Well it looks like EA is tired of providing servers to those people who have yet to upgrade to their newer franchises as they have announced that they will be closing many of their servers on February 2nd across the PS3, 360 and PC.  Can’t really say that I blame them as it is expensive to maintain servers and if you don’t feel there is enough of a community to warrant it or your needing the resources for newer games, it makes sense.

Most of the games on the list I can agree with as they are 3 years old but the one that really jumps out at you is Madden 09 for both the PS3 and 360.  Usually support for these sports games last more than a year but EA has decided to go ahead and close it down.

• UEFA Champions League 07 PC and x360
• Facebreaker x360 and PS3
• Fantasy Football 09 x360 and PS3
• FIFA 07 PSP, PS2, PC
• Fight Night Round 3 PS2
• Madden 08 Wii
• Madden 08 PC
• Madden 09 Xbox1
• Madden 09 Wii and PSP
• March Madness 07 x360
• NBA 07 PSP, x360
• NBA 08 PS2, PSP, Wii
• NBA 09 Wii – Europe only
• NBA Street (2007) PS3 and x360
• NCAA Football 08 PS2
• NCAA Football 09 PS2
• NASCAR 08 PS2
• NASCAR 09 PS2
• NASCAR 09 PS3 and x360 – Europe Only
• NFL Tour PS3 and x360
• NHL 07 PSP and x360
• NHL 08 PC
• Tiger Woods 07 PC
• Madden 09 x360 and PS3
• Madden 07 Xbox 360

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After last years iteration of the NHL game, many of us wondered just how EA Canada could make the game even better than its near perfect 09 version.  Well one year has passed, hockey season is starting up and we finally have NHL 10 on the shelves.  So does this new version make it in the NHL, or is it better off warming the bench in the minors?

The game starts you out with naming your Pro and going into a tutorial to start the basics.  After this you are opened up to a slew of options that should look very familiar to you if you have played NHL 09.   Most of these menus and modes are the same,  yet subtle changes have been made here and there to change it up a bit from the previous entry.

The gameplay has seen plenty of additions added.  The fighting has been overhauled and now happens in First Person.  Fighting happens in the game by skating up to a player and pressing the triangle button.  Once the opposing player accepts the fight, the gloves come off and you are treated to a close encounter.  Options giving in the fight include blocking, dodging left and right, pulling at the players jersey, turtling down to avoid punches or just wailing away on your opponent.  While the fighting is not perfect, it is a huge step up from the previous game.  The boards have also seen a boost with the new boardplay mechanic.  When you get the puck near the boards you can be pinned to them by the opposing player or you can do the pinning by holding triangle near the boards.  This actually works pretty well and further simulates the real deal when down in the corner.  The main problem however comes with the fact that instigating a fight and board play are the same button, which at times causes you to pick a fight when you didn’t want to.  The last big additions in gameplay come in the form of new passing and better goalie AI.  The passing now feels much less arcade as where your joystick is pointing when you hit the pass button is where the pass goes.   The goalie AI has seen a huge boost as the goalie makes better movements and bigger saves, though he is still prone to the brain farts that can get very frustrating, but they are fewer in number this time around.

The Be A Pro returns and remains a big focus in the game.  Here you create your custom forward, defenseman or goalie through a variety of options.  You choose your stick, skates, visor color, name, age and much more.  You also choose what type of player you are, whether you are a play making center, offensive defenseman or a butterfly goalie.  You then have the option of picking your team or skating in the Future’s game.  If you choose the later, then you participate in the game and try and earn a high draft pick.  Once onto a team you play your way through the minors, trying to earn trophies and make your way up to the big team.  When playing this mode you play only from the perspective of your Pro.  Meaning you make line changes, sit the bench and if you take penalty then you think about it in the box.The mode has remained mostly the same from the past model, though it still remains a lot of fun to try and see how quickly you can make it. Other modes make a return like Tournament mode and Season mode.

One of the new features added is the Be A GM mode, which pits you at the helm of a team.  You take part in the draft, free agency, salary negotiations with agents and everything else that goes with running a team.   You have access to Roster Analysis, GM Tasks, Team GM Reputations and Staff abilities.  Team Gm Reputations is especially nice as it lets you see how much you are respected around the league, letting you know who will make deals with you and who might not.  As you complete tasks in this mode you get points that you can add to your staff which includes an Amateur scout, Pro scout, Medical Staff and Asst. Coach.   Your overall reputation is recorded, showing how fair you are with free agent offers and affects whether people will want to sign with your team. You also have a phone as a GM that allows you to give scout assignments, contracts and transaction news.  You also use this phone during draft time to communicate with other GM’s about possible moves.  The mode is fairly deep for its first time and shows a lot of promise.  Hopefully EA can iron out some of it and make it a bit more robust next time through.

