Introducing Gretzky NHL 2005

David M Singer
Nov 12, 2004

After a year of dormancy since “Faceoff 2003”, 989 Sports has released Gretzky NHL 2005 in hopes that their ice hockey franchise can roar back to life. The game seeks to add several new wrinkles to the standard ice hockey gameplay, such as a rivalry mode, unprecedented arena and team specification, extended control of play calling, and detailed player and team customization. Moreover, the company hopes to capitalize on Wayne Gretzky’s name recognition, not only as a detached name on the cover, but also as an intricate part of achieving hidden milestones throughout the game. These include breaking various Gretzky records in order to unlock The Great One himself to skate with your favorite team.

hockeyfights.com was able to speak with Dave Perkinson, Senior Producer for 989 Sports, to get a first hand account of the game’s exciting new modes and features, its inclusion of fighting into the gameplay, and what distinguishes it from other ice hockey games available this holiday season.

GENERAL

Was this game made completely from scratch or were some elements of the 989's Faceoff series used as a base for the game?

Perkinson: This game was developed completely from scratch by Page 44 Studios in San Francisco. The game has been in development for about two years and has not one line of code from previous versions of FaceOff.

What will this game retail for?

Perkinson: $39.99.

Is there a soundtrack for the game and if so who is involved with the game?

Perkinson: There is a soundtrack for the game featuring a wide array of artists. The artists include: Instruction, the Von Bondies, Ged Grimes, Borialis, Earshot, Thrice, Switchfoot, Drowning Pool, Chronic Future, Dirty Americans, Crossfade and, most importantly, Blue Oyster Cult. The songs can be heard in the front end of the game and also in the arenas during gameplay.

What involvement does Wayne Gretzky have besides his name on the cover?

Perkinson: One of the goals of the development team was to make the game a "Wayne Gretzky" game and not just have him be a face on the cover. With that in mind, the user will find many different elements involving Wayne throughout the product. The feature that first and foremost brings Wayne into the game is the Gretzky Challenge. The Gretzky Challenge is a system which awards the user points for accomplishing objectives in the game. These objectives can be basic (win a faceoff, score a goal) to extremely challenging (create a player in Franchise Mode and have that player break Wayne's career points record). It was vital to us to have the Challenges tie directly into milestones that Wayne achieved during the course of his career. Here are some examples:

• Have your team score 446 goals in a season (Wayne's 83-84 Edmonton Oilers)
• Have your team win 57 games (Wayne's 83-84 Edmonton Oilers)
• Achieve a winning percentage of .744 (Wayne's 83-84 Edmonton Oilers)
• Win four Stanley Cups Win nine Hart Memorial Trophies (the number Wayne won)
• Win ten Art Ross Trophies (the number Wayne won)
• Win five Lady Byng trophies (the number Wayne won)
• Score 92 goals in a season with one player (Wayne's record)

There are other challenges that require the user to break marks set by Wayne for single games and even single periods as well, so there is a lot of depth and detail to the system. One of the main incentives to creating a profile and participating in the Gretzky Challenge is that if you acquire enough points you'll be able to unlock actual Wayne Gretzkys from different points in his career. There are four unlockable Waynes (1979, 1987, 1994, 1999) and each is slightly differently skilled. The 1979 Wayne will play differently from the 1999 Wayne, and so on - and they will even look different.

If you have enough points, you can unlock Wayne, who will then enter the game as a Free Agent. If you go to the roster manager you will be able to sign Wayne to your team (or if you're good enough - all four Waynes to your team), whatever team may be your favorite. If you're a Blackhawks fan, you will be able to sign Wayne and have him skate with Ruutu and Daze on your first line. It's every hockey fan's dream to have Wayne Gretzky on your team, and now you have the power to make it happen.

Wayne is also involved in other portions of the game. He provides information on how to play the game through tutorial movies (four in total), rewards you through some additional cinematic sequences when you have won the Eastern or Western conference championships and the Stanley and World Cups, stars in the opening movie and even gives you advice when you may be struggling with a draft pick in Franchise Mode.

As far as Wayne's interaction with the development team is concerned, he has definitely set the tone for what we are trying to accomplish with the game. Featured in the game is a behind the scenes movie that the user can play at any time that really shows Wayne's interaction with the group and how his legacy and reputation inspire everyone that works on the game.

Will the unknown CBA affect production? If there is no season - will there still be roster updates to reflect any late signings?

Perkinson: The NHL lockout has impacted the game somewhat, but, as it turns out, in a way that is really cool for the user. We made a decision that since this is a game for the 2004-05 season, we would have default rosters that were updated to the day that the lockout started (September 15). We wanted all of the moves that were made in the offseason reflected in the game so that Phoenix fans can skate with Brett Hull, Mike Ricci and Petr Nedved, Ottawa fans can have the Dominator between the pipes, the Avalanche will feature the newly added Vincent Damphousse and the Flames are improved by the addition of Daymond Langkow to an already formidable club.

