NHL 2005 represents the thirteenth part of the puck hunt and doesn’t get tired: Once again the developers in the Canadian branch haven’t slept and have been working on innovations over the past year.
There are no new teams to be welcomed this season, but two fresh game modes have been installed: You can virtually imitate the World Cup of Hockey, which only takes place every four years, in its current incarnation, in the ‘Free 4 All’ four fight each other in the best fun sport manner Players in front of a single goal and try to score a certain number of goals first. Of course, normal friendlies and seasons (the German DEL is also on board again) should not be missing, the comprehensive ‘Dynasty’ career mode also comes with a chic new outfit – including more meddling team owners, moody runner cracks and a pleasantly clear one email system.
In addition to the usual fine-tuning in handling and blade physics, you will discover two noticeable additions on the ice: With face-offs you can now decide how aggressively you want to fight for the puck brought into play by the referee or whether more defensive behavior makes more sense. When it comes to moves, the magic word ‘Open Ice’ comes into play: At the push of a button, you indirectly control a CPU teammate – if you have a puck, for example, you call someone for help to check away unwelcome defenders or change control yourself to run free and then let the pass pass . In defense, on the other hand, you issue instructions to take particularly dangerous attackers into double cover.