Another feature that you will see in the game is Battle for the Cup.  In this mode you pick who you are and who you will play as you try and take your team through the Stanley Cup Finals round.  Playoff mode also shows up in NHL 10, giving players the option of taking a team through the grind of the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs and trying to take home the big prize.  While nothing robust both features are welcome additions to the huge lineup of modes already included from last year.  Should none of these modes catch your fancy there are also options for a quick game of play now.  Season mode allows you to play through a single season with the team of your choice.  There is also a practice mode, shootout and Create a Play, giving you the ability to create a play from scratch that you can use in the game.

2KSports has just released some new icey screenshots from the upcoming NHL2K10, set to release September 15th.  Check out the screens after the jump…

2k Sports is looking to redefine the Hockey genre with their upcoming game, NHL 2k10. The focus of this year’s game is the interweaving of gameplay with social gaming, allowing players the opportunity to upload their offline franchise stats, screenshots and game highlights onto 2kSports.com.

Furthermore, 2k Sports wants to ensure a completely authentic experience, as they completely rewrote the opponent AI, changed the defensive controls and stick lifts, and, “new defensive skating model and new incidental contact and small animation systems.”

Full list of notable upgrades:

• New Gameplay Mechanics - Completely rewritten AI, enhanced defensive controls and stick lifts, stumble shots, a new defensive skating model, and new incidental contact and small animation systems.
• Enhanced Presentation - All-new rink intros for each arena, improved goal celebrations, enhanced visuals, and greatly improved, true-to-life character models, with San Jose Sharks commentators Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda returning with new broadcast commentary.
• Improved Franchise Mode - NHL 2K10 features a new contract/free agency system, improved roster management, an updated financial model, dynamic player progression, and fantasy drafts.
• New Franchise Co-op Play - Play a franchise season game with or against a friend on- or offline, or play a traditional game against the CPU.
• Franchise Blog / 2KSports.com Integration - Publish your franchise stats and standings, and upload game highlights and screenshots to your personal page at 2KSports.com.
• Enhanced Online Modes - New seamless online integration connects players in Team Up games, tracks your progress with My Player Card, and offers full league, leaderboard, tournament and 2K Share support.
• Create Team Mode - Create a persistent team with friends by designing your uniforms, developing a unique team identity, and then competing against other created teams online, offline and in Franchise mode.

NHL 2k10 is skating its way to the PS3 and the PS2 September 15th.

“It certainly has the characteristics of a category that would be interesting to us, but we would have to convince ourselves that we could enter successfully, accomplish leadership and that we’d have something new and different to bring to the party.

Right now the barriers to entry there are pretty significant, but it is certainly the size of a category that we would be interested in.”

Activision Blizzard’s reasoning for making sports games is definitely sound, and if they can become leaders within the genre we’ll definitely end up massive improvements all around for everything from football to hockey.

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Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that EA SPORTS™ has innovated a new, physical brand of hockey that includes first-person fighting in NHL® 10 to match the toughness and emotional intensity real-world NHL players endure in pursuit of a Stanley Cup™ Championship.

The franchise that has won 19 sports game of the year awards over the past two years begins a new era with gameplay innovations that deliver a new standard of toughness, the emotion of playoff hockey on the ice and in the arena, and over 200 gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse that every fan sees throughout the NHL playoffs.

A new first-person fighting engine enables players to trade punches with an NHL tough guy. Feel what it’s like to be on the ice in the skates of an NHL player to throw and dodge punches. Grab and tug an opponent’s jersey to land a punch that ignites the fans and sparks your team to victory. Challenge a skill player and an opposing team tough guy will step in to settle the score.

On ice toughness and intimidation is taken to a new level in NHL 10 where winning one-on-one battles for possession of the puck along the boards becomes a test of will and skill. Utilizing an all-new board physics engine, players can use their body to shield the puck on the boards and then kick-pass it to teammates. Bigger, stronger players pin opponents to the boards while fanatical fans bang on the glass, just like real life. Fore-check defenders, pressure the puck and finish checks to intimidate your opponent into mistakes. Players fatigue, bobble passes, and avoid collisions under threat of constant physical pressure. Inspire teammates, ignite the fans and change the momentum of a game by instigating scrums, drawing penalties, and mixing it up — all after the referee blows the whistle!

