NHL 07 vs NHL 2k7

VS

First off, I love the sport of hockey, and play Goalie in Ball Hockey as often as I can. With this said I am immediately disappointed with how awful the goal-tending in NHL 07 is. Also how few customized equipment there are for goalies. Goalies wearing the equipment of teams they were on 2 seasons ago after they left. A hand full of pads, that won't match a third of any of the NHL teams colors and 6 (to maybe 8, if your lucky) basic saves you will see again, and again and again.

Were the strengths lay in NHL 07 are its graphics. The hockey players look better in NHL 07 than NHL 2k7. The faces of players are dead on as with the coaches and the proportions are more accurate as well. The new "skill stick" (the right analog stick) is now mapped as the pass button. However on the odd occasion it will pass the puck in a random direction. At times 180 degrees from you intended pass direction. The commentary is exciting at times. NHL 07 makes you feel the excitement of playing the game and going deep in the playoffs, but lacks any realism at all. So for a good looking game and more arcade style fun go with this.

NHL 2k7 is deep, rich, and cheap game. The graphics are not great, but equipment for goalies is early season accurate and each team has 6 different sets of gear to dress you goalie up with. Also editing players is far easier in this game. Its not even worth my time to explain how the annoying the editing a player in NHL 07 is. NHL 2K7 makes it simplicity itself. The game play feels more real and if your not for real..well you can change it. NHL 2k7 has 4 different game styles: default, Sim, arcade and physical. And each of these styles can be further edited to your liking.

Really this is not a competition this is how I see things breaking down.

Graphics:
NHL 07
Equipment:
NHL 2K7
Game play:
NHL 2K7
PLayer Editing:
NHL 2K7
Player Rankings:
NHL 2K7
Animations:
NHL 2K7
Play by Play
NHL 07

If your a die hard hockey fan and need it as close to reality as possible it has to be NHL 2k7.

Thanks for reading.
Mike