Wow. Well, I played one game on the default settings, Canucks v Ducks. I also tried out some of the mini-games, as I didn't have the opportunity before.
2K spent some $$ on their FE this year, and it shows. Cleaner interface, polished, lots of little touches...very nice. Gameplay is definitely more of the same, with some improvements, especially in faceoffs. You can tie up the opposing center, fake 'em out and get them warned/tossed from the circle, fight for position once the puck is dropped - it's a nice change from other hockey titles. The defense is much more aggressive in their zone 5-on-5 than the EA demo, but that's slider adjustable so I'm not going to ding NHL 08 that much.
Hitting is completely OTT at the default settings. It's funny how 08 gives you hardly any hits, but 2K is The Apocalyptic Return of Scott Stevens, part deux through neuf. When Markus Naslund is taking out Chris Pronger straight up...yeah, those sliders need adjusting as well.
You can switch back to the old style of play, but after playing NHL 08, it feels like a bit of a step back. The issue I have with EA's game is that you have to relearn the controls that have been ingrained since the Genesis days...but once you do, there's a whole slew of control at your fingertips that isn't represented in the 2K title. But if you're comfortable with using the face buttons for shooting and passing, 2K is still your title.
Looks? They both look great, EA's game looks a little better but 2K feels a little less scrambly...it really does boil down to preference. NHL 08 is a definite step up from NHL 07 (at least from the demo), while 2K8 feels like 2K7, amped slightly.
Once NHL 08 comes in, I'll pick that up and give a proper comparison. For now, this'll have to do.
