When people look back at their youth it's often through rose tinted spectacles and everything seems like it was much better back then. The food you ate had more taste and the days never seems to end. These days there is not much that you can put your finger on and say that it is definitely better now. That is apart from NHL games for Xbox & Playstation game consoles.
You no longer have to push a white dot which is supposed to be your puck around the screen. You also no longer have to control featureless white matchstick men around a rink either. You do on the other hand still have to play the game for enjoyment.
Not all games have advanced their game play to keep up with the increased ability of the platform they are written for. Lots have relied too much on the game's graphical presentation and not enough on the actual gaming essence. No matter how good something looks, it still has to be great fun to play and that is what games players will look for.
The games that have gone down in history whether they have been hockey, NHL, console based or not, have all had one thing in common. They have all been very playable. In some, the presentation didn't really matter at all. Like the type with the falling blocks that you have to arrange, many games relied solely on their ability to keep you coming back for more. Hockey games have been no different and no matter who is on the cover of any NHL title, it's what's inside the box that has really mattered. While both of these games had the very best levels of playability, they really paid little attention to detail with the presentation. The genius that invented either of those really understood what makes people tick. Sadly their talents will be missed but they paved the way forward for sports and action games makers.
Now Hockey games are particularly entertaining on any games platform because they combine control, timing and quick perception. These are all vital components in any entertaining sports game. Thankfully there are many talented programmers working hard to produce something that they also like.
It's the clever people who make the games that have made sports games of today such as hockey, look good and still keep the game play of the games of old. They realized a long time ago that your couldn't just paint a pretty picture on the screen, you had to actually let the player live it too. They now know that there is no point in releasing a game on to the market that is not up to speed. Especially not when the game in question is carrying the NHL brand.
It's lucky then that we are time a time when the advances in technology have made as privy to the world through different eyes. NHL games for Xbox & Playstation game consoles are no so realistic that there are eve television shows that carry earl life live events where two gamers take each other on. Sure enough the industry has evolved and it is probably taking us with it.