Because of the lockout, though, there are a host of well-known players available as Free Agents. The user of the game will face the same questions that real NHL GM's face when they get started playing - who should I sign and for how much? It's actually really cool and adds a whole layer to gameplay that wouldn't be there otherwise. Once the season starts, and we all are still hopeful that it will, we will be able to provide updated rosters to account for all subsequent moves via our online mode. Users will be able to login and download new rosters as they are provided.

GAME PLAY

What type of trick moves can players do in game situations?

Perkinson: The user will have the ability to use the Square button to execute a deke that is selected on the fly by the AI, or they can use the right analog stick to perform custom dekes. There are four unique dekes on the right stick that the user will be able to select at any time if they so choose. In addition to the dekes, we have on-the-fly playcalling options that allow the user to change up play styles to meet the skills of the players on the ice. Users can call set plays for offense, defense, power play and penalty kill—all without leaving gameplay. We will also feature icon passing that will allow you to pass the puck to a specific player at any time. Pressing L2 and then the corresponding button will fire a pass to whomever you would like it to go.

A couple of other cool features that should be mentioned are our new shot aiming feature that allows you to shoot the puck to a visually selected portion of the net and the give-and-go. For shot aiming, the user no longer has to hold in a direction and hope the shot goes where you thought it was going to go. There is an easy-to-use cursor shown in the opponents net that will clearly display the where the shot will be targeted. There is also a slap shot meter that will display to the user the power of the slap shot that they are about to fire. The higher on the meter, the faster the shot.

The give and go allows the users to put themselves in position for a one-timer without having to wait for the AI to put a player in a spot where you might want them. All you have to do is pass to an AI player, continue to hold the X-button while that player has the puck, get yourself set in a good spot, then release the X-button and take the return pass from the AI controlled teammate. It's very cool and it works very well. Advanced users will have a good time familiarizing themselves with the give-and-go and using it to fluster their opponent.

Will there be any blood or injuries that show damage during a game?

Perkinson: There are a variety of injuries a player can suffer during a game, and there will be cutscenes that feature the injured player, but no blood or broken teeth.

Will players be able to break their sticks?

Perkinson: Players can have their helmets knocked off by big hits and be checked over the boards, but they cannot break sticks.

Will glass be able to be broken during a check or a shot?

Perkinson: Yes, the glass can be broken by big hits and wide shots.

FRANCHISE MODE

In franchise mode there's the ability to call players from the AHL - is there an option to play AHL games?

Perkinson: The option to play AHL games is not in this year's version of the game. For this version, the AHL teams exist on all roster screens and provide minor league players to the NHL parent clubs. Because of our exclusive partnership, we are able to offer the serious hockey fan loads of additional players that you won't be able to find in any other hockey game. We are very excited about our partnership with the AHL and look forward to adding more and more AHL-specific content to the game in future versions.

Will coaches, trainers, and staff be able to be hired and fired and will they affect teams?

Perkinson: The user acts as the coach and GM for the team. He is responsible not only for the team's success on the ice, but also on the balance sheet. The user, however, does have an owner that will be monitoring his progress and will give status reports throughout the season. If you as coach and GM can run a successful and efficient team then you have nothing to worry about. However, if you have a major payroll and not major success, you will definitely find yourself looking for a new job.

There are tons of other cool features with Franchise mode that should be mentioned as well. First and foremost, the user will have the ability to create his own team, from the logo on the jersey all the way down to the color of the seats in the arena, and bring that team into the NHL as the 31st team in the league. You will not have to remove a team from the league to add your own - very cool. You can stock that roster through a fantasy draft, have the AI do it for you, or even clone the same player over and over again and see how you would fare with a team of Jagrs or Forsbergs at every position.

Will the AI allow for retaliation for actions done earlier in a game/season?

Perkinson: AI players know during the course of a game who they have been butting heads with, but after the game the players leave it on the ice and don't start future games with grudges.

How long will the Franchise mode allow the user to play?

Perkinson: There is no limit on the number of years that you can play in Franchise mode.

Any ability to have a career-ending injury?

Perkinson: There are no career ending injuries in the game, but there are definitely season-ending injuries. However, older players are more susceptible to injury so you do take a risk signing or holding on to older players. They can add significantly to your payroll and end up spending a lot of time injured. Choose wisely...

PENALTIES/FIGHTS

Will there be double minors, five minute majors, and ten minute misconducts?

Perkinson: We support standard two minute penalties and five minute penalties for fighting.

What is the limit to the number of fights?

