hockey

For PC users, SOLID sports games are a rarity. This year, however, we're seeing a revolution in PC sports gaming with titles like Madden 2004, Tiger Woods Golf 2004, and now, NHL 2004 from EA. Don't be fooled: THIS IS NOT LAST YEAR'S VERSION OF NHL HOCKEY FOR THE PC. Gone are the asinine commentary, the ridiculous deke moves, and overall warp-speed game play. This year, Electronic Arts got smart and reevaluated their once best-selling hockey franchise and put it back on the map with gorgeous graphics, exciting gameplay, precise control, and a true simulation feel that hasn't been there on the PC for quite some time.

I tried ESPN Hockey for the PS2 this year, and honestly, it doesn't compare to the PC version of NHL 2004. Graphics, sound, and gameplay are all superior. Yes, the ESPN version has the cool "owner's box" feature, but honestly, do you want to get rewarded with enough tokens to play with the '84 Oilers, only to find that instead of Wayne Gretzky, it has "Center" with the wrong number and statistics? You then have to manually go in and change everything to fit The Great One's stats. Not fun.

The "Dynasty" mode is NHL 2004's answer to the GM mode of ESPN, and it's much better. You can set practices, promote players, trade your 3rd line wingers for some help in goal, etc. All of this comes into play during the season in terms of people in the seats, revenue, and all the stuff that goes along with being a successful GM. Truly a great feature to the game, and one that adds ton of replay value.

Although the presentation could use some work, as it takes three or four mouse clicks to simply make a trade or get stats on a player, this game is essentially the best that has come out for the PC in a long time. The hitting has been toned down, and actually, almost made too difficult, but besides those gripes, NHL 2004 will reward players with unparalleled graphics, smooth, slider-controlled gameplay to fit your talents, and sound that brings out the best of the arenas across the country.

If you have a PC and you're a hockey fan, then you owe it to yourself to pick up NHL 2004.

I saw my first hockey game when I was about 10 years old. I was walking thru the living room when I noticed my mom watching intently while Derrick Sanderson and John Ferguson were wailing on each other in the center of Boston Garden. I stopped to watch the fight. I stayed to watch the game. I've been hooked ever since. I go to as many games as I can afford. I've converted most of the people I work with into die-hard fans. I don't want to age myself but I purchased my first video hockey game for the Intelevision game system back in 1980 (those little stick figures could really move). I think I may have purchased every hockey sim since (with the exception of Wayne Gretzky Hockey and NHL Hitz). EA Sports has pretty much dominated the genre since 1990 peaking with the release of NHL 2001. NHL 2001 was close to being the perfect sports sim. All that was required to make it perfect was improving the AI but for some reason EA decided to change the graphics engine in 2002/2003 and add cartoonish incentives for people who don't like hockey. NHL 2004 has returned to the lofty standards set with 2001. The graphics may have actually topped 2001 (although the face recognition system in 2001 has yet to be matched by any sports sim). The AI picks up the puck where 2001 dropped it. The defensemen actually play defense (remember 2001 when they used to hide behind the goalies?). The player movement is simply unbelievable. Goaltenders stop the puck with their pads and gloves. You can see them straining to see thru screens and following the puck when it goes behind the net. They also incorporated loose pucks in front of the net. Goals can be scored on scrums in front of the net. One thing EA sport has always gotten right was the pace of the game. The strides of the player cover exactly the amount of ice that they should. The controls are laid out sensibly (try making line changes in (2K4). The audio has always been the best in the industry. You can hear the skates cutting up the ice, the puck thudding off the goalie pads. If you have a surround sound system it sounds like you're sitting in the middle of Chicago Stadium. Even the fans look like real people (instead of cardboard cutouts). Clearly EA is feeling the heat of the competition. NHL 2004 re-establishes them as the undisputed leaders in hockey sims. I still wish they would include the vintage teams and the Hall of Famers (2K4 does) but I guess you can't have everything. Anybody who loves hockey will love this game and hey....the people who don't can buy 2K4. I hear they have air hockey. P.S: Traditionally this franchise has always been strongest on the PC.

First off, I've been playing the EA NHL franchise since 93-94 and every few years the game gets a facelift. This year, you can see the mesh of the jerseys and the skating engine was improved. Another monster improvement was the lack of ability to skate through defenders with the puck. This means passing is very important, as it is in real life.

There are some bugs where defensemen (and goalies) knock the puck into their own nets, but overall the game plays well though it takes time to get proficient at it. The game scores are moderate (especially if you try and play it like a real game. If your scoring is spread around you might have 2 - 4 20 goal guys and maybe only 1 or 2 80-100 point players. Goalies are not likely to get more than 8-10 shut outs but your save percentage can get pretty high (around 0.930).

Dynasty mode. This is the best part of the game. The fact you can either take your favorite team or build your own (however which ever team is displaced from the NHL to accomodate you, their banners are still in your rink). You can do a complete fantasy draft and then start simming/playing games. Win now or win later by trading experience for potential, set your ticket prices, buy upgrades for your team, etc... The sad part is, you can't extend contracts until their last year (and then they usually want a big increase). Salary is based on stats, not performance, so if you have a really fast skater sitting 'in the minors' he'll want big league money....Hint: sign and trade for a young guy, especially if you don't need him right now.

The computer trades frequently though the dialog box you see does not have enough information. You have to go and manually look at the trade by proposing it yourself. The create a player feature, to me, was upgraded. Visually you are limited though now if you want a Wayne Gretzky - he's gonna cost ya. A lot of money.

The announcing team got a facelift with Craig Johnson becoming the new color guy. It sounded a bit stilted but at least he sounded intelligent.

I'll buy 05 when it comes out. I think the game went in the right direction this year from 03.