Good fun game
Bad: Goalies are stupid, ex: if a puck is sitting infront of them (1-2 feet) they won't go out an grab it. they'll leave it there for the next person to grab it .
Players hook you constantly and refs don't call it
NHL 2004 is the best game in the series I've played so far. Although the graphics arn't quite as good as 2005 or 2006, the gameplay to me, is superior.
The gameplay modes in '04 are the same as its predecessors except Dynasty mode. In which you take the role as a manager of a player created team or one of the 30 availible teams. Dynasty mode is superior in almost every way to just a normal season. You are in control of the team for 20 seasons, you have control over draft picks, You can negotiate contracts with the players, upgrade your arena and even customize your office with various unlockables.
Another interesting feature is the addition of three europeens elite leagues. Its not much different from standard season mode but the extra 100+ players are great for custom teams. Since none of them are in the NHL, your team won't have two Iginla's skating around the ice or two Chelios'. I enjoyed that EA Sports made it so you chose when to fight by pressing L+Z. I dislike fighting in the game because it slows things down and having the ability to chose not to fight is great. But when I chose to fight while playing against my friend, I found that the fighting has been completely changed. Instead of seeing who can click A faster, you have to block punches with UP and DOWN and punch them with A (high punch) , or B (low punch)
The announcers in NHL 2004 are a vast improvement over the ones in '03. the stupid comments have been removed and it sounds like your actually listening to a game. For me its especially great since one of the announcers works for Hockey night in Canada aswell. Making it an even more authentic experience. The only problem I had with them was that at around 3/4 done dynasty, I started to hear alot of the comments over and over because I had ammased so much playing time.
Conclusion: NHL 2004 is a fun game that will keep you busy for hours and hours, And its even more amusing with new features like bruise control and Dynasty mode.