Just a cool game

User Rating: 8.6 | NHL 2003 GC
This is the best hockey game I've played, EA does such a good job making the game realistic, but also fun too. Usually in older hockey versions, I'd just make home run passes to the center, and cut across the middle to score...always worked but not anymore. Obviously, like other sport games, cheap goals are scored, but you[ll feel a great sense of pride when you know you worked and earned a goal. It's a good teaching game about Ice Hockey in of itself in terms of... cycling down low, playing a tight forecheck, and shooting one timers. To get good at this game, ya gotta play good defense too. I try to use a lot of poke checks, hooking moves, and passing lane blocks with defenseman, while my buddy checks the crud off my dudes and just blitzes my guys. If you can mix this type of play, you'll be successful. Oh,the fighting mode is terrible, for how good the graphics are, if it was better this game would score over a 9.