NHL 2003

EA Suceeds Yet Again!

General/Summary: All in all its a good game I've always been a fan of EA sports NHL games. If you liked the old ones you'll definately like this one with its sharper look and amazing graphics and ton loads of extra features. One downside were the fights; when the players duke it out they look like a couple of dummies fighting, it looked akward to me because nothing moves during a fight except your arms when swinging a punch. NHL 99 on the N64 had a better fighting engine where you manouver the players by blocking, punching, and even skating back and forth. Gameplay: The gameplay is similar to the previous EA NHL titles with some juicy extras. The deking sequence looks pretty cool; when you're on a clean deke the gameplay slows down and you hear the players heart beating with the crowd cheering in the background;Hollywood style. There's alot more to the gameplay I haven't figured out yet, but I definately give gameplay a 5. Graphics: The graphics were very well done; I totally enjoyed them, but I didnt like the pause when it switched from frame to frame, you'd think we'd be past that problem seeing the games out there; it was a little bit annoying. The intro was pretty cool with Lemieux and the boys giving their little EA sports its in the game advertisement but I wanted a pumping intro with goals, body checks, and fast paced music like the previous PC titles,,, but oh well; nothing's perfect. Sound: The sound was alright, the comentator sounded OK, and the stadium announcer sounded exactly like the one in NHL 99. What's with the rock music theme of this game, it sounds good but it just doesnt flow right. However, overall the sound was acceptable.