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Hockey Fan | | Pcoles78 from Ottawa, Ontario says (22/Jun/2003): | I will say that I've played every hockey game since Sega had their 1994 hockey games. I'm crazy about hockey games. However I'm not a fan of EA hockey games. The best hockey game ever is NHL Faceoff 99 for PS1. Easy controls, easy to score, but also realistic. The saves the goalies in NHL 2003 make is ridiculous. A 2 on 0 for me and I can't beat the goalie. WTF? EA sports does football well, Madden 2003 rocks, but their hockey is unrealistic. My hands are sore after playing NHL 2003 because I have to always to pushing the speed burst buttons. It sucks. Dekes are nice, graphics, music is all good, but gameplay is missing something.
If 2004 is the same gameplay I am gonna freak out. Because I've been waiting for online hockey for so long, and if they put out a garbage game like 2003, I will mail anthrax to EA SPORTS.
| EASY | | David from Sydney, Australia says (22/Apr/2003): | Game was too easy, unless you're playing for wild (where you get thrashed each game) a simple on timer (where you've crashed the net) will net you a goal. Graphics are great and the music better, but come on I ploughed on for one season just to win the cup, but when Simon Gagne had 62 goals and 51 assists in the playoffs (played on allstar level) I realised 1 season was 81 games too many. The points/cards are useless, if all points were directed toward easter eggs and celebrations they'd be acceptable, but putting a player on a cold streak? come on.
Once again though, must say I liked the music.
| Not a bad attempt, but perhaps 2004 will be a lil more realistic in playability!! | | Jack Bauer 'Ctu' from Belleville, Ont. says (22/Mar/2003): | Over all I love the nhl series. But for my 1st purchase on the x-box I was greatly dissapointed (like I was w/ RAW) I agree w/ the majority on the fact that winning games w/ a score of 40-7 or 55 - 13 seems a lil redundent. I mean the poor goalies stats went to hell in a hand basket, and the allstar team consisted mostly of the I was playing(LAME!!!!!!!). Even w/ altered settings to make the game harder to play..it seemed as if the goalies were blind. Again this game serves better use a a coaster for drinks than it does fun factor. But I have faith that the makers will re-address the problems 2003 had and tweak the game play for 2004. Im learning a slow but steady lesson about renting b4 purchase, and perhaps,,maybe its just me,,but perhaps if the game has a sequel, wait for that to come out b/c it seems the 1st run of most these games well...suck. There are some exceptions, like bloodwake was fun, mechassult kicked royal...buttocks, and the upcomming Jurassic Park'operation genesis' looks like roller coaster tycoon w/ an attitude, but i WILL RENT IT B4 wasting any fundage on it.
| Hey, its better than any hockey video games I know | | Nathan. L from Texas, Usa says (1/Mar/2003): | One of the great things aboul NHL 2003 is the gameplay. The manuel dekes ARE SO COOL. It comes in handy when your on the break-a-way [but the stupid glass doesn't break that easy]I played hockey and the glass never break. And the injuries? MAN IT SUCKS,almost everytime your player get injured there's no penalties, also you keep on getting into fights, but i still think NHL 2003 is the best hockey game to buy.
Gameplay- its pretty good because, of the manuel deke and its easier to control your player than any other hockey games.
Value- The game costs more than 40 bucks that just sucks, but its worth it.
Graphics- its the same as NHL 2002.
CPU I.Q.- The CPU has horrible I.Q., I'm getting tired of winning games with more than 20 goals.
| It's great, as far as hockey games go | | A gamer from Boston, MA says (9/Jan/2003): | As far as hockey video games go, this one is the best. The gameplay is great, although there are some REALLY annoying things (not being able to pick up loose pucks, the glass breaking every period, trying to pass to a wide open player and having the puck go the exact opposite way you were aiming... things like that). The commentary was pretty bland at first, but the more you play, the more different things you hear, and there are some really funny lines. The celebrations and the Easter Eggs you can unlock are pretty good, too.