Perkinson: There is no real limit to the number of fights that the user can have in a game. If players feel like dropping the gloves a prompt will appear on the bottom of the screen alerting the user or users when there are players ready to go. It's up to the user to decide whether or not they want to enter the fight and perhaps put a key player in the box for five minutes.

While fighting, will a player be able to switch hands?

Perkinson: The fight interface is quite straightforward. The combatants are able to punch and block and there is a stamina meter displayed that conveys to the user the amount of fight a player has left in him. The first player to run out of stamina is the one that loses the fight. After the fight, both players are escorted to the box.

During a fight can other altercations break out?

Perkinson: No secondary fights break out in Gretzky NHL 2005. Once the two players square off, it's all about them.

Will a player "turtle" if he is confronted by a tougher player?

Perkinson: No player in the game will visibly back down from another player. If the two players want to fight, whether they're known as fighters or finesse players, it's up to the user to decide whether or not it will happen.

FINISHING UP

Will there be any hidden teams or jerseys?

Perkinson: There are a bunch of hidden jerseys, a few hidden teams and other items like cheats in the game that can be unlocked by acquiring the aforementioned Gretzky Challenge points. The more points you acquire, the more items you can purchase.

Will this game come out for the PSP after that is released?

Perkinson: We are working on a variety of titles for the PSP.

The launch date for the game is November 9th, a couple of months after the season's first hockey game is released - how much do you think this may impact sales?

Perkinson: We certainly would have liked to have had our game out there when the competition came out with their game, but it was very important to us to make a game that we were proud of and that incorporated Wayne fully and made him more than just the standard cover athlete or spokesman. If we were to cut corners in order to launch our game when our competitors did, simply to have a game on the shelves, then we would have been doing ourselves, and gamers, a disservice.

We'd love to hear your "sales pitch" - why should we pick up Gretzky NHL 2005 over the other hockey games that are out this year?

Perkinson: Everyone involved with Gretzky NHL 2005 has worked incredibly hard to provide a first-rate gaming experience to the consumer. It is a game with a full, robust feature set including solid traditional modes like Exhibition, Online and Franchise with cool, unique secondary features like EyeToy support, World Cup Mode and Create-a-Team. In addition we have included a mode that is totally unique to 989 Sports, Rivalry Mode, that allows two users to set up a rivalry and play head-to-head in up to 100 games and have all of the stats tracked throughout the lifetime of the rivalry. I'm 31 games into a Rivalry myself right now and can't imagine how I ever got through a sports game of any kind without a mode like this one.

We have worked hard to include useful, interesting additional licensed items like our partnership with the AHL as well as our partnership with the NHL Coaches Association that allows us to put the head men of each NHL team on the bench in our game.

The team has spent a great deal of time trying to capture the look and sound of the NHL game. All of the arenas are faithfully replicated down to the banners in the rafters. Merely creating a generic arena with different logos on the ice was not enough. We have arena-specific goal horns for all arenas, as well as arena-specific intros for places like San Jose, Dallas, Calgary, Edmonton and Nashville that are really impressive.

When you're playing the game, take a look out for other great touches in the buildings and on the ice like the event-specific LED board animations, player reflections in the glass, skate trails and ice spray. Watch the condition of the ice degrade throughout a period. Listen to the sounds of the game. Hear the crowd chant for the home goalie or taunt the road goalie if he's not having his best night. Hear them respond when the home team scores a goal or lays a big hit. Listen for the sound of the puck hitting the stick on a rocket slap shot or smacking into the boards on a miss. Listen to the sound a player makes when he delivers a big hit and the opposing player hits the ice. Pay attention to the depth and detail of the cutscene system. Watch the players on the ice react to a referee's call as though it were real-life. Watch the interaction of the players during stoppages. Watch the coach prowl the bench. See the reaction of the players when they win the Cup - it's awesome.

All of the things I've mentioned above are great, but they don't mean anything if the game isn't fun - and we believe that we've delivered a game that is definitely fun. The game has been designed to be fast and feature a good balance between skating, shooting and hitting. It has the basic controls that should be easy enough for a novice gamer to pick up quickly, but with enough depth to satisfy the hardcore user. There are four well-articulated skill levels that should provide for a ton of replay value and a good learning curve. There are a variety of actually playable gameplay cameras, not a bunch of camera options that aren't usable. There is a great deal of depth in the animation system. There are loads of ways to play the game, and it seems as if you need to constantly find new ways to win with each game that you play. Lastly, it's a game that we're really proud of.

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You can pick up Gretzky NHL 2005 right here through our affiliation with amazon.com.

We'd like to thank Dave Perkinson for taking the time to answer our questions. Special thanks to Paul Murphy, Jon Porus and Tom Cotton.

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