“This is the most authentic simulation of hockey we have ever created,” said Producer David Littman, a former NHL and minor league goaltender now in his eighth year working on the NHL franchise. “The Stanley Cup is the most difficult trophy in all of sports to win and NHL 10 replicates the emotion, intensity and toughness players require to win the Cup.”

NHL 10 features more than 200 gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse of hockey and deliver the most responsive and authentic action ever for the series. Players can one-time loose pucks, score from their knees, knock pucks out of the air and lift a leg to fake a shot on goal. A new 360° precision passing mechanic delivers control over the speed and direction of passes so players can bank passes off the boards or play the puck into space for teammates to skate on to it. Plus, all-new interactive crowds bring the emotion of playoff hockey to life with towel-waving fans, glass bangers and crowds that react to the action on the ice.

Prove you are tough enough to quiet the crowd, silence the opposition and survive a playoff run to lift the Stanley Cup in NHL 10.

NHL 10 will be available in stores this September for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system with an MSRP of $59.99. It is developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. The game has not been rated.

PSN has been a great place for games, with everything from puzzles to RPG and episodic content. But the one thing that has always been missing was a sports game. Enter EA’s 3 on 3 NHL Arcade, a wacky hockey game that encourages big hits, big shots, and big goalies. Now that last description may be a little confusing, but rest assured, a few minutes with this game and that will all be cleared up.

Now when discussing with friends on the best way to describe this game, my one and only answer is NFL Blitz on ice. Now if you’ve played NFL Blitz then you pretty much know where this game is going. There is no season mode, no franchise mode, and you cannot create your own players. This game is pretty straight forward and the title tells you all you need to know.

First thing you will do is select your players. They automatically set you up with 3 players and a goalie, but you may mix and match any players you want from the 40 players they have available. Now you may be asking yourself “What?! Only 40 players?! What a ripoff!” and yes it may of been nice to have a few more, but every player for the most part is exactly the same. They do not have any attributes and the only difference is each player will fall into one of three categories: ’strong’, ‘fast’, and ‘all-around’, so really more often than not you are just going to be using the default guys they give you.

Once you pick your team, you then set up your game. You can decide if you want power-ups (more on that later), cpu difficulty, and how many goals you want to play to. Now unlike regular hockey, the games do not end after 3 periods. They go to a set amount of goals ranging from 5-20, so you very easily could be playing til period number 8 or 9.

After you’ve selected all of that and the game starts, the first thing you will notice is that your guys are rather large and the ice rink is smaller then normal. All this works extremely well to increase the fast-paced slug fest that will ensue after the puck drops. Also there are no penalties or out-of-bounds; pretty much anything goes.

With the intense smashing and bashing you will be doing you will notice that after the occasional hit a power up will pop out. This is where the real fun begins. You may pick up one and your player will increase in size… pick up another and the opponent’s goalie will shrink so small you can barely see him. Say you’re behind by two goals…if that’s the case then keep a sharp eye out, because there is a power up that will double your goal upon scoring. These power-ups take an already hectic beat ‘em up and cranks it up to 11. You’ll see giant players and goalies, super slap shots & rocket speed. This is what really separates this game from being mediocre; this is what really makes the game just plan fun.

The multiplayer aspect of this game is such a blast, whether it’s you and 5 of your closest friends playing on one TV or just you and 1 friend trying to work together as a team to beat that pesky computer AI; it is a genuinely fun experience. The online multiplayer is relatively fun, but where this really falls flat is there is no friend system or mic support. This is a real shame since most of the fun of this game comes from playing with friends and smack talking as you shove them over the boards.

The sound and visuals are really nothing to write home about the visuals are decent, which in a game like this really is not all the important, and the sound…well there really isn’t a lot of variety. Childish noises are heard in the menu screen as you move from page to page and the occasion goal yell from a deep-voiced announcer. Now the draw of this game really is more gameplay wise then sound or visuals, but a little better-looking visuals and a little more variety would have really helped a lot.

When it come to the drawbacks, a little more depth would have been nice. The lack of a friend system or mic support is also a real shame, because a game like this really needs the ability for you to be able to tell your friend he has no talent and should just quit as you’re crushing him into the boards.

This game is such a blast with friends, it is non stop action and mayhem. If you’re looking for a game with a lot of depth and choices look somewhere else, but if you want a game where you can lay out a goalie as your friend is scoring the winning goal, then this is the game for you.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score NFL Blitz on the ice. Sounds and visuals are ho-hum. What it lacks in depth it does make up for in fun multiplayer gameplay.