NHL 2K8 [X360]

I'm sure it sounds simple on paper, but you'll be surprised how awkward it'll feel on the ice. After years of mashing buttons and relying on pure power to win, having to think as a team and relearn the controls was rough for me, but here came a moment when it all clicked. It was game three of my Chicago Blackhawks franchise. Up until this point, I'd been getting my ass handed to me. The team had yet to put one in the back of the net, morale was already dropping (there's a meter and it affects performance), and I was getting pretty frustrated.

Then it happened. I -- as center Robert Lang -- broke away from the rest of the Rangers, stormed into the open ice and came up on Henrik Lundqvist. For a moment, my right thumb jumped to the face buttons -- it had been doing this since I picked up the controller -- but I forced it back into place, slid the Pro Stick right, watched the goalie bite, brought the stick back left and fired one into the top shelf.

In all my years of hockey on systems -- and we're talking games on Mike Boylan's Genesis to this 360 experience -- this was my most satisfying moment. It's going to take time and probably turn hardcore hockey heads off, but once that learning curve wears off, the Pro Stick scheme gives you a sense of control that is pretty darn fulfilling. In the days of yore, you'd press up and left on the D-Pad and hope for the best; here you're visualizing where the puck is going and making the move for yourself.

This overall sense of having more control than ever is reflected in 2K8's deeeeeeeeep Franchise mode. Beyond the typical schedules, rosters and line edits, 2K8 takes you deeper into the life of a front office flack than ever before. You're going to need to keep players happy with playing time, deal with angry e-mails from your annoying owner and -- in one of the coolest love/hate relationships -- sit down at the negotiating table with blood-thirsty agents.

Need a hot shot free agent early in the season or have a big-headed player who's negotiating his contract after the Cup? Be prepared to pay. The negotiating screen presents you with a smattering of information -- what the player wants in terms of years, salary and more as well as what your current counter offer is. After my first year in Chicago, Tumomo Ruutu decided he wanted $18.32 million over six years to be our left wing, and his agent chimed in with "My client isn't one to negotiate. He knows what he's worth." Well, we went in and arranged our counteroffer, submitted it and watched Ruutu's mood go from optimistic to frustrated.

Hit the bricks or take $1.1 million, Ruutu. We're the Chicago Blackhawks. We're broke.

If you don't want to be jerks like we were, you can go back and forth with offers as you try to find the sweet spot on a negation meter that signals both you and the player getting what you want. Add in salary caps, collective bargaining agreements and injuries, and you're about to get a crash course in how to run a hockey organization and manage a player's career.

Of course, if this player-intensive stuff bores you, you can let the computer take care of as much or as little of this stuff as you want, but there are some pretty nifty RPG element to 2K8. Player Growth gives you the information to take a young upstart from rookie to superstar as he makes mad bucks for your team. Experience points are broken up among the Focus categories of scoring, skating, defense and skills, mental and physical. Put a player on the ice more, and he will begin building these attributes and climbing the categories ranks on his way to becoming a "Veteran Elite."

As great as the in-game action and franchise options are, NHL 2K8 isn't the compete package. To begin with, the menu navigation system in the game feels like it's taking a step backward. Basically, a horizontal bar at the top of the screen lists the options -- modes, training, features, etc. -- and is set over a piece of ice with your favorite team's logo and a series of somewhat blurry images rolling by on the right. You clumsily scroll through the options on the top bar, and a list of choices appears below that you then need to navigate down through to pick your position.