Capitals star shoots and scores in EA Sports new NHL 07 video game

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This article was published 11/09/2006 (7014 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO (CP) – Alexander Ovechkin gave EA Sports’ new NHL video game a thumbs-up Monday.

“I tried it 10 minutes ago. Scored two goals,” the Washington Capitals star forward told reporters. Of course, Ovechkin is on the cover of the game so his support is hardly a surprise. But gamers will probably also get a kick out of the next-generation version of NHL 07, which hits stores Tuesday.

The development team behind the Xbox 360 version has revamped the controls to allow the gamer to essentially direct his players via the two analog sticks on the controller. The left stick controls the player, the right manoeuvres his stick.

It’s simple and intuitive.

“We feel that this changes the way you play hockey games and actually the way you play sports games,” said Dean Richards, line producer of the game.

The 360 version of the game was developed by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C., while EA’s Montreal studio handled other versions. The game is also available for the PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox and PC.

It will not come out on the PS3 or Nintendo Wii, the rival next generation consoles expected out later this year. That gives Xbox 360 sole next-gen domain this season over a game that is traditionally one of the top-sellers in Canada.

The 360 version looks beautiful, with players’ skates carving trails on the ice and sending up ice spray when they stop.

“What the 360 console allows us to do is really push those limits,” Richards said. “I’ve played hockey all my life. I don’t think video games have done justice to what it really feels to be down on the ice.”

The most recent version of the EA hockey game devoted the right stick to trick moves. The gamer now has far more power to orchestrate his player.

“We wanted to make sure that everything you do is because of you. Not because of what we think you should do,” Richards said.

Ovechkin, who turns 21 on Sunday, says he has been gaming for years and used to like playing as the San Jose Sharks.

“I was maybe the best general manager in the league,” he joked.

He still games, but has shipped the 360 consoles he was given by Microsoft to family and friends back to Russia. Other than sports, his favourites include role-playing games and shooters like Counter-Strike and Doom.

He still seems awed by being on the NHL 07 cover.

“It’s pretty special. It’s a big honour,” he said in an interview. “You have lots of players in the NHL and only one player can be on the cover.”

Xbox celebrated the game’s launch by having a super-sized street hockey game at the corner of Yonge and Dundas in downtown Toronto.

EA’s competition, 2K Sports’ NHL 2K7, also hits stores Tuesday with Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks on the cover. Their game is available for Xbox 360 and Xbox on Tuesday and will be out for PlayStation 2 later in the month. A PS3 version is slated for later in the year.

Bob Cole and Harry Neale provide the commentary for NHL 2K7 while Gary Thorne and Bill Clement handle play-by-play for NHL 07.

Xbox 360 users can also download a demo of NHL 07 from Xbox marketplace.