ESPN NHL Hockey 2K4, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, $50.
In this follow-up to Sega’s first season on the ice, an ESPN telecast is integrated into the NHL action–which means the sport’s best announcing team, Bill Clement and Gary Thorne, brings things to life. The 2004 game also plays much smoother, with a better balance of offense and defense; the checks have been toned down to open up the ice for skating and scoring. But the artificial intelligence keeps things challenging. Graphics also get a tuneup, rendering every toothless mug in vivid detail. And if you get bored with this year’s teams, the game includes more than 30 classic teams. This also is the only hockey game to support online game play on both the Xbox and the PlayStation 2.
NHL Rivals 2004, Microsoft Xbox, $50.
Like Micro-soft’s earlier sports-game debuts, this first try is a decent start to what could be a strong franchise, but it’s not the best game on the market, even for Xbox owners. But the basics of game play are well done: You can pivot on the fly to help defend your goal, and a role system gives different types–enforcers (who deliver punishing checks), agitators, snipers (who fake out goalies) and all-around players–different abilities on the ice. The online component offers plenty of interactivity on Microsoft’s XSN site–including intense “rival” games between teams like Colorado and Detroit and an option for three-on-three pond action–but there’s no franchise mode.
NHL Hitz Pro, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, $50.
This is almost a two-for-one title: With the addition of full player rosters and five-on-five action (plus the goalies) instead of the three-on-three open ice of previous NHL Hitz games, you can now play the sport with rules and refs or stick to Midway’s arcade game–where the focus stays on goals and fighting. And the core gameplay remains as fast and frenzied as ever. But the new Pro game is still more arcade than simulation, and this year’s fights require timed, turn-based button-mashing instead of real-time brawls. What fun is that? And those supposedly humorous announcers get tedious after a few games, but at least you can shut them off. Only PlayStation 2 players get to take the action online.
NHL 2004, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, $50
Back in the day of Sega Genesis, EA Sports created one of the best hockey games of all time– it wasn’t the prettiest or the most accurate game, but it was pure fun. This year’s installment gets bogged down by too much checking and grinding, losing the fast pace of previous EA efforts–and this year’s Midway and Sega games. The controls offer plenty of depth, including the ability to target checks and feather passes, but the overall results just aren’t exciting to watch, even in the Olympic-size rinks provided when you play one of the 39 international teams. Online gameplay, as in EA’s other titles, is limited to the PlayStation 2. I liked the Dynasty mode, which gives you a general manager’s control over a team during 20 grueling seasons.
