hockey

Great game with awesome gameplay , graphics, and realistic players.

First off, to the reviewer who recommends this title over NHL 2004. Wow. That's all I'm saying there. You must hate hockey. Now for those of you who would even think or consider buying this troubled title I have some facts to get out there. There are supposed to be over 700 motion captured animations in the game. Where did they all go? The animations are the same over and over again. The "revolutionary" backwards skate button - a completely useless feature that mearly slows your player down. The goalies, don't even get me started. They move to the position of your shot before you've even ripped it off of your stick. Some of the save animations are nice, I'll give this game that and only that. The graphics are nice but somewhat bulky and almost borderline cartoony. The crowds are louds which is a good thing. There is no franchise mode. There is only an exibition mode and season mode. No collectibles, no unlockables, no concept of team managment outside the norms (trade, create). This game is the exact reason XSN Sports is taking a year off. They have a LOT to work on. If you even like hockey half as much as I do - Do yourself a favor and grab either NHL 2004 or ESPN NHL. And for those of you who may think this is a good beginners title to try - Set one of the two games I mentioned (NHL 2004 or ESPN NHL) at Rookie, you'll do just fine.

I got NHL Rivals 2004 a couple of months ago. I found a couple of great ideas that no one has thought about yet. I also found incredibly terrible flaws in gameplay.
Pros: Nice animated crowd,awesome commentary, very customizable settings
Cons: Music doesnt play frequently enough, not enough different music files, player stats are screwed up,(brett hull is a 93 buddy), when you body check someone else the hit looks the same each time, overall choppy gameplay
Dont be turned off by the other reviews. Competition for hockey games is low, this causes poor products. I recommend this game for anyone who is not easily aggravated and wants to play a decent hockey game. Also I would recommend Rivals over Nhl 2004.