NHL Hitz Pro

Like every goon in the NHL, Hitz mellows a bit with age, but it still has fire in its belly.

By adding the ?Pro? at the end of the name, Midway?s trying to tell you that its famously over-the-top series is taking the sport much more seriously?but not too seriously. When you play NHL Hitz Pro, that actually makes sense. The feel of parody is gone; rather than being a wild action game based on hockey, this year?s edition is a hockey game with some wild action.

He Shootz!
NHL Hitz Pro may be switching to five-on-five action with (optional) offsides and two-line passes, but it still lives up to its middle name with gameplay that revolves around the fine art of checking. Defense is all about sending your opponent cartwheeling through the air, and while it?s definitely downplayed in comparison with previous years?, your bloodlust won?t be left hanging.

Scoring is much easier than it is in EA?s and ESPN?s games, and that all adds up to action-packed, excitingly fun hockey, but the game is firmly rooted in the sport, and it feels like you?re playing something pretty close to hockey, rather than a outlandish cartoon version of it. Hitz even has the most realistic yet exciting approach to face-offs of any game this season. Overall, Midway did a good job of making the game a bit more serious and authentic without losing the style and edge that has made this series so popular in recent years.

Hitz? Franchise mode is definitely unique in a good way. You create a fantasy team from scratch by selecting from a slew of pre-made logos and names, then staffing the roster. After 10 wins against other such teams, you?re promoted to bottom tier of the NHL to begin battling for the puck. The game provides a good selection of crazy power-ups and entertaining mini-games, including the fantastic pond hockey.

He Checkz!
When separating the three versions of Hitz, the PS2 version rises to the top because it?s the only one that supports online play. Midway has a great set-up for its online sports titles this year. When you first sign on, you start out in the bottom of four leagues. Every two weeks, the top players are bumped up to the next league, and the poor performers get booted downstairs. This approach gives even late-comers a chance to shine in the standings. Aside from that, three versions are pretty identical beyond some very minor differences in their graphical style.

In general, the controls work smoothly, offering all the usual moves without the layers of complexity that other games include. The visuals are good and effective without being stunners, though the audio is a real treat. The two-man commentary featuring Tim Kitzrow and Harry Tienowitz is hilarious, while the bone-crunching sound effects pump up the action.

He Scorez!
It?s a tight three-way race on the hockey front this season, and the only real downside to Hitz is what its fans will actually appreciate: its heavily arcade-style approach. If you like your hockey more serious, EA?s game falls halfway between Hitz and the technical, highly realistic ESPN game. If ?serious? is the last thing you associate with hockey games, you?ll have a blast hammering out checks on Hitz? rink?especially since Midway?s rolled back the price a notch.

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