from the penalty box. Very cool touch. Speaking of cool touches in the “Be a Pro” mode, your new team’s management watches every game. They analyze your every move. Score a goal or throw some big hits and management will applaud you. Lose the puck or take a lot of cheap shots and, well, management may not be so receptive.
It took my character three quarters of a season to get noticed by the big club and get called up. Once I had arrived, I proceeded to tally 8 goals and 6 assists in 10 games before being demoted back to the minors and placed on the third line!
“Be a Pro” is a solid game mode but the judgment seems overly harsh at times. If EA can find a way to tweak this mode a little bit more, they’ll have a huge success on their hands.