First there was NBA Jam..And it was good. Then there was NFL Blitz...And it was great. Now there is NHL Hitz...And it is Awesome!!! As a hockey nut I keep playing this and NHL 2002 equally. This game just has me playing one game after another, and smiling the whole time. Big hits, Big Shots and Big Goals! F-U-N! You could be forgiven after playing this game for a while for thinking that it's just cash in on a gimmick, the gimmick being violent action. This game however offers a lot of depth. The main game is a scaled down version of hockey with no of the stupid rules and penalties that those of us who missed out on the American upbringing just don't understand leaving you with an ultra fast, ultra violent and very fun hockey game. The reason you'll think it's a gimmick based game is from the first minute at the face off you can try and hook the puck away or more usually hack your opponents stick out of the way or shove him to win the puck. Tackling involves hooks to block shots and steal the puck legally or stick checking which involves steaming into the opponent and hitting him with your stick. You can also slam your opponents through the glass and cause the side hoarding to wobble with huge crunching hits! As you've guessed this is more an arcade title than a sim! Despite this fact the gameplay can be really intelligent including slap shots, first time shots and pretty much everything that is good about hockey being in the game. If you watch you team mates(two of them, its 3-on-3) they will intelligently try and get into space to receive a pass or go for a one time shot, its worth checking your receivers position before a pass as its no good passing it to someone who's gonna get mullered by an opponent before the puck reaches him! There are a number of nice touches such as when you score a hat-trick the crowd will throw there hats onto the ice and you will literally become on fire, your burning player will have a little more speed, power and just be a little better than the rest only returning to normal when the opposition score. Whilst the on-fire player skates a small trail of melted ice is left behind. Despite this being an arcade game there are lots of game options and lots of items to be unlocked including Stadiums, Teams, Historic Jerseys and comedy Heads for your custom team. These are purchased using points, which are won from answering hockey trivia during loading screens and winning matches. Theres the usual Exhibition mode plus a Championship mode plus a Franchise mode where you take your own custom team to the top winning stat points to upgrade your players on the way. Along with these standard options theres the skill mode which I have seen on Channel 5 before, it's a competition between the best hockey players from all the teams that takes place at the end of the season. There are numerous skills to take part in such as Checking, Shooting and Face-Off winning, there are five levels of all the skills to be completed. The graphics are good and the game runs at a phenomenal pace, the games are end to end high scoring affairs and multiplayer is brilliant fun but the best part of the game is the fights mid match, theres nothing like pounding the oppositions star player before grabbing him and finishing him off with a head butt and a well placed knee forcing him to spend the rest of the match off the field! Graphics 8/10 Gameplay 9/10 Sound 8/10 Overall 8/10
This is probably one of the best hocky games you will find. You can make your own team on this game, but they don't have to be human. Mine are aliens. You can coose other stuff too, like nights and stuff like that. The g... Read Full Review
this is really such an addictive game and it simply rocks on multiplayer. when i firstmplayed it i was rubbish and i hated it, then, once i got my skates on and started winnig i began to like it, a lot! this is so much f... Read Full Review
