Well, I just went and bought NHL 10. Why 10, you ask, and not NHL 11 or 12? Well fuck me, I gotta admit... I'm a cheap ass bastard. And seeing as how I've never really played sports games before, I could give a rat's ass about the roster changes and subtle improvements in 11 or 12. NHL 10 looked really cheap so that's why I snagged it. That's the only reason why, I don't want to spend a lot of money. But uh, I did want to try out a hockey game and the NHL series has always gotten pretty good reviews, so why not.

The only real problems I've run into are: 1) face offs are an absolute bitch. They seem incredibly difficult to win, for some reason. You just snap back the right analog stick when the ref drops the puck, right? That's all you really have to do, and yet it always seems to go to the other team! It's infuriating is what it is, and I just don't know what the trick is. I've won in a few rare instances, so maybe you just need to snap it at the precise nanosecond that you see the ref drop the black pixel. It's hard, man. I dunno why they made it that hard, but it's not fun. And yes, I am playing on Rookie difficulty, I'm not an idiot after all this is my first NHL game ever.

And 2) The game doesn't seem to have any way to turn off the damn stupid Instant Replays. I mean, I get that some fans might like this, it feels like you're watching a real NHL game on TV where they'll show instant replays during slow moments in the game. So right after a goal, they'll show the replay of the goal from multiple angles. Or if a goalie saves a puck, you'll see the replay of the save and then you'll see the goalie looking up at the giant jumbotron. It makes it feel like a televised event. But the thing is... I don't want that at all. If I want to watch an NHL game, I'll want an NHL game. I'm here to PLAY hockey, so I don't need all that razz matazz. It's just empty filler that wastes time and prevents me from actually playing the game. You'll play for a bit, watch for a bit, play for a bit, watch for a bit. I don't need that pause in between plays, just let me play the game.

And there doesn't seem to be any setting in Options that turns off all these Replays. I mean, you can just hit the A button when the Replay pops up to skip it, but that gets old after a while. I don't want to keep hitting the A button over and over and over again, I just don't want them there, at all. At all. Just lemme turn em off forever. FOR-EVER. FOR-FUCKING-EVER.

But so far, no dice. No uh, no salvation for me. The game has settings for basically every facet of the sport, except this one. It's baffling. Maybe I haven't found it yet, I dunno.

Well, I just went and bought NHL 10. Why 10, you ask, and not NHL 11 or 12? Well fuck me, I gotta admit... I'm a cheap ass bastard. And seeing as how I've never really played sports games before, I could give a rat's ass about the roster changes and subtle improvements in 11 or 12. NHL 10 looked really cheap so that's why I snagged it. That's the only reason why, I don't want to spend a lot of money. But uh, I did want to try out a hockey game and the NHL series has always gotten pretty good reviews, so why not.

The only real problems I've run into are: 1) face offs are an absolute bitch. They seem incredibly difficult to win, for some reason. You just snap back the right analog stick when the ref drops the puck, right? That's all you really have to do, and yet it always seems to go to the other team! It's infuriating is what it is, and I just don't know what the trick is. I've won in a few rare instances, so maybe you just need to snap it at the precise nanosecond that you see the ref drop the black pixel. It's hard, man. I dunno why they made it that hard, but it's not fun. And yes, I am playing on Rookie difficulty, I'm not an idiot after all this is my first NHL game ever.

And 2) The game doesn't seem to have any way to turn off the damn stupid Instant Replays. I mean, I get that some fans might like this, it feels like you're watching a real NHL game on TV where they'll show instant replays during slow moments in the game. So right after a goal, they'll show the replay of the goal from multiple angles. Or if a goalie saves a puck, you'll see the replay of the save and then you'll see the goalie looking up at the giant jumbotron. It makes it feel like a televised event. But the thing is... I don't want that at all. If I want to watch an NHL game, I'll want an NHL game. I'm here to PLAY hockey, so I don't need all that razz matazz. It's just empty filler that wastes time and prevents me from actually playing the game. You'll play for a bit, watch for a bit, play for a bit, watch for a bit. I don't need that pause in between plays, just let me play the game.

And there doesn't seem to be any setting in Options that turns off all these Replays. I mean, you can just hit the A button when the Replay pops up to skip it, but that gets old after a while. I don't want to keep hitting the A button over and over and over again, I just don't want them there, at all. At all. Just lemme turn em off forever. FOR-EVER. FOR-FUCKING-EVER.

But so far, no dice. No uh, no salvation for me. The game has settings for basically every facet of the sport, except this one. It's baffling. Maybe I haven't found it yet, I dunno.

Search as you might, there is no way to turn off replays. Most NHL game players mash the 'A' button between plays. Usually stops the replays dead in their tracks.

Search as you might, there is no way to turn off replays. Most NHL game players mash the 'A' button between plays. Usually stops the replays dead in their tracks.