Hands-on: NHL Hitz

Of the three versions of NHL Hitz that were on display at Midway's Gamers' Day, the Xbox version was easily the most polished. The game ran at a supersmooth and constant frame rate despite the fact that it featured some visual touches that weren't in the PS2 and GameCube versions. For instance, all of the players on the ice cast shadows, and their full reflections could be seen.

Playing the game is pretty straightforward: The analog stick controls the movement of your players on the ice. The buttons on the face of the controller are for controlling the spin, checks, and fighting. The control is very responsive, so passing and shooting and even just making your way up and down the ice are very easy to do. What's especially nice to see is that making goals isn't just about one-timers in NHL Hitz. You can also use the game's protect-the-puck ability, which is a spin move, to fake out a goalie and send the puck in for a point. Defending is also simple, since all that's really required are the turbo and check buttons. Even stealing the puck is quite effective in NHL Hitz, which makes mastering defensive techniques in the game just as important as mastering offensive tactics.

The fighting system in NHL Hitz is also straightforward. The view of the game changes to a fighting game-style side view of the two players standing toe-to-toe as they throw their gloves off. When fighting, you can grab your opponent, throw quick or heavy punches, and defend against your opponent's attack. Each player has a life bar above his head as in a standard fighting game. Winning the fight is incredibly important if it involves one of your team's key players, since losing a fight forces that player to exit the game. Whether handling the puck or fighting, the computer opponents in the game already seemed fairly solid. Even on the game's default setting the computer seemed extremely competent.

In the audio department, NHL Hitz features an impressive soundtrack with songs from bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn. The effects and announcing are also well done and will be familiar to anyone who has played NFL Blitz and NBA Showtime.

While we'll have to wait until we see a final version of the game to comment further, it's clear that the Xbox version of NHL Hitz is coming along quite well.