
<MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/thearmchairem-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com">	Platform Playstation 2 Genre Sports Publisher Sega Developer Visual Concepts ESRB E (Everyone) Released Q4 2002

- Excellent visuals and ESPN presentation - Great gameplay balance between offense and defense - Deep Franchise mode will keep you playing for many seasons

- Commentary is inconsistent and can become repetitive - Where’s the online play option, Sega? - Occasional stat glitches

Review: NHL Faceoff 2003 (Playstation 2) Review: NHL Hitz 2003 (Playstation 2)
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NHL 2K3

Score: 9.1 / 10

Hockey is a sport that has been generally dominated by EA Sports in the video gaming arena. EA has always seemed to combine a killer presentation style with fast, action-filled hockey to create a great gaming experience. Veteran video pucksters may remember NHL ’94 for the Genesis, or NHL ’98 for the PlayStation, as some great video hockey moments. The biggest competition that EA has seen on the PlayStation 2 console has been Midway’s upstart NHL Hitz series, which really doesn’t look to compete with EA’s NHL series on a realism level.

So, what’s to stop EA’s continued hockey reign on the PS2? You guessed it… NHL 2K3. Now, before all of you NHL fans start to snicker at this idea, let me get into a little bit of what makes NHL 2K3 so good. Sure, you can tell by the score that I really liked NHL 2K3, but there’s a lot to like. The game isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty close, and with a few changes here and there, NHL 2K4 could be the best console hockey game ever.

Let’s back up, though, and break down NHL 2K3. Visually, NHL 2K3 is impressive, to say the least. The arenas easily resemble their real-life counterparts, including retired jerseys and hanging banners. There’s real-time ice deterioration and skate marks which can be seen during gameplay. Players spin to the ice when hooked or tripped, and crash to the ice when checked hard. The player models are of decent size, and the frame rate is silky-smooth for the most part. There are a few visual weaknesses, such as some slowdown during cutscenes and a few replays that don’t make a lot of sense. Player faces aren’t as realistically modeled as EA’s. Still, EA’s frame rate isn’t as smooth in NHL 2003 as Visual Concepts and Treyarch have achieved in NHL 2K3.

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Sound is, admittedly, a disappointment. It all starts in the press box with the play-by-play and color commentaries. The play-by-play man’s voice should be recognizable to veterans of 989’s NHL Face Off series, and that’s not a good thing. Michael Carlucci brings an inconsistent approach to play-by-play, with levels of intensity and emotion that don’t always make sense. Carlucci also fudges a few names from time to time and his lines get repetitive before long. The color commentary man is even drier, although a few of his insights are timely. With Sega’s use of the ESPN

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license, it’s surprising that they didn’t try to go after ESPN talent to read these lines, like Gary Thorne or John Davidson. The sound effects aren’t a lot better, either. When the puck ricochets off of the boards, it just doesn’t sound right. Slapshots are inexcusably quiet. The only good effect is the sound of the puck ringing off of the post, and you’ll hear that more than you probably want to. Sound is one area that Sega definitely needs to address, as EA completely dominates them in this area, even with Don Taylor’s overly humorous color commentary.

The ESPN-style presentation is really quite good. From authentic National Hockey Night music to stat overlays to intermission stat comparisons, NHL 2K3 plays out like you’re watching an ESPN telecast, and that’s certainly a good thing. It’s pretty cool to see certain stats about your players, such as Patrick Roy leading the league in shutouts or Mario Lemieux leading his team in points. These stats aren’t always perfect, though. The dreaded “Last in league GAA” stat appears for almost every goalie, or so it seems. This presentation bleeds over into the menus, which include a bunch of stats and options.

So, you must really be anxious to hear how NHL 2K3 actually plays, right? In a word, NHL 2K3 is stellar.

The game control setup feels like an EA game, but that’s where the similarity ends. Unlike EA’s NHL games, which have generally put an emphasis on offense, NHL 2K3 is a much more balanced game. Most players will not score an average of 10 goals a game in NHL 2K3. There are a good number of 2-0, 3-1, 4-2, and other close results in NHL 2K3, and that’s because the computer is no slouch. The AI will break up your passes. The computer goalie will stack pads, make lunging saves, and even cover the puck with his body to keep it out of the net. Players have to be smart in NHL 2K3, and set up one-timers, get odd-man rushes, deke and shift to get the goalie out of position, and sometimes just get good bounces to put one past the netminder. Some goalies can let in the occasional cheap goal, but players generally have to earn what they score. Hitting is a big component in NHL 2K3, as is playing good defense and breaking up crisp passing. All in all, the balance of offense and defense in NHL 2K3 is the best I’ve ever seen in a hockey video game, and I’ve played dozens of them over the past decade. It’s that good.

I haven’t even touched on NHL 2K3’s deep Franchise mode, or its decent Season mode, or its Create-A-Player options. This game brings a lot to the table, and most of it is as solid as you’ll ever see or experience. It’s unfortunate that the PS2 version of NHL 2K3 didn’t include online play, as that would have further increased the game’s replay value. NHL 2K3 relies more on its realism to keep players coming back than it does on unlockable items or flashiness, like EA has done in recent years. If you’re a hockey fan—even in the slightest—you owe it to yourself to pick up this game and add it to your collection. It’s not perfect, but NHL 2K3 is as close as we’ve come in quite some time. Highly recommended.

- Peter J. Skerritt, Jr.

(February 20, 2003)