THE GAMER

EA Sports

Ever since you could make Gretzky bleed, or drop the gloves in Blades of Steel, the goon factor has been a hot selling point of hockey video games. NHL 09 continues the face-lumping tradition with an enhanced fighting engine that features over 30 knockout animations, including a one-punch KO. "The fights are quick and painful, just like they should be," says producer David Littman.

SHOT CALLER
Look for NBA Live 09 to be very popular with Jazz fans. To work the new pick-and-roll control, simply hold the left trigger to call for a screen, then release it to watch your big man slip to the rim or fade for the pick-and-pop. Simple, yet oh-so-maddeningly effective.

CHEAT SHEET
Grid (PS3, Xbox 360, PC): To unlock all the drift cars, enter "TUN58396" as a bonus code in options.

PRO TAKE
Mavericks sharpshooter Jason Terry prefers bullets to balls on his Xbox 360: "My cousin lives in Dallas, and we're into playing any of the shooting games that let you play with two players. We'll play a game like Kane & Lynch: Dead Men for seven hours straight to get through the whole story line."

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine