The game is done quite well, however there are some problems. One of the biggest ones is you can't change the difficulty of gameplay during a franchise. With 2K3, I started out at pro and ended the season with the cup at hall of famer. After playing 40 or 82 games you'll be much better than when you started, so it's a dissapointment that you're stuck at one difficulty. Also, the management of your lines leaves something to be desired. With 2K3 you got a list of only players (this is before an injury) that have not been assigned. Now you get all forwards or all defense, even if they have been assigned. But if they have been assigned to the line you are editing, they are not listed. This makes line management much more tedius than in 2K3, especially for PP and PK lines. I miss the ability to assign a forward to a defensive position. Since injuries are quite frequent, sometimes I have more depth in the forwards than I do for the defense and it's nice to be able to assing McCarty back to defense. But those things asside, it is a much better game than 2K3. The announcing it quite good, but you will hear shoulder check comments frequently. The players will do diving shots, the goalies will commit to early to the butterfly and get beat on the deke (not all the time, but it can happen). I find scoring much more difficult in this version due to the defensive men getting in the way. I'm a few games into a season with 1-1 ties being common on pro, but was winning 5-2 on hall of famer. The option to download current rosters is a welcome addition, considering all the free agents out there. I do recommend the game, it just would have been nice if they would have kept some of the UI from the previous game. Richard Frovarp
This game is one of the best hockey games I've ever played from the checks, blocks, goals, fighting and more. When playing the game I got the feeling that the graphics wern't the best but the game was all it seemed to be... Read Full Review
On the whole, ESPN NHL Hockey is easily the finest hockey game I’ve had the pleasure of playing in a long time. It does have its faults, to be sure, but given the leaps and bounds by which the franchise has improved in o... Read Full Review
