Every now and then I have this sudden urge to play a game of hockey (Virtually. In reality I'm horrible at skates).
It has not been the case with 2k3. Almost every time I play this game something unexpected happens during a game and that's what keeps me glued to the screen for hours. The animations look pretty stiff unless you play from a bird's-eye view but it's the best angle there is for seeing passing lanes so I don't mind about the animations.
It's marvelous that goalies have noticeable weak spots and strengths depending on their skills. And the opposition seems to learn my most used tactics every now and then. It's a shame though that defenders never keep the blue line - even in power play - but at least opposition rarely gets breakaway chances.
I'm currently about a hundred years into the future with my franchise mode. It's a bit disappointing that there's no GM statistics or a chance to change from a team to another. And the player statistics are limited to current season and career. There's isn't much depth here but it's all about hockey and that's good enough for me.
So often I have decided to play just one match and there I am six hours later still playing for one more match.