Get Ready To Face-Off With 2K Sports NHL 2K11 For iPhone And iPod Touch

The renowned game console developer, 2K Sports, is proud to announce their first iOS title. NHL 2K11 for iPhone and iPod touch brings one of the most realistic hockey experiences to a mobile platform.

NHL 2K11 for iPhone and iPod touch is the first officially licensed NHL and NHL PA game on any portable platform, and allows fans to make trades and sign free agents as they take their favorite teams and players all the way to the Stanley Cup in Season Mode. Gamers will also be able to jump into practice and quick game modes to polish their skills using the intuitive control scheme. On top of the deep set of features already present in the game, 2K Sports plans on providing regular updates throughout the season to ensure the gameplay experience stays fresh all year long.

I've played a good share of hockey games on the major gaming consoles and I didn't really know what to expect of such a fast paced game on a device like the iPhone. While it could use a few extremely minor touch-ups, the game seems like more than a solid strive at authenticity and realism. Skating and puck physics appear to be on par, and with the graphics rendering and lighting to be more than sufficient, I must say it was an already good start to the experience. Free Skate offers up a practice situation where you can improve puck handling and goal shots. Season, or otherwise regular, games provide the full NHL action. Watch as your players enter the rink, player celebrations and penalty reactions, cinematic panning after goals and penalties to return to the face-off, and even exciting replays after you finally are able to score that goal. For those who are impatient, don't fret, you can skip through the animations. Amongst the typical sound settings, the game offers an abundance of in camera adjustments. Though most of optional angles and positions are really quite cool in a cinematic way, they don't seem practical to me in actual gameplay use. Visual options include eight different camera modes, four possible directions and four zoom modes, which can be changed during the game as well as from the main menu. The controls are basic but offer most of the handling you'll need. You have a virtual joystick on one side and three buttons on the other. One is for passing the puck, one for taking a shot at the goal, and the final one is a boost. As a seemingly standard control scheme for hockey games, holding in the shoot button increases the power to your shot. Passing can be a bit tricky initially, as your player will pass the puck in the direction he is facing and not necessarily to the nearest player in that direction. While the graphics resolution could use some enhancing, everything from the gameplay to the sounds of background crowd commentary and cheers make this a very promising title, at least from my point of view. 2K Sports NHL 2K11 is designed for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch 2nd and 3rd generation running iOS 3.1.2 or later and available at an introductory price of $1.99 for the next week only. For those who like to try things out before plunking down the coins, give the free 2K Sports NHL 2K11 Lite a try. The Lite version offers only two team choices, limited advanced options but still provides the same gameplay. [gallery link="file" columns="4"]

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