ESPN NHL Hockey

"Best hockey game yet"

First off, I will say that this is my favorite hockey game to date. It completely outdoes all the competition, including EA Sports NHL 2005.

Gameplay 9/10
The core of every game is great gameplay, and this game is no exception. In this case, it excels. There are various difficulties, from dead easy to impossible. I personally like to play in the middle. This game, unlike most other sports games, requires some sediment of skill to score. There is no one-man-end-to-end option here, unless you play on the easiest difficulty. It's plain fun, and the controls give you more... well... control than ever before. Add in the different types of game modes, and its a great game. There is the pick-up-and-play mode, and also season and playoffs and all the usual stuff. Apart from that, there are dream team ladders, where you pick your team and play off against the most incredibly stacked teams ever made. And lets not forget the extras. Sega loads on the extras in this game, with hundreds of things that you can unlock, from teams to jerseys to different rinks to play in. I personally love playing in the Commonwealth Stadium. One mark off for the fact that on the higher difficulties, basically the only way to score is with one-timers, which makes for repetitiveness.

Graphics: 8/10
Put simply, the graphics in this game are very good. Everthing from the players to the ice to the rink has a polished look to it. Also, in a break from tradition, the fans are not cardboard cutouts, but rather 3D animated figures. They do move pretty choppily, but what can you expect? A few marks off for object cutouts, which aren't exactly the best. Often, if you watch the replay, you can see players go through each other, the puck bounce off of midair, stuff like that.

Multiplayer: 9/10
There is, of course, the normal multiplayer which is where players either play with each other against the computer or against each other. This is basically the same as normal gameplay, with a bit of coordination involved, and really fun. A new idea is Party Mode, which is a bunch of mini-games that are put together into a tournament. Some of the mini-games are fun, some are stupid. It still comes out fun in the end. And, although I haven't had the pleasure of trying it, this game is xbox live compatible.

Realism: 8/10
Some players' names are mispelled, but there are very few of these. Sega has graphed every player to the tiniest statistic, which in itself is incredible. My only major complaint is that Sega could have done a bit more homework. When playing some of the more historic teams, I would have liked to see some legendery names instead of just Forward, Defense, Center. You get the idea. Also, the defensemen have a strange habit of staying just outside the blueline, making for some unneeded offsides.

Overall: 9/10
This game is, as I said before, the best hockey game yet. I would definitely buy it to add it to your collection.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/18/05