I really wish, though, that EA Sports would just model all of their games after Madden - that game has just about everything nailed (except for the commentary, but I guess you can't fire the cover boy). There are a few ways that NHL could improve the game just by making it more like Madden, which I don't think would be that hard:
1) Franchise mode - You can't trade draft picks. Actually, you can't trade during the off-season at all. You can't scout rookies. You can't check to see if a team will say yes to a trade - you just have to process it, and if it goes through, it goes through, and you can't trade back. You don't get the first crack at re-signing your own free agents. I do like how you can select options like East/West or North America/World all-star games and zero/one points for an overtime loss, but overall, the options aren't that extensive. And I know there's no salary cap in hockey, but there has to be a less arbitrary way to assign free agents than the presumably random way they do it here.
2) Cheats/NHL cards - This is where Madden has it nailed. You can unlock all kinds of old players, teams, stadiums, etc. that make earning points to buy cards actually worth doing. Is there anything better than unlocking Boomer Esiason and sticking him on the 2002 Bengals so he can lead them against your pick of 80's 49er teams? Wouldn't you love to unlock someone like Bobby Orr or Ken Dryden, play in the old Forum or the Boston Garden, skate with the Nordiques or the Whalers or the '72 Bruins or the Islanders/Oilers dynasties or the '94 Rangers? And while we're on the subject, how come the Coyotes and Avalanche can take the ice in the old Jets or Nordiques jerseys, but the Hurricanes and Stars can't dress like the Whalers or North Stars? Stuff like that wouldn't be too hard to add, I don't think, but it would make the game ten times more fun.
3) General items - The rosters aren't updated at all (since when are Pat Faloon and Dmitri Khristich still in the league?). You can't edit player attributes (like in Madden, where in '99 you could take Kurt Warner, who was rated something like a 56 going in, and boost his numbers to make him the up-to-date, league MVP-type Kurt Warner). They call way too many five minute majors/game misconducts (especially for boarding calls that don't involve the boards at all) - why can't you turn down the frequency of specific penalties instead of just penalties in general?
Overall, like I said, as far as hockey games go, this one is the best. But as far as sports games go, there's a lot of room for improvement.
| Rent this first!! | | Tim S. from Orlando, Fl says (23/Dec/2002): | NHL 2003 has good graphics, but horrible camera angles and the action is too close to play. The new songs are decent songs, but hey EA please bring back Bill Clement. The whole game is cheesy jokes by Don Taylor. Gameplay is solid, but the players pass about a second after you press the button, it's to hard to shoot and place it, and the one-timers are to hard to score on. The gamebreaker sucks!!! If you already have NHL 2001 or NHL 2002 don't get this game unless you want the new rosters and to waste some dough.
| I love hockey | | Will from minnesota, USA says (20/Dec/2002): | This game i cant say is the best but it is fun to play with other friends and if u dont have any friends u can play alone its still fun. If i were u I would put this game on your christmas list if u dont celebrate christmas just buy the game its really fun and better than nhl 2002.I hope u buy this game U SHOULD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
| Ehhhhh, its OK, just OK | | Zenn from Richmond, USA says (28/Nov/2002): | Ok, I'm a big hockey fan, and NHL 2003 Disappoints highly.
Gameplay- It's OK...and just OK. First off, its downright annoying when you man skates around the puck in circles 50 times, before the computer finally skates up and takes it, they should really make it easier to pick up loose pucks. The checking is downright obsurb, for some reason, is the computer is "deking"...or as it looks to me, moving his stick from side to side, you'll miss your check 98% of the time, and he'll go past you on a breakaway and score, lame. On the up side, the one-timer on the loose puck is nice. And the puck barely slipping past the goalie is a nice addition, yet ends in a goal a bit TOO often, tired of 25-4 games.
Graphics- Same as last year...exactly the same. Yay, pretty graphics...PS2 has slow-down in a couple spots.
Computer AI- Your other teamates are basicly 100% clueless on defence, they stand around doing nothing...or they get you 5 min game misconduct, worthless. The computer is annoying cheap sometimes (talked about with dekes), doing things you could never do. All in all though, even on the highest settings...they AI sucks and isn't a challange. I'm in season 4 of my franchise right now, I won the cup 4 times, and am having 65+ win seasons or better...with the Blackhawks, YAWN!
