Innovation – unfortunately it's a foreign concept to many games in EA Sports' NHL series, but this year's ice-hockey offering is set to shake up your preconceived notions about the games. EA's NHL 07 is the first ice hockey game to offer the "skill-stick”. Essentially that means the game offers complete dual analogue control – a challenging, but rewarding control system that follows in the footsteps of other EA Sports games such as Fight Night 3, where it's worked extremely well.

After playing the demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace I was skeptical about how the game would play out. I felt that controlling your hockey stick with your right thumb stick was a gimmick and just another thing EA could stick a trademark on and trumpet as "the best invention in NHL games since the puck”. It seemed as if trying to shoot a puck by spinning your thumb around like a wannabe DJ was going to be difficult to say the least. Oh how I was wrong.

In my opinion, the skill-stick is a great addition to the series. It IS confusing at first and it would have been nice to see EA implement an interactive tutorial, rather than watching a video in which you gloss over most of the relevant information. It took me about an hour of fiddling around against the lowest-setting AI before I became proficient with the new control system. However, just because you become competent with the controls, mastery takes far longer – NHL07 is a game that rewards all the time you spend playing it.

Here's a basic rundown of the controls: An upwards flick of the right thumb stick fires off a quick wrist shot, a down-up motion fires off a slap shot (similar to swinging your club in the Tiger Woods series) and moving it left to right dekes in the chosen direction. Aiming is controlled by the left thumb stick. When you're on defence, your right stick allows you to throw your weight around, controlling your player's body checking. However, it should be noted that the manual aiming and skill-stick options can be turned off if you prefer a classic control setup (though once you master the skill stick, you won't go back).

The controls are not the only aspect of the game to be revamped; the game play has been given strengthened and refined. The game play is thoroughly engaging, taking the emphasis off physical, aggressive hockey and onto precision hockey, requiring finesse to score goals. Combine this with the sheer unpredictability of the puck, and EA's latest NHL offering is one of the most realistic hockey games ever created. One disappointment regarding the puck though is the fact that it regularly flies out of the rink interrupting the flow of the play which can become irritating, especially considering the AI often do this. While the physics acting on the puck may be somewhat exaggerated, the body checks are truly realistic – you simply can't charge defencemen with your light, agile wingers – in most cases you won't even significantly disrupt their stride.

I've always regarded the 2K series as the archetypal, realistic hockey series. However, EA's latest offering is challenging for the throne with its combination of the skill stick, the in-game physics and the dynasty mode. EA's dynasty mode has always been robust and this year is no different. To enhance the realism, the game offers a salary cap based on the new collective bargaining agreement. Trading players is also a great feeling – the AI is quite tough and picky, but when you eventually combine the ultimate offensive and defensive lines (Gomez, Elias and Bertuzzi, backed up by Souray and Rafalski on D) and take out the Stanley Cup, it's a hugely satisfying feeling – definitely the most engrossing sports game I've played on the Xbox 360 so far.

The game wouldn't have made such an impression on me if it weren't for its great graphics – even on my standard definition television. One let down of 2K Games' NHL 2K6 was its lackluster graphics – they just weren't that "next-gen” but EA has thoroughly brought hockey into the next generation with the 360 version. The overlays and presentation look gorgeous – I half expected to see some cross promotion pop up at the bottom of the screen after I score a goal. The cut scenes are great – nice and realistic. When you win in overtime, your whole team dives onto you on the ice which looks great. Another subtle graphic tweak is when the period starts, the ice is clean and the logos are vivid, however, as the period begins, the ice begins to degrade and the logos fade out, making for a nice graphical touch. The perspex surround reflects the players and the replays look great – overall, it's a graphically great game and the framerate is always smooth.

The sounds are also excellent. There is a great atmosphere created and I noticed that as you get close to scoring a goal, you can hear a girlish scream mixing apprehension and excitement – this is a very realistic sound effect (I know – I heard my mum watching the AFL grand final and the high pitched scream was heard often). Its subtle refinements like that, which makes a good game into a great game. The commentary is done by Gary Thorne and Bill Clement, it's usually pretty accurate and there's only a slight gap between inserting the player or team name in the commentary. However, like most other sports games, after extended play repetitiveness does set in.

Unfortunately, the game is not perfect. The AI is a big letdown. They are constantly lobbing the puck out of the rink and it's very frustrating. Also, your team AI (when on defence) seem to be completely inept – they just stand there and do absolutely nothing. It's quite frustrating to watch them just skate backwards following the wingers and giving them a free shot. Luckily I have Brodeur in goal, so this wasn't a big issue, but I would imagine anyone with a ‘lesser-skilled' goaltender would be a tad annoyed. Also, I didn't see any large improvement as I increased the AI skill level (from rookie to superstar), as the AI just seem to be able to score easier rather than use advanced tactics to outsmart the defence.

Don't expect your girlfriend to join you for multiplayer action in this game, but if you've got some mates that are interested in hockey and willing to persist with the skill stick, then some exciting duels will undoubtedly result. Originally, the online play was a bit shaky (due to my ISP), however, once I found a few Australians to play with the lag issues settled themselves out. However, I would have liked to have seen some added game modes such as an online Dynasty mode, as EA's online service has been traditionally lackluster and it would have complimented the game nicely.

There's 1000 gamerpoints available in the game, ranging from the simple ‘score a goal in each difficulty' to winning the Most Valuable Player award in Dynasty mode. There is a decent mix of the short term, easy to attain points and ones that will keep you coming back, such as completing a 10 year stint in Dynasty mode which yeah, can be attained by ‘simming' through it but NHL 07 is good enough to warrant otherwise and fans will be rewarded.