In an effort to make the dynasty mode more intuitive and easy-to-use for players, all of your relevant information is sent to your in-game PDA, from info on pending trades to messages from your medical staff. The trade mechanics have been tweaked quite a bit, as well, making it more challenging to put together an acceptable package. The behind-the-scenes mechanics now take the player's value to a team into account, as well as the team's needs, so it's not as simple as just matching the player ratings and money involved anymore.

You've also got to work a bit harder to re-sign players, as the negotiating system has been overhauled to make it more realistic. Before, you could always start at the low end and work your way up to the "sweet spot" where everyone was happy. Now, however, if you don't offer your player enough money, you've only got a few chances before he leaves the bargaining table for good. It's nice to see that video game millionaires are finally starting to behave like their real-life counterparts, isn't it?


As is the case in many of EA's games, presentation isn't always up to par, especially if you compare them to the masterful ESPN graphics seen in their competitor's games. The same commentators are back once again, though I don't really know why. They seem to be pretty clueless at times, announcing shots when the puck is in the middle of the ice and cheering brutal hits at random times. The hard rock soundtrack is pretty weak as well, although I'm a big fan of the Franz Ferdinand song that opens the game. You're better off turning off all music and commentary and just listening to the bone rattling hits and the cheering crowd.

As with EA's other titles, this marks the first year that they are playable online via Xbox Live. Unfortunately, like the other titles, there are some occasional problems. At times, I was able to connect and sign in to EA's servers with no problems. Sometimes, however, I'd get dropped before I could sign in or would lose the connection while searching for a game. For the most part, though, I had few problems once I was actually playing against another player. Hopefully, EA will be able to get everything running smoothly by the time the game is released, or will at least be able to fix it as they did recently with Burnout 3.

While NHL 2005 isn't a perfect game by any means, it's definitely a step in the right direction for a franchise that was being left in the dust by its biggest competitor. The new Open Ice mechanics allow for smoother, wide-open play than previous versions, and the Dynasty Mode is as deep and realistic as any I've ever seen. If you're an NHL fan, don't fear: you'll still get some great hockey action this year.