The only problem that bothers me at rare times is when a player stops responding to the controls and he remains in one spot until he is knocked off the puck. The setting up of different strategies for plays and face offs is fun to use and the AI on your team respond well to it. The open ice control is a cool feature, but I haven't used it much yet. The defense are easy to control this year compared to last year. With so much hitting, you are forced to make plays. You cannot just skate in and deke around defense. The gameplay action is fast pace, intense and hard hitting fun. The arenas are pretty authentic and detailed. The lower crowds are all 3D, the coaches have real faces, the players faces are very detailed and mouths move. At least there are cut scenes that are not cut out due to glitches like another hockey game I know. So good and packed with so much that we can see some slow down during the cut scenes.
I also play with the Action cam this year for that close up hockey feel. Its got the authentic look, rules, teams, line changes of an EA Sports game and fast pace, hard hitting hockey that I really liked in the Hitz game. So, I remember think ing back then, "I would like to see Black Box make an official authentic hockey game but with all the fun hits and fast pace gameplay.Īnd that is what I got this year with NHL 2005.
Hitz 2003 was very fun but quite shallow due to no line changes, no full teams, 3 on 3 hockey, no official rules, no numbers on the sleeves of the jerseys, and no authentic look to the arenas. Hockey is supposed to be an exciting game to play. The whole excitement of playing the game made me feel like I was playing real hockey even if it was an arcade game. I also played in close with the action camera angle in Hitz 2003. The gameplay was real fun and exciting due to the fast pace, hard hits, and player skating animations.
It was all arcade hockey, but the skating and goalie animations were awesome. NHL 2005 and NHL Hitz 2003 were made by the same developers (Black Box, now Black Box EA). Both the PlayStation 2 and PC versions of NHL 2004 have the added benefit of online play for head-to-head competition along with chat support. As with other EA SPORTS releases for 2003, players will be able to track personal ratings and unlock special features using saved games from each of the publisher's sports titles. In addition to all 30 NHL teams from the 2003-2004 season, NHL 2004 offers 20 national teams as well as an international league composed of 39 teams from Germany, Sweden, and Finland. Players who grimaced at NHL 2003's humorous approach to color commentary will be pleased to hear that Don Taylor has been replaced with ex-NHL player Craig Simpson, who offers a more traditional take on analysis. To help maintain its position as the best-selling hockey series, NHL 2004 fixes a number of presentation issues and promises a more realistic experience with computer players individually reacting to in-game situations rather than preset strategies. The collisions that often lead to fights have also been juiced up with more dramatic camera angles and new motion-captured animation. Players will be able to chain moves from a grappling position, offering more strategic possibilities during encounters instead of rewarding those with quick reflexes.
As players spend more and more points on upgrades, the team will gradually increase its attributes and will be more likely to attract other free agents and draft picks to the city.Īnother enhanced feature is the fighting engine, which is no longer a button-mashing substitute for boxing.
Budding General Managers can help upgrade their team's rink, practice facilities, coaching staff, and front office with experience points earned by winning games.