Yes, NHL 2K6 on the Xbox 360 looks really, really good. The character models are obviously more detailed than ever before, but significantly more effort has obviously gone into the periphery; namely, crowds and stadiums. You would probably expect that the 3D crowds would look a whole lot better this time around, and lo and behold, 2K Sports has thrown a ton more detail into the animations and features of each and every crowd member. The first game we played started off with a cutscene of fans moving through the arena, getting concessions and whatnot. While this was obviously a cutscene, it was rendered in-engine, and when you get an up-close and personal look at the crowds, they look exactly the same. The power of the Xbox 360 hardware is also allowing the developers to do a whole lot more on the ice. You'll see all kinds of detailed scratches in the ice, and some pretty awesome lighting and reflections. The ice, predictably, reflects really nicely, but some of the best reflections came off the boards. When you slam into one of the boards, you'll see the reflection wobble right along with the glass in a highly realistic manner. Very nice stuff.
