If you’re like me, you’ve been reacting to the horrible news of planned lay-offs, salary cap rollbacks and general lockout terrors by popping in NHL 12, scoring 17 goals per game and pretending hockey will happen on schedule. Also if you’re like me, you make sure the Caps don’t turn into the Three Stooges five seconds into the playoffs.
Anyway, recent hockey news makes me want to curl up into a ball, but recent hockey video game news is GREAT, especially with NHL 13 only two-ish weeks from its September 11 release date. One of the cool features from this year’s game is a new crop of legends, and for the first time ever two female hockey legends have been added to the roster. You could play as created women before, but now Hayley Wickenheiser and Angela Ruggiero are officially licensed, replicated stars.
This appeals to me both as someone who appreciates the contributions women have made to sports, and as someone who picks Chun Li every time he plays Street Fighter II.
Joining Jari Kurri, Dominik Hasek and Doug Gilmour as the newest legends will be women’s hockey greats Hayley Wickenheiser and Angela Ruggiero, marking the first time female athletes have been playable characters in the NHL series. These five will join the nine legends from last year’s game.
“We selected Hayley Wickenheiser and Angela Ruggiero for their leadership qualities on the ice and within the community,” said EA Sports NHL General Manager Dean Richards. “Both athletes are champions who have been a positive force in driving women’s hockey forward, and creating further opportunities for young women in the United States and Canada to participate in the sport, either competitively or recreationally.” (via Puck Daddy)
Here’s a clip of the game in action.
https://nhl.cdn.neulion.net/u/videocenter/embed.swf
Very cool. Eventually I’m going to have to skate by moving both sticks back and forth to simulate leg movements and throw my controller at the screen to shoot, but whatever, it looks great. Maybe next year we can work in a little Manon Rhéaume, because some of us were going through puberty when her cards came out and that makes her extremely important.