All the extra stuff- A lot fits in there, so bare with me. First off, in Hockey, the glass doesn't break 25 times a game from body checks...sorry, doesn't happen. Where is the season to season stat tracking this game was suppose to have? It doesn't exist! Players should NOT be able to be injured from checks after the whistle, the computer seems to love slamming into 2-3 of my guys after the whistle blows, and I usually average at least 1 injury every 7 games or so, and of course, they get NO PENALTY for it at all, stupid! Game Breaker is stupid, the mementum (sp) meter was better, lucky for me you can turn it off. Commentary is basicly same as last year, they even reused half of it, gets annoying after the 10th game. New music is a nice touch, and music-replays are cool. Goalie AI still sucks...save the impossible shots, let in all the softies as usual. I forget if I missed anything.
Way to win- Ok, now I'll tell you the simple way to basicly win every game and every fight. If you get in a fight, simply press nothing but the CIRCLE button (on PS2) till he drops...you'll win every fight. How to win games? The computer always has someone take up camp in front of the net, usually on the opposite side of you...just one-timer it to him everytime and you should have 15 goal games at least. Also, just take out that guy when the computer is in your zone...he can't one-timer, he usually can't score, although he might still get 1 or 2 past anyway. If no one sets up...just skate around in circles on either side of the net...no one will do anything about you, just skate around you...wait for him to setup, one-timer, and score.
Basicly, this game was rushed a bit, and it shows. It's junk...NHL 2k3 is WAAAAAAAAY better. Don't waste your money...might be worth a rental if you got $5 to kill
| It is the best hockey game for this year | | T-Bone from Virginia,USA says (14/Nov/2002): | This is one of the best games I have played over the year. I'm a true hockey fan and the game is awesome. The only thing that made me mad is that there were no shootouts that is the only thing that sucks. The gameplay is sweet for example when you get a breakaway it is just like NHL 2002 but when you score they replay the goal with sweet music to go along with it. It is the same way with a one timer.
| NOT THAT GOOD | | BIG D says (7/Nov/2002): | I fount the Franchies mode sucked. The Graphics are okay. The team Rosters did not have to good prospects it needs the rookies are fake and i was pised of with the game do not buy wait for NHL 2K3
| If you loved NHL 2001 or 2002, you'll like this more | | Taz from Montreal says (15/Oct/2002): | This is the best NHL game I've played in a while. The gameplay is tight, the commentary is very good and the controls are sweet assed. And the GAME BREAKER is an awsome addition too. The soundtrack is also very good. Has some pretty awsome songs from "Jimmy Eat World", "Papa Roach" and more. Some things do get repeteive though like the opening sequence to games and the hits can sometimes piss you off because they don't make contact. Overall, this is totally worth bying if you're a major hockey fan or a casual follower of the sport. But this game better watch out for NHL 2k3 since it supports online capabilities.
| Best EA sports NHL to date | | Taz from Montreal says (15/Oct/2002): | Graphics - The graphics on the ice and in player close-ups are pretty realistic. They're nice and clear and the game suffers from no major slowdown at all. But I wish I would say the same about the croud. The crowd is as flat at ever.. its basically cardboard cutouts. And the 3D crowd needs some MAJOR work. They look the same way as in 2002 and even have some of the same animations. Hopefully in 2004, they will look as good as the players.
Sound - The sound in NHL 2003 is amazing. The commentary really compells you into the game and the on-ice sounds are breathtaking. The sound is very clear and on queue. One improvement that they will hopefully add in 2004 is having on-ice sounds at the same time as color commentary. Besides that, this game sounds great. And in surround sound, you're there in the arena. Great job.
Gameplay - The gameplay has improved nicely over 2002. Its tighter and your players don't go flying all over the place. And the breakaway camera is greaer than ever. Another very good addition is the ability to control you players stick for doing manual dekes. Also, the Game Breaker is an exellent addition to the game. The game breaker is a meter that gradually fills up as you perform some dynamic dekes and when full, at the press of a button you go into breakaway camera and anytime in the game. It onbly lasts until you meter runs out... which is not too long but still long enough. The game can sometimes feel slow but you can boost the speed of the game by playing around in the options.
Lifespan - It has a pretty long lifespan in my opinion. I can't stop playing it. Theres always something to do whether it be trying to complete tasks for NHL cards, completing the playoffs or starting a franchise. And the multiplayer rocks. Very fun. You'll be at the edge of your sofa.
Fun Factor - EXTREMELY fun. Nuff said
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