The game definitely starts well with a main menu that is simple to navigate, allowing the player to get straight into a quick game or start a full season. When first entering a game things look even better with extremely sharp graphics that boast some very realistic player models. When the game itself begins everything still looks extremely promising with smooth animation and a high gameplay speed, but then it all takes a downturn the first time you notice the frame rate drop. It only happens for a few seconds at a time, but when it does it can hurt the game's playability.

The actual game controls are excellent and each player is easy to manoeuvre, making for a game that anyone can pick up and play straight away. The AI can be a little too simplistic at times and the game can be far too easy on anything other than All-Star mode for those players who are familiar with the EA Sports NHL Hockey series. As with all sports games the player will eventually work out the patterns of the CPU player, so it's good that the multiplayer aspect is as playable as it has ever been in the past (with up to 8 players supported depending on the availability of one or two Multitaps).