NHL 2003

"EA takes a step up, but not a very big one."

Graphics - 7/10

Well, I started this up the first time and I was disappointed to see no intro movie. Oh well. I guess even no intro movie would be an improvement over NHL 2002's intro. Maybe. As for the graphics themselves, they seem to be on par. Until you see the faces. OUCH! I can barley recognize most of these guys. I don't know what EA was thinking here, but someone dropped the ball. Besides that, however, the graphics look nice with a silky smooth frame rate.
Also, the menu navigation is TERRIBLE! I've spent a long time playing this game and I still struggle with it at times. The style of the menu makes it so the buttons blend in with the background and you overlook options that you may wish to change. It would get top marks if not for those horrid faces and bad navigation.

Sound - 9/10

The sound in NHL 2003 is great. The crowd roars when you score the big goal in the last minutes and they are booing when the home team is getting trounced. It truly feels like your in the stands near ice level as you hear the players communicating with each other. This is some of the best sound I've heard on a PC hockey game. The music is also an improvement over last year. Except for the Jimmy Eat World stuff. Get that outta here and this is near perfection

Gameplay - 9/10

By far, this is the greatest improvement over 2002. The goaltender's AI is amazing and they have many new animations. They look incredibly realistic.
Also, the new deaks look cool, they seem to be a bit overdone. But that's not to bad because it's entertaining to see Steve Yzerman deke through the entire Carolina team and fake out Irbe with a behind-the-back move and slide the puck in the net.
There is a new ''Game Breaker'' addition that fills up when you pull off big deaks. Once it's full and you push the button, time slows down and you get a behind-the-back perspective. It's pretty much just like the breakaway camera. I, personnaly, don't like this feature and I never use it. The Game Breaker itself only lasts about 5 seconds so it seems useless at times. It seems to me that this is just a useless gimmick to try and sell a few more games. That is the only blemish on an otherwise great game.

Replayability - 7/10

With all 30 teams at your disposal in Exhibition, season, and playoffs along with many international teams available for a tournament, there are so many ways to experiance NHL 2003. Franchise mode allows you to draft rookies and sign free agents at the end of every year. The difficulty seems a bit off set at times though as you can beat one team 9-1 one night, then fall 5-2 on the next. The new EA Online integration allows for online play to much less of a hassle. Just sign up, and look for an open game. You also get the first 60 days of EA Online free so it's worth checking out. I have no reason to put this game down until 2004 comes out.

Overall - 7/10

Overall, I feel this game is better than 2002. It may not have been as big of a step up as we hoped, but it is still a great game none the same. The biggest downside is the Main Menu. Still, a great game for all hockey fans alike.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/02, Updated 10/14/02