Intimidating and eventually fighting your opponent are two big new staples for NHL 10. You can now engage in physical play when the puck gets trapped against the boards. Simply hold down on the Y (or triangle on PS3) button and your player will start trying to shove your opponents off the puck. While against the boards you can also kick at the puck and try to slide it out away from the opposition. I only had one instance where I was able to use the physical play against the boards and from what I played it seemed pretty cool. Sometimes it seemed like the puck got lost in the scuffle, either caught behind players' legs so I couldn't see which way to kick it, or obstructed by someone's body.
Along with the new physical corner play and intimidation mechanics, you'll now be able to keep the action going after the whistle has blown. While last year you could land body checks after the whistle to rile people up, you can now hit the Y or triangle button and whack guys on the head and push them around. Of course, this will lead to fights. In NHL 10 fights transpire a bit differently than in the past.
This year fights are entirely first-person. That means that you'll see the other guy's punches coming and your punches landing from your player's point of view. Much like Fight Night, punching is done with a simplified right analog stick mechanic. As the other player moves around the screen you simply flick the right stick in his direction to throw a punch. You can also pull his jersey to bring him in closer for devastating blows.
The first-person fighting that I experienced at E3 was still a little janky. It didn't move as fluidly as I would have liked and the contact to the punches wasn't all that heavy for the amount of damage that these guys are actually capable of. Another disappointment was the total lack of bruising or cutting on the player's faces. If I'm going to get in a first-person brawl with someone in a hockey game I want to see the damage I'm inflicting. Hell, if I had it my way I'd want to take off my skate and cut a guy's face, but that's asking a bit much.
If you happen to force your opponent to turtle up (fall onto the ground and curl up into a ball like a little baby) and you chose to engage in a fight at the proper part of the game, then you and your line on the ice will get an energy boost. Not only that, but the crowd will go berserk. You'll see fans waving the home team's jersey, towels adorned with your team's colors, and drunken maniacs will be banging on the glass on the side of the rink.
On the ice you'll notice a few new control mechanics. While I didn't get to try it for myself, you'll now be able to whack pucks out of the air when they pop up in front of the goal and deke and shoot from your knees. Another new facet of controlling things on the ice is precision passing. It essentially lets you pass it any direction, at any speed, at any time. Casual fans can turn the feature off, but real NHL pros will be able to bank passes off the boards to get around defenders or squeak the puck through a defender's legs in the hopes of hitting a player streaking towards the goal. I consider myself to be a solid NHL gamer, but even I had some issues with the level of control that precision passing affords.
The team at EA Vancouver is calling NHL 10 "The Orange Box" of sports games. I really have no idea what that means since no one has seen any of the new modes or features yet. Maybe they'll package an arcade version of the NHL (ala 3 on 3 NHL Arcade) with the simulation-focused NHL 10. Regardless of what they have planned, I'm excited to see it take form.