Cool as ice

GAME OF THE WEEK:NHL 11 16 cert, EA, PS3 (also Xbox 360) ****

Having never strapped on a pair of skates, donned the protective gear and wandered out on the ice to get a puck lashed at my head, EA's NHL11 is the closest I'm ever going to get to ice hockey. Still, I can see its appeal. It's fast, it's furious and, a lot of the time, it's a little on the aggressive side. So I'm sticking to the infinitely safer, less embarrassing option of NHL.

The series has been popular in recent years, and it’s not hard to see why. EA’s expertise has been put to good work, recreating one of the best sports games around.

It’s hard to improve on what is a solid game with a loyal following. But EA has boosted graphics and kept gameplay fresh. Take the new real-time physics engine that makes interactions such as body checks seem more realistic. Or the fact that you can now break your sticks, and will have to be a little inventive to pass or block opponents until you replace it.

Passing and blocking in general have been improved, and there’s a lot more thought required this time around.

For true NHL fans, there’s Ultimate Hockey League. This is based on trading cards to represent players, which are used to build your ideal team over time.

This is probably best left to bona fide fans, because it involves a level of detail that is absolutely mind-boggling.