If you don't know by now, EA's NHL 07 actually decided to shake things up this year by trying out a couple of innovative, gameplay-enhancing features. Unfortunately the new additions in NHL 07 – specifically the Full Control Skill Stick, in which the right analog becomes an extension of the player's hockey stick – came at the cost of fewer traditional features and modes (although this has almost always been the case with EA's hockey games.) As a result the game has received mixed reviews; some media outlets loved the game for the long-overdue innovation to video game hockey, while others persecuted it for having a weak set of features.

Enter NHL 2K7 by 2K Sports.

2K7 is a far more traditional game in terms of control (which to some is a real shame), but it will most likely keep vets of the series happy. Things like Sky Box challenges, party mode, familiar online modes, and so on, all make their way from previous versions of the game so it's pretty much what you've come to expect from the franchise. There are still a few new features in 2K7, just nothing as ambitious as 07's Skill Stick.

Pressure Control is easily the biggest new innovation on the control side of things in NHL 2K7. It essentially allows you to target specific players on the opposing team to be attacked/checked/covered by your A.I. teammates. Performing Pressure Control is a lot like passing; you point in the direction of the opponent you want to have pressured and click the left bumper. The more you click the left bumper, the more pressure that is applied. Despite how neat it sounds, it actually feels kind of gimmicky. I rarely used it, and when I did I basically just mashed the crap out of the left bumper in the hopes of causing injury.

The highlight of NHL 2K7, however, is the newly employed Cinemotion audio experience. If selected, audio commentary is replaced with a robust musical score. It's integrated so well that it actually works in serving as an emotional heightener. The pitch and intensity of the music is perfect as it crescendos at just the right time, allowing for some overtly vivacious hockey action. They don't call it Cinemotion for nothing – it gives the game a very dramatic ambience, adding importance to plays that would normally be nothing special. And while it doesn't add anything to the mechanics of the game, per se, it's still cool.

Graphically, while clearly superior running in HD, NHL 2K7 still seems to be “just” a higher resolution port of a current-gen title (or is current-gen now considered last-gen?). That isn't to say that specific areas haven't been revamped – the ice in 2K7 looks awesome and the game runs at a consistent frame rate while playing – it's just that it would have been nice if the game had received a complete graphical overhaul (like, for example, Fight Night Round 3, whose next-gen version looks vastly superior to its current-gen renditions.) I wouldn't hold this against the game too much though, as it plays almost exactly like how you'd expect it to, which is more important (and seems to be a lot harder than it sounds these days.)

Overall NHL 2K7's new features are a lot subtler than NHL 07's. In a lot of ways 2K7 is what I had hoped 2K6 for the 360 would have been; a polished hockey game that looks substantially better in HD and is packed with just enough tweaks (graphically, aurally, etc) to make it a step above current-gen. While it's a year late, 2K7 delivers on all of the above aspects and also adds some additional coolness in the form of Cinemotion. If it were up to me, and this is just common-sense talking, to take 2K8 a step above the competition, 2K Sports should copy 07's Full Control Skill Stick while retaining everything else that is in 2K7. Again, it's common sense, but I would think that, having tons of depth already implemented in their game, it would be easier for 2K Sports to do this than it would be for EA to flesh out the details in the NHL 0X series.

So yeah, I can't make it any clearer than that – If you're interested in a new way to control the puck (which, for me, worked surprisingly well) and don't mind the exclusion of depth, in terms of the various play modes, than NHL 07 is probably for you. On the other hand, if you want your game to include everything but the kitchen sink and enjoy the intensity of a good hockey match (enhanced rather well by Cinemotion) than you're more than likely going to prefer 2K7. Does that make one a clear winner? No, but it should give you a good indication of which you'll enjoy more.