I'm actually writing to you live from my current game of NHL 2K6 on Xbox Live. I'm making my opponent watch the amazing halftime highlights, while we listen to the superb commentators' amusing narration - because stubborn old Dexter wants to get what just happened down on paper! I just scored - I caught my opponent, quite literally, with his pants down. Think on, this is my first time playing the game, I haven't played any tutorials yet, I haven't started any careers. I'm all about pick up and play when it comes to sports titles, and NHL 2K6 seems like the game I've been holding out for - one that can be enjoyed shoulder to shoulder with mates, played internationally over Live and, most importantly, that you can get straight into without having to know any complexities. With all of this and the enormous single player modes, I think NHL 2K6 will do very nicely for me.

But don't take my word for it - take the commentators' instead! These two Canadian blokes seem to pull sentences out of thin air; they take names of players, combine them with on the fly action and say what you're effectively seeing without sounding too generic. Often commentary in sports games sounds a little stilted, saying different names in different tones of voice so you can hear how the phrases join together. For lesser titles, sentence construction sounds like a chore, but NHL 2K6 just hits the puck every time. Those two Canadians can flip from action talk to reminiscing as well, giving you past real-life information about outstanding players in the current match, commenting on the atmosphere and talking alongside the highlights at the end of each period. And the crowd, boy, they know how to react - be it tense murmurs, loud cheers or chants of victory, the rink is full of supporters that really do support you as a player.

Talking aside, the gameplay on offer here is outstanding. As you might guess from my initial experience on Xbox Live, this game just hit me like a ton of bricks, and captivated me from the beginning. Never have I become so engrossed in such a sports title, hell, NHL is not my thing anyway, but a combination of so many new things and so many improvements, along with the pick up playability makes this title so very appealing and so accessible that it's hard not to be swept off your feet.

Some of the noticeable improvements from the other (lesser) consoles come in the form of improved AI, who are always where you want them, when you want them, and the goalkeeper always does a fine job when you're not controlling him too. What was that? Controlling your goalkeeper? Yes, you can, and yes, it's a hell of a lot of fun too. By switching to the keeper you're faced with a little cone that you have to line up with the opposing player and his puck. If, when he shoots, your cone points in the direction that he is shooting from, then you have a good chance of saving the shot. You can then improve your chance by quickly lining up your little aim circle with a target at the back of the net - the game goes into a bullet-time slow-motion type effect for you to line those targets up, which makes the keeping side of the game a little more involving than your average FIFA title.

Other additions or improvements, call them what you will, let you actually pass from player to player using the four face buttons. When you click in you're the thumbstick your nearby players are assigned little button icons above their head. This means that you can quickly and professionally pass the puck back and forth with relative ease, or line up little passes around combos, such as A to X to Y - and watch in awe as your puck dances around your opponents, leaving them all confused. Another worthy addition is on the fly coaching, where you can command with the D-Pad how you want your team to react. Do you want them playing offensive, do you want them defensive, the choice is yours - and you can set this up in a matter of seconds. Oh, and don't forget the Enforcer player, a player marked with a large E who's capable of intimidating your foes for easier tackles, thanks to him being larger and meaner than the other players. These players are equated into the overall outcome of the game in real life, so 2K Games obviously realised this and stuck this addition in with the Xbox 360 version.

The modes on offer don't really need much explanation; you have you're the management side of things, scout out new players, bid for them and make sure your team reacts well to the newcomers and bonds together using the chemistry system. Quick matches are included, along with practise rounds and twelve mini games that test individual aspects of your game while delivering a fine feast of fun at the same time. If you're looking for your favourite team, it's probably here, as there are absolutely loads of teams to pick from - of course, being in the UK we generally only know one ice hockey team, and that's the Mighty Ducks, so I went for those and they've never let me down!

While playing games like Quick Match, little messages at the top of the screen let you know when you've achieved something in the game, such as scoring a certain amount of points in a single period or winning a set number of face-offs and so on. I thought these might have been Xbox 360 achievements, and that I would be credited at the end of the game with my rightful gamer score. The sad truth is that these achievements were for the game's use only, and the six things I had achieved in that previous match didn't earn me a bean! I'm a little disappointed that 2K didn't include more than five things to achieve in this game to affect your gamer score, as with a total of 1000 points available per game, you'd think the points would be spread across a larger number of goals.

Taking NHL 2K6 online with the 360 is a complete joy. It's easy to find a game, it's easy to find a person that is equally matched to your abilities and 2K Games have their own little bad player / good player feedback system that you can use to leave more game-specific feedback on people, NHL related and all. Of course, after answering feedback questions on NHL, you then get taken to the standard dashboard display where you can rate your opponents as prefer or avoid! NHL asks you at the end of every game what you thought of your opponent, and with this in place people tend to act a little more sensibly when you're talking to them - but then, some of them don't talk at all. The actual gameplay is great though, sometimes occasional lag can get in the way of an otherwise smooth game, but winning or even losing to a better opponent is a gameplay high - there's a lot to learn with this game, despite being so easy to pick up, and online is where you're going to do most of your learning, that's for sure.

The sound, as I've already mentioned is excellent - the commentary is fantastic, the crowd reaction is very heart warming and the sounds on the ice of scuffling skates and thwapping sticks is realistic, while the music compliments every menu, providing a great backdrop for a great game. The graphics aren't ice-shattering or ground-breaking however; they're only a little bit better looking than the actual Xbox version. People with a HDTV will be able to appreciate the shiny ice a bit more than people with conventional TVs - but I will say that the crowd detail and highlights where you see people going to buy snacks in the arena shops is very eye pleasing, regardless of the screen you're looking at. While this game doesn't raise things too high above the bar, it certainly doesn't look shabby either and every aspect of the graphics is realistic and polished.

I don't think I could be more pleased with NHL 2K6. The lack of a good range of game achievements, the occasional lag and the only slightly above average graphics is about all that I could complain about, but when you put that next to clever AI (that can skate backwards, by the way), icon-based passing, Enforcer players, goalkeeper perspective and commentary better than I've ever heard in a sports title and the complaints are pretty trivial in comparison. It's a multiplayer friendly game that also keeps you entertained with its career mode, a game that's awesome online and off and one that's worth adding to your collection. For £40 (priced lower than even first party games) there's no reason you shouldn't be passing that puck to me on Xbox Live in the next couple of days. You know it makes sense.